Twenty Seven Steps opened in August 2015 and found an especially fitting home above New Regent Street. Reaching the dining room means leaving the street and climbing into a warm, old-world space, while the windows and entrance remain tied to one of Christchurch's most recognisable heritage precincts. The restaurant serves dinner every night from number 16, treating its tenancy as part of the street's continuing story rather than merely a picturesque backdrop. Inside, the emphasis is hearty seasonal cooking, welcoming service and enough intimacy for a long evening.
The menu's Beginning section balances appetite-building richness with sharper vegetable dishes. Slow-braised beef cheek is paired with anchovy, pickled walnut and potato, and twice-cooked pork belly brings burnt onion, apple gel and mustard seed together. Sardine escabeche with radish and pine nut offers a lighter marine direction. Roast baby beetroot gains depth from blue cheese and hazelnut, while charred, pickled and puréed cauliflower uses golden raisins, curry oil and toasted almond to make a fully plant-based plate feel complete.
Main courses draw closely on Canterbury and the wider South Island. Aged beef fillet arrives with rosemary potato gratin, vegetables, béarnaise butter and red-wine jus. Fresh fish changes with the night's supply, while the risotto shifts its flavours through the season. Mountain River venison is served with duck-fat potato fondant, parsnip and pickled blackberry; Canterbury lamb rack takes an herb-and-Dijon crust with olive tapenade and lamb jus. A miso-poached celeriac steak with black garlic and porcini provides a vegan main with the same winter depth.
Desserts retain that composed but comforting character. Dark-chocolate tart brings salted caramel and toasted-barley ice cream, sticky-date pudding keeps to warm toffee and vanilla, and a brown-sugar meringue roulade is paired with Mānuka-honey apples. Vegan poached pear with almond crumble and elderflower sorbet offers a fruit-led alternative, while affogato and a cheese board invite a slower finish. Wine and classic or original cocktails support the full dinner, and set menus plus private and semi-private spaces allow the same kitchen to handle celebrations and events.
Address: Upstairs at 16 New Regent Street, Christchurch Central City, Christchurch 8011, New Zealand
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