leinster road bistro

recently attended with a party of 14 others for a special function. the meals ordered were very pleasant and the ambience was good. the only sour note to spoil what was otherwise a nice evening was realising some days later (after having found the receipt) that i had been charged for a main that was not ordered and also overcharged for corkage. the corkage in particular had been costed out on the bill at $10.50 per bottle unlike the $9.50 as advertised. my mistake really, i should have checked the bill at the time. i was under the albeit misguided impression that staff would have totalled up correctly.

i have been to leinster road twice now, the first time was better than the second. the food is fairly average but it is expensive and i would rather spend this kind of money on something that i would rave about. my husband and i shared a starter, the parfait with crisp toast. we sent the toast back as it was soggy and looked as if it had been sitting around a bit!, but to be honest i don't think the chef did anything to it because when it was returned to our table it was just the same, we did not dare complain again. both our main courses were nice but not memorable. i had no idea that you could take byo this is definately not well advertised, wish i had known as the wine choice is really not good and is expensive. having said all of that the waitressing staff are very attentive and did a great job.

i was eating here other day and witnessed the owner scream at a waitress for not asking a couple if they wanted drinks, also watched as owner uncomfortably sat with couples forcing small talk as they attempted to eat. seems like a very angry and disgusting man and will not support the business again

great restaurant in merivale, service is always top notch and food is always of a high standard. i went here with family and was a nice place to catch up. extensive wine list, byo corkage is slightly high though.

oh, man! i had my birthday meal there two years ago. it was very good dinning experience! i had tasty duck meal! i will have to say it is awesome! friendly service! i enjoyed its quiet environment!

have been to this place for lunch several times and thoroughly enjoyed it. therefore i decided to book in for dessert and drinks with some close friends of mine, i specifically asked to book in just for dessert as i had heard they were good.
we arrived at the restaurant (21.06.12) and were seated at our table, we ordered desserts and drinks which seemed fine with the waiter. the waitress bought the desserts over and before we could even take a bite she decided to very loudly inform us that "in future we weren't able to dine there if we didn't buy a main meal". it was 8pm and people were leaving so there were plenty of seats.
this was incredibly embarrassing and rude, and put a dampener on our evening out. would not recommend this place, and will never be going back.

was highly recommended by a work colleague which was in contradiction to some negative reviews. i can confimr that my colleagues assessment matched our experience on feb 23rd. ambience, friendly waitress in ellen, good wine list and excellent food. we will be returning soon - ray

the atmosphere in here is nice. our waiter was pretty helpful and friendly. we ordered a few entrees and the ciabatta bread was really nice. i orded the steak, chips and salad meal, and at $35 you would expect a decent piece of steak for this price, half of my steak was fat and gristle and couldn't eat it. was a let down, considering the rest of the meal was so nice.
the byo option is not advertised very well as i didn't know it was.
i would come back again but probably would rather try somewhere else new instead first.

i have to agree with the last review and i meant to post a review earlier.
i went to the restaurant in may with my sister. after booking in advance i was told by the waitress that my booking had been taken by someone else with the same surname - incredibly! also i was 10 mins early so this was not because i was late. i had given them my phone no to differentiate myself from others who shared the same surname, (as was later confirmed by the waitress, so it was a totally weird/lame excuse).
i was then offered a free drink and maybe dessert at the bar, where i waited for my sister (but not at that stage advised if there would be a table on offer at any point of the evening). she could have dealt with it a lot better than she did since they had screwed up.
my sister was less than impressed with this scenario when she arrived, but was determined to stay to make a point.
we both ordered fish and chips - meal was ok but not a lot of effort presentation-wise despite the price.
dessert sounded exciting being cheesecake, but i think it is probably one of the worst and definitely the most expensive i have ever had anywhere. it tasted like rancid butter - that seemed to be it's main flavour in fact. the raspberry sorbet on the side was made of raspberry cordial no less.
this was my second (and last) time at the bistro. the drinks were free but not the dessert as it turned out.
just because business is booming due to slim-pickings because of the quake it seems some places think they can get away with any old service or food.
strongly recommend you do not go this establishment.

terrible place to go!
went there with a small group of friends for a drink, manager was really rude. obviously thought his restaurant was far too good for us, despite the place being virtually empty. he critcised us to another customer (with in our earshot) for only purchasing a bottle of red wine to share. would definately not return.
head to chinwag eatthai victoria street, aikmans or number 4 instead.

i went to leinster road restaurant a week ago now and found it to be a fantastic place to go for dinner and a few quiet drinks.
we walked in and was greated by a lovely young waitress. she seated us in a big lush booth which comfortably seated our party of 6.
the acoustics were great but the mix of reggae one minute and jazz the next didn't really do it for me.
i chose thai chicken salad and my partner had the beef fillet with french fries and salad.
he seemed to enjoy the beef and i totally loved my thai chicken salad, just such a great mix of flavors.
we decided we would share the cheese cake, was perfect size to share after a filling meal.
over all the food was great and so was the service even if a bit reserved, but the waitress answered every question we had about the menu.
defiantly will be going back, prices were reasonable and the service was great.

this place is young but has class. the table waiting is a bit ordinary but the food obviously carries over from when the chef was at barcelona. not cheap, needs more marketing but is class food.

this restaurant deserves to be busier than it was the night we were there. parking right outside, lovely room, pleasant and professional staff and very good bistro food. a straight-forward menu without being boring and cooking that was simple but extremely well done. we had an excellent duck fois gras that could only be faulted for its huge portions (three of us only managed to eat half of the two servings that we ordered - one would have been plenty). this was followed by a fillet of tarakihi that was perfectly cooked with crispy skin, a delicious beef filet, and a rich and melt-in-the-mouth venison daube. the large portions all around left no room to try out the desserts. sure, you can get cheaper bistro food but it can be hard to do simple food well and these meals presented first-class ingredients handled expertly. we regarded it as good value for money.

we went for an evening meal at this new restaurant last night. the appearance and decor is immaculate, and the service is friendly.
the problem is that the place cannot quite decide what it is. is it a bistro? does it aspire to be a fine dining venue?

we had for starters crispy squid for my wife, and a seafood tortellini for me. my wife said her squid was ok, not very crisp, my seafood tortellini was a disappointment - the seafood was a fine mush contained within a far too dry pasta shell. it all floated in an over brandied sauce.

for mains my wife had a risotto which she was ok, but it had chili and sweetcorn in it, and it risotto really doesn't work with these ingredients. i had a venison pie, which was pretty overcooked and dried out, and the pastry was far too short - tough in other words. by contrast the chef is a master of veg with beautifully prepared mash with carrots vichy - a minor triumph.

the wine list as sold by the glass was catastrophic insofar as the reds were concerned. there was no aussie or italian red on offer by the glass, and all that was available to me was a nz syrah, which i couldn't finish because it was not pleasant at all.

standing brooding over the establishment was the proprietor, who made no attempt to engage with his clientele, and clearly bore on his visage the signs of stress of one who's investment might be fast going west.

we didn't stay for desserts and coffee, as we were not sufficiently confident that the team that had produced this mediocre repast could deliver a dessert to tickle our taste buds.

there are better eateries than this in christchurch, and at a lower cost with a better wine selection. will it still be there in a year's time? i have my doubts