Review C1 Espresso - Christchurch

Came here after a flight and before a drive, definitely a nice place to have breakfast and some nice quirky features. The food was pretty good and the servings were plentiful. I especially liked the tea and the fact they gave me extra tea leaves to bring home.

Love that they offer dairy free options. Was able to enjoy an iced chocolate for the first time in a long time. I didn't enjoy the fried chicken I ordered though, there was pretty much no meat to it

Very cool atmosphere! Especially the bookcase door to the bathrooms! Loved the pneumatic tubes look, but in order to fit the sandwiches and fries, portions are a bit small. I expected the fries to be sent separately knowing how tiny the tubes are. There was no warning when the tube was sent either so we missed seeing it in the actual tube system. The tubes are also very hard to open and with no instructions on how to open. Another customer asked me later on how I got mine open cause she was also struggling. My friends ordered the Chemex coffee, and it was a make it yourself thing (didn’t mention on the menu). They had never made this kind of coffee and in general didn’t want to have to make their own coffee in the morning (kind of why you go out to eat in general instead of making breakfast yourself). Same with my friends salmon avocado toast. They just sent out the ingredients and you had to assemble them yourself. We were almost done with our food by the time she had finished putting her breakfast together. But the waffles! So sooooo good. Best of the food items we ordered by far.

This café makes one of the best flat whites in the city. Have been here several times in the last month and the consistency is pretty good. The ambience is great too, more relaxed than some frenetically busy places, having good sound absorption. There's a nice external streetside courtyard too.

Love how quirky this place is. Loved the pneumatic tube delivery. The iced choc is amazing. Love the bookshelf door to the decorated toilet aisle and the harry potter audiobook while on the toilet. Great outing. Loved it

Great place to go for coffee, fantastic old Post Office complete with working pneumatic delivery tubes, which depending on what food you order, is delivered to your table in a sealed canister via the tubes. Pretty cool watching your order fly about the ceiling in the spaghetti of tubes and have it plonk out at your table. Coffee was great, albeit in smaller cups than I would have liked, when I order a large flat white, I want a large cup! Atmosphere is great and going to the toilets behind the secret door is an adventure in itself. Great place to take friends or family who've come to town to stay. Go there! I'll definitely be back 😌

I gotta admit that I was apprehensive going to C1 after reading reviews of the service, but the lady who took my order was nothing but patient as she made recommendations when I asked for it. As written in many reviews, the food is sent to your nearest point of retrieval via the pneumatic tubes which runs through C1. In terms of the coffee, it was pleasant but wasn’t the best that I’d had. Strangely, it was more aromatic when it cooled down. The burger was satisfying, but again, nothing to write home about. But overall, the atmosphere was lovely

Such a cool cafe to pop into for a cup of coffee. The atmosphere is nice and relaxing and really cool seeing the food being delivered to everyone through the tubes. Cappuccinos are delicious, highly recommended.

No kidding, this is literally my favorite coffee shop anywhere in the world so far. The coffee and the food are very good, everyone is friendly, and the design of the space is just great. I loved everything about it and wish I could take the whole thing home with me.

Good vibes and good service. Maybe a bit higher priced but u come here for the atmosphere. The great rest rooms🤣. The service. The pneumatic experience. We had drinks and fries. 👌👌👌

Cool and calm atmosphere with a very cool old tube system. The menu states if food will be delivered by tube and understandably the less casual food comes by plate. I got the omelette and bread which was a good breaky. Everyone enjoyed their meals and is a good brunch place.

Excellent food and coffee options, gorgeous presentation. Yummy fluffy scrambled eggs and waffles. Love the furnishings, especially the bookcase sliding door and the sewing machine water dispenser.

Great decor styling and overall vibe is pretty cool. Food was delish as well. Just wish I had ordered the curly fries so I could have seen them flying through the tubes on the ceiling!!

Funky cafe, lovely style and delicious food and coffee. I had stumbled across this cafe when I was looking on places to go for coffee (via in a Google Maps search) and was drawn to the cool pneumatic tubes. The breakfast I ordered didn't come in these though and I didn't see anyone else have their meals delivered this way but was cool to see the tubes around the cafe. I liked the old Singer sewing machine that was a water pump operated by turning the flywheel...funky. Also liked the door to the toilets that looks like a bookshelf full of books. The coffee was excellent and the homemade sweet crumpets served with peaches, honey, mascapone and pistachios was perfect. Staff were friendly and the place had a great atmosphere.

Super average service, never had a more unpleasant experience while ordering a coffee. It's clear the staff hate being there. Do you enjoy being glared at whilst deciding what to order? Do you enjoy being told that you're not as important as other customers? Then this is the place for you.

- Staff are extremely rude<br/>- Dietary requirements are ignored. My friend who is coeliac was given wheat bread. I’m dairy free and was served butter. They also served us raw egg. This happened more than once<br/>- All coffee is served single shot. Who does that?! They charge for two shots. Good money spinner!<br/>- The food is average at best. It’s always greasy. Overpriced. Tacky with the pneumatic pipes<br/>- The prices are incredibly steep. $18.00 for cold brew coffee is absurd <br/>- I gave them a second chance. I’d never return nor spend another cent here. By far the worst cafe in Christchurch

Neat place in the city centre. They have pneumatic tubes that deliver hot chips, which is quite cool! Their staff are lovely and the hot drinks are always good.<br/>The only downside to it being such a great place is that it's always packed and loud.

Had a lovely long black and shared the big breakfast which was yummy. The staff are friendly and attentive and food is beautifully presented. Definitely recommend for a bite to eat when in Christchurch

Coffee and food was not hot enough and overpriced for what it was. The mocha was nice but cold. The novelty factor was cool though.

Crap food that had no taste. The girl who took out order at the counter was so rude not making eye contact and giving us short responses when we were asking about things. She was patronising and horrible tbh. That basically ruined our day as we were so pissed off at her.

