I hadn’t been home to Christchurch for 2 years when I went home in February, and to be fair haven’t spent much time there since before I left for university, so when I go home I’m always at the mercy of my family when it comes to where to eat.

My little brother took me to this absolute gem in the centre of Christchurch, which is a place that did exist before the Canterbury earthquake, but had to re-open in the old High Street Post Office after the original premises were sadly destroyed.   The Post Office was built in 1932, immediately after the Napier earthquake in 1931, and so lucky was earthquake proofed at the time which is why it managed to survive the Canterbury quake.

The ethos of C1 Espresso is around sustainability, and if you go there you’ll notice that the tables are made from recycled timber, there are solar panels on the roof, water is conserved through pressure-limiting valves on all taps and they grow ingredients for the cafe in their front garden and in their vineyard on the roof.  

Go here for: if you’re looking for good food, good coffee and a chilled atmosphere at any time of the day (it’s open from 7am – 10pm every day); if you (like me) are a fan of cold drip coffee (as you’ll see from the pictures the presentation is beaut and it tastes as good as it looks) – the perfect treat on a hot northwester day in Christchurch

Menu highlights: the sliders, which you can get your hands on from 3pm every day, and come in 6 different varieties (beef and gherkin patty, southern fried chicken, quinoa patty, panko crumbed fish, pulled pork shoulder and courgette and edamame fritter – you can pick 3 for any order); curly fries; extensive smoothie list; the cold drip coffee from Columbia

Top tips: order the sliders; while you’re waiting for your sliders, be sure to keep looking up at the ceiling at the tubes going across the ceiling as this is where your food is going to be delivered from – they are called pneumatic tubes – which use the power of compressed air to fire a capsule of food at high speed from one end of the tube to the other, arriving just above your table; if you’re around in the mornings they also do brunch which hopefully I’ll get to try next time I’m home!

Price: 3 sliders are NZ$20, add curly fries for NZ$8.90 and a cold drip coffee or a smoothie for an additional NZ$8.90

#feb2016