Review Black Betty Cafe - Christchurch

Visiting from the US. This place was delicious and unique. Order at the counter, find a table and food brought to you. Employees are friendly and answered any questions we had. Ordered following Beef brisket - such great subtle flavors. All the Goods Stacy's Stack - great combinations of tasty.

Beef brisket with the eggs was a very nice combo. My partner enjoyed this alot. Unfortunately we are very fussy with our coffee and it was just a bit acidic this morning. Atmosphere was beautiful. We would definitely find ourselves back there for the food.

They had so many food options!! The eggs Benedict is probably the best i’ve had in Christchurch so far! I appreciate when a cafe makes good hollandaise. The food was so beautiful I couldn’t resist taking pictures of everything haha. They no longer sell pancakes which was disappointing so my friend got the waffles, the toppings were overwhelming. The mouse is made with Whittaker’s chocolate so it tasted so good. They were selling a bunch of non-food items too, including flavoured shots for homemade hot drinks.

Hands down the best eggs benny I’ve ever had. The dairy free eggs benny on potatoes is a must try. Best breaky in Christchurch

Nice spot with a delicious chorizo melt today I was thoroughly impressed by. I needed to grab a bite and get some work done for a few hours so it was nice they had free wifi. Thanks!

Came here twice when we visited Christchurch for 3 days, both times for lunch. Really enjoyed the buttermilk pancakes, it's not often the pancake stack itself is as exciting as their toppings! Their granola mix with fruits and coconut yoghurt was beautifully presented and moorish. Both my visits I ordered the hot spiced blackcurrant, it's a cup of comfort during the cold weather. Look out for the spicy cheese scrolls that are located ontop of their food cabinet. We got one to go after our first visit and came back for more, but unfortunately missed out. They get snapped up quick! Relaxed atmosphere, quirky and spacious interior.

Don’t be fooled by the unassuming frontage of this funky cafe! Once you step inside you are greeted with energetic staff, a large inviting rustic space, delicious smells & a cabinet full of treats! Service was fast, efficient & attentive despite being fairly busy. Delicious coffee & garlic twist was had by me & I’d definitely go back to try something from the extensive menu & spend some more time in this fun space.

The GF muffin I had was so moist and yum. Tasted similar go tea cake. The smoothie was very yum that I got with it. Recommend!

Fast and great service :) iced coffee was served in 2min and the eggs bene was made faster than mc Donalds 😆 just lovely lovely lovely

Fantastic coffee and excellent breakfast. Corn fritters were fabulous, super fresh, soft and fluffy on the inside but crunchy on the outside. Service was very prompt and polite. Got busy pretty fast but food came out surprisingly quickly! Gutted to have not got something from the cabinet though. Definitely one of the best breakfasts in Christchurch, better than many of the other offerings in the central city.

Good coffee, a little bitter which is just the way I needed it this morning. The milk was so silky. Staceys stack was so good. Perfectly poached egg, delicious potato layer bake thingo, plus the greens.. can’t wait to come back. Good vibes here too ✌️

This place feels a little tucked away but it's worth the stretch of the legs to discover this beautiful cheery cafe. The staff are friendly, quick to clear tables and keep the place looking welcoming. Although busy when I arrived it took no time for the coffee to turn up and with good upbeat background music, vibrant feel and lots of seating options this is the place to enjoy a good cup of Joe.

Our last morning in Christchurch and it’s time for breakfast. We didn’t have a car so a good 2km walk to start the morning to get to the cafe and it was certainly worth the walk.<br/><br/>The cafe has an awesome warmth to it when entering and this continues with all the “nick naks” in the tables, yes the tables have glass tops full of treasures.<br/><br/>The staff in the kitchen warmly welcomed us and our waitress (little cold) showed us to our table. Coffee and food ordered quickly, walk had made us hungry.<br/><br/>I went for a classic smashed avo on toast yet it had a pleasant twist, avo had chilli and onion added which was nicer then I expected. Toast and bacon were also both great. Have to compliment the barista, a most excellent flat white (and two shots ;-)...<br/><br/>Give this cafe a try when you in Christchurch you will come away satisfied.<br/><br/>Food: 85%<br/>Ambience: 90%<br/>Service: 70%<br/>Coffee: 85%

I was on a vacation at Christchurch. I managed to Google this place and decided to give it a try. Tried on some of the coffees and hot chocolate drinks which was really good. The big breakfast was really yummy too and it manage to keep both my partner and myself full. P.S we shared a platter 😅🤣

Always love coming here even if it’s for a quick bite or brunch. It’s a shame it’s always so busy, must mean it’s very popular!! The only downside that I would say is that the prices can be a bit on the expensive side... but you do pay for quality!!