I don't understand why the rating is 4.9. 1st the lady serving was sooo rude! Me and my husband thinks she really have an attitude. The the coffee, my latte is so small that i barely tasted the coffee. Seems like a steamed milk. Food, my french toast, honestly is lika a joke, a couple of sweet pastry with sauce, tastes like muffin with strawberry sauce. Then my husband's big breakfast is not big at all! The spinach made it big. What a joke. Horrible start of our day here in Christchurch.

Cute café full of fun and cheekiness, they have great coffee as well as food too. <br/><br/>We ordered:<br/><br/>Open Breakfast Burrito (Quite a big dish with a finishing touch of poached egg on top)<br/><br/>French Toast (very cute and pretty, but not overly sweet!)<br/><br/>Cauliflower nuggets & Fish and Chips (which are awesomely served through their famous pneumatic tubes with a personal touch, be careful when twisting the dish open as contents may spill out),<br/><br/>Pulled Pork Nachos (Big portion)<br/><br/>Big breakfast “Super Choice Bro” (got bits of EVERYTHING)<br/><br/>The entrance to the bathroom is via a secret bookcase that opens up, and you might even be lucky enough to find a fly in your mug! The workers are also humourous too.<br/><br/>They also sell coffee beans, I enjoyed their long black which was rich, and also tried their Bullet Proof coffee too. They also have an extensive list of tea for non-coffee drinkers.<br/><br/>Will visit again (just a short flight from Auckland)!

Great place for brunch. Food is excellent and well priced. Great location and good atmosphere. Don’t miss the opportunity to get fries through pneumatics tubes!

Interesting experience in terms of decor and cool library door to toilet plus tubes to deliver food. Only had coffee and a tea. Tea was a bit weak and coffee a bit bitter too be frank.

This cafe is quite interesting! All of their food is put in small metal cylinders and delivered to guests by the tunnels. When food is arrived, there are bells ringing to inform. With all these funny stuffs, I was actually an explorer discovering and learning inside. In terms of their coffee and food, they were perfect as well. The flat white smelled so good and fish n chips was super crisp. I will definitely miss this place!

great place! very original way of delivering food to your table and the atmosphere is nice. although the food did take a while it was tasty and i understand that it was busy that morning. will definitely be back next time i’m in christchurch!

This place is AMAZING! So different and fun! Makes you want to fly down to Christchurch just to go back and take your friends!<br/>I had the Eggs Montreal, tastiest Montreal I've had! Full of flavour and instead of toast there was a beautiful tasty hash brown!!!<br/>My Dad had Pulled Pork Nachos which he raved about :D<br/>Veeery Impressed and next time will order fries so they come through the tubes in the ceiling!!

Lovely place. Coffee was pretty good but not as great as I expected (I ordered a mocha but got a fw) and food was nice.<br/>The setup was beautiful.<br/><br/>These guys buy from Samoa so I'm definitely giving them a 4 star rating. Thank you for supporting local businesses that espouse sustainable living.

Awesome vibe and creativity. Best fish and chips and great coffee. Burgers a bit bland though. Best banoffee ever, great texture, taste and presentation. The bathroom plays an audio book of harry potter and the place has awesome hidden quirks like food delivered via a pneumatic tube !!

Was visiting Chch by myself and decided to visit this café since it has great reviews. Went on a Sunday afternoon and it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be, the vibe inside was great, love the music selection - keep in mind I was alone so I don't mind at all - but you do need to shout a bit if you go with friends. The matcha & hemp latte is amazing - but I am biased towards Matcha. The salmon benedict is 10/10 in presentation and looks delicious at first sight, great hash browns and hollandaise sauce, there is a good amount of salmon; however the poached eggs are slightly overcooked, was a bit disappointed to see a solid chunk of yolk (in both eggs!) - see pic. Have told this to the waitress so hopefully the message has got through. Would love to come here with people one day and try the rest of the menu. Thank you!

I went to C-One cafe by myself yesterday evening. I love the unique foods and beverages that they have there. Last night I tried the hemp latte. It was unique but not quite up my alley. I thought the taste reminded me of the botanical gardens.<br/><br/>I tried the spinach and cheese pastry thing and that is delicious. I also don't mind buying the chocolate moose there.<br/><br/>I have been there a few times in the past and my favourite drink there is the beetroot latte. I also love the vegan cheese cakes there too, as it reminds of the unbakery cafe up in Auckland.

Very impressed with this cafe. Service was not very friendly or anything special but I can overlook that as it was okish. I had the jasmine dragon tea, very nice tea, loved how it was served in a beautiful pot. I thought the cafe was cool inside and liked watching the food come through the shoot. I had the pulled pork nachos. I don't normally like pulled pork as I have never had it where it's not fatty and oily tasting but the nachos sounded good. The pork to my surprise was amazing, lovely sweet tang to it. The beans, avocado, sour cream and other items with it were delicious. Loved the chips too, they didn't go soggy like most nacho chips. Would love to come back next time I visit Christchurch

This place blows most Auckland cafes out of the water.<br/>Coffee is amazing! I loved how it wasn't scalding hot like how most espresso is served so I could drink it straight away & experience the best flavour of the beans. Food also really good, had the big breakfast option "Super Choice Bro" with poached eggs and they were poached perfectly, which often doesn't happen at a lot of cafes.<br/>Atmosphere is cool & interesting. The automatic bookshelf-door on the way to the toilets is neat.<br/><br/>Only flaw is they don't have any highchairs which would be nice of them to have

The coolest cafe in Christchurch. The whole experience at this cafe is great, from getting your food delivered through overhead tubes, to walking through a secret passage way to get to the bathroom. <br/><br/>It’s also open late so it also doubles as the best late night dessert place in Christchurch.

Food: 5/5<br/>Ambiance: 5/5<br/>Service: 5/5<br/><br/>Heard a lot about this place so gave it a go when I was in Christchurch last. Where to start? I entered the cafe and received a sudden awe, the place looks like it came out from a combined sci-fi scene, very innovative yet bright and beautiful :)<br/><br/>Had coffee and banoffee pie. Coffee was strong and banoffee pie was off the chart. <br/><br/>Bonus the staff were friendly and inviting.. Surely they were used to people came with amazement over the whole experience :P

Atmosphere and coffee was great! Unfortunately the portions were small and the price was high. Probably wouldn’t return for food due to the portion size but would return for the coffee.

