Castro's Christchurch — Restaurant in Christchurch

Absolutely terrible service and sub-par food.

We reserved for 8:30 PM on Valentine's and booked a week in advanced over online booking. We arrived a bit early around 8:15 PM and we were seated. We ordered a drink, 3 appetizers (Mushroom Croquettes, Alcachofas, Calamares Fritos) and a main dish (the Mar Y Tierra).

We were told that the Mar Y Tierra would take around 30 minutes to service which we agreed to. After every 5 - 10 minutes an appetizer was served and each quite disappointing in terms of flavor and portions. The Calamares being very disappointing as they were bland. They only have a lemon flavor to them because we squeezed some lemon directly onto it.

Here comes the best part though. During this whole first 30-minute period we would be checked in on and empty dishes taken away, but no one would give us an update about the Mar Y Tierra. We only started to follow up because 40 minutes had passed. We called at least 3 different servers, and they all assured our Mar Y Tierra would be out soon. One even confidently told us that the next Mar Y Tierra would be ours. We noticed people around us who ordered after us getting all their food without a problem. Keep in mind it is now 9:30 PM, we've only had a few appetizers and are now hungry for the main course. And there is almost nowhere else to eat by this time of night.

AND HERE IS WHERE EVERYTHING WENT DOWNHILL. Over 1 hours has past, and a server comes out and tells us some story that they didn't get our order and IT WAS NOT A BIG PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY CAN GET US THE MAR Y TIERRA AFTER ANOTHER 20 MINUTES! We've waited 60 minutes for what should have only taken 30 minutes and now it'll take 80 minutes to get? We were incredibly disappointed and had no energy to order anything else on the menu. All they did was say sorry and smile. We had to practically beg for them to do something about the extreme inconvenience. The server said they can't give anything for free, but they can give us 20% off.

A few minutes later another man comes out with a notepad to "apologize." He then tells us our plate was overcooked and was not able to be served. He didn't offer any remedy or solution. I asked, "Is there anything you can do about this?" AND HE LITERALLY SAID, "I JUST CAME OVER HERE TO SAY SORRY." Our stomachs now grumbling at 9:40 PM over almost an hour and a half since we got to this establishment in excitement for the Mar Y Tierra and we are minutes away from leaving after some underwhelming appetizers, and empty stomachs because of a no-show main course dish on Valentine's Day.

TO TOP IT ALL OFF. Our bill came out to $83. They promised a 20% discount for the "minor inconvenience" and only $9.90 was taken off when 20% of $83 is $16.60. The same man from earlier then explain they can't provide a discount for drinks.

So, we now leave the place in search of food and basically wasted 2 hours of our time, 1 week of anticipation, to get less than $10 off of our bill because who knows what really happened why they couldn't serve us our Mar Y Tierra we waited an hours for which we followed up on multiple times and was assured of that it would be out soon.

In all honestly a full refund would have made the most sense on a bill less than $100 or a free main course dish as an alternative. But all we got was 9 bucks and a "Sorry."

THANK YOU, CASTRO'S CHRISTCHURCH, FOR A WONDERFUL VALENTINE'S DINNER. Good thing Fat Eddie's had some great bands and chips that tasted better than any of your appetizers or our night would have been completely a disaster.

If you'd like to fix this please contact me: Naigel H. ...

“Nice restaurant with interesting choices and very good helpful service” that was my review a year ago with 4 stars and see the comments of the owner about the missing 5star below. Now 25/3/23 we booked for Nikkei Japanese restaurant which seems that is owned and operated by the same owner of Castro. The booking done by internet all confirmed and sorted. We arrived on time and they informed us that the restaurant is booked for event and somehow the Google bookings didn’t work as they should. Our option was to go to Castro restaurant which at that stage there was anything else to do Saturday night with a child with us already 19:00. They took us to a table and they said their is a complimentary drinks from the manager for the trouble. All good we said yes …..long story short those drinks came 50 minutes after we sit, even after the food which also come in totally mess order, salad as last dish and a waiter that was coming with different dishes and asking us if that’s ours. The crazy about the drinks after they came 50 minutes later they were all WRONG order. And the really frustrating of all they tried to charge us on the bill and when I told them that was from the manager they looked that this is not it and should be only one drink not for both of us. We only had those drinks not a second round. See receipt on the photos although that 2 in front of each drinks is confusing. This is totally disrespectful and disgrace. Restaurants are part of the hospitality industry with main element the SERVICE and that part this restaurant has totally failed! Definitely we not visiting the Nikkei restaurant also after...

Restaurant Review: Castro’s – A Culinary Surprise Worth Trusting

Last night I had the pleasure of dining at Castro's, and it turned out to be one of the most memorable meals I've had in a long time. I opted for their "TRUST THE COCINERO" menu – a bold 7-course experience where the chef decides what you’ll be served. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I’m so glad I went for it.

Every single course was a hit. What really impressed me was that three or four of the dishes were things I wouldn’t normally order off a menu – either because I didn’t know what they were or just wouldn’t have thought to try them. But they completely won me over. The flavors, presentation, and creativity were top-notch, and it felt like a personal journey through the chef’s imagination.

If you're open to trying new things and want to be genuinely surprised (in the best way), TRUST THE COCINERO is a must. Castro’s knows what they’re doing, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit different and...