Fiddlesticks Restaurant and Bar

REALLY good and impressive food. I found this when I needed some dinner as a tourist in the area. I had no idea it was this nice. I just quickly saw good reviews and pics. I arrived b4 dinner time but ordered a mulled cider in the bar and it was yummy. I then was seated for dinner and had an amazing special of tuna and a mixture of delectables that I wouldn’t have expected to accompany the tuna but the combination of tastes was amazing. I then had the plum compote with lavender and was it lemon? Sorbet and it was also very good. Very nice atmosphere too. Highly recommend but get a reservation!

Delicious food and quality service made this a lovely experience to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Sam was welcoming, friendly and attentive to our needs. Our table was close to a larger group who were loud and having a great time, but that was the only slight negative. We will definitely be back and would highly recommend this restaurant, as they also have lots of Gluten Free options.

The food is not exceptional. The lamb shoulder is quite nice, but the portion is really small. I do not recommend sharing. I do like the chicken salad in the photos; I can’t remember the name, but it's good for dinner.

A restaurant that doesn’t quite get it right. Our lunch began with an Espresso Martini, which unfortunately, the waiter managed to jolt and she placed it down and spilt the cocktail all over me. I get that accidents happen, but the cocktail was not replaced with another despite now being less full than intended, and no gesture or discount on the bill! Not good service, and I now have a coffee stained top. For the actual lunch, we opted for a main and dessert. The risotto was pleasant, the brioche bun for the burger had to be replaced with focaccia as ran out of buns, but sadly the fries were very dry and crispy. The meal finished more positively, with two tasty desserts, but overall, customer service needs uplifting and food execution to be improved.

Easy location just opposite the Art Gallery. Good service and comfortable environment. Foods are well represented and tasty. Especially lunch special is very valuable and worth trying. Recommend!

Nice, cozy restaurant with friendly staff and great food. I tried the polenta fries with mushrooms ketchup which were delicious and the lamb shank. Both amazing and rich of taste. Wine selection is quite wide with some really good vintage grapes. Prices are in the mid range. If I could make a suggestion I would suggest to add the cheesecake to the dessert selection. But when back to the edge of the world I will definitely come back.

TL;DR Well-executed daily specials and great service make Fiddlesticks a solid dining choice. Slightly too dark indoors and not the most convenient in wet weather due to parking. Full review Food: The daily specials were a highlight. The porchetta was flavourful and well-prepared, while the fish of the day—served with smoked salmon risotto—was an unexpected but very welcome pairing. The balance of textures and flavours in both dishes was spot on. Service: Service throughout the evening was attentive, professional, and well-paced. Staff were knowledgeable about the menu and made thoughtful recommendations without being intrusive. Ambience: The interior leans toward the moody and atmospheric, but it was a tad too dark for comfortable dining. A little more lighting would have helped showcase the food and create a more inviting environment. Accessibility: Not the most wet weather–friendly location. Parking nearby was limited and somewhat difficult to navigate in the rain, so be prepared for a short walk if the weather turns. Would I return? Yes—for the quality of the food and service. A great option if you’re prepared to overlook the minor inconveniences in ambience and access.

Had the most delicious lunch with my husband yesterday. He ordered the special T-bone steak ($25 was great value) and I had the market fish. Husband said the steak was cooked perfectly and really good. My gurnard and all the trimmings was very delicious. Thankyou so much will be back again soon.!

Super excited to see that this place is amazing. The staff is really fantastic and the food was exceptional. Will definitely try it again. We were lucky to get a reservation.

Dined solo here and got the "Lamb shoulder, creamy polenta, almond brown butter carrots, plum chutney, jus" and it was SO good. Lamb was super tender and all the other ingredients tasted great with the lamb. The piece of lamb was generous so come hungry! Service was standard. Inside is cozy and the chairs are comfortable. Totally recommend coming here if you're looking for some great food.