From Australia . This place is beautiful! They have tubes that deliver burgers etc to your table. The bacons and eggs and folded eggs were excellent! <br/>On top of that finally I found coffee that actually tastes good in NZ. 👌🏼👌🏼

Great service, great food, great ambience and great creativity! I’ve been here numerous times and have not been disappointed yet. I especially like the variety of vegetarian food options.

It's a "cool" place with a lot of interesting features, an at least a little bit of soul.<br/><br/>But I really can't see how it deserves a 4.7/10 rating. Somewhat expensive, mediocre coffee, food is decent but not amazing. Definitely worth visiting, and a bit of a Christchurch institution, but there's better.

1. Bircher Museli 2. Eggs Benedict with Salmon 3. Eggs and Bacon on toast<br/><br/>Delicious food. THEY HAVE A BOOK CASE DOOR AND STAR WAR FIGURINES AS SIGNS FOR THEIR TOILETS!1!1!1! Very funky ambience, good service. Some dishes are a bit more costly but good quality food comes at a price.<br/><br/>On the other hand, i was a bit disappointed with their bircher museli as it was more like hard couscous and had no oats and little fruit.

Super cool vibes and loved the look of the place, I only went in for a tumeric latte by it was deliciously creamy and had good balance of spice! It was one of the only cafes open during easter which was great and a place I’ll definitely recommend

Not my favourite cafe but a really nice place. I ordered French toast which I didn’t like much. The service was good and the environment is amazing.

It's a cool cafe in an old post office building... but C-One isn't just about style. It also has substance, with some pretty good food on offer. We chose C-One for brunch on our last morning in Christchurch and I ordered the bacon and poached eggs on multigrain. Gee, it was great to be able to get regular bread at a cafe for once, rather than having to deal with Turkish or sourdough. The bacon was crispy, and the bread was lovely and fresh. One of the two eggs was slighly overdone, though, meaning there was no runny yolk when I cut into it. My partner tried C-One's grapefruit juice and its orange juice. Both were really fresh and tasty. Service was fast and friendly and it was great to see that they even deliver some meals via the old pneumatic tube delivery system that, I assume, was in the original post office.

We have no idea where does this 4.7 come from, the coffee is pricey, guess I paid the extra for the location. The whole place is noisy and table not even clean. I am glad that I came in late afternoon and it’s cloudy. Otherwise I would be feeling super hot since there is no AC at all :-) I can tell most people I this room re the tourist like me, I would suggest you go somewhere else for some local coffee gems....

Their coffe was good and food quality and taste was amazing but our only disappoint was that the Price range is too high and the food quantity was less.

Super cool cafe! I mainly cane for the theatrics of the pneumatic tube food delivery but the cabinet food looked great as well! Got the sliders and two servings of curly fries... a bit on the pricy end but you pay for the experience. Great ambience too!

The coffee here is really smooth and rich. The blueberry Chia cake was tasty but nothing spectacular. I really liked the decor of the place as well. I wouldn't mind having the coffee here again.

Such a great place! Absolutely love the vibe - busy and bustling with the tubes buzzing overhead! Ordered a charcoal latte and the toasted bagel with sundried tomato cream cheese and avocado. The latte was ok - tastes a lot like sweetened milk. The bagel was great though, the sundried tomato cream cheese complimented so well with the avocado. It was so more-ish. I highly recommend it!

Played cool music, loads of outdoor seating which is perfect for the hot sunny summer days In Chch, the lasagne is so yum, and I would highly recommend having the hot chocolate waffle cones, really yum and fun to make up!

■good atmosphere <br/>■friendly <br/>■varieties <br/>■popular <br/><br/>I checked this place on Zomato before I visited.<br/>I understood the reason why this cafe got high rating on zomato.<br/>

This cafe made me a very happy boy. Not only was their coffee exceptionally good and there was curly fries, the curly fries was sent to me via pneumatic tubes and the water refilling station was an old sewing machine that used the wheel on the side as a tap. How cool is that?!<br/><br/>Note: Menu has been changed. Prices increased. It's posted along with my pictures.

Impressive. The fit out is amazing. We were here for an early morning midweek breakfast. Would love to come back & order a burger & fries just to see how it's delivered. The omelette was a huge serve. Berry smoothie was refreshing. You can see that a lot of thought has gone into creating this space. The pneumatic tubing, the decor, the water dispensers right down to the cute crayon looking sugar sachets! So glad we found this place on our visit to Christchurch.

Love the coffee here with great breakfasts. Better half really enjoyed the range of teas and take home portion of the white tea. A true local establishment.

I really enjoy this cafe! It's so unique, big and spread out. I LOVE the sliders and I think it arrives in such an awesome way through those tubes. The presentation of the drinks are great!

On first impression this is a place with great atmosphere. It was buzzing with people when we arrived and we were a bit concerned it might take a while for food to arrive but were told 15 minutes. Our lukewarm coffees arrived after 15 minutes. We tried to stay optimistic for our food as other meals looked interesting and tasty. After about 40 minutes we asked about our food and after a check in the kitchen, apology that they are very busy, they said 5 to 10 more minutes. Our barely warm food arrived 20 minutes later. The scrambled eggs were tasteless and seemed unseasoned, the ($5) half avocado unripe but the bread was tasty. I tried to enjoy the experience but overall was very disappointed. Why have so many tables if they can't keep up with the orders? Maybe a bad day in the kitchen as I can't imagine why the place is so busy otherwise.

Love the atmosphere and the foid. They even do awesome coffees, im always on a hunt for good coffees. Even their display food tastes amazing and is unique. I go there whenever I want to go out for breakfast, especially for that mousse. Love it. Just don't have their berry milkshake...its not the usual style..and doesnt sit well with some people.

