Cityscape takes you on a tour of the city known as New Zealand’s vegetarian and vegan capital.
The seeds of healthy eating and veganism have worked their way to the surface and sprouted a burgeoning trend among the Christchurch hospo scene, bringing with them a scrumptious selection of plant-based and healthy eateries. Widely recognised as New Zealand’s vegetarian and vegan capital, Christchurch has more plant-based, sustainable and overall ‘clean and green’ eats on offer than ever before, and serving up delish fare that caters to a wide array of dietary requirements and preferences has been top of the agenda for many restaurants and cafés. New venues and outlets have sprung up in this fertile ground, resulting in a medley of must-try dining experiences and other nutritious and sustainable food offerings for vegans, vegos, GF and DF peeps or those just livin’ the healthy life!
Green Dinner Table Over the years, healthy eaters with a preference or requirement for plant-based meals have found vegan/vegetarian delivery services hard to come by … until Green Dinner Table. With an emphasis on eco-friendly packaging, local produce and overall nutritious eats, this Lyttelton-based institution is the brainchild of enthusiastic business partners Tom Riley and Chris Kappely – whipping up a home-cooked meal in a heartbeat is easier than ever thanks to these fellas. Tom designs tasty and nutritious recipes and the team jam-packs the meal boxes with local veges, sauces, pastes and spice mixes – made by Tom weekly – and other pre-portioned meal ingredients that create less waste. With plans starting from $99 a week, you’ll be spoilt with restaurant-quality recipes that’ll have even the most carnivorous foodies salivating!
Yumbo Dreaming of delicious lunches delivered straight to your workplace or the kids’ school? Check out Yumbo, the subscription lunchbox service that focuses on fresh, local and seasonal produce to create a well-balanced, plant-rich meal that’s a riot of colours presented in a compostable lunchbox.
Grater Goods If you’re on the hunt for vegan meat and vegan cheese, be sure to hit up vegan delicatessen Grater Goods, which creates delicious ‘meaty’ products from substitutes like jackfruit, texturised vegetable protein and seitan (wheat protein). The business, helmed by Flip Grater – musician, cookbook author and long-time vegan – and her husband Youssef Iskrane, was established to provide vegans and vegetarians who once enjoyed eating pork, chicken, beef and dairy with the taste and texture of popular animal products. An array of tasty servings is on offer, such as fried ‘chicken’, BBQ pulled ‘pork’, ‘chorizo’ and their dairy-free mozzarella balls, alongside highly tempting antipasti and BBQ packs. All of these make a perfect addition to your picnic hamper or pot-luck gathering!
The Herb Centre Home of the indulgent dandechino! The Herb Centre not only specialises in – you guessed it – herbal remedies, their cute li’l café offers up a huge selection of wholesome, plant-based noms using local, seasonal and organic ingredients alongside specialty smoothies, organic teas and house-made tonics to pamper your body and soul. GF and DF peeps are catered for, and vegans/vegos/health nuts will be in their element with fresh, raw salads and other health-promoting treats – all made in-house. Head on down to their quirky hideout (right next door to clean-and-green boutique supermarket Piko Wholefoods) for a taste of their wholesome, invigorating fare.
The Fermentist Leading the way in sustainable brewing, this micro-brewery is also committed to meeting the same standards with its menu. This means a mainly plant-based menu with limited meat and seafood options. Expect amazing flavours still, including delicious tofu bites that taste like popcorn chicken.
Sister Kong Hong Kong-influenced dining at its finest. Dodging those stodgy carbs? Head chef Jonathan Feiler has flipped the script with a multi-tasking menu that allows every option to be made gluten free, including their famed bao burgers, which can be served in a crisp baby cos lettuce cup on request. Perfect for the health conscious, Sister Kong incorporates veges galore in their tasty plates. For those who just can’t decide, all the hard work is done for you with their ‘Share the Love’ options like ‘Plant-based Party’ for the vegans and vegetarians and ‘Gluten-free Fun Time’. Or whip up your own creation with the intoxicating flavours of their Filipino Mixed Salad (think carrots, glass noodles, pickled vegetables, fresh coriander, mint and a crushed peanut and chilli lime sauce – mmmmmm!)
