Ground Culinary Centre, Lyttleton

We discovered Ground Culinary Centre on a visit to Christchurch a couple of months ago and I have just been back for our second visit. Ground is a special place not only because of the fine coffee and food that is served there, but also for the range of gourmet foods and organic produce.

The interior of Ground is very reminiscent of an old shop, with character all around and a charming atmosphere. Besides the Deli and Coffee counters, there is a good range of wine on sale, breads and produce. The staff are friendly and care about what they are doing and the food they are serving.

We were very impressed once again with the service we received when a staff member sought us out and asked us what we wanted, getting our order underway and allowing us to skip the queue of people waiting to pay. It has been a long day and so we both decided to try the Steak and Mushroom Pie with salad and have a coffee. The pie was seriously good, packed full of meat and mushrooms it was full on both flavour and contents. The salad was a great roast vegetable salad comprising pumpkin, kumara, potato and lettuce leaf with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. No complaints with the food whatsoever.

The coffee is locally roasted by the Lyttleton Coffee Company and is a blend of organic and fair trade coffee beans. It is good, strong and rich in flavour. It stood up well in my flat white and also was perfect in my partners long black. The guys roasting and blending this stuff are on the money.

So on my second visit to Ground, my initial impressions were confirmed. This is a stylish place that does great food and coffee with a heart. Make sure you visit on your next trip to Christchurch.