Our #☝🏾️ stop coffee shop, top notch, full stop. <br/>Nice vibe, great service!...................................<br/>...............................👏🏾👊🏾🙌🏾👍🏾👌🏾

What a wonderful establishment C-One Espresso is. After venturing around NZ, it was fantastic to find a little bit of home (Melbourne) in Christchurch. The coffee was perfect. The food was fantastic. The interior is something else. <br/>I spent longer than usual in the bathroom as the Harry Potter audio book played. The little quirky touches like this (plus the outstanding coffee and food) is what make C-One SO phenomenal. I loved the book shelf doors too. Everything, I love love loved! <br/>As busy as it is the service was still efficient and the staff great and helpful. I wish I could give it over a 5!

<br/>Underwhelmed. Menu prices on zomato have been hugely increased - $24.90 for a BLAT as well as the eggs bene & other dishes. Bacon with eggs an exorbitant $24.90 when the same dish without the bacon is under $10.<br/>For some reason they won't serve trim or skim coffees & as the coffee that did come was average I see no reason to go back.<br/>A long wait for dishes thst were luke warm & wrong. The order for eggs & bacon arrived without bacon & the order for BLT, no avocado, came with a huge amount of avocado. <br/>Lovely building with beautiful garden to sit in but they were all style & no substance on our visit. Trendy setup but a bit smug & resting on their reputation.

Simply Superb !! Absolutely loved the Beetroot burger with butter beans and pomegranate pistachio praline. Curly fries is a must to order as sides and do keep some place for their yumilicious desserts. Must visit in CHC. Thumbs up :-)

This cafe is awesome, I didn't eat any real food here because a friend took me here just to have coffee, she has a backed potato and said it was so yummy! <br/><br/>I have a soy latte it was very good not bitter not too hot perfect! My gf had a hot chocolate said the marshmallows where not very good :-( <br/><br/>I have a vegan chinnamon slice it was so nice strong in flavour but amazing! <br/><br/>I kept hearing a little bell ring, but before I heard the noise I asked my friend what the clear tubes on the roof was for well it's how they deliver some of the food, it's amazing it looks cool great service!!!

The pneumatic burger delivery system is what brought my attention to this place, and it did not disappointed! Friendly staff, funky vibe and secret toilets, as well as good burgers!

C1 has a very hipster atmosphere..I first heard about C1 though its large talk over chips that shoot through a pipe to your table- so of course, I had to see for myself.<br/><br/>I ordered a beetroot chocolate cake with raspberry sauce in a syringe, eggs Benedict & a chocolate milk, served in an ice cream cone. This is definitely a place I would go for the experience and enjoyment, the food is pretty hyped up but all in all the food is average. Will be giving credit for how creative they are with each plate!

If you are looking for good vibes, C-One is definitely a place to go for.<br/>Apart from good quality of coffee and food, the interior and decoration are amazing.

I am absolutely sold on their hipster-ish ideas on drinks, pneumatic tube sliders. Great cabinet selection of food. However the coffee is just ok, not grunty enough for my addict needs.

This is the cafe of my dreams. Pneumatic tubes deliver your food, water comes out of a sewing machine and the bathrooms are nowhere to be found. Staff are lovely and the food is even better.

Only a couple of days left in Christchurch, and it's finally time to visit one of the coolest cafés in town. Ah well, better late than never, right? The night sky was clouded, so there were no Milky Way like last night. What a shame. There's a small beehive colony and community garden patch upstairs on the roof. Also some grape vines, so C1 espresso can produce their own honey, vege and wine. How awesome!

Had coffee here yesterday. Great place with a great atmosphere. Coffee was excellent. For Breakfast I just had toast with Jam, which was nice, but you can't really mess that up.<br/>They only serve full cream milk, no trim milk which I think is odd for a Cafe these days, but far froma  deal breaker. <br/>Service was excellent and staff very attentive.

Staying in CC for 3 days and C1 is the #1 recommended cafe. Cool music, awesome decor, very impressive water sewing machine, bookshelf sliding door & wonderful coffee. Absolutely loved our first brekkie in CC 👏🏼👏🏼

Food was good and service was quick despite the long queue to order! Don't be discourage by the queue it's worth it. Get the fries and you'll love how they come!

I love c1. It's such a different place to go, always busy and humming, and very vibrant. I hadn't had a tiramisu in years due to being gluten free and these guys nailed a gf one. Will be going back!

Cool futuristic lamson tubes which deliver curly fries? Manga on the walls? Open sesame fake bookshelf doors? This place is full of personality and quirk. Lunch time food was good but nothing super amazing. The French toast had nice complementing flavours. The sliders at night are SMALL - but strangely filling enough. They had cool looking coffee there that needed something special but I did not try it. <br/><br/>Downfall:The tubes didn't deliver to out table and our food was left to sit there for a while which was annoying that the staff didn't notice/do anything.

It was a wet and rainy day in Christchurch so we decided to try something a little different. The cafe itself is really cool with different things that you wouldn't normally get. <br/><br/>We ordered smoothies and curly fries just so we can see the tubes being used. They are really cool as they come down and the food is still hot which is a plus!<br/><br/>I think it is a little over priced for what it is but definitely go once just to try it out!

Came for a quick snack break, and opted with the brownies to go with a hot chocolate. The brownies were really nice, crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside with nuts giving some more crunch. The hot chocolate was also nice.<br/><br/>The decor was quite interesting, almost futuristic with all the tubing and didn't realise it was how they served (some of) their food.<br/><br/>Interesting stop and had free wifi so a convenient stop to re coup for a bit before seeing more the city.

