Francesca's Italian Kitchen Christchurch

Absolutely loved our experience at Francesca’s Italian Kitchen Christchurch! We had a gift voucher from our friends. The food was fresh, authentic, and full of flavor. The pasta was perfectly cooked, and the seafood was so tender and delicious. Margarita pizza was very delicious The staff were friendly and attentive, and the atmosphere was cozy and welcoming. Highly recommend this place for anyone who loves real Italian food. We’ll definitely be coming back soon!

Easily my favourite Italian food ever, I returned with a friend after 8 years and still the atmosphere, service were effortlessly top tier. And the food, the FOOD, chefs kiss!!!! If it weren’t such a beautiful place I would have licked the dish clean. Big love to Francesca’s on being consistently the best Italian food outside of Italy itself.

We loved this place. Staff was lovely the brazilian/portuguese waitress was super kind. Food was delicious! We had the cheek gnocchi (a bit salty for my taste but still delicious) and napolitana pizza. We really enjoyed :)

We enjoyed a wonderful Italian dinner at Francesca’s in Christchurch, just hours after arriving. Our reservation meant we were seated right away. We started with the fresh, creamy burrata, which was lightly salted and perfectly complemented by cut cherry tomatoes and basil pesto. For our main course, we shared the delicious lamb ragu with pappardelle, a dish tossed with olives, a delightful spritz of lemon juice, and Grana Padano. We paired our meal with two glasses of Central Otago’s Driven Snow Pinot Noir. The food was expertly prepared, beautifully presented, and utterly delicious. The wait staff was attentive and kind throughout the evening. A special thanks goes to the hostess who, realizing we were visitors (easy to spot the Americans!), spent a generous 5-10 minutes writing down local sites, day trips, and some of her favorite restaurants. I regret not getting her name, but we truly appreciate her kindness. We look forward to returning!

Craved for Italian that day, I just walked in without reservation. It was not obvious looking in from outside, but the place was quite crowded. Was glad that I was quickly given a table. I chose what I felt like eating, the waitress said those were their best sellers. Gnocchi , potato skin and tiramisu. They were all very delicious, will definitely come again.

Taste wise the food was extraordinary, but I’ve never left a restaurant feeling this hungry before… they really need to up their portion sizes, at least double them. This could be easily compensated in the prices, it wasn’t that expensive either way. :)

Pasta flavour was average and underwhelming. Fish was decent but not filling. Generally portions are too small for the price charged.

Awesome pizza! Very authentic and perfectly cooked. The pasta tasted ok

Delicious Vegetarian Spaghetti Puttanesca. Bold flavors of tomato, garlic , peppers and capers. One of best meals during my stay in Christchurch. I will be back. Don't miss this gem. Great service and clean and modern ambiance.

Visited at 5 pm on a Sunday. Reservations were required, did not have any but they allowed me to sit on a stool. Was not very hungry so ordered garlic bread and a gorgonzola and pear salad. The salad was small and had apples, but no pear in it. Cost $30. Price to value relationship was not there fur me.

We arrived at Francesca's Italian Kitchen without reservations, but the welcoming staff member said that we could eat at the window-facing counter, side by side. Actually, we then got to people-watch as they passed by on the street, while viewing the activity at the restaurant, as well. With the menu offerings focused on pizzas and pastas, we both chose to start with a pear-and-gorgonzola salad, with toasted focaccia for the table. The salad greens were perfectly dressed, and the pears had just the right amount of crunch. I would have preferred a bit more gorgonzola, but I'm quite a cheese lover. The duck ragu risotto was fantastic. The risotto was cooked perfectly al dente, and the rich flavors of the ragu and texture of the duck crackling pieces on top were fantastic. Just note that the portion is large, and two people could easily share one serving of this rich risotto. There's a nice wine selection, with offerings from New Zealand and Italy. What a delightful place and a delicious meal! Book a reservation because, even on a Monday evening, the restaurant fills up.

This is a really decent Italian restaurant right around the corner from New Regent Street. We had the tagliatelle ragu bolognese and the cappriciossa pizza. Both were very tasty. Not the best I've ever had, but definitely decent. Nice ambiance.

We ate here on a weeknight and made reservations just in case - on previous nights we saw there were no tables available so we didn't want to chance a drop-in. This was a great restaurant, fairly roomy but seemed cozy, and with attentive service. We had focaccia to start, and I ordered the mushroom risotto which was SO flavorful. Others in my party had the squid ink linguine and potato gnocchi with beef cheek. Everyone's food was great.

The food here is fresh and excellent. During my stay in Christchurch I had the pear &gorgonzola salad several times and the beet & goat cheese salad once. My 5-year-old grandson lived the margharita pizza so much he wanted to have it every day for lunch. My daughter-in-law and I shared the lamb ragu with tagliatelle at dinner. It was delicious. The service is friendly and ambiance calm. And the prices are very reasonable. We recommend it highly.

Really loved this Italian place and especially enjoyed the beef carpaccio. We considered ordering it again and thought we'd be back to try the pizza on the tail end of our trip. I usually try to choose the fresh pasta at any Italian place I'm at - we chose the tagliatelle and squid ink pasta. The squid ink dish was a bit too salty for me but oddly my husband who usually likes less salt than me thought it was fine. Get the carpaccio!!

