Review Duo Dining Room & Bar - Christchurch

Went here for a bite to eat in the afternoon... was craving dumplings. The service was friendly and the restaurant was very quiet so was quite a chill place to sit, eat, chat. The dumplings were really good, we tried the chicken and mushroom filling. The polenta fries were decent but the dumplings are what I’d go back for. Can imagine this restaurant being a good option to dine with a small group and share a number of the small plates together to try different flavours. Nice spot!

A Great Spot for a tasty lunch. We came here, 10 month old in tow after a trip to the museum, for some lunch. Greeted by the very friendly staff member who found us a spot with room for a stroller without needing to ask, attentive service throughout. The Food! All 3 dishes were delicious, we had the chicken burger, the beef cheek Mussaman curry and the courgette starter with hoisin sauce. Only thing I would ask for was more spice in the curry, otherwise no fault could be found. Prices were at the high end, but expectedly so by its location and the taste and service were worth it. We will be back again, cheers.

Awesome dumplings, amazing staff, well priced.....the above review was 2 years ago, I was hoping the food was as good as I remembered was it ever, this is a tastebuds experience the eggplant is a must have even if you don't like eggplant you will love this the dumplings are still devine and the noodles yum yum yum. This is a hidden gem!

This was a good stop for a small lunch. It was in-between standard meal times, so it wasn't busy and we had the place about to ourselves. We ended up getting the buns, fried chicken and Asian slaw, all of which were tasty. The house-made lemon-lime and bitters was just ok. The one thing is that what we ate wasn't what we initially wanted... Initially, we ordered different food, but the waitress almost seemed like she wanted us to order these specific things, and kept pushing us to get them instead of what we had ordered. Finally, we gave up and just got them, and they were good, and it was just the right amount of food for 2 people who weren't super hungry... but it felt weird. Maybe she didn't want the cook to have to make what we wanted? Our maybe she thought that we'd enjoy these dishes more? Not sure... But in any case it ended up being a nice small meal.

Food was yum. Service was great and fast. Very quiet at lunch time. Recommend the Chinese chicken and the pork bau bun

The crispy eggplant with a side of rice is a must try. Have never had anything so flavorful and light. Service is great the lady is always so kind. Would definitely recommend this spot as we have eaten here for this dish many times, a hidden gem!

Had the mongolian stir fried lamb and lamb dan dan noodles! Such balanced and flavourful taste! I dont mind going back for more dan dan noodle. Recomended especially for asian tourist looking for something familiar, comforting, without losing the chance to try out some local twist.

The owners remembered us from last time and asked if we were on time for our movie at Lumiere. Very thoughtful and kind of them. Also, their dumplings and stir fried noodles are best in town. Highly recommend this place!

Lovely service and fab food. Smallish menu but innovative international cuisine with very nice presentation.

Great food, great atmosphere, and great service. I had dinner with my friend last night. Food was amazing and we had wonderful evening meal. The pork and prawn dumplings were fresh and with mouth-watering sauce. The Chinese fried Chicken and crispy eggplant were outstanding. My partner and I shared a Beijing duck and Mongolian lamb. Yummy!!!!. I will definitely recommend my friends to come and try. Thanks for having us and will definitely visit again.

Very yummy food, very good music and beautiful deco.

Absolute gem 💎 One of my favourite restaraunts in christchurch, bordering the botanic gardens (beautiful views). DUO serves up divine authentic Asian cuisine (highly recommend the eggplant) which are beautifully crafted and absolutely delicious! The staff ate wonderful, and Lucy certainly knows how to be the hostess with the mostess. The Pina coladas are arguably thr best in town, and a delicious selection of sakes available. This is a regular spot for myself and many locals !

Quick yummy lunch.. had crispy eggplant and dumplings.. awesome food..

Beautiful food, far from your standard run-of-the-mill asian restaurant. The fried eggplant was outstanding. Overall, a really nice and relaxed place to hang out.

Had the crispy eggplant which was tagged as a 'must try'. It was excellent but had a very rich sauce so I had some rice to cut through the richness, as advised by the waitperson. I found that it needed it. Would have it again as a shared dish as the whole dish was a bit rich for me on my own.

Amazing coffee. Very smooth. The dumplings were nice but a little sweet for my taste. Service was great!

Convenient place to have dinner after a movie at Lumiere. Been here twice and had very tasty meals However, both times one meal was brought out, then 5-10 mins later the second meal arrived, which meant the first dish is getting cold while we are waiting.

The service is so comforting. Friendly and helpful. We went for lunch on new years eve. It was so good we went back for tea on the same day. I love ice in my water as they provide tap water. When we returned for tea the lovely waitress has a big glass of ice ready for me. You must try the fried egg plant just amazing. Delicious dumplings. Yellow curry was amazing Mongolian lamb was superb. If you want friendly (genuine) service, superb food highly recommend DUO.