Can you imagine we visited C-One Expresso 3 times in 24 hours? Yes, you are not wrong. 3 times in 24 hours.<br/>This is my family favourite cafe in Christchurch!<br/><br/>I had super choice bro which came with 2 eggs, harsh brown, portobello mushroom, home baked beans, a slice of bacon belly (wow! This was so yummy!), avocado and spinach! For $24.90 I feel that it was worth for money!<br/><br/>I had to praise their fluffy! They use a wipe cream like machine to make the milk into cream form and spray the cream into a glass full of chocolate sauce and many mini marshmallows and a chocolate fish aside. After awhile the cream turned into milk.<br/>It was something special and difference!<br/><br/>For dinner we had sliders (with choices of beef, pork, salmon or chicken). We chose 3 sliders (3 sliders in an order) and the sliders were served with curly fries. The sliders and fries were placed into a cylinder container and delivered to us at our table using the pneumatic system. <br/>It was so fun and my kids were so happy and enjoyed their dinner so much.<br/><br/>Please go early for dinner to avoid disappointment.<br/><br/>

Absolutely delicious food & coffee and really reasonably priced too - despite this place always being packed, the food always comes out quickly and is amazing. One of my faves in the city! ❤️☕️

Been a few times. They used to be a bit snobby about not serving trim milk in their coffee (for my wife) so I did expect high standards. Every time I've had a simple flat white milk has been cold. Annoying. Quite pricey as well. Food ok though.

We came to C-One without any expectation and was instantly blown away with the decor and the energy of the cafe/restaurant. It was like a group of hipster teenagers exploded in the place and C-One was born.<br/>I think what's different about this cafe with the rest of our usual hipster cafes is its mixture of classic furnishings with its wooden cupboards, tables, chairs, walls, floors and just wooden everything, with some modern twists of simple sleek lines, delicately presented food and stylish coffee machines. Overall it gave off a very polished yet humble look that is secluded, warm and welcoming.<br/><br/>They have an extensive selection of drinks, especially their tea varieties, from those classic English breakfast to the more adventurous ones like chocolate and coconut. I chose a very standard berry tea: it came in a cute tray with an impressively sized pot; biggest one I've seen so far from all my cafe ventures, and a small jug of honey.<br/>They also have a good selection of items on their menu, I went for a sweet dish: the French toast with candied bacons and caramelised bananas. My partner ordered the open breakfast burrito. <br/>My dish came pretty as a picture and it was tasty too. The French bread was well toasted and moist, banana nicely caramelised and the bacon was a nice crispy touch. My partner's burrito looked well-presented as well, with generous portions of beans and veggies, he was a happy man.<br/><br/>I just couldn't resist their cabinet so I had to order something sweet from those incredibly looking slices and muffins. I ordered the White chocolate lamington with raspberry sauce/coulis that we inject ourselves. It was just delicious, the sweetness of the White chocolate balanced well with the sourness of the sauce. I ate it with my fruity tea but I'd imagine it even better being washed down with black tea such as English breakfast or Earl Grey.<br/><br/>Their staff are friendly and attentive, and very quick with their services. They were swept off of their feet with the amount of people pouring in one wave after another but they kept their professionalism throughout.<br/><br/>HOWEVER, my only disappointment is that I haven't visited this gem earlier and go back again to try EVERYTHING on the menu. And I meant EVERYTHING.<br/><br/>Will definitely come back again and again, I can't emphasis how soon I'd like to go back.

Very cool cafe with pleasing decor: a sewing machine retrofitted into a water dispenser, manga wall prints, Japanese door labels, Star Wars themed toilet door signs, a sliding door disguised as a book shelf, the list goes on. <br/><br/>Sliders were delicious as were the curly fries :)

I love food and I love trying new places to eat and drink. So why not combine this with my love of writing and do reviews!. The first place I have chosen to review is C1 Espresso, a trendy cafe in central Christchurch. After the 2011 earthquake C1 was forced to relocate and now resides in the old Post Office building on the corner of Tuam and High Streets.

This is one of my favourite chch spots. Great hot chocolates, hot blackcurrants, muffins, sliders and the best curly fries I reckon. There is a decent menu and cabinet food which always looks delicious. If you don't stay for a meal at least take the time to admire the building which is the old post office, it has great indoor decor complete with pinball machines, a secret door to the bathroom and a pneumatic food delivery system. Along with friendly customer service this place is open late, which is a godsend for central chch cafes at the moment.

Trendy place for coffee and breakfast. We had toasted cream cheese and bacon bagels - for a meal so basic, it was so good! Bagels were fresh and the bacon was cooked perfectly. Coffee was excellent. Interesting cabinet food too! I love how their sugar sachets look like crayons! Very cool place and great value for money.

Have been here a couple of times now and to be honest it's only for the novelty of the place and not the food, food is just average and very over priced

Hunting for good cafes is always on my to do list and it’s no exception when I travelled down to Christchurch with my family. After searching online on Zomato and filtering ones that opens during a public holiday, we made our way to C1 Espresso in the CBD. The cafe occupies an old art deco central post office building and is in the heart of the rebuild zone after the catastrophic Canterbury Earthquake. One of the most popular and iconic cafes in Christchurch, getting a table can be extremely difficult. The menu is pretty solid with plenty of different hearty options available as well as curly fries and sliders which flies into the dining room in a pneumatic tube delivery system.

Went there for afternoon tea with their lack-of <br/>-variety sliders with the portion for ants. The sliders lacked of flavour and were immensely dry. Overpriced mocha with a stale chocolate fish and marshmallows could have bought me two 2 litre tubs of ice cream. <br/><br/>I asked a waiter where the toilets were as they were hidden in the ratchet hipster cave yet I get given a rude-ass look and simply got ignored. Watched five other people struggle with finding the restroom as the doors with the weaboo (Japanese-wannabe) signs confusing the shit out of everyone.<br/><br/>The concept of the food being delivered through pipes was pretty cool yet unnecessary considering there were several waiters and waitresses mucking around refilling sugar sachets.<br/><br/>Never going again nor recommend unless you have no taste in food or fashion.

Good coffee and a good vibe! Would come back for the chip and the pipes were cool. <br/>Plus this place has lots of places to charge your phone and laptop :)

Great spot for a coffee and cake with a great breakfast menu. Service is great with a tube delivery system of some meals that will amaze kids and adults alike. Not really a dinner location but a great meet up place.