Group of 6. 2x French toast crumpets 5/5 epic! Avo smash (yes in July) looked beautiful3/5 bland and spiceless. Big breakfast 3/5 tasteless and egg soldiers 4/5 they were fine. Eggs benny 3.5/5 nice but nothing special. Smoothies were great. Easy to get a table, staff were friendly and helpful. Difficult to park near. Clean and tidy. Interesting tables you can add to with your own comments.

We went on a Tuesday morning and it was already quite busy. The staff were very friendly. I ordered Stacey's Stack. It was very good, some of the best food I've had in Christchurch.<br/>The food came out quite fast, about 10 minutes after ordering. I'll definitely be returning.

Great service. Everyone is so nice. Had their cappuccino, latte, Mexican breakfast fish and the veggie big dish. The Mexican breakfast was amazing. Especially their chipotle cream sauce which I mixed into their veggie big breakfast. But the service here alone would bring me back!

Had eggs benedict, was delicious. Coffee was fab, staff were so helpful and friendly. Would definitely go back, building and interior was really cool.

Fab food and atmosphere and super friendly helpful staff! Pro tip: try the caramel slice, it's to die for! Thanks for a great late lunch! :)

Great atmosphere and a lovely place to come for breakfast on a Sunday morning. It was quite busy, but expected for a place like this! Loved the decor and abundance of good quality magazines for a good read while having breakfast. I had the pancakes with berry couli, cinnamon, apple crumble and lemon cream. The apple crumble with the pancakes was absolutely perfect! Pricing is not too bad compared to Auckland prices too. Would definitely come back when I'm around in Christchurch!

Love this cafe. Good comfortable environment. With awesome coffee and food. Been here for breakfast (had shakshouka...so good), and had some steak for dinner which came on a hot stone. Was delicious too. The only downside is that during the day its always busy...and can get quite crowded. So I generally grab their caramel slice and coffee to go. Due to it being busy...it can take time to grab coffee, and even sometimes to get served food.

We wanted to see what the fuss was all<br/>About & it did not disappoint. We got the smashed avocado and field mushroom . Everything tasted well together !! Nice metro sort of setting look forward to coming back.

We went on a Saturday and it was out first time there. Quite a popular cafe! There were 5 of us and we manage to get a table. Love the food! Would definitely go back 😊

Black Betty's has a good atmosphere, usually quite busy and has a urban feel.<br/><br/>I always like to order whatever catches my eye, in this case it was the Shakshouka.<br/>Every cafe has a different way of presenting this dish and BB's was by far the best I've had. <br/>Served with baby spinach leaves on top to hide the tomato explosion underneath, was definitely worth travelling half way across town!<br/><br/>I was accompanied by a friend who enjoyed the BLT on the breakfast which I was told wasn't too bad, nothing special.<br/><br/>Overall, BB's is am above average cafe, will be making another visit soon!

Great atmosphere in this cafe. Decor is nice, staff are friendly and attentive. Service is good.<br/>Coffee was excellent. Not the best I have had, but very good.<br/><br/>Unfortunately the food lacked any tasted. I had scrambled eggs on toast with Potato Layer Cake as a side. Presentation was great, food was hot but unfortunately boring. The eggs lacked any taste as did the potato layer cake. They need to learn the meaning of seasoning.<br/><br/>Disappointing as this place has potential. Will be back for coffee, but will give the food a miss.

