Penny Black Victorian Tearoom — Restaurant in Christchurch

While I have only visited the ‘Penny Black Victorian Tea Room’ a couple of times, both experiences have been enjoyable. As a vegetarian, my perspective and food selection are likely weighted away from the mainstream, somewhat. Even so, I believe I can still offer the beginnings of a reasonable assessment of the establishment’s ethos – their approach to creating, promoting and offering their delightfully themed cuisine.

On both occasions I attended this outlet on the weekend in the mid-afternoon. Inside the Tannery mall there are a number of businesses of which several offer handmade refreshments and hot beverages – tea and coffee, etc. For me, the greater part of the attraction of this café is the location, the people behind the services, and the quiet and reflective ambiance of the mall.

Practically, this means shopping, eating and socializing within the mall, likely different from the public house close to the main road, is quiet, contemplative and richly unencumbered by piped-in, contemporary background music, or other white noise. Tables outside the premises are a selection of sizes. I was seated at a small two-person table, which I found a delight, with comfortable chairs. I cannot really comment on the experience of being seated inside the café, itself. I prefer to sit in the more spacious foyer.

The staff are vested in their function as purveyors of products crafted with love and care, of which they are proud and delighted to encourage people to enjoy. Thereby, I found the café presented a polite, professional and human face, interested in their customer’s satisfaction and contentment. The price point of establishments is often a subjective matter, but also a likely straightforward proposition determined by affordability and value for money.

Equitably, this outlet is probably best described as a little pricey. However, equally, one need not spend a lot of money to enjoy a sampling of what is on offer. On balance, it is reasonable to say there is a fair selection of pre-made menu items which one can view and consider, in terms of price, form and taste-interest. All are displayed in Victorian style cabinets, a small glass display, front of house inside the café. Service is relatively effective and efficient. The experience of ordering, seating and eating are fairly fluid. There are no table tags in this establishment, but the staff do appear to find their customer in a timely manner.

Most particularly, for me, during these winter months, I enjoy the daily-varied, hot vegetable soup on offer; expensive at $15.00 for a well portioned bowl, accompanied by a choice of two pieces of toast. I did not find their de-café particularly tasteful, in terms of flavor. However, the Japanese green tea was quite the discovery.

Overall, I was looking for the relaxation and continuity of ease and calm discovered in my first visit. I encountered this experience on subsequent occasions, and it will keep...

First of all, I'm pretty relaxed and not a complainer but feel the owner needs to do something about this. We visited Sunday 15th June between 1.30 -2.15pm. When we first arrived there was a moderate queue, and a few tables available, a couple of them said reserved, but all were messy and full of dirty plates. We asked about a reserved table, if they had been and gone or if there was someone else coming. The staff didnt know. We chose a table and sat down. Someone eventually cleared it after asking and left a dirty water glass behind permenently which we had to remove ourselves.

We used their baby chair, it was covered in food and grime, we spent some time cleaning it with baby wipes, which only scratched the surface.

We ordered coffees, my flat white was excellent, my wifes latte was cold. Two of our other guests arrived and we all ordered food. There was a little wait and the order eventually got there. The food was good. Can't complain about the quality.

The main thing we noticed is the service is disorganised. They provide table numbers, however the staff wander around asking tables if what they are holding is theirs. We finished our lunch and drinks, and ordered cake and wine, we declined someone else's cake some time later and had to chase our own order which eventually arrived. We then needed to chase again for the wine. Each time someone visited us they left empty handed which means they left a mess of plates on the table so we could barely move, we had to stack it all to make space. Very poor service and creates a bad overall atmosphere.

Staff need more training to organise food to table numbers without asking everyone until they get it right. Don't leave a table empty handed, it's easy, always ask to take away any dirty plates and cups before walking back to the kitchen area. That way you won't have a cafe full of dirty tables when people leave. Please deep clean the baby chair, we partially cleaned it for you, but it...

High tea at the Penny Black Victorian Tearoom for Jean and Pat was the most wonderful experience. We went to celebrate a birthday and it was more than we could have wished for. The food was just beautiful with lovely tiers of beautiful food starting with savoury items which included club sandwiches and small savouries, then the next tier had scones with jam and cream and small cakes. The top tier had the most delicious raspberry cream layered dessert which was to die for plus the tastiest little lemon meringue pie. There was a generous amount of food. Two drinks each came with the very reasonable cost of each high tea ($55) and my friend had a pot of tea served in beautiful china and I had a luxurious hot chocolate smothered in whipped cream. After the meal and a chat we both had a coffee. The ambience is lovely, the music inside was tasteful and not loud and the table setting was perfect. The service was exceptional. The staff are charming and did everything to make this a memorable experience. Nothing was too much trouble and we were served quickly and graciously. This was a very happy experience and I cannot recommend Penny Black highly enough. We saw 4 other high teas while we were there, so it is certainly a very popular place situated in the middle of the Tannery. Five stars for the whole high...