Amazing! We fell into Francesca's. It was recommended by a local server in a bar. I've never had duck risotto, will probably never see it on a menu again, but it was so delicious. I would come back and order again TOMORROW! My partner had the squid ink seafood pasta--again, delicious! They're busy, had to turn a couple walk-ins away, so maybe make a reservation, or come early! Worth it!

This is some of the best Italian food I've had in years! I had the pea, asparagus, cheese risotto which was amazing, and a pear, gorgonzola and arugula salad that they made especially for me! The wine was great and the service was attentive and excellent!!! My friend had the gnocchi in red sauce which she said was one of the best she's had in years. Make a reservation as this place is packed and worth it!

Food was AMAZING in every way! Service was great and personable and knowledgeable. The bar staff new how to make martinis!!!! Ambiance was open and simple. A no fuss no muss.

A cute spot that's close to the main strip, yet in the cut (with a cute gift shop around the corner). The wine and pizza here are tasty and organic. An unexpected, yet cool find in Christchurch. Great service, comfortable space.

This place was a hidden gem for us. We wandered in for an early dinner at 5:30pm and were seated immediately. They told us we had to be out by 7:30pm for dinner rush, but honestly... that's plenty of time to eat. We ordered two different mains. One was the Salsiccia pizza. We saw the chef tossing the dough fresh before putting it into the pizza oven! This pizza came with pork sausage, tomato, roasted onion, ricotta, rocket and mozzarella. So... if you like cheesy sausage pizza, it's the one you want. We also ordered the lamb ragu paparadelle. Super fresh pasta, rich flavors with the lamb... it absolutely hit the spot and was a flavor party in my mouth. The service took everything up a notch and we had a great conversation with the chef as well. Come if you can!

Perfection. Imagine that you are arriving into a new city alone and travel worn. You wander down a cobblestone road and stumble into a festive modern establishment with elegance hailed from the early 20th century. Now imagine that you are greeted by servers who great you like family, long lost, recently found and treated to wine that sets your appetite on fire. Then as you engage in a dance with a parade of exceptional dishes, salads and pastas each unique in their own right you might admire the superb decorating or the music that does everything to elevate your senses and therefore the flavor of the food. And as you wander back into the street with a belly filled with a warmth only great food can give you have the chance to fall in love with the new city you happened to fall in. Based on the personal experiences of Coleta Marie

1/1/2018, my fiance and I arrived at Christchurch that day after a long drive from Picton. Not surprisingly many restaurants were closed for the holiday so we were searching for places on Yelp and calling the ones that seemed appealing. Luckily for us, Francesca's was open. We came here for a relatively early dinner and were able to get street parking. The restaurant itself is a quite larger open space, while I can't say it stood out appearance wise, it was definitely pleasant looking. We were seated almost immediately and considering that the rest of the city seemed to be abandoned, it was pretty lively in here. The menu has a decent amount of options, we usually order a bruscheta to start but didn't feel like it this time around so we just went with mains. I ordered the Pasta Norma (tomato, chili, capers, goats cheese, pecorino with casareccia pasta) while he went with the House made potato gnocchi (braised Wakanui beef cheeks, gremolata, pecorino). I enjoyed my dish a lot, it was fresh and flavorful. For a place of this size the service can often be compromised as waiters tend to forget about some tables, this wasn't the case here. Our time at this restaurant was short but definitely enjoyable.

Got there right after 5 to score a table since reservations really seem to be necessary. I saw several people get turned unfortunately bc they were booked up on a Tuesday night. The house pinot grigio is very crisp and bright. The zucchini bruschetta was bland I think it needed salt And acid maybe. Not enough goat cheese either but the pear gorgonzola salad was terrific! Fresh and flavorful. My porcini prosecco risotto was rich but not overpowering. Decadent almost. I could have eaten more it was so good. Generous amount of mushrooms And cheese. Very nice dish. Would love to have it again. Well balanced. I could go on and on. The service was good and friendly. Prices were on par with everywhere else I've been in new zealand. Loved the style and decor, simple modem with fun accents. I wish I was here longer to try one of their pizzas.

Italian food in New Zealand, I didn't come in with high hopes. I was extremely surprised and pleased. The gnocchi was cooked and prepared to perfection. I've been all over Italy and I would put this gnocchi up against some of the best in Italy. This is a really gem. Did I mention that the gnocchi is delicious????? Gosh I can't get over it!!!!

Really delicious gluten free food. A little on the pricey side. In a beautiful building with a warm and welcoming feeling on the inside.

Me and my wife's favorite spot on our honeymoon. The pasta was to die for! The gnocchi (house made) and beef cheeks... amazing. Whenever we come back to New Zealand this restaurant will be a must on our list.

Wandered in to this restaurant for lunch. The food was outstanding and the wait staff kind and informative. The potato skins were crispy and the kale salad fresh . Had a beetroot pasta that was exceptional . Would definitely come here again.

The lamb Raghu was an amazing dish. Pear and Gorgonzola salad was as stated. Service was friendly and attentive which really pushed this to 5 stars. I came in for lunch which wasn't busy but the host was verifying a bunch of reservations so can assume one would be needed for dinner. Recommended.