Great selection of NZ blended eclectic teas.. Fancy a koroheki ginger horopito zinger! Not sure you'll get it here, but certainly something as interesting.

Calm decor.  Beautiful crockery.  Music not too loud.  Staff attentive but not obtrusive.<br/><br/>Mains did not arrive together, one came out several minutes ahead but at the same time as our side of fries for the table so we two had something to nibble on while our guest got stuck in.<br/><br/>Guest had the spicy pork wonton soup, which he declared to be delicious.  This came off the ‘light’ menu, and the waitress had strongly recommended he order a side in addition, so he had the Asian slaw.  Not sure he actually needed it, but it was beautifully presented and went down well.<br/><br/>Mum had the Mongolian lamb stir-fry.  This was spicier than she expected, not having had Mongolian anything before, but she likes a bit of spice and happily polished it all off.  She thought the vegetables in particular were well-prepared as well as thoughtfully chosen.<br/><br/>Being somewhat out of my comfort zone, I ordered probably the least ‘Asian’ thing on the menu, the steamed salmon fillet with seasonal vegetables.  ‘Vegetables’ to me implies more than one vegetable, so I was a little surprised to get just broccoli, but there certainly was plenty of it!  I was very impressed that they had disassembled the broccoli into bite-size pieces, then re-arranged it, presumably with a small bowl as a template, to look like an intact head of broccoli again.  The salmon was delicious, perfectly cooked and glazed with soy sauce or similar.  I’m a very small eater for medical reasons, so I had quite a bit left over to bring home.  Had it for breakfast this morning.  Still delicious.<br/><br/>The French fries were perfect, crispy, not over-salted, and piping hot straight from the kitchen.  Two dipping sauces.  Just like you want them to be.<br/><br/>I just had water, but my guests tell me that the coffee and the green tea are excellent.  The tea comes in a pot with a little timer so you know how long it’s supposed to be steeped for.  I love thoughtful touches like that.<br/><br/>Would happily return.

I absolutely loved my visits to this place new staff Lucy and team are very hospitable.<br/>The handmade dumplings were a delicate and exquisite treat.All modern Asian cuisine so wonderful.It had been 2 years since my last dine in and I absolutely loved it.

We are in New Zealand!! #SouthIslandTour<br/>Rating: 3.5<br/>This bar/diner is right oppo. to Canterbury Museum and in the heart of tourist area. So is that worth it? <br/><br/>Food 3.5-4<br/>The Asian fusion dishes certainly have favours - recommended curries with rice. <br/><br/>Service 2.5-3<br/>The food comes slow, as many mentioned below. Our three dishes took about 20-25min to arrive (not too great as we are travelling and would like to minimise time waste). <br/>The staff who helped us with order comes with no smile. One dish she had to check with kitchen a few times.

Mixed feelings about this place. I had the dan dan noodles which were mostly noodles with little meat and not much flavour, however my partner had the Mongolian lamb which was quite nice. It's quite pricey for this type of cuisine compared to what you can get elsewhere in Chch. Looking at the menu again I fear I may have just picked the wrong dish as many of the other options sound appetising. I would try Duo again based off the other options, it's cool street art vibe and its proximity to the gardens.

I didn't like the waiting took so long when we ordered entree and main at the same time just to speed things up also it took ages for four cocktails to be made and all four of them tasted foul I had to force myself to drink it because it was $14 a cocktail and we all got a different one but tasted each other's it tasted like soda water and that's all .. I did however love the friendly service staff are so nice and welcoming I did love the food but I thought it was a bit over priced

Great dumplings and well presented though could have been more generous with serving size. That said - I had room for dessert! The decor is a little dated but great service!

Amazzzzzing went here for a staff do a wee while ago and the food is amazing!!!!! Staff are friendly and know the menu well, can recommend to suit tastes and do fantastic beverage pairing too!

Came here after a buskers show. To be honest it was over priced for what you get. The katsu chicken burger was good but they aren't super big - they were very generous on the fries though. I would never pay $16 for 6 small dumplings! That's blasphemy! But great staff and great vibe in the place, OK for nibbles and after work drinks! Had noodles here for a lunch special, good size but somewhat bland

One of the best restaurant meals I've ever had. Delicious food beautifully presented. Incredibly helpful & obliging staff. Modern interior, relaxing yet professional. Fantastic.