Visions This fully licensed restaurant centrally located on the Ara Institute of Canterbury campus has a changing seasonal menu with a wide range of dishes and choices for all those with dietary requirements.
Moment Café Moment is a clean and green eatery that’s proud to support fellow small businesses and local produce suppliers while making a conscious effort towards sustainability. They’re able to cater to any dietary requirement or preference. Meat lovers (particularly those conscious of animal welfare) can also rejoice because chicken, bacon, salmon and eggs are also on the cards – free-range of course. We love their creative presentation – the avocado art is out of this world!
SUPER Restaurant Lyttelton is home to SUPER Restaurant and their clean eating cuisine with an Asian twist. The friendly folk at SUPER whip up healthy noms using fresh local and organic ingredients (including organic free-range meat), with plenty of vegan and vegetarian plates available. Wrap your taste-buds around their ingenious, guilt-free creations.
Nourish Pod Rightfully renowned nationally for its supercharged acai bowls, Nourish Pod (check ‘em out in EntX) is your go-to for sensational, healthy goodness. This wholesome bar is committed to preserving the beautiful land of Aotearoa with its sustainable practices.
Portershed Portershed on Lincoln Road cooks up a storm of tasty, healthy dishes and cabinet goodies guaranteed to appease any vegan’s appetite! They also provide vegan buffets.
Gre3n Superfood and Juice Bar Yet another healthy haven in the heart of the city (and also in Ferrymead and Sydenham), Gre3n Superfood and Juice Bar is a premier destination for top-notch organic coffees; an extensive range of smoothies, juices, smoothie bowls and acai bowls; as well as a cabinet filled with clean-eating treats (predominantly vegan).
Raw Sugar Café A vegan’s paradise – Raw Sugar Café’s artistically decorated interior is home to luscious coffee, a sensational selection of tisanes, a cabinet full to the brim with plant-based and raw delights and a kitchen that cooks up some stellar dishes. These guys steer away from conventional carbs and dairy products towards wheat and dairy substitutes that are more beneficial for the gut – sourdough toast, couscous, coconut yoghurt, and garlic and miso mayonnaise feature on their innovative menu alongside vegan ham and sausages. Gluten-free, allergies and intolerances are also catered for at this healthy hub.
Town Tonic Offering an extensive ‘Honest’ vegan menu, Town Tonic is a sophisticated haunt frequented by carnivores and herbivores alike. Their health-conscious menu uses locally sourced produce to create colourful, mouth-watering plates.
Dux Dine Retaining the same reputation for glorious vegetarian cuisine as its predecessor, Dux de Lux, vegetarian and pescatarian restaurant Dux Dine’s talented chefs whip up exquisite dishes using the highest quality ingredients. Seafood is caught locally in the fresh blue waters off the coast of the South Island, with an ever-changing array of fresh fish delivered daily to the kitchen door. Their vegetarian dishes showcase the very best of what is seasonally available (some of which is grown in their very own organic garden) and can be modified to be DF, GF and vegan.
The Origin The Origin is a 100 percent vegetarian café serving up Asian-fusion food, single-origin coffee and New Zealand’s Zealong specialty tea.
Kakano Café and Cookery School Jade Temepara has seeded a sort of food revolution after establishing Kakano – a part café, part social enterprise with around 240 square metres of organically grown food gardens that have been planted with local herbs and vegetables. Serving up traditional Māori cuisine including tītī (muttonbird), sea plants, smoked eel spines and foraged herbs, Kakano’s main aim is to bring Māori back into connection with the heritage of their food and involve them in the preparation. The fare changes daily depending on what’s been grown, sourced or foraged locally, and at night the café transforms into a hub for workshops, seminars and not-your-usual cooking classes!
Shree Jagannath Café and Restaurant This friendly, welcoming central-city eatery specialises in vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free dishes from throughout the Indian subcontinent and China as well. Head there for plant-based, healthy eats, and their signature Dosa.
Grain Coffee and Eatery, in Southwark Street, is the place for daily changing grain bowls, delicious sandwiches and filled bagels. Their cabinet is packed full of mouth-watering bites, and Grain also offer an extensive menu of tasty treats. Whether you order from the cabinet or menu, all the exquisite food is made in-house, and can be perfectly paired with a top-notch coffee or healthy smoothie.