Arrived in Christchurch off the red eye flight from Melbourne. We were hankering for some food so after the debacle to get a rental car we were in much need for some sustenance. Upon entering Black Betty we were greeted with a warm smile and a very relaxed and casual atmosphere. The decor and colours inside really lend themselves well to giving off a warm and fun environment from the old converted building and instantly make you feel like the establishment is "your local". We decided on a round of lattes which came out instantly, they were just the right temperature and full of flavour. The Mexican breakfast and big veggie breakfast followed. Both did not disappoint. The flavours and presentation really hit the spot. I must admit that hailing from Melbourne I am somewhat indoctrinated to be a café snob and rarely when I travel will I come across a place which can hold its own against some of our gems back home. Black Betty has married all the elements which I deem a must for a cafe with friendly and attentive staff, a great menu with bold flavourful coffee and decor which really give off a hip and inviting vibe. If you haven't checked it out yet, I highly recommended it the next time you are in Christchurch.

YUMMY EGG SOLDIERS!!<br/>This restaurant is very funky, modern and welcoming. It is very nice and the food is delicious. We ordered big breakfast, egg soldiers, coffee and a salted caramel macaron. They were all soo yummy and reasonably priced. The service was pretty good and the seats and tables are very comfortable. I definitely recommend this restaurant as it is family friendly, super yummy and everyone will enjoy it😋

Mmmmmm they have Delish coffee and always friendly staff. My classic fave dish is the avo smash. Perfect size for me on an empty tum. Can get my breaky and a coffee for under 20 bucka :)

Visited Black Betty on Mother's day, and it was very busy when we arrived! However, we managed to get a table straight away and our meals came out very promptly considering how busy they looked. Both of us had the big breakfast, I had a vanilla latte and my partner had a hot chocolate. The coffee was excellent and delivered quickly, giving us something to drink while we waited for our food. The breakfasts were also delicious, both of us commenting that everything on the plate was perfectly cooked. As well as a menu, they had some tasty looking cabinet food as well - both sweet and savoury options. All seemed reasonably priced. I like how they use free range products where they can (eggs and bacon etc).

Dropped in for breakfast today. Nice greeting on arrival. Staff really nice.<br/>Premises well set out.<br/>Lots of GF food for my partner. Our food was excellent. <br/>Muffins and any food on the counter near the till needs to be covered! <br/>Well worth a visit.

I had been meaning to try Black Betty for ages and I'm glad I finally did. <br/>The cabinet food looked great but both my friend and I ordered off the breakfast menu. <br/>I had the BLT, there was a generous serving of bacon and the bread was soft and delicious. <br/>My friend had the avocado smash which looked just as good. <br/>The cafe was busy and we had to queue for a while before we could order at the counter but the food itself was very quick service. <br/>I enjoyed the eclectic furniture and industrial vibe of Black Betty.<br/><br/>Edit: I have since been back to Black Betty twice for breakfast and love it even more. I love that the breakfast menu is available until 2pm every day and that almost all items on the breakfast menu can be made gluten free. It is difficult to find gluten free French toast so that was exciting.

Place was very busy which is always a good sign however the service easily managed. Very happy with the food, left nthere full. Would recommend

Meh... That's how I'd describe Black Betty. The food was okay, but nothing special or creative. I had the avocado smash, which was served on a basic whole meal bread you'd get for $2 at the local supermarket, which of course, turned into a soggy mess. It needed a crunchy sourdough that doesn't turn soggy. Overall, felt a little ripped off. <br/><br/>The coffee was mediocre, slightly burnt and had a gritty/dirty taste. I probably wouldn't come back, unless some more care and generosity went into the food. <br/><br/>This cafe has the potential to be great, the decor is great and there's a friendly vibe. It's a shame the food and coffee don't live up to the expectation.

I like Black Betty. Great coffee - one of the best in Christchurch and very consistent. Food is pretty good too, although I typically usually only frequent this place for caffeine-related purposes!

I love this place! No matter when u go their food has always been consistent..<br/>Service is good and so is the ambience-creative<br/>I recommend this place to everyone!<br/>The only thing i would recommend is to have some more veg options

Good atmosphere, good decoration. Good food here. The French toast is delicious. Also nice eggs benedict. I don't like the bread because it's was tough but still nice. Definitely coming back again.

