Review The Watershed - Christchurch

All our meals were excellent, we had steaks, salmon and pork belly. The vegetables were cooked perfectly as were the meats. Definitely recommend eating here!

I organised a Christmas lunch for a large group and I am happy to report that every person in our group loved their meal. The service was excellent, the food, fabulous and we were all very happy. I highly recommend Watershed Bar and Restaurant. The group from Canterbury District Health Board.

Went for my birthday along with family/friends. Very happy overall - the food was great and the service too. We would certainly go again. Thanks!

The Watershed is a hidden gem. My wife and I go here at least once a month! We love to get out of town & have a quiet dinner. The dinner specials are great, and the Creme Brulee is amazing!

This is a great pub in Ferrymead that's well worth the drive from Merivale for quiz night on Wednesdays. (You definitely need to make a booking if you want to play.) The bar is right off the water and the outdoor patio seating receives a nice cool, salty breeze. There is plenty of seating inside from tall top tables to more intimate seating and group tables. There are plenty of TVs to catch a game or catch the clues for quiz night. The menu is limited but good quality. The chicken sandwich is hearty and topped with an aioli dressing and bacon. The side of chips are thick-cut and soft on the inside. You can order aioli or ketchup on the side. I have seen a fish and potatoes ordered, the fish are smothered in a sauce and, as a non-pescatarian, I find it sloppy and unappetizing. The onion rings as an entree would be a good choice as they are crispy on the outside and slimy onion on the inside..just the way any good onion rings should be. I recently tried the three ice cream and warm chocolate chip cookie which was heavenly. The cookie is thick and crumbly and the ice creams were stellar (double chocolate, vanilla with cherry and mint chocolate chip). There are on Monteith's beers on tap and some rotating summer options. There are other beer options by the bottle if you prefer as well as an adequate wine selection. Soft drinks and well drinks are available, too. The staff is great (our table loves Alex) - they're quick with orders and always wandering around looking to help. Definitely the best drinking establishment in Ferrymead and worth a stop if you live in the area.

Really love this place, had a meal there last Sunday with my husband & daughter, lovely yummy food, lovely friendly staff and a lovely atmosphere, I highly recommend this place to everyone. We will be going back there again & again A+++++

Staff were friendly , attentive and accommodating from the outset. Food was very good and served in a timely fashion . Overall a great experience. Would recommend.

Great food and service. Coupled with the amazing views adds to a great experience. The outside seating is ideal in the summer. Will definitely be returning.

Nice cosy environment on a cold day and great view of estuary on a nice day. Good tap beers friendly staff and the basket of fries I got was great!!

Had a great meal and loved the entire experience. Prices were reasonable / food awesome / service great Well done guys!!!

I was there on one of their quiz night. A night filled fun for quiz lover with beer on side. Snacks was fresh and on time.

Very slow service, 45 mins from arrival to food arriving. Staff did not know the day's specials, we had to ask for menus after arriving, though the food was fine when it arrived.<br/>

I love the watershed! Such a great place for breakfast lunch and dinner! Love coming here in the summer for a drink outside. The pancakes are to die for and I love the dinner menu the rice risotto being my favourite. The same waitress has always been working when I've been in, and she is so bubbly and hard working! Highly recommend the watershed!

Have been coming to the watershed weekly for quiz for a while, and have finally given up. The food ranges from poor to inedible, and the staff, whilst pleasant, tend to be quite invisible. You often have to ask for service, then wait until they're ready to acknowledge you. <br/>It's sad as this could be such a great place - but don't bother!!

Peter and I enjoyed our dinner here on the evening of one of the semi final game of Super Rugby. The food was glorious and the service was exceptional. Not sure whether it was heightened by the fact the boss and his wife was sitting at the table next to us. However the evening with a great dining experience set it up for a romantic 4 th anniversary celebration for us both. Thank you

Went on Saturday night, so was understandably quite busy, had a booking though. It took about 5 mins for a waiter to acknowledge us, she told us there weren't any available tables so we sat up on one of the bar tables (which was fine). She told us someone would bring over some menus soon. Waited 20 mins still no menus, a waiter comes over and asks if we would like to order some food and we asked if we could have a menu. Another 20-30 mins goes by and we still haven't received a menu, but the same waiter has offered dessert menus to the couple beside us. Ended up walking out after an hour of just sitting there. Wouldn't recommend on a busy night.

