During my recent trip back over the ditch to New Zealand I was charged with finding the family somewhere for lunch in Christchurch. After some googling I settled on Town Tonic, and everyone was super happy that I did!
The place itself is really lovely, with lots of natural light but also moody, cosy features. They’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and do special curry nights regularly as well. The menu is packed with vegetarian and vegan options which always makes me happy to see. So, this is what we ordered!
My sister and I couldn’t decide so ordered two dishes and split them which was an excellent decision. The first was this haloumi dish ($24) which came with broccolini, yams, quinoa and rice, fried egg, nuts, lemon and avocado. I am always happy to have haloumi, and the addition of yams to this dish made me oh-so-happy. It was a delicious combination and a decent sized serving as well. We were off to a good start!
The other dish we ordered was the Hash ($22) served with greens, sweet potato avocado, pickled carrot, dukkah, and vegan aioli. This was another excellent choice – the pickled carrot added excellent depth of flavour and the vegan aioli was deliciously creamy. I particularly loved the crunchy potato hash – such an excellent combination!
Dad ordered the Town Tonic Benedict with fried chicken ($26) which came with two spring onion potato cakes, sriracha and and lemon hollandaise, poached eggs, and coriander. It was a hefty looking dish with a decent amount of all the elements. Dad happily polished this off and whilst it’s not something he would normally order it’s definitely something he would order again!
Mum went with the Seafood Bowl ($25) which was mad up of rich tomato sauce, pickled fennel, almonds, feta and lots and lots of seafood. This was packed with all kinds of seafood, including a large piece of salmon hiding underneath all those mussels and prawns. Mum was also very happy with her choice and there was nothing left of this at the end!
We also went for a round of coffees, and my long black was spot on.
Overall it was a delicious lunch and everyone was very happy with my decision to take us to Town Tonic. I’d definitely recommend you checking them out if you find yourself in Christchurch!