I convinced my aunt to walk over here with me from our hotel, which was a bit of a struggle since she was less than thrilled about the ten minutes over. However, she raved about her fish dish so the walk was totally worth it. She got the market fish and I had the soup of the day and a spinach and walnut salad. The food was good and the service was friendly. She especially enjoyed her fish, which was a white flushed fish, served in a tomato broth with an olive tapenade on top.We didn't have reservations but we're seated promptly. I had to run past this restaurant earlier in the afternoon and noticed many outside enjoying a beer or wine and the local sunshine.

Intrigued by the chef special of whitebait on the chalkboard ($24), I decided to try. The chalkboard said it was served with toasted brioche, pickled vegetables, and citrus mayo. So, imagine my surprise when it came in an egg patty! I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. It was okay, but you really couldn't taste the fish - mostly egg. I pried a fish to taste by itself, but the egg was too overpowering. I think since this is a seasonal fish, the fish should be showcased. Without the citrus mayo, this would've been a bland dish I learned from the waitress that this fish is always served in the form of a patty with something else. Too bad New Zealanders don't make a snack like Malaysians do, with dried small fish, peanuts, and sambal. That would be great!

The coconut bread and sangria were great! We ordered a lemonade for our daughter and they brought Sprite - turns out this is normal in NZ - we are the odd ones! Just beware when ordering lemonade in NZ! We also ordered a strawberry milkshake and it was literally strawberry milk...shaken. (Photo)

We came here after a full day of touring around Christchurch; we saw Fiddlesticks while walking around and so chose it, in part, because we knew it was walking distance from our hotel! We arrived fairly early, around 5:30PM on a Sunday, and the dining room was nearly empty, but did start to fill within an hour or so. The wine list featured a lot of reasonably priced New Zealand selections; we were very happy with our Rockface Pinot Noir. We shared an order of pumpkin hummus as a starter, which was good, and the perfect amount for the three of us to have just a little nibble before entrees. I had the lamb shoulder which was excellent! It was very tender and flavorful, and the potatoes, kale, and sauces all went with it perfectly. A family member also had the lamb, and, unfortunately, one of his two pieces of lamb had a large chunk of fat, but he did enjoy it despite that! Another family member had the fish special, and she said it was delicious! It came with fried whitebait as a topping. Given that this was our first night in New Zealand, we really didn't know what whitebait was....for others who are equally ignorant, it is exactly what it sounds like...tiny bait fish! These were fried up nice and crispy, and we all tried some...just don't think about it too much, or look too closely at them, and they are quite tasty! Dessert was good, but not quite what we expected; all the desserts are served in a deconstructed style which, honestly, isn't a favorite of mine. Service was excellent. Our server was friendly, and knew the menu well. We were seated in a porch-like area that was delightful - bright with lots of greenery! This is a great option for dinner in Christchurch!

An excellent restaurant for lunch ! Directly across the street from the fine arts museum and has a trolly stop directly in front. On nice days there is outdoor dining Excellent food pleasant wait staff and the place appeared sparkling clean too! Recommended!

Having just one evening to enjoy a sit down private dinner, I decided on Fiddlesticks, as recommended by a few locals. Dining solo presented a challenge as I could only sample one meal. Judging off of previous Yelp comments and my desire to try local, I went with the Canterbury Lamb Shoulder. Having nothing else on the menu to compare it to, I certainly vouch for this dish. You won't be disappointed. Served on a bit of greens and topped with a fruit sauce, the lamb, which had obviously been stewing for awhile, was super tender and extremely flavorful. In addition to its succulence, the portion was quite substantial! Adding a side of baby spinach salad and a Black Dog draft beer ensured I had no room for dessert. Peeking at the table next to me, another customer had ordered the salmon. Based on appearance and the clean plate after 15 minutes, I'd guess that dish also comes recommended. One last thing, the service was excellent - welcoming, warm, and prompt!

