leinster road bistro

greatrestaurantin 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.

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 therestaurant(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.

i have to agree with the last review and i meant to post a review earlier.
i went to therestaurantin 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 hisrestaurantwas 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 roadrestauranta 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.

thisrestaurantdeserves 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 newrestaurantlast 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