Joe's Garage Sumner — Restaurant in Christchurch

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We absolutely loved our visits to Joe’s Garage in Sumner during our stay in Christchurch! It was so convenient being just a short walk from our Airbnb. Aarti, our host at the restaurant, was incredibly welcoming and made us feel right at home every time. The food was consistently delicious, and the kitchen team really went above and beyond.

Some standout dishes included the Make it a Benny—perfectly poached eggs with streaky bacon and hollandaise on an English muffin—and the Gorgeous George, which paired smashed spuds, bacon, and eggs with that same amazing hollandaise sauce. The Little Queenie, featuring grilled halloumi and house-made beans, was also a delightful lighter option.

My husband had a vegetarian burrito that the kitchen tailored exactly to his taste, and they nailed every detail. I also tried the burrito on one of my visits, and it was just as flavorful and satisfying. For lunch one day, I had the Autobahn crumbled beef schnitzel with Joe’s chips and gravy—an absolute comfort food favorite.

Our nephew ordered the chicken burger, which was massive and packed with flavor. He loved it! My husband opted for the veggie burger that day, and he said it was absolutely delightful.

The coffee here is also top-notch. We enjoyed a beautifully made flat white, a caramel latte, and even their Americano was fantastic.

On top of the great food and coffee, Joe’s Garage has some really cool merch! We picked up two awesome baseball-style caps, and our sisters grabbed a few of the neck scarves/hair scrunchy/face mask thingies—they loved them!

Overall, every meal we had at Joe's Garage was wonderful, from breakfast to lunch. The food is excellent, the service is warm, and the coffee is superb. Definitely a must-visit if...

Been here 2x in a week.

First experience wasnt great. Our waitress came across quite rude which made our experience not a great one. Had to ask for cutlery and side plates and the waitress didn't seem very friendly when we asked for these. Dumped the plates infront of one of the guests and walked away.

Came back again today and it was a whole new vibe. Service was fantastic. Super friendly.

Over my last two experiences we ordered a range of things. Burger, pancakes, caesar salad, fried chicken and large chips with gravy. Iced chocolate. Iced coffee. Milkshake. And hot chocolate.

Both times the food were good. Friend chicken serving i felt was a little small for the price you pay. But thats my personal opinion. Tasted delicious tho! The burger was great! Chips and gravy was so delicious, would be ideal to have a larger gravy jug with a large bowl of fries. Iced drinks were so good. Especially the iced coffee reminded me of starbucks!! And the drizzle of honey was a nice sweet surprise. Caesar salad is so yum! Chicken was super juicy and it had the right amount of flavour. Pancakes were super fluffy and super tasty!

We will...

Usually love going to Joe's Sumner but the visit out for Father's Day was disappointing to say the least. We had a new waiter on our table who accidentally forgot my meal on a table of four and another item. I didn't really have an issue with that as we've all been new in hospitality. I waited over 30 mins after that, after asking multiple members of staff. The other three on the table had now well finished their meals and I was still waiting, while seeing plenty of other orders going out from the pass. I had to ask very directly again where my food was and then ask for a takeaway. The takeaway came without cutlery and the waitress was rude. Slip ups happen in businesses but it was the lack of responsiveness and manners from experienced staff members that ruined the brunch. No apology or offer to improve the experience. Despite that wanted to say the man on the coffee machine was absolutely lovely and seemed incredible getting that coffee rush out, it's a shame that can't be transferred to the wait staff. Also if you go to Joe's Sumner, the blonde waiter always has incredible service, 10/10 perfect...