For what at first I expected to be a traditional pub meal I was really pleasantly surprised by the quality of both the service and the food. Inside was warm and inviting on such a cold night and the staff were equally up to the task, offering advice on their favourite menu options and suggesting matching wines to try. I had an expertly cooked steak with mustard and pickled vegetables and some specially prepared "fries" and a side of broccoli, the later unfortunately was a little over cooked for me; a very enjoyable meal

The starter is very good, recommended. The waitress gave me good recommendation. Main course is not bad. I

Stopped by for lunch between museums tours. We ordered the bread plate to share with friends and then got baked falafels and a lamb pie for ourselves. Bread plate was very good. It was fresh and the butter served with the plate was light and fluffy. The lamb pie was very tasty. The only letdown was the baked falafels. I understand they are trying to be more health conscience but somethings just need to be fried. The texture and flavor was a significant departure from tradition. Outside seating was pleasant and service level was outstanding as we had a very mindful server.

Wonderful dinner at this inviting restaurant. We were able to snag a table without a reservation during a busy evening; so accommodating! My husband and I shared a terrific bottle of New Zealand wine and shared two appetizers a main course and a side. Plenty of food and all of it was delicious. Our server was warm and professional. Centrally located. Can't wait to return!

We went here on our last evening in Christchurch NZ. It was a very nice dining experience. The food was delicious and the service fantastic. This place was recommended to us by another local Chef. If a Chef is going to recommend a good place for a nice steak then you have to try it! Everything was fresh and delightful. It can get crowded for dinner so reservations are recommended!

We went here on our first night in Christchurch and I'm glad we did. The review were right on the spot and we enjoyed the restaurant very much. The food is excellent, but as with much of NZ a bit on the pricey side. The service was particularly good, which really made the meal.

Great stop! Enjoyed sitting outside and watching the trams go by. Great food and service. Soup was great. Would recommend.

Best vegetarian risotto ever!! Usually don't drink reds but their red wine is amazing! love the ambience with twinkling lights, fireplace, comfortable seating, large windows, great service too!

I enjoyed a great dinner here. I had booked a table the day before and my companions and I arrived to find the place already busy with a queue. But we got our table immediately. Service is really nice, with friendly staff and informal but respectful practices. We enjoyed lovely Scallops, Lamb rolls and Soup for entrees, then Eye Fillet steak, Salmon Fillet and Fish of the Day (Terakihi) for mains. Our sides were Mesclun Salad and Duck Fat Potatoes. Everything was really good, nicely presented, with good quality produce and good size portions. The wine list is very nice. Dessert was Chocolate Brownie and Ginger Pudding. There is no surprise about its popularity, everything was great. We were probably last to leave but didn't feel rushed at all, which was appreciated. The location is great, right across the road from the Arts Centre and on the tram route, within short walking distance of the river and city CBD. Parking on the nearby streets was available too. It's very good, I would recommend it.

Not sure what all of the hype is about. We had an early pick up for a tour the next morning so went to the first available dinner service. Our waiter seemed fairly uninterested & not too helpful with the menu items. The food was beautifully presented but execution was lacking. I had the Free range pork belly. It was under seasoned and mushy while the Chicharrón garnish was so hard that it was a dental hazard. My wife had a red gurnard that was skillfully cooked but again under seasoned.

I came here with my elderly mum and her partner for her 85th birthday. They were fantastic, with excellent food and great, friendly service. This place serves gourmet pub food, lots of excellent choices, and a good variety of beers and wines. We arrived early on a Saturday (6:15pm), and by the time we left at 8:30 if was full, with a pleasant buzz and great atmosphere. I would come here again for myself, and recommend it.

