Luciano Espresso Bar — Restaurant in Christchurch

Went there for breakfast and coffee with my husband on my last day of New Zealand trip. We took some photos of the bar because it was nice.

At the time we left, a police officer (who was in the cafe with several colleagues at the same time as me) followed me outside the cafe and asked me why we took photos of the bar. He also asked whether we had any plan to open a business in NZ.

The answer we gave was we took photos of the cafe because we loved the decoration and we didnt have any plan to conduct any business in NZ. We were just tourists and we can delete the photos if they wanted us to.

The police then said to us “the owner doesn’t like that you take photos of the cafe and doesn’t want you at the cafe for two years. If we ever come back, we will get arrested.”

I tried to report this incident to the cafe by sending email and Facebook messenger but there was no response for three days (understand that it’s Easter break but the cafe was open during the break.)

Today I just got feedback from the cafe (30 mins after i posted public reviews in Facebook) that they had idea about what happened. They refer to the police officer as “police officer outside the cafe”. Also asked for justification that it was Eastern break so they spent time with their family.

I do not think they are responsible enough for this incident. They should investigate into why that police officer was insulting us if they insist that the cafe team did not involve with those disrespectful words.

I do not recommend anyone to go to this place. You never know what you will face and how the cafe team and their surroundings...

Group of three. Parking on site but can be limited. Various seating options - usually busy and full. Here just after1pm. Able to get a seat for the three of us. The cabinet of food was a little bare today. But we managed to find something to tickle our taste buds. Two hd salmon and cream cheese tarts. A small portion but value for price. The pastry was flakey, the filling was a bit dry and salmon was a thin layer. A few overdressed lettuce leaves and a slither of lemon. Hot chocolate - stir the chocolate through - alas still tasted more milk than chocolate. Stand out was the bowl of potato skins - despite coming out after we had eaten everything - these were delicious. Spiced with pepper, crushed avocado and micro herbs and some melted cheese. Topped off with some sour cream. The cabinet was almost bare sign of a good service. However we were aware of someone ordering from the cabinet after us, obviously seeing something they liked, however when the stuff went to prepare their docket the item was no longer available for the customer - so this would need a bit of work on. They also do a printed menu - a bit more substantial looking. Overall this is...

We stopped in to Luciano’s for a coffee refill because I had come for brunch here some years previous and remembered the espresso to be some of the best I’d had in Christchurch.

Late in the afternoon, the establishment still had a fair few customers, and a decent selection of cabinet treats still available. I had my first coffee, a long macciato, accompanied with a modest slice of banana bread. The macciato was excellent as I’d remembered, though I might have wished for it to be hotter, and I was soon ordering a second espresso. The banana bread was sweet and moist, went down well with butter. Its texture would have been improved if it had been toasted rather than microwaved. We also had a caramel slice which was perfectly delish, along with a hot chocolate, moccacino, and a chocolate milk shake. The shake was more powdery than creamy, but the other hot drinks were nice.

Always interesting being in Lucianos as it sits next to a lighting depot and struggles to feel like it has an identity of its own in ambience, but the good fare gives reason...