Another cool funky atmosphere café❢ I finally suggested this café to my hubby, when we used to live nearby I've always wanted to try their breakfast menu~ The menu It's available till 2.30p.m so I like about that :) My 1st experience here was really good, I tried their French toasts that serve with plums, apricot and of course...my fav cheese❣ I didn't order their hot drink coz they only had one barista girl, so I thought I'll pass this time coz usually a busy café makes "so so" hot drinks. :P I'll definitely come back again, looking FW to it :)

The menu is simple but the food is great because the ingredients they use like the avo, eggs and bacon are fresh and make the whole dish amazing. We had the avo smash , bacon eggs, buttie and french toast. My only gripe about the menu is the French toast is made with crumpets so I got them to change it and use their ciabatta instead. It was amazing. I recommend anyone having french toast to do this.

Just stopped for a quick coffee before hitting the road. Really nice atmosphere inside with friendly staff. The coffee was excellent and quick service.

Really enjoyed a breakfast here with the family. Funky interior, tables with glass tops and random ticket stubs left underneath. Was tempted to leave my flight ticket. <br/>The food was of very high quality and for 4 of us having avocado/eggs, egg and bacon sandwich sort of dishes it came to about $60 with some coffee and juice. It was definitely worth it for the great flavour and proper size portions. <br/>Took a detour to have breakfast here and was definitely worth it.

Grossly over rated. Coffee was completely average. Ordered a long mach and they clearly have no idea what it is as I received what could only be described as a flat white. Food ok, but didn't excite me.....

Found this little gem in Christchurch ... Good and cool decoration ... The coffee and oh my! the pretzel flower is so yummy! #solotraveller.

Place was very busy but still food and drinks came out quickly. I had big brekky and friend had brekky stack. Both were huge and really well presented and delicious. Coffee great too. Will be my new breakfast joint from now on, nothing else compares in chch in my opinion :)

Amazingly fast service - place was packed, but the longest wait was in the ordering line. From order to coffee to meals, no more than 5min. We had the Betty stack and eggs Benny, I added a potato stack to my Benny. We also had two soy caps. Food was brilliant! Two different types of hollandaise and they were both perfect. Only thing I can recommend is add an extra to your meal if you like big servings. Coffee's were also amongst the best we've had in chch. Sarah Myles

All good for brunch! <br/>Eggs beni -bacon delicious<br/>Eggs beni - salmon delicious<br/>Kids French toast with banana & bacon. Delicious.<br/>Coffee was super strong - but well made. <br/>All good.<br/>Big space, packed with people, line of 30people out the door just after we ordered thankfully!!<br/>

Great food and coffee. Really nice atmosphere and lovely staff. Always happy when we eat here. One of the nicest cafes in Christchurch which means it can be quite busy at times.

now, i know that christchurch is a city + not a cafe… but after absolutely loving my recent visit to this spectacular city i’ve decided that an out-of-the-ordinary blog post is warranted! after being decimated by a severe earthquake around 3 years ago, this city is very busily rebuilding. sure, there is plenty of construction around + the roads and footpaths are still cracked + uneven… but despite all this, christchurch has this very cool [friendly, arty, foodie] culture going on. so here are my top four brunch spots that i discovered whilst i was there:

With its close proximity to CPIT, it’s no surprise that Black Betty gets many students dosing up on its espresso, cold drip, syphon and pour-over coffees, as well as cabinet food.

Really enjoyed the atmosphere and decor of this cafe. My coffee was great too! Didn't try the food but it looked really tasty. <br/>Bathrooms were really clean and functional too. Would just be better if there were hooks on the back of the doors

