Jimmy's Restaurant & Bar is the named dining room at Pavilions Hotel Christchurch, welcoming outside diners as well as hotel guests for breakfast and dinner. The mood is deliberately relaxed, with al fresco seating adding an outdoor option on Papanui Road. Dinner reservations and full table service make it suitable for a planned evening, while the broad menu balances substantial Canterbury produce with lighter plates and clearly marked vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free choices.
The starters move beyond a predictable bread opening. Seafood chowder brings prawns, salmon and white fish together in a creamy bowl, while crispy calamari comes with paprika aioli and sweet chilli. Pork and chive Nepalese dumplings introduce spiced tomato and peanut sauce, and the mushroom, Parmesan and truffle risotto can be ordered in two sizes. That variety lets a table begin with seafood, spice or an earthy vegetarian dish.
Grilled beef is one of Jimmy's clearest strengths, with Canterbury eye fillet, sirloin and an Angus bone-in ribeye served with a choice of potatoes or fries and sauces such as peppercorn, mushroom and garlic or red wine jus. The wider mains travel further: Merino lamb shoulder comes slow roasted with mash and seasonal greens, while herb-crusted blue cod, free-range chicken with polenta and romesco, pork belly and tagliatelle with smoked salmon give the kitchen several distinct directions.
Lighter meals include a pork belly burger with slaw and tomato and chilli chutney, fish in beer batter with chips, bacon and mushroom carbonara and a vegetarian salad of pumpkin and kumara roasted with maple, quinoa and almonds. Dessert can mean crème brûlée, honey and almond cake, brownie with mango sorbet or a plate of New Zealand cheeses. Hotel guests also have access to a separate snack menu around the clock, extending Jimmy's service well beyond the dinner sitting.
Address: Pavilions Hotel Christchurch, 42 Papanui Road, Merivale, Christchurch 8014, New Zealand
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