Curators House Restaurant

Beautiful setting in the Botanic Gardens situated next to the Avon river. There is an extensive herb garden on one side of the old stone house. It was really hot so we ate outside on the side patio under umbrellas with a view of the garden.
We had the croquettes, lamb and an amazing salad with goat cheese.
It was all delicious !
We had a sweet waitress who was very attentive and nice glasses of wine (pretty good selection to choose from).
A wonderful way to enjoy a warm summer night in Christchurch.

A bit of an oddball place for lunch, but the location (literally in the Botanic Gardens) and the view (the Botanic Gardens) are hard to beat and the tapas were excellent.
The restaurant was quiet around lunch time, and we sat outside on the verandah to avoid the wind. Initially, we looked at the tapas menu and started wondering what we’d gotten ourselves into – ordering the plates piecemeal from the menu was a bit pricey for lunch. Fortunately, we noticed the lunchtime tapas platter that was meant to share, reasonably priced, and happened to include the tapas we’d planned to order anyway. Everything – the mushrooms, the croquettes, the chorizo – was delicious.
I only wish we’d had time to come back and explore the wine list…

For our last night in Christchurch we stumbled upon this restaurant while exploring the Christchurch Botanic Garden. We ordered potatoes and croquettes. Along with that we had a pitcher or red sangria. Amazing ! Make sure to have the sangria. The atmosphere was astonishing, the staff was super friendly. Definitely check this place out if you’re around the area.

Not really a Tapas sort of guy but the authentic Paella topped up with the odd Tapas to fill was spectacular. Great setting in Botanic gardens open (fake) fire on cold, wet night. Fabulous.

A great spot to enjoy a glass of wine and some tapas after getting lost in the Botanic Gardens. With spectacular views of the Botanic Garden fountain and blooming flowers, it’s hard to find a more picturesque location. The Curators House has indoor and outdoor seating which caters to the warm days and the chillier days. Their spanish tapas menu will set you back some dollars, but will leave you satisfied and they have a great list of local and imported wines for pairing.

What a wonderful place to have dinner while in Christchurch. The location is lovely, adjacent to the botanical gardens, and the restaurant itself, is, as the name states, in the old curators cottage so history and charm abound.
We were lucky to get in on this Thursday night, the place was busy but I was lucky as my concierge pulled some strings and got us a cute table for two right in front of the window overlooking the garden. A prime location, indeed!
Service was a bit slow which is why not the perfect score, but that may have been due to the fact that the place was very busy as it was a holiday the next day.
While they are known for their Spanish tapas, their menu has a pretty wide range. Depending on how you want to eat, you can order a range of tapas to share as your dinner or a couple of tapas to begin with and then a couple of mains. We chose to do the latter.
First up, we split the charcuterie plate. This thing was huge and came with several kinds of meat as well as some bruschetta to enjoy it in. We also had the lamb tapas which also was perfect for sharing.
For my main, I went with the lamb shoulder special of the day which was super tasty and very tender. My friend wanted a steak and his came out perfectly prepared as well.
The ambiance is cute and the food is very good. I also liked that the location allows for a stroll before or after dinner in the beautiful botanical gardens. Dinner with drinks for two ran about $ 168 which was really reasonable given the quantity of food we consumed.
Too bad I don’t live closer as this would go on my «to go again» list for sure!

I’ve been here a couple of times pre and post earthquake. I have very fond memories of having my 21^st dinner here (way pre-​EQ!) which was fantastic. Décor is nice, its a wonderful old house with fantastic views across Hagley Park.
Post-​EQ I would say its a lovely place to come for drinks when the sun is shining. The outdoor area overlooking the park is amazingly relaxing on a warm summers afternoon/​evening.
Last time I ate here though I have to say I was quite disappointed. There was a group of 6 of us and the meals were nothing special. Two of the steaks which had been requested medium-​rare were in fact very well done and chewy and not so nice to eat, bordering on inedible. We debated saying anything as all of us are quite non-​confrontational but one of us took up the baton and made the waiter aware! He ended up comping some desserts but I couldn’t recommend this place on food alone. Although the chocolate mousse was good, the rest of the food was underwhelming. Maybe we hit the chef on a bad day?
I probably won’t be back for dinner, unless someone else makes the reservations.
On my last experience I would give this place 2.5 stars but seeing as I can’t give half stars though Unilocal I rounded up to three as two seemed a little harsh. It gets rounded up for the outside drinks area.

I’ve heard such good things about the Curator’s House Restaurant so we headed over there to celebrate my sister’s birthday. Unfortunately the experience was one we’d all like to forget. The food wasn’t good — two of the meals had to be sent back as the requests had been ignored, one of them was under cooked and the service was terrible. The waitress looked like she really didn’t care and had so many other places she’d rather be (which is probably true but at least pretend!)
None of us have been back since. Such a shame as they have a really lovely location…