I think this place really deserves 4.5 stars but couldn't quite justify the five. I came here for dinner with a group of seven on a Sunday night. The food presentation is stellar, a real feast for the eyes. Most of the food lived up to its looks with the exception of the whitebait patty which the eater felt was a little sparse on the whitebait, heavy on the egg. The fried chicken entree was raved about. My beef fillet was good although I asked for rare and everyone agreed it looked more med-rare. The highlight of it was the proscuitto fries which were very morish, and make up for the fact that Quality of all the meats was top notch though. The fresh fish was absolutely divine, and the venison feast received two thumbs up (well four technically since its a shared dish!). The chocolate truffle dessert was outstanding, a real highlight of the meal for me. The salted caramel dessert was less spectacular but still good. I thought service was above average - friendly, attentive, good humoured. The only small letdown was we were not asked if we wanted another round of drinks which we probably would have gone for if we had been asked, but weren't worried about enough to attract the attention ourselves. He also went to a lot of effort to bill us separately for our individual meals as we requested, even though this is a lot more work for him. There is a lot of seating options in this restaurant including some nice outdoorsy areas which are perfect for summer evenings. I liked the decor, it was fresh and green and welcoming. They had a TV playing old black and white movies on silent which I though was an interesting touch and point of difference! Price was ok - I spent about $80 on sangria/main/side/dessert which I thought was reasonable for the quality and size of the meals.

We adored this place and came 3 times! Once for happy hour and twice for dinner. You can make reservations to sit in the main dining area or first come first serve in the bar area which also had a sun room. The vibe is very positive and a great place to hang for some wine or beer. Every dish we ordered was super tasty and we tried plenty!

After a long journey to make it to New Zealand from the U.S., my wife and I came here for a relatively low-key dinner our first night in the country. We showed up pretty late - around 8:45 in the evening on a Sunday - and while the restaurant still had several tables when we came in, it was virtually deserted by the time we had finished. The restaurant has a modern feel to it, and while it is also a bar, the noise from the television didn't really intrude on the dining space at all. The service was solid at best, with it taking a bit long to place our order at the start and to get the check at the end. While there are some local beers available for order, the one I had (Pointer's Pale Ale) was one of the weakest offerings I've had in that genre of beer. My wife was less than impressed that flavored iced teas were the only option available in that kind of drink. As for the food, I would say that the the bread was arguably the best part of the meal. It tasted like it was all cooked in-house and was warm and fresh. The wheat bread in particular had warmth and fluffiness to it that you would not take from how it was presented (as sliced triangles, like it would be for a sandwich). The butter was also very rich and worked very well with bread as soft as what was served. For an appetizer, we split the seared scallops. While the salsa verde worked very well as a complement to the scallops (which were prepared pretty well), the pickled fennel was a bit of a dissonant note and added too much acidity to the salsa. The entrees were also a bit on the inconsistent side. My wife's lamb shoulder fell apart quite easily, and it had very good smoky flavor - especially paired with the dahl - but paradoxically, the meat itself was also too dry - very little succulence with any bite. After my first choice was dk'ed (the king salmon), I went with the pork belly noodle soup. The pork belly was very juicy and flavorful, and the glass noodles were also pretty solid as well. However, the broth had a very muddled flavor, really making the soup more of a conveyance vehicle for the rest of the dish, as opposed to adding anything to the dish. Overall, Fiddlesticks is a nice spot to take in a meal, but I was not blown away by it. The lamb was surprisingly overcooked, and while some of the fusion elements of the dishes were good (e.g. the dahl), others missed the mark. As a tourist from the other side of the world, I would probably check out another restaurant in Christchurch next time I am in town first.

We explored the amazing Christchurch Art Gallery and wanted a nice lunch afterwards. Right across the street was an interesting looking cafe/pub place. It was cool and blustery, and we wanted something warming. Wow! Did this place deliver! Super friendly staff welcomed us. As it was Sunday, many were there for brunch. I saw many plates with eggs and other goodies that looked great. But we were here for lunch. My husband had a pie stuffed with smoked pork that he said was delicious. It came with a pea purée and lovely salad. I chose the pappardelle with lamb ragout and white bean purée. The shredded lamb was a delight and the sauce was light and flavorful with a hint of Moroccan spice, but light. The top of the food had some shavings of cheese and what appeared to be radish sprouts. It was lush and unctuous with a marvelous taste and texture. Perfect comfort food for such cool, damp late summer day. The bean purée was a simple foil with hint of the spice I mentioned, or was that the only place where it was? I'm not sure, but it was yummy. We had a nice bottle of central Otago Pinot noir which was nicely acidic that was nice food wine and matched our meals perfectly. The meal with the wine, which was over 50% of the bill, came to US $75. Very fine meal and worth every penny.

