Entertainment in Christchurch & Canterbury
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Dux de Lux
Closed until further notice.
Quality micro-brewed beers underpin this Christchurch icon. There’s good food too, especially seafood and vegetarian, and live music features at least four nights a week. On weekend afternoons the garden bar is the place to be after exploring the Arts Centre market.
reviewed
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Belgian Beer Café
Closed until further notice.
Are Belgian beer cafés the new Irish pub? They seem to be springing up everywhere, with the cosy wood-heavy interiors, pots of mussels and fabulous array of beers. This is a fine example of the genre, with a suitably old-world exterior and a good-looking beer menu you'd be happy to work through.
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Town Hall
Closed until further notice.
The riverside town hall and its two main spaces (the 2500-seat Auditorium and the 1000-seat James Hay Theatre) are the main venues for local performing arts such as orchestras, choirs and bands. The venue’s acoustics are excellent.
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Cartel
Closed until further notice.
Cartel may look like the end result of a garage sale at your quirky uncle’s house, but inside the retro interior is a wine list and cocktails to die for. In cooler months, pull up a bean bag in front of the toasty outdoor fire and look forward to music you thought only you knew about. There’s only room for 30 punters, but that doesn’t stop Cartel from hosting occasional DJs and live bands.
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Goodbye Blue Monday
Closed until further notice.
Tucked away in Poplar Lane, Goodbye Blue Monday’s mismatched retro couches are a cool spot for a drink early in the evening, and then the ambience usually morphs to include live bands and DJ beats, often with an indie accent. It’s the preferred venue of about-to-be-famous Kiwi bands. It’s also the only place, anywhere, you’ll find Bodgie Beer’s organic Pilsner.
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Twisted Hop
Closed until further notice.
If you think a bar specialising in English-style cask-conditioned beer is old-fashioned, think again. The architectural élan of the Twisted Hop is reinforcing Poplar St as Christchurch’s coolest drinking hub. Mix in an excellent wine list, a tasty tapas menu and boutique beers from around NZ, and you’ve got a spot that could soon become your surrogate local bar.
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Chamois Bar
Chamois Bar is upstairs in Glencoe Lodge, 500m from the YHA, where it entertains with a pool table, big-screen TV, and the occasional live gig. It’s a good place to catch up over a burger or nachos with the international crew of mountain guides and travellers who call the village home during summer.
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Holy Grail
Closed until further notice.
In a converted art-deco theatre, the raucous Holy Grail is about as subtle as an All Blacks fan’s reaction to a bad refereeing decision. Watch live sport on a huge 10m screen from the indoor grandstand – if you’re watching the Canterbury Crusaders rugby team, wearing red and black is recommended, but not mandatory.
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Cleaners Only
Closed until further notice.
Good luck finding this place – it’s tucked away in the corner of SOL Sq – but once inside you’ll be in Christchurch’s quirkiest bar. Apparently it used to be the lunchroom for cleaners at nearby warehouses, and a gloriously retro ambience is still intact, complete with comfy old sofas from your first student flat.
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Lyme
Closed until further notice.
Good for a drink before or after diving into the restaurant strip along Colombo St, Lyme was named NZ’s best new bar a few years back. The award-winning bartenders still make damn fine cocktails, and on Friday nights it’s a good place to meet young professionals celebrating the end of the working week.
reviewed
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Blue Pub
Drink at the bar crafted from a huge slab of native timber, or tuck into surprisingly sophisticated meals like parmesan-crusted blue cod in the quieter restaurant. Challenge the locals to a game of pool or watch rugby on the big screen (most Friday and Saturday nights from March to June).
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Thirsty Weta
Closed until further notice.
Not so long ago, the NZ beer scene was as dull as dishwater. Now you can try more than 70 Kiwi microbrews at this slim space incongruously located in Christchurch’s retail hub. If you’re a bit peckish, have a gourmet pie, or order in from the Indian restaurant upstairs.
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Harbour Light
This wonderful old theatre (built in 1916) straddles old and new Lyttelton with regular live gigs showcasing jazz, Celtic and world music. Check the website for what’s on; there’s normally gigs around three nights a week. On show nights, drinks and food are served.
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Wunderbar
Wunderbar is a top spot to see NZ’s more interesting acts, from raucous rock to late-night/early-morning dub. The funky decor alone is worth a trip to Lyttelton. Look for the sign on London St that says ‘Sorry, nice people only’ and head down the steps. Be nice.
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Monteith’s Brewery Bar
The best (and most central) pub in town features lots of different craft beers and tasty tucker from bar snacks ($10 to $15) to full meals ($20 to $30). Platters ($44 to $52) are good value if you’ve just met some new friends in the hot pools across the road.
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Minx
Closed until further notice.
This sleek minimalist restaurant wins praise from industry types, while the basement Rootes bar makes the most of its underground outlook. Prop on a neonlit cube, sip a cocktail and admire the commissioned graffiti in the car park.
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Grappa Lounge
Right next door to Shawty’s, its newly opened Grappa Lounge is a little slice of cosmopolitan cocktail heaven that might have you staying up later than you planned. In summer there’s occasional live music and DJs.
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Bard on Avon
Closed until further notice.
The Bard has an authentic English ambience and plenty of traveller-friendly events such as the pub quiz (Sunday at 7pm) and live music from Thursday to Saturday. The pub is a few blocks from ‘the Strip’, and the better for it.
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Loaded Hog
Closed until further notice.
Popular place with brewery equipment strewn along the walls (in testimony to its naturally brewed beers) and a fondness for major sports events, DJs, cover bands and, rather strangely, salsa nights (every Thursday).
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Jolly Poacher
Jolly Poacher keeps dangerously long hours and so what starts off as a casual lunch could become a gruelling liquid marathon. There may be some consolation in knowing that beer-sopping food is always available.
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Ministry/Propaganda
Closed until further notice.
Two venues in one big space combining an intimate lounge bar and an always-pumping club. House and drum and bass is the usual recipe, but the occasional metal night with live bands ambushes things.
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Bailies Irish Bar
Closed until further notice.
Convivial pub at Warners hotel with lovely large beer garden, pool tables, big-screen TVs, cheap food (particularly at lunchtime), a trivia night on Tuesday and live music later in the week.
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Bedford
The brick building dates back to 1903, but now the sprawling Bedford hosts a thoroughly modern mix of up-and-coming international bands and the best of Kiwi acts with a rocky tinge.
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Double Happy
Closed until further notice.
The city’s best bar-club hybrid with great cocktails, Euro beers on tap and an ever-changing diet of dub, house and soul. Perfect for chilled late-night/early-morning denizens.
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Southern Blues Bar
Closed until further notice.
NZ’s oldest blues venue is still going strong; gigs kick off nightly around 10.30pm. Expect a friendly crowd of musos, office workers and the confidently unfashionable.
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