ROCA — Restaurant in Christchurch

My partner and I have been coming here for the longest time and ever since ROCA has served as our touchstone for dining in NZ (which is really unfair to every other restaurant!). We truly can’t go anywhere nice now without comparing the food to ROCA so be warned that if you’re going here it’s genuinely life changing.

The atmosphere is lovely. I always feel good about inviting people to dinner here because the vibes are immaculate. The restaurant itself has both indoor and outdoor seating. During the afternoon, they do get full sun so you have to be careful about what time you’re booking outdoor but otherwise with a nice breeze it’s just bliss. The music is always well curated. The bathrooms are always clean. The open grill and bar make a great spectacle.

There isn’t a single dish on the menu that I could recreate at home so I never have to feel guilty about ordering one. The menu is so well thought out and cohesive - you could order literally anything and they would pair well together. We never give the croquettes and latkes a miss. The lamb, chicken, and ribs are divine and we have to rotate evenly between the three because we love them all so much. If you’re a table of four, some sides are quite small but the tabouleh salad is deliciously fresh and large enough to share. The chocolate crémeux is the perfect end to any dinner at ROCA and something I always try to leave room for. One thing to note, there aren’t any vegetarian indications on the menu so advise your waiter of your diet and have them direct you and make adjustments where possible.

The service is always enthusiastic and willing to help - even in their busiest hours. The team at ROCA is incredibly dedicated, as regulars it’s nice to always see the same faces but also makes us aware the time and energy they’re putting in.

All in all, this restaurant comes across as a labour of love. Everything has thought put into it from the decor, the floor plan, the drinks, desserts, and the service. I could go on and on and I do to everyone and their dog.

Thank you to the team at ROCA for all the anniversaries, birthdays, and just-because dinners we’ve spent with you! We hope to spend many many more💗 Knowing us, we’ll be in again...

Visiting from the USA, and our first time visiting ROCA, my wife and I ordered a smattering of starters, one main, and one side, along with two cocktails.

We began with the salmon crudo. The salmon was very fresh and clean, bathed in a saffron vinagrette and a touch of chili oil. A little extra salinity would have helped to bring out the subtle flavors, but this dish was still good on its own.

Next were the fresh Pacific oysters. I loved the raspberry vinegar granita, which gave the briny bivalves a sweet and tangy kick. Only complaint was the price; they were NZD$8.5 each and quite small in size.

On to the beef tartare... and what a delight this was! The high quality beef was mixed with citrus and horseradish, resulting in a tangy, savory joy. But little did I know that having the creamy tartare sit on top of deep fried foccacia would make this dish sing! The cream mixed with crunch was a match made in heaven. It was so good that I did something I very rarely do, which is to order a second one!

Our final three dishes were brought out together: the smoked beef ribs, the nduja sausage, and the potato latkes.

The ribs were tender and moist, with a nice smoky aroma and flavor, along with a tasty outer crust. The portions were generous, so we had enough to take some home for late snacking.

The sausage was paired with a tangy labneh and charred grapes. These meshed together beautifully, giving the dish a nice mix of salty, tangy and sweet.

The potato latkes were a recommendation from our server, and the best way to describe them would be to call them "potato croissants". You know how the best pastries have dozens if not hundreds of individual layers? Well, imagine taking a potato, slicing it paper thin dozens of times, stacking them with layers of butter, baking them in an oven, and then flash frying them. I nearly fell out of my chair when I tasted the first one.

Kudos to our hotel concierge for recommending this spot. The service was prompt and friendly, the food and drink outstanding, and I will tell my friends about one of the best meals I've had in New...

My friends and I dined in on Monday evening. We were a group of 3. Upon entering, we were greeted by a male staff member who was very accommodating. We asked if they had an outdoor space and if vaping was allowed there, and he responded affirmatively and accompanied us to the outdoor area of the restaurant. Everything was going well; we enjoyed the food and the atmosphere, until a Chinese couple arrived and sat at the table next to where one of my friends was seated with his back facing them.

After a few minutes, the chinese guy called the female waitress over and whispered something to her. Subsequently, the waitress came to our table to collect our plates, since we had finished eating and that my friends were only finishing their beer. She happened to see my friend vaping and said, “You are not allowed to vape when there are people eating behind you.” My friend replied, “We asked the waiter earlier if we could vape here, and he said yes,” to which the waitress responded, “Yes, but not when people are eating behind you.”

We were confused and too stunned to respond. Firstly, we were told that vaping was allowed in the outdoor area and nothing was mentioned about needing to stop when people were nearby. Secondly, we did not appreciate the way she spoke, and her tone was somewhat raised and condescending. Shouldn't the outdoor area be designated for smokers? Why should we adjust to a non-smoker who chose to sit in the outdoor space when there is an indoor area where smoking is not permitted?

After the incident, our mood soured, and we decided to leave. We weren’t able to get the names of the waiter and waitress, but we would like to commend the waiter for his welcoming attitude, though we did not appreciate the behaviour of...