There are over 580 restaurants here in Christchurch, an impressive number as there are only 330,000 people in the city.  As a comparison, there are approximately 6,600 restaurants in New York City (population 8.3 million).  Per capita, Christchurch has twice the amount of restaurants as New York!

That being said, there certainly isn’t a shortage of places to eat - no matter what your palate.

A few things I’ve noticed about restaurants here in Christchurch:

1. Many restaurants are “fully licenced”, meaning they have a licence to serve both liquor and beer/wine and “B.Y.O.” - which permits you Bring Your Own.

Typically, B.Y.O. is limited to wine only, and there is often a small fee ($3-$5) per bottle or per person if you participate.  Having lived in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, one of the few United States that had a B.Y.O. option for dining, I am delighted that this is allowed here in Christchurch.  Although I favor wine with my meals, I think it’s a bonus to be able to have a pre-meal cocktail and then drink your own wine - without sabotaging your entire dinner (or lunch for all you hardcores out there) budget.

2. GST (sales tax) and tip are included in the price you see on the menu, so tipping is not required!

This was definitely an adjustment, coming from the United States.  Service workers - waiters/waitresses, bartenders, etc. - get paid a fair, hourly wage, so they do not have to rely solely on tips for their livelihood.  This can be a double-edged sword since the waitstaff has little incentive to provide excellent or timely service.  So far, we haven’t experienced poor service; the waitstaff seems to leave you alone until you need something, rather than making themselves available at all times like American restaurants.  We’ve been denied seating close to closing time, whereas in the States, we’d be seated.  A few restaurants we’ve visited did not have a dedicated waitstaff; we order from the counter, like at a Panera Bread/Atlantic Bread Company restaurant, and our food was brought out when ready.

So, can you tip?  It’s not customary (and can even be viewed as insulting), but if you’d like to leave a small tip - $.50 or $1.00 for exceptional service, it’s acceptable.

3. The cost of eating out is less expensive that in the United States.

Entrees (appetizers) are NZ$5-10 each.  This would be something like bruschetta, salad, etc.  A full menu item typically costs between NZ$15-35.  This would be for a nice cut of meat or fish, a starch, and a vegetable.  Dessert is in the NZ$8 range. Depending on which restaurant we go to, dinner is around NZ$30-70 for two people.  Considering that we could bring our own wine, tax and tip is included, and we often had leftovers for lunch, my conclusion is that eating dinner out in Christchurch is an excellent value!

Stay tuned as Rus and I eat our way through Christchurch :)