Fiddlesticks

After a long journey to make it to New Zealand from the U.S., my wife and I came here for a relatively low-​key dinner our first night in the country. We showed up pretty late — around 8:45 in the evening on a Sunday — and while the restaurant still had several tables when we came in, it was virtually deserted by the time we had finished. The restaurant has a modern feel to it, and while it is also a bar, the noise from the television didn’t really intrude on the dining space at all. The service was solid at best, with it taking a bit long to place our order at the start and to get the check at the end. While there are some local beers available for order, the one I had (Pointer’s Pale Ale) was one of the weakest offerings I’ve had in that genre of beer. My wife was less than impressed that flavored iced teas were the only option available in that kind of drink.
As for the food, I would say that the the bread was arguably the best part of the meal. It tasted like it was all cooked in-​house and was warm and fresh. The wheat bread in particular had warmth and fluffiness to it that you would not take from how it was presented (as sliced triangles, like it would be for a sandwich). The butter was also very rich and worked very well with bread as soft as what was served. For an appetizer, we split the seared scallops. While the salsa verde worked very well as a complement to the scallops (which were prepared pretty well), the pickled fennel was a bit of a dissonant note and added too much acidity to the salsa. The entrees were also a bit on the inconsistent side. My wife’s lamb shoulder fell apart quite easily, and it had very good smoky flavor — especially paired with the dahl — but paradoxically, the meat itself was also too dry — very little succulence with any bite. After my first choice was dk’ed (the king salmon), I went with the pork belly noodle soup. The pork belly was very juicy and flavorful, and the glass noodles were also pretty solid as well. However, the broth had a very muddled flavor, really making the soup more of a conveyance vehicle for the rest of the dish, as opposed to adding anything to the dish.
Overall, Fiddlesticks is a nice spot to take in a meal, but I was not blown away by it. The lamb was surprisingly overcooked, and while some of the fusion elements of the dishes were good (e.g. the dahl), others missed the mark. As a tourist from the other side of the world, I would probably check out another restaurant in Christchurch next time I am in town first.

Started in the afternoon for a beverage. Delicious & unique Mai Tai. Nice server as well. On our way for dinner now!

I would say this restaurant has many good features but value for money is not one of them. I’ve eaten here twice and each time have come away feeling that something was missing, like the main course can seem a little stodgy.

I think this place really deserves 4.5 stars but couldn’t quite justify the five. I came here for dinner with a group of seven on a Sunday night.
The food presentation is stellar, a real feast for the eyes. Most of the food lived up to its looks with the exception of the whitebait patty which the eater felt was a little sparse on the whitebait, heavy on the egg. The fried chicken entrée was raved about. My beef fillet was good although I asked for rare and everyone agreed it looked more med-​rare. The highlight of it was the proscuitto fries which were very morish, and make up for the fact that Quality of all the meats was top notch though. The fresh fish was absolutely divine, and the venison feast received two thumbs up (well four technically since its a shared dish!). The chocolate truffle dessert was outstanding, a real highlight of the meal for me. The salted caramel dessert was less spectacular but still good.
I thought service was above average — friendly, attentive, good humoured. The only small letdown was we were not asked if we wanted another round of drinks which we probably would have gone for if we had been asked, but weren’t worried about enough to attract the attention ourselves. He also went to a lot of effort to bill us separately for our individual meals as we requested, even though this is a lot more work for him.
There is a lot of seating options in this restaurant including some nice outdoorsy areas which are perfect for summer evenings. I liked the décor, it was fresh and green and welcoming. They had a TV playing old black and white movies on silent which I though was an interesting touch and point of difference!
Price was ok — I spent about $ 80 on sangria/​main/​side/​dessert which I thought was reasonable for the quality and size of the meals.

I came here with my elderly mum and her partner for her 85^th birthday. They were fantastic, with excellent food and great, friendly service. This place serves gourmet pub food, lots of excellent choices, and a good variety of beers and wines.
We arrived early on a Saturday (6:15pm), and by the time we left at 8:30 if was full, with a pleasant buzz and great atmosphere.
I would come here again for myself, and recommend it.

Delicious food, a great place to eat in the heart of town — particularly as there is not a lot else that has opened in that area yet. Friendly staff, good atmosphere. I’d recommend.

Fiddlesticks was ok. I had the beef sandwich and although it tasted and was prepared perfectly the presentation left a lot to be desired. It is presented on the menu as a sandwich but when it arrived the bread was drastically too small. In that case fine, you can pick up your knife and fork and enjoy it as an open faced sandwich but that was very difficult as it is served on a wooden board (for aesthetic purposes) that was entirely too small so lunch turned out to be a messy experience which is never fun. Service was alright.

For what at first I expected to be a traditional pub meal I was really pleasantly surprised by the quality of both the service and the food.
Inside was warm and inviting on such a cold night and the staff were equally up to the task, offering advice on their favourite menu options and suggesting matching wines to try.
I had an expertly cooked steak with mustard and pickled vegetables and some specially prepared «fries» and a side of broccoli, the later unfortunately was a little over cooked for me; a very enjoyable meal