Beautiful ambient, nice people. Very original pneumatic-delivery ;) and on the few not too burnt short black that an Italian can find in New Zealand! We'll definitely go back there for breakfast tomorrow ;)

Loved the way they have designed the whole cafe.. They have a creative way of delivering food..<br/>I liked their food, but the quantity was less!<br/>Overall had a good experience!

Great selection of teas and a massive breakfast menu, the evening menu is disappointingly small, limited to sliders and chips. But given that the sliders and chips are delivered via the air tunnels in the ceiling, one could forgive them for that. :)

First place we visited on our short trip to Christchurch. The breakfast was delicious . We also enjoyed the pinball machines and the water dispenser made out of a sewing machine. All in all a really good cafe. Will definitely be back on our next visit to Christchurch.

This was one of my favourite places when I lived in Christchurch, both pre and post earthquake but now I have been disappointed on more than one occasion.<br/><br/>Mid week brunch took over 30 minutes to make it to the table and no other food seemed to be coming out of the kitchen.<br/><br/>The pancakes were more like tough pikelets and the french toast was dry sponge and all the toppings do nothing.<br/><br/>The slider menu at night is an experience but not one worth repeating.

Went there for a long black and as asparagus pie - both amazing! Very atmospheric cafe, free wifi, could spend hours here and probably would with a book or laptop if I lived here! Love it and well done :)

I popped in to Christchurch a few weeks ago and caught up with a friend. She said every time someone visits her, she will bring them to this cafe - no doubt about it. Upon entrance, at 10am on a Sunday I first notice straight away how busy it is then I notice the decor. <br/><br/>There's a wooden pony at the door - one of those fair ones where you insert a coin and let your kid ride on it. Not sure if it was purely for decoration or it actually does work as I didn't see anyone try it out. It was cute but it also set the tone for expectations. I was expecting the rest of the cafe theme to be around horses or barns and farms. But it wasn't really. <br/><br/>Then I finally notice the pneumatic tubes. I admit I was a bit slow and ignorant of my surroundings as this brunch was really just focused on catching up with my friend. The tubes are unique and like a child, I got excited and was instantly curious. At first glance I thought it was piping and that didn't phase me one bit (hey, when in Christchurch?)... Then I realised exactly what they were with my fried explaining in my ear as I watched someone receive their chips through this method. There's a negative review about this place that called it a hipster hellhole. But I would have to disagree on that. I think this is what Christchurch needs. A place with something interesting that can attract people and generate talk. Yes perhaps one may view it as somewhat gimmicky and quirky but hey if it works. Obviously I fell for it because I did order the fries that come by way of these tubes even though I didn't want any. I ordered it just for the experience. <br/><br/>The food itself? Actually a bit bland. I ordered a fresh grapefruit juice (less grapefruity than I expected), curly fries (eh) and eggs on toast. I think they got my order wrong as I'm sure I ordered bacon but I didn't realise it until I was halfway through my meal as I was focused on those damn tubes. So I let it go. <br/><br/>Would I come back? If I'm in Christchurch with someone who hasn't been.

What a diaster. Went with wife as saw in Campbell Live ages ago. Good to see suff flying on celing. Burger was very small, the onion rings were cold. Left a comment on its Facebook, got deleted within minutes by the owner! Left again and found I was blocked to visit their facebook. Such a bunch of bad guys! <br/>How can you attract more people to come?<br/>How much did you pay to John Campbell's visit?<br/>How much did you pay to "win" the Cafe of the Year award?????

This is a hipster hell hole.  If you're developmentally stuck at age 10 then the whole tubes delivering food and sewing machine water fountain schtick will no doubt spin your little Willie Wonka cafe wheels.  Yippee for you!<br/><br/>I ordered a short black.  It came in an ostentatious glass thimble - a sip of coffee.  Who needs this nonsense?  Worse still was the food. It should rock even if only as reward for enduring the counter staffs' arrogant indifference at the end of of the slow line to order. Instead it's eggs overcooked, toast cold... and an extra 5 bucks for half an avocado dumped alongside.  I dunno is this meant to be... ironic?

Unlike any cafe I've been too... the aesthetic was SOOO COOL! They deliver the sliders in pneumatic tubes straight to your table if you're sitting at one. The food was delish but those portion sizes are suitable for children. None the less still a great place with an awesome vibe; try it out!

Great breakfast but I couldn't drink the long black coffee, which is my usual drink, very bitter. We did order separately which is probably why it happened but 3 of our breakfast were delivered super quick but the last one only arrived when we finished :( The interior is really fun.

By far the best cafe in NZ. We toured the north and South Island and this is a clear standout. The coffee is amazing and the food delicious. Forget the other higher rated cafes is Christchurch, they pale in comparison and this should be rated much higher.

Awesome father's day breakfast. Prompt service and friendly staff. Will have to go back and try food in the tube. Would recommend place for nice chilled atmosphere and good for kids.

Having coffee here in the early morning weekend is great. Not too noisy like lunch time and the coffee shop looks like a bar at the night time. Like the atmosphere here, a little bit noisy of the coffee machine, a little bit heavy walk on the wood floor and music is quite nice as well. Always visit here everything visit Christchurch. Love this place.

Really nice food !! I love how the food comes in tubes !! It's so cool. Also love the location , how it's right beside the old school movie theatre , the only downsides are every time I go in I find the music horrible and the beverages aren't my favourite things :)

I had burger, I enjoy the taste however how they present the food especially burgers was not good. Music was too load and you would get annoyed by the time passes.<br/>Service was good.

The Top Line: What a great find in Christchurch City – it fits the ambience of the city perfectly and brings in that hip, retro and gothic vibe. There is an amazing range of tea and coffee that’ll keep you. The Review: The restaurant really excited me. For one, their exterior is beautiful. It is set in a very nice old building, still standing gorgeously in the centre of a post-quake Christchurch.

