Roots - Restaurant - Christchurch

Roots Restaurant

8 London St

Lyttelton, Christchurch

Roots is a cosy restaurant in Lyttelton, Christchurch. It scored 3 Hats in 2017 and is a top 100 restaurant in New Zealand.  It may be cosy but it is also very upmarket. It is a real dining experience.  Not somewhere you go on a regular basis unless you are extremely rich! But definitely go there at least once! I have been lucky enough to have gone twice - once with a very generous friend who shouted us and then for my birthday. Each time was simply amazing.

The menu changes regularly and is a degustation so you don't choose meals, you get whatever is on the menu. Ingredients are sourced from local and biodynamic farms, small producers and their own garden. They forage around the area as well. For lunch they have 5 courses then dinner you can choose 8 or 12 courses. Sounds like a lot but each course is tiny - a taste sensation but tiny! In saying that if you choose the wine match you are certainly full at the end! 

When I went with Pete for my birthday I informed them that he was vegetarian, gluten and dairy free. It didn't faze them. I said I was happy to have the same as Pete but they gave both of us separate meals. When you arrive they serve three little amuse bouche to set you off for the meal. Every course is served on different plates to add to the experience. Each dish is a work of art with layers of flavour combinations leaving you wishing the dish was bigger! Most of the wines are blends that you could not buy from any shop. The staff are so well informed - I don't know how the wait staff remember all the detail of the ever changing dishes. We had different servers each time, everyone in the kitchen seemed to have a go!

Getting back to the prices (per person) - so lunch only available Tues - Thurs is $105 or $155 with wine matching. 8 courses - $145 or $225 with wine matching

12 courses - $195 or $315 with wine matching

Pete had eggplant while I had a confit egg

Paua for me and a daikon steak for Pete. Only other paua experience I have had is a very chewy paua pattie - this was divine!

Candied carrots

The knife for my steak!

One of my favourites - Looks like a tomato but actually a mousse with a combination of flavours

Dessert

Cheese board and Port

Finishing sweet treats 

What an experience! After the first visit, when a friend had offered to drive us so he didn't partake in the wine, I realised that we needed a plan. A taxi to and from Lyttelton is very expensive so for my birthday we decided to make a weekend of it and book an Air BnB. We were so lucky with the weather and were able to take the ferry to Diamond Harbour for the afternoon.

If you do nothing else - go to Roots Restaurant once!