Christchurch: What's new and delicious

A crafty place to fill your flagon; a hole-in-the-wall bakery to make mornings brighter; and a meatball delivery service to "round" out your weeknight repertoire - get thee to the Garden City.

Grizzly Baked Goods

If you haven’t enjoyed a spiced hazelnut morning bun fresh from the oven at Grizzly Baked Goods then you haven’t lived. Okay, that's quite dramatic but that's just how we feel about these flaky, sugary, melt-in-the-mouth morsels served from the Grizzly Baked Goods hole-in-the-wall bakery in Sydenham. The bakery slings out bagels, fresh bread, pastries, doughnuts, double chocolate rye cookies (!) and locally roasted filter coffee from its shop window on Buchan Street. Grizzly goods can be enjoyed at the outdoor tables surrounding the bakery or taken away to guzzle in the privacy of your own home.

Dorset Street

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by a cover but it’s near impossible to not have good feelings about Dorset Street just on looks alone. Housed in an old mechanic’s workshop, this coffee-stop by day, bottle shop by night is one of the most aesthetically pleasing spots in the Garden City thanks to the keen eye and hard work of owner Matt Smith, who is also responsible for the fit-out of Garage Project’s Te Aro brewery and Kingsland cellar door. Serving takeaway brews from People’s Coffee 7am – 2pm on weekdays and quenching the thirst of Cantabrians with an impressive selection of natural wines and Garage Project beers (again, takeaway) from 2pm seven days a week, Dorset Street is already a favourite spot for locals in its first few weeks of being open.

Meatball Monday

Meatballs and spaghetti delivered to your door on a Monday: you don’t really need much more than those 10 words to convince you this Christchurch-based food delivery service is pure genius. Meatball Monday delivers bowls of spaghetti, homemade sauce, balls – classic beef and pork; mushroom and white bean; or pork, fennel and currants – toasted crumbs, parmesan, fresh herb drizzle (and a seasonal side salad if you’re in the mood) to hungry Cantabrians every Monday afternoon. Orders can be one-off or regular (you’ll be gunning for the latter) and packaging can be thrown in the compost after dinner. Easy as that.