First time in Christchurch and I arrived late so nothing was open in the city. I did expect a subway but nothing, however I did find DUO. <br/><br/>I had the beef burger with fries and a corona beer. It was a good size decent burger, it was something I was expecting. The fires were standard, just fries. <br/><br/>The atmosphere was good for a Tuesday night, the decor was great. <br/><br/>Christchurch needs more places like this and fast!

This place has good potential but needs a lot of improvement to attract repeat patrons, mainly in areas of food/beverages. Interiors are nice and ambience is okay. Service standards are overall fair.

Lamb shanks are delicious, seasonal vegetables were as well. Love that they do take-away. Great staff and a good menu. Place has a nice layout and a good vibe. Have gone back several times.

Thought we'd try this place..Glad we did!!!<br/>the service was great..quick and efficient..<br/>The food we had was fine dining quality and without fault..<br/>We dine out alot and we will be definitely be returning..

Super friendly staff and very efficient but incredibly slow.  Perhaps the fault of the kitchen.We were very lucky to get a last minute booking on New Years Eve but were disappointed to find it is attached to the YMCA yet it features in the gold pages of the Entertainment book!!  We waited 1 hour for our entrees, the shared platter was yummy.  I had braised steak for main course which was not exciting to say the least, but there was a lot of meat on the plate,  it was served with some rubbery polenta cake, the vegetables were nice.  My dessert was a chocolate mousse cake which was tasteless and consequently I left half of It on my plate as did my daughter.  The ice cream was nice and the coffee excellent.

Went to Duo Dining Room on a Saturday night for my mother's birthday dinner and was quite happy. The cocktail selection was delicious and we all enjoyed tasting each others but the wait for service was a little slack. Our dishes were not removed from the table once done and the water not replaced but over all the staff were friendly. The food had ups and downs although were cooked to perfection some of the choices were a bit odd. I had the duck leg which was beautiful with an entree of garlic prawns (which you only get four of). Mum ordered the cashew schnitzel and was surprised to find the meat was actually coated in the nuts which was weird and she didn't finish her meal. I walked out happy but not a stand out restaurant in my mind, but maybe that has to do with having to go through the YMCA to use the bathrooms

I am from the state of Texas in the USA. I've eaten at the DUO Restaurant many times and tried several of the dishes offered over the last week. I have found the staff very friendly, attentive, and wanting to please. My food has been delivered to me hot every time and it seemed to me that I got my meals in a short period of time. The meals were very pleasing in there presentation, and both the texture and taste of the food made it a wonderful eating experience. My taste buds were jumping for joy with each meal. I have never found myself describing my eating experience in this way. If this restaurant was near my home in Texas, I would most definitely be frequenting it and taking my friends there.

We dined here last night 24th September, the meal was beautiful. Soup piping hot and very well presented with a warmed plate beneath the soup bowl. Main course of lamb cutlets and a salad, very tasty and again well presented. Though could have done with some potatoe or rice. The salad was in a cute hard noodle basket. Actually I wasn't sure whether or not it was for eating...so I ate half of it! But not very tasty.<br/>Dessert was expensive for what it was[three scoops of different flavoured icecream]<br/>My husband had the garlic prawns as an entree and loved them and the duck with orange and honey for his main which he also enjoyed. The service was perfect and the restaurant very pleasant. Quite expensive but probably in keeping with where it was situated.

Sadly we were both disappointed with our meals ... My friend's risotto came out lukewarm and had to be reheated and my prawn and cream cheese dumplings were very disappointing and a small 'lunch' dish. We had been charged $1 extra for yoghourt with the brownie which was not mentioned on the menu and which most establishments provide free of charge. Will not be visiting again due to the above.

The menus were printed on tacky paper and weren't even laminated! This is highly unacceptable in my eyes. The service was also not as good as I expected. Me and my family also received our food cold once again to no surprise at a restaurant that is over rated. Not happy.<br/><br/>EDIT: You replied to me as Dean? How rude.... I'm a female and my name is blatantly Patricia!

We dined at Duo early on a Friday night. We were greeted by a friendly waitress who gave us our menus. I chose the smoked teriyaki salmon, and my partner had lamb cutlets, and we had prawns for an entree. The prawns arrived promptly: they were deep fried and battered with sweet chilli dipping sauce - tasted good but seemed very basic, ie the sweet chilli sauce tasted store brought. My salmon was well cooked and delicious, however it was served with three pieces of unpleasant sushi - which was hard, dry and tasted like it had been in the fridge too long. My partner's lamb was served with a tasteless mango chutney but again, the meat was perfectly cooked and tender. Both were served with similar mescalin mix-based salads which tasted great, but I would have expected something a little more sophisticated. <br/><br/>Although the food was overall quite tasty, we felt that the restaurant was disappointing in several areas and did not reflect the price we paid for our meals (over $30 ea): although the service was friendly and prompt, we were served by 3 different waitresses during the night, we would have felt better looked after by just one. Also we were offered pepper when we had almost finished our mains...a bit strange. The seating arrangement made us feel exposed and marooned in the middle of the restaurant and definitely was not romantic. It also wasn't very warm and the hard wooden seats made me feel envious of the bar patrons who had booths! When I went to go to the toilet, I discovered that I had to walk out into the YMCA and use their toilets...baffling! We noticed that most of the meals ranged from $27-35, which was more than the advertised price range of $15-25. The decor was a bit shabby, and the menus were printed on a loose A4 piece of paper which again, didn't reflect the pricing of the food. <br/><br/>Overall it was disappointing, wont be going back.

