THE ORIGIN — Restaurant in Christchurch

I really wanted to like The Origin after waiting over a year since I first heard about this cafe, unfortunately after my experience this morning, that isn't the case.

I arranged to meet a friend there as a he is leaving the city permanently so it was a going-away get-together. We were guided by the different speciality coffee on offer - great start! We placed our meal and sat, having kōrero while waiting for our meals.

Our coffee came through quicksmart! So we happily waited for our meal, whilst conversing and enjoying our beverages.

About half an hour in, I was slightly jilted when I saw the customers in line after us, be served their meals and drinks (a group of 4). I mentioned to my friend that the group who ordered after us, now had their meals and so he went up to ask. He came back saying 5 minutes. Another 10-15 minutes pass, and by this time, I prompted my friend suggesting that we go. So we approached staff and discuss our situation, they ask if we can wait another 5 or takeaway.

By this stage, it was approximately 50 minutes after having placed our breakfast order and I said that my preference was to just get my money back. They looked disappointed and upset, but apologised and didn't hesitate to give us a refund. This is one of the reasons I'm giving them 2 stars and not 1, is for the apology and refund. Nice esthetic and ethics/values, just an absolute shame about the...

The Origin caught our eye with its promising vegetarian menu and glowing reviews. We were immediately impressed by the lovely staff who made us feel right at home, even letting us choose our table and order when ready. Unfortunately, that's where the positives ended. Our food took 35 minutes to arrive, and when it did, the rice was only warm and the dish itself was extremely bland. The burger was small with a patty that was incredibly thin, and the hash browns were soggy, clearly needing more time to cook. The noodle dish had an okay flavour, but overall, it was a unanimous "no" from our group of three. While it might have been an off day in the kitchen, based on our experience, we won't...

We had high expectations, but unfortunately this place was just okay :( chose here because of their varied and interesting coffee offering, but a majority of this was unavailable with an average apology and explanation of why this was... (apparently it's just for training purposes, so not sure why it's up on a large menu board behind the counter?) Oat cappa had mean consistency, but the lighter roast profile of the bean got lost in the sea of milk. (Wasn't asked about coffee size when ordering.) I've heard everything is vegan, though none of the cabinet had prices or labels. Wait time okay, almond croissant okay, atmosphere non existent. Won't be coming back, but...