Christchurch Tramway Restaurant — Restaurant in Christchurch

I tried the Christchurch Tramway Restaurant on a Sunday night, my last night in Christchurch. Definitely a unique experience and one that I think visitors would enjoy!

The evening is well choreographed and upon arrival at Cathedral Junction shortly before our 7pm departure I found staff waiting with a blue welcome mat and a coat rack to leave our jackets since the tram itself was enclosed and air-conditioned. Staff showed us to our tables, pre-set with an amuse-bouche and the included welcome glass of sparkling wine.

Once everyone was onboard and we were on our way orders were taken for the meal service. I chose the house-cured Akaroa salmon as an entrée, Canterbury lamb rump for the main and blueberry, coconut and ginger cake for dessert. A comprehensive list of drinks were available for purchase as well as a wine pairing which included a paired glass of wine with each course. I had pre-booked the wine pairing and for $35 I thought it offered excellent value.

The food was nice and I certainly enjoyed each course and the paired wine but equally, if you're coming to this experience purely on the basis of the food then you're probably missing the point. Is it good? Absolutely. Spectacular? Just not possible when you have one (admittedly very skilled!) chef preparing a three-course meal for up to 36 people in a tiny kitchen in the middle of a moving tram in the space of about two hours.

The tram did two and a half loops around the city circuit, passing by many of the attractions in Central Christchurch. First two loops were during the first and second courses with the half loop done during dessert service, which occurred after a restroom stop back at Cathedral Junction. The tram turned around after the first full loop so regardless of which side of the tram you were seated on you got to see everything.

Views through the big windows along the length of the tram were lovely and we could see we were quite the spectacle for passers-by outside, who were taking just as many photos of us as we were of the scenery! I would say if photography is important to you it might be preferable doing this experience in the summer months when the sun is out til much later and the views will be clearer. That said the city is beautiful when illuminated at night and I still enjoyed it.

In terms of commentary on board there was very little, however there was some literature on the history of the tram and the servers were able to take photos and answer any questions we might have. If you want to get a deep dive into the history of the city and all the things you're seeing it's probably best to do that separately.

Service was polished and the staff were all very friendly and welcoming.

Tea and coffee were offered alongside dessert. There were some liqueurs available for purchase and I enquired about a glass of Baileys but was told the Baileys had been particularly popular earlier in the week and they had run out! Such are the joys of having such a small space for your kitchen and bar haha.

Overall it was a fun night out and something I'd recommend to visitors. You wouldn't visit solely for the food, you wouldn't visit solely for the views, but it all comes together nicely into an...

I dismissed the negative reviews due to the large number of positive reviews when making this booking , an unfortunate decision .

The tram ride and staff are all 5 star . What let the night down was the food .

I don’t know where or when food is cooked but it didn’t appear to be nearby or recently. Our main meals were somewhere between room temperature & luke warm. The steak was close to “blue” and I had to raise an elbow with some gusto just to cut into it. A serrated steak knife would have placed less emphasis on the meat’s short comings. My wife had to look away (although entertained ) it was that rare. A good surgeon handy with a pacemaker probably could have bought it back to life 😆. Even the cheese platter at the end of the meal had been out in the air too long . The biscuits had already started to soften . . We were hoping for something exquisite from the dessert to reprieve the meal but alas the balance of the meal was consistent with the aforementioned .

The evening cost us just short of $400 (for 2) with a couple of drinks . I would strongly suggest doing the $40 daytime tour to orientate yourself around the town and then dining in one of the many excellent restaurants.

I know the restaurant manager will have a defence for this criticism, but the reality is the meals were cold and exposed to the elements for too long , obviously the challenge when serving food in a confined space on a moving restaurant.

Please note that we did enjoy the evening but I wouldn’t recommend...

This is a quirky experience, but in essence its not great food on a not great tour.

Lets start with the tram and the itinerary. The restaurant car is lovely, well maintained and obviously lovingly looked after. The itinerary is simply backwards and forwards for a couple of hours around a very small area of Christchurch. This is mainly around the main shopping streets and repeats itself frequently. There is no information given about what you are seeing and we got very bored of passing the same high street shops repeatedly.

I would recommend that you consider taking the tramway tour if you are interested in learning more about Christchurch. The restaurant experience does not do this.

Now onto the food. Well it tries very hard to be fancy, but on our trip that effort could not overcome the poor execution. Looks great, tastes like shoe leather was the general opinion of the venison for example. High point - the wine pairings were great.

Overall this is good for a quirky experience to write home about, but don't go for the food or to see...