We have a weekend ritual when the kids are not with us of a Sunday lunch.Today we tried Duo. <br/>A quick check of the Menu Mania reviews and photos of the menu, we headed off on a very shitty Christchurch day.<br/>Parking was easy with the YMCA carpark right next door.<br/>First impressions are good, a clear well set out bar and dining room. Nobody in there........ except the staff and one other couple. <br/>Wine list was small put well put together, not cheap not expensive though a good selection.<br/>Our service staff were very good and helpful despite my daft questions.<br/>Food arrived in record time and was well presented.<br/>Taste was good and fresh. Ordered the Chicken Salad (very good) Crumbed Prawns (Nice filler), Cheviche (needed some salt but clean and fresh) and the Prawn and Cream Cheese Dumplings ( very good though the sauce needed a bit more of a kick).<br/>Offered deserts but we had to head away.<br/>I always check on this site to read the reviews and noted that the Head Chef personally responded to each review despite whether or not it was favorable or not. Nice touch, great to see a restaurant taking their customers views seriously.<br/>Will indeed be back. Well worth a visit. Thank you

We have been to Duo a few times now. Have always found the staff very friendly and helpful, and the menu has something for everybody. We have been as a family and with business associates. It is great for a drink after work with the fire outside keeping the chill away this time of year. From the menu we have had shanks, salmon, risotto, and schnitzel. We have family members with particular dietery requirements and have always been looked after with no fuss. Great relaxed atmosphere, will be back again soon.

We had a group lunch at Duo on the 17th May for 9 people.<br/><br/>Before we even went to the restaurant to eat I found the staff very friendly and obliging. We had one guest with certain dietary requirements and upon notifying Duo they promptly offered an alternative option. No fuss = Fantastic!<br/><br/>All our guests absolutely loved the food, I have never had across the board positive feedback from a group, as always its hard to please everyone but in this case Duo did just that.<br/><br/>The portion sizes of food and drink are by far the best value I have seen in Christchurch for some time and this is a massive plus.<br/><br/>The standard of service is also definitely worth a mention. All our guests on the day are well versed is dining out and everyone felt that the attentive but yet not over the top service was exceptional.<br/><br/>We will all be back.

I was looking forward to trying a new inner city restaurant for my birthday dinner. Duo was in a good location and the menu looked interesting so I made a booking. The staff were lovely greeting us promptly and allowing us to choose where we wanted to sit. We ordered drinks and I was pleasantly surprised to see my glass of Chardonnay was well above the standard glass size, great start. My husband and I ordered a flat bread and chickpea purée to start. I'm sure the flat bread was a supermarket bought pita heated in a microwave and the chickpea purée was as bland as wallpaper paste. The mains were not much better. My husband ordered the pork belly and I had the duck leg with peanut sauce. Both were tough and had that reheated flavour. Mine was accompanied with a mushy salad of lettuce and pear with a reheated potato cake. Both looked so un-appetising and dated. Desert was nothing special either. I'm annoyed because we paid for this sub-standard experience. I think Christchurch patrons deserve better, especially in the inner city where restaurant choices are still few and far between. I wish I had gone with my gut and stayed away but I really wanted to be wrong about this place. However, like I said the staff were friendly and obliging, the drinks were generous and the location is great, but, sadly, the food is just not that good.

As a group of 6 females, we stayed at the YMCA and decided to pop in for a drink at Duo which had only been open a week. The staff were really lovely and treated us like queens, so we decided to stay on for dinner. The menu seemed interesting so we all tried different meals. They were superb, filling and the service great. We decided to go back 2 nights later and again the service was fantastic and they had added snacks to the menu and even sorted out a few coctails for us to try. Again we all ordered different meals and were not disappointed. We thorougly recommend this place to just pop in for a catch up with friends or go for dinner. You will not be disappointed.

New restaurant in a very nice location opposite the botanical gardens, it has a modern interior and interesting mix of Asian and European dishes. It is a good spot for a dinner or a drink after events in the park and has a good range of interesting snacks.