Loved this place!! Went for brunch and the place definitely has character, it's definitely a hipster place :)<br/>It's a super busy place but the service was fast and excellent. The food was very tasty, great portions and an interesting menu with unusual options which makes the place even more interesting.<br/>A must go if you are visiting CHCH

Novelty level: Maximum. Food? It goes alright. After a recommendation from a bike tour guide, I had to go. It was based on the premise that this place literally delivered their burgers via pneumatic tubes throughout a plastic tube delivery system.<br/><br/>It's no joke- this actually happens and it is pretty freaking cool! Upon arrival, your pneumatic tube passes through and hits a bell trigger to let you know to lift up the tube latch and collect your burger delivery!<br/><br/>The menu (in the form of a hilarious mini mag that has a dig at the local earthquake minister via cut out and dress mix-n-match) is vast and is definitely geared towards coffee enthusiasts.<br/><br/>Now to the food. Despite the unique and slightly adventurous flavour combos for the sliders, the taste and flavour were lacklustre! I was so surprised...Even the curly fries that were served were kind of bland. I'm not sure if it is an issue of seasoning or just not enough ingredients used in the sauces/marinades of the meat, but all 3 sliders (beef, chicken and pork) did not make me go, "Omg yum!!"<br/><br/>Only visit if you're a coffee fiend or looking for a really quirky food delivery system that strays from the norm.

Everything great. Far from standard breakfast fare. Interesting selection of Mexican items as well as traditional breakfast foods. Just a heads up- no trim milk if that's what you're into.

Quirky place that puts its own spin on things, unique food delivery and cups of tea, makes it a great place to take people who are visiting Chch. Used to go to the old C1 pre earthquakes, glad to see version 2.0 is rocking it.

Only had coffee so far and it's beautiful, as expected from this "Chch Coffee Institution". Next time I really wanna order whatever it is that comes via the tube, fascinating to watch! Ha

I have been there for a few times. Fly fries is the best. I like its environment, food is fresh&good quality. I will certainly go back again!

Very good coffee! Pneumatic menu is tasty, but not enough if you are really hungry. The ambience of this place is awesome! Food is being served through pneumatic tubes. The loo is hidden behind a magic bookcase, where they play Harry Potter audio books:)<br/>One recommendation is the Hitachino Red Rice Ale, beer brewed with red rice, with an interesting aftertaste.

C1 is listed in travel books and websites countless times as one of top coffee shops in Christchurch. With advertisements like this, how could the unknowing tourist not stop by? I arrived for brunch on a Saturday with my husband around 9:30 am and there was quite a crowd. There were still tables both inside and outside but a line was beginning to form at the counter. The line moves very slowly as there are many options and people stand in line without knowing what they want to order first or are holding spaces for 5 other people who are already sitting at a table somewhere. Our order is finally placed for french toast, eggs benedict, a coffee and a cappuccino and we sat against the wall to the bathroom and kitchen. <br/><br/>Looking around the room, it is clear that the appeal of C1 is the atmosphere. There are pneumatic tubes that send orders of chips and sliders zipping across the room, old video game machines and a "secret door" disguised as a bookshelf leading to the bathroom. My personal favorite was the sewing machine water dispenser. The building architecture is beautiful and the tall ceiings with plenty of windows makes the place seem bright and cheery despite they old paraphernalia. I get the appeal of having your food delivered to you in an interesting and high pressure way, but unfortunately, the food isn't quite up to speed. We found our brunch a little bland and uninventive. We were extremely disappointed as we had such high hopes from the cool atmosphere. Stick to this place for the coffee and the pin ball.

It is like a chemistry lab which is really awesome. Had a nice coffee there, and some desserts. They taste ordinary. Nothing really impressive but the deco. May go back and try something different next time.

Poor customer service from behind the counter and also the waitering staff. The layout of the cafe is cool and has some cool alternative themes throughout the cafe, but the service abismal and unwelcoming. As a paying customer you would expect to be treated well with friendly and quality service, but service is mediocre. The exorbant prices for their drinks, coffees & food is a let down, and at that price you would expect the quality of the food and drinks to be of high quality which it certainly lacks. <br/>I Would not recommend this cafe to friends or family.

The lemongrass tea is delicious and the double serving in the box is very cute. The jasmine tea bomb is gorgeous! Curly fries are good and the restaurants atmosphere is lovely. Food is a bit overpriced compared to other cafes but very nice all the same.

I love the atmosphere and interior of C1. Whilst others consider the pneumatic tubes gimmicky, I think their great. It brings out the excitement of a child in me watching tubes of curly fries shoot around the ceiling. There are so many clever pieces of decor at C1, such as the water dispensing sewing machine and bookcase door.<br/><br/>Today my curly fries were over seasoned but when I had had them in the past they had been delicious. The selection of over 40 Golden Panther teas made choosing difficult but the Raspberry and Vanilla Rooibos was delicious and a generous serve including a take home serve 'for later' in a cute matchbox.

Just dined tonight with five adults and two children. When you telephone they are rude enough not to answer the phone only leaving an answering machine to do it's work, so we were not able to ask about high chairs. the do NOT have any so its not really that child friendly. Not a worry for us as the kids were happy to sit on laps. The sliders and curly fries are cool because they arrive down the shutes, they are delicious which is the saving grace. My food was hot, my mothers was very cold. unfortunately the capsules the food comes in were not clean, they were greasy and quite full of crumbs from dinners gone by. Asked for a fluffy which is supposed to only be milk foam, asked if this would be the case but was then served a piping hot cup of milk. Who does that? quite clearly our child is a toddler, this is so unsafe. I could be wrong but didn't the owners of this café have a child themselves??? The gimmicks around the café are cool however the pinball machines do not work which is a shame, although they do take your money and you need to ask for a refund at the till. One girl was cleaning up a storm while the rest of the staff chat behind the till, one cannot imagine why they have so many staff if all they do is chat behind the till. One of the girls was very helpful to my sister, and we should have taken her name for mention. All in all I cannot help but think this place is a bit too 'cool for school'. And whats with only having full fat milk? talk about pretentious. If staff cant make a fluffy then I highly doubt trim milk will spoil their cups of joe.A good time as the sliders were novel, however if you are not there for that then I would say there are better places to be honest. Nice to check it out but not fussed to return.