Before heading to Black bettys I had a quick look at their menu online I was also happily surprised that everything bar one item on the menu can be made gluten free …. YAY!<br/><br/>We sat down and had to find ourselves the menus, I was actually surprised that the best cafe in CHCH didn't have table service.  <br/><br/>I went for the Bacon Buttie but still that white cheese with french toast intrigues me. At the same time as ordering this I ordered two coffees, one the cold drip, and a piccolo. The coffee was amazing (still not as good as some places welly but maybe I'm bias!), but the cold drip was the outstanding! I have had cold drip a couple of times now but this is probably my favourite. <br/><br/>The food came out and it looked amazing, top presentation across the board! I got huge food envy from my friends who got the big breakfast, it looked like a mountain of joy. I was surprised to see that my bread wasn't toasted, as most GF breads don't hold together well when they not… and that was the right observation. I cut into my meal and the bread almost crumbled away at the touch, making it hard to eat. The bread itself tasted great but it was a shame, a separate (gf) toaster would fix the issue in a heart beat. The overall flavour of the meal was delicious and I would go back to Black Betty next time I was back in Christchurch, though the service was a bit lacking.

Bacon twirls and their in-house hollandaise. Glorious.<br/><br/>I've been a regular of this place for a number of years. Their coffee is hands-down the best in the area and some of the best in Christchurch. I love the ambiance of the cafe and their playlist usually has excellent tunes playing. Their cabinet and menu food is enjoyable, especially their vege rolls with chickpeas and pumpkin. A definite recommendation to anyone who hasn't tried this cafe yet.

Love this place! Great coffee and a good atmosphere and it's just across the road from Christchurch Polytechnic which is where I study so it's always nice and close. The wait staff are fairly nice but some seem as though they arn't really that interested in the job that they are doing which is off putting. There food is good, nothing to write home about but not unpleasant, their strength lies in their coffees though. I had a mocha and it was presented nicely and tasted devine! This has become a regular for me and my friends because a coffee is the best thing for a morning perk before study.

Went into bb after it got it's Zest cafe of the year award as well as a number of good reviews. It wasn't that good I got a big breakfast and my friend had something from the cabinet. I'm quite tall and had a bit of a look into the kitchen and saw the chef getting sausages and mushrooms out of a Bain Marie which is kind of I don't know but seems more buffet style. I get they're really busy but so are other places and I don't see them using pre heated goods for a half hour wait. On that note though best coffee I'd ever had in my life and I'm coming back for sure but might pass on breakfast.

Pretty good coffee, I've only ever had cabinet food from here though. That being said they do these pretzel bread buns that are amazing. The place is always buzzing on the weekend, sometimes it is difficult to get a seat.

I had breakfast twice at BBs very impressed. Flavours good, good quality bacon sausages etc, cooked to perfection, downside: waitress staff half asleep and cold crockery which does matter because it makes your food cold, other than that it's a real nice breakfast one of the best in town and would recommend.

Black Betty's is divine. They have gorgeous food, friendly staff nice surroundings, but are not open at present, the notice on the window said its needs a little TLC, Can't wait till its open again, and see what have done.

Coffee to die for. The place is always busy with a large queue to be served. The atmosphere is always a buzz and the staff never stop moving. Food is delicious if a bit on the pricey side for what it is. But it's a pleasant friendly place if you're not in a rush.

Staff were friendly but the service was marginal.<br/>Cool industrial look and I like how the tables could be shared.<br/>Coffee is great, french toast pikelets awesome.<br/>But there was a bit of a wait for both coffee and food

I came in with a friend for breakfast about midday on a Friday. <br/>We loved the feel of the place although it seemed very busy and we only just managed to get a table at the back.<br/><br/>We ordered the Mediterranean breakfast and the french toast crumpets with a hashbrown on the side.<br/><br/>The hashbrown came with a little pottle of tomato relish which had the most delicious flavour. The Mediterranean meal and the crumpets were absolutely amazing. The bread that came with the Mediterranean meal was crispy and flavourful and the crumpets were sweet and crispy also. <br/><br/>The cabinet food seemed very much out there and would have loved to try some too!<br/><br/><br/>We definitely will be coming back.

Great coffee - very addictive.<br/>Great food. Lots of yummy options for lunch or a sweet bite to eat.<br/>Always too busy, and I have to wait for a seat sometimes!<br/>If I were to have a complaint, it would be the state of some of the staff - some look like they could wash their uniform, and perhaps scrub under their nails as they are handling food inside the food cabinet without gloves.<br/><br/>Love, love, love the coffee! Expand your café Black Betty!!