One of the worst meals I've ever eaten. We started with the fried chicken appetizer and it was so dry that the only thing that made it edible was the sauce it came with. Next we ordered the feast, and it included a salad, lamb, roasted onions, peas, stuffed mushrooms, and two sides that included duck fat potatoes, and another salad. The lamb was cold and flavorless. It seemed like the chef had no idea how to cook lamb. Both salads were boring and also flavorless, but the most memorable dish was the potatoes. The duck fat potatoes were the hardest, most dry dish of potatoes I have ever seen in my life. The were impossible to chew because they were rock solid. How on earth do you mess up potatoes?? They're the world's easiest food to cook. Additionally, the portions were tiny for the supposed "feast" title. We both left so hungry, and had to order pizza later that evening to make up for it. I want to point out that before we got our food, the couple sitting next to us complained about their meal, so it wasn't just a matter of our taste buds. I will say that the waiter was very nice and the service was good, but I went for the food and the high ratings I saw on Google. It was also $95, including a drink each, and did not include dessert. So disappointed.

Just finished dining here (dinner) and had the Hereford rib eye. Also had to order extra vegetables and at $44 for Main and $9 for vegetables it was just enough. Quality of food was ok only because of the price as you can get much better for less elsewhere. Service was however very good and all staff were very helpful and friendly. Beers are about average at around $11 a pint for Heineken.

Delicious food, a great place to eat in the heart of town - particularly as there is not a lot else that has opened in that area yet. Friendly staff, good atmosphere. I'd recommend.

Started in the afternoon for a beverage. Delicious & unique Mai Tai. Nice server as well. On our way for dinner now!

Fiddlesticks was ok. I had the beef sandwich and although it tasted and was prepared perfectly the presentation left a lot to be desired. It is presented on the menu as a sandwich but when it arrived the bread was drastically too small. In that case fine, you can pick up your knife and fork and enjoy it as an open faced sandwich but that was very difficult as it is served on a wooden board (for aesthetic purposes) that was entirely too small so lunch turned out to be a messy experience which is never fun. Service was alright.

In what has become a theme in Christchurch, Fiddlesticks has excellent service. Very attentive but still relaxed staff make it a pleasure to drink and dine here. We went for a quick lunch and were not disappointed by a very nice duck parfait to start and pork pie as the main event. The meals were served quickly but not so as to make us feel rushed. The drinks menu is extensive with a reasonable priced range of alternatives. The restaurant is well located on one of Christchurch's main thoroughfares between Cathedral Square and The Botanic Gardens / Canterbury Museum. We will definitely be back.

What a great experience! Amazing food, wonderful staff, and such a great atmosphere! We had so much fun at dinner here. We will recommend it to all friends coming through the area. We both had the lamb shoulder for our main and it was so perfectly cooked. Our waitress was incredibly nice and easy to talk to. She was friendly without being the annoying fake friendly you often run into in the service industry. Prices reflect the great quality you receive in your dishes. Was an amazing night out and well worth our 30 minute walk to find!!

Amazing as always. Faultless service and food. Must be the best salmon in the world - rank it even higher than that in Vancouver or Scotland.

We may have visited on a bad night, but the service was a disaster. We sat for 2 hours and were largely ignored by our waiter. Even getting the bill took multiple attempts. And getting a take out container required asking our waiter, the manager and another server before someone managed to get us something. The food was fine, but this is not a repeater.

Great service, delicious fresh food. Quiet afternoon lunch spot on a rainy day. Our server was very friendly informative about Christchurch hot spots. Nice menu $$$ is accurate but worth it.

I would say this restaurant has many good features but value for money is not one of them. I've eaten here twice and each time have come away feeling that something was missing, like the main course can seem a little stodgy.