Been to C1 a few times. High standard food every time. Great tea. Great services. It's amazing how their staff remembered where we sat without giving us an order number to put on our table. A very nice place to relax and enjoy the weekend.

Love this place. The burgers are delicious and the coffee is some of the best I've come across in Christchurch. The music is always fantastic and there is lovely artwork on the walls. Nice atmosphere. Always happy to return.

Best coffee in the city. It's a place where everyone should go at least once, it's one of the truly different cafes in this city. The food is average, but the coffee is outstanding and the staff are lovely. The best thing is the decor; walking through a sliding bookshelf to go to the bathroom? Firing burgers and fries at 140km to your seat? Getting sparkling or still water out of insane household items? Awesome. They are also very green; they have a community garden outside their store which they use (sometimes the chefs are out there grabbing things) they also have their own bees on the roof of the building to produce their own honey, and are investigating getting their own milk through environmentally friendly farming.

i had the worst experience ever when i visited c1 espresso. never in my life have i ever experienced such terrible customer service, i got a burger it was over priced and undercooked!!! when i made a complaint it was not aknowledged, i felt unheard and ignored, i will never go back again and will definitly be spreading the word!!!

I brought my daughter here to show her what I thought to be an edgy, professional and popular cafe. Something to compare with the trendy cafes she took me to when I was in Melbourne.<br/><br/>Instead what we got was a taste of the worst customer service both she and I had ever experienced.<br/><br/><br/><br/>My coffee was cold and weak, I very nicely advised of this and apologised for inconvenience. The girl made me another and after walked past the table twice saying scatty remarks which my daughter witnessed. I was not going to say anything but my daughter pushed me to go to the manager. She said the manager should be made aware of this kind of behaviour in staff. Well she addressed the manager and a guy who happened to be the owner butted in and basically treated me like a liar and immediately started arguing with me. My daughter came to see what was happening as I was surrounded by three staff members all condescending and bulllying. arguing about the coffee not being cold- although it was the issue at hand was the poor level of customer service. It was not acknowledged. Not apology or responsibility was taken. The experience put a downer on the whole day. I felt attacked. <br/><br/><br/><br/>I get better service at Mcdonalds or KFC. In contrast we went to a cafe this morning and were greeted by the manager. And the staff were lovely as was the food and coffee. Good service goes a long long way

Absolutely the worst customer service I have ever witnessed in my life. My mums coffee was cold. She asked both me and my sister for our opinions before taking it back. Upon taking it back the barrista was so rude and walked past the table twice saying snide little remarks in passing. I urged my mum to give feedback to the manager and we dealt with whom I think is the owner... and wow you can see why the staff have such miserable attitudes with an arrogant little man like him as a manager.... never going back and will be spreading the word. Its also very widely known this owner deletes any constructive feedback on facebook and I have read in multiple reviews that he does not acknowledge complaints. Clearly a control freak.

Bullet points again:<br/><br/>1-Me and my wife went to C1 Espresso from Auckland in March, we went because we saw it on Campbell Live.<br/><br/>2-I posted a nicely written review on C1's facebook, and got deleted within 20 mins. I posted again, got deleted again. I tried to post for the 3rd time and found myself being blacklisted from C1's page.<br/><br/>3-C1 facebook page is only keeping good feeback and removing all other feedbacks and suggestions.<br/><br/>4-Burgers are nice, but small, the rings came with the burgers were dry. $20 for 3 little burgers, we will not come back.<br/><br/>5-How much $$ did C1 Espresso pay for John Campbell's visit?<br/><br/>6-If the owner keeps on ignoring and deleting customer's feedback, this business will not be long lasting.<br/><br/>Regards,<br/>Howard

It seems a shame when all people can do is either critique music or pictures of an unashamedly unpopular MP. The one review that illustrated the most cause to offer a low rating in fact giving the best review. HOWEVER, you can look past the gimmicky burger delivery system (ok it's cool), the background music and appreciate both a simple classic décor, friendly staff and good food. There's only two things I won't recommend here; 1. The Samoan beer, it doesn't belong behind bars and should be deported and 2. Asking for a trim flat-white; depending in the barista you could end up with a lecture...

I would just like to say I was very disappointed when I arrived at C1 Cafe for the first time that when I opened their menu I was shocked at the picture of Gerry Brownlee in the middle then as you open it out it defaces him as a monster. It is disgusting and definitely insulting to the minister who is working so hard to get our city up and running again. I cannot believe that a business so keen to re-open (and has successfully done so) is so quick to make fun of the actual person who is working so hard for us.

This would have to be the single worst dining experience I have ever experienced. I need to add that the service and the way they handled themselves was the only redeeming feature of the meal.<br/><br/>Things wrong with the meal - glass in one meal, hair in both replacement meals, eggs cooked to within an each of their life, hollandaise sauce bland, muffins cold.<br/><br/>Things right with meal - first burrito before discovery of glass very tasty, coffee exceptional<br/><br/>Things right with cafe, waiter handled exceptionally well, refunded money for one meal, organised replacement meals quickly, (granted replacement meals had hair in them and I'm not talking a stray eyelash here either).<br/><br/>You'd think that after all of that the review should be terrible, but I get that things happen and no one intentionally puts hair and/or glass in a meal, unless they're some kind of crazy fool, the waiter was exceptional and totally made up for it - other restaurants take note of what to do when there is a problem.

For all the residents of Christchurch who have struggled to get a decent caffeine fix and munch since the quakes...look no further, C1 Espresso is back (thank goodness)!<br/>Their new digs are bigger and stylish whilst still retaining that relaxed retro vibe as before. The quirky orders labyrinth and bookshelf doubling as a secret door are some of the fresh additions typical of the C1 flavour.<br/>Meanwhile the food, bevies and service won’t disappoint. Tasty, well sized portions that are reasonably priced. The big vegetarian breakfast I smashed was amazing and arrived in a timely manner. Casual eats and drinks for carnivores and vegetarians/vegans alike. Welcome back C1, thanks for staying in shake town.