Food very good and service exceptional. <br/><br/>Pork belly was simply presented but beautifully cooked and with a nice accompaniment of roast Beetroot, broccoli and mashed potato. Seafood pasta was generous and had a lovely strong tomatoey flavour with generous, high quality seafood including large pieces of fish. The only criticism would be the entree platter which had too many deep fried foods for my taste, average cheese and lacklustre dips and bread. <br/><br/>We went for a 60th birthday and the service was to be applauded. One of the waitresses was obviously new, but was still very pleasant and attentive. <br/><br/>The woman I assume to be the duty manager needs particular positive mention. On querying whether the glass of wine we ordered was from the correct bottle (we had had it before), she went to check, assured us it was correct and poured us another glass from the bottle herself to remove any doubt in our minds. We were impressed. <br/><br/>What's more, At the end of the night, we were given a bottle of wine to take home as a birthday present. <br/><br/>Try it for yourself - highly recommended

We have enjoyed dining at the watershed for several years with many pleasurable experiences, however with the change of management we feel that standards have slipped considerably. Being aware that a change of management can lead to a few teething problems we decided to go back for a meal after several months. We were not greeted with a particularly  friendly welcome and told to find a seat, we were then left waiting for 20 minutes even though the place was quiet. After several attempts to make eye contact with the wait staff  we just left after we were still ignored as the table next to us was being served. This is such a shame as this used to be one of our favourite restaurants that we frequented at least 3 times a month.

Went here today for lunch, restaurant was very quiet, so I can't see any reason why the service was so so and the food was substandard. I then discovered the poor waitress was very new and was still learning, i think you have set this poor lady up to fail by not training her properly and sending her out to a table not nowing the system and it would have been best if some worked the table with her. Perhaps it would have been best to apologize for the food issues and service, maybe even offer a discount for all of the muck ups. On to the food. My husband asked for a rare steak, when it came out it looked like it had been microwaved. It had no colour and was cold in the middle. The garlic sauce was actually garlic butter which didn't melt when he put it on the steak. The two fish and chip orders came out wrong and over cooked. My pate was runny and instead of firm plus it came after everyone else had received the orders. My son's entree came after the mains arrived. They also went to give him fries even though he ordered wedges. On a positive note. The coffee was very good.

I've been meaning to write a review for The Watershed for some time because my wife and I go every so often. It's close to home and we trust the food and service there.<br/><br/>Watershed is a reasonably big place and has the appearance of having 3 distinct dining personalities - a section, as you enter, that has bar leaners and high seated bar stools - being more pub looking. The restaurant section and what looks like a fine dining section - but in essence, you are getting the same food and service in all 3 of those areas. There is also a large outdoor dining area as well, which I imagine will be fantastic in Summer.<br/><br/>They used to have a arancini dish on the starter menu, which unfortunately they no longer serve. Unfortunate because it was one of my favourite dishes there - but try the caramelised pork belly or the home made garlic bread, both are delicious.<br/><br/>My pick of the mains is again the pork belly or the cashew crusted chicken.<br/><br/>All the dishes that we have ever received there are well proportioned and presented really well. We have never had an issue with service and the place has always been nice and clean as well.<br/><br/>The only down side is that it is a victim of it's own popularity. We have on many occasions seen large groups there so it can be pretty noisy when at it's busiest.<br/><br/>The food is reasonably good value in that middle market and good quality. It is not the most fantastic place to dine in Christchurch but it is nowhere near the worst. For my wife and I, if we want to go somewhere where we know we will get a good meal, Watershed is up there.

I don't know about the negative reviews on here but I've been there twice and food was absolutely amazing both times so I definitely will be back and customer service was good but noticed there's was only 2 waiters on and it was weekend during dinner so would've been good if they had more waiter/waitresses on could see some people getting impatient but the food was great and i was one happy camper. Got my moneys worth and it's a really nice restaurant inside and out. Will be back for sure.

Went with family on a Friday lunchtime - our first visit. Very quiet lunchtime period but staff very friendly and efficient.<br/>Our water glasses were always full and the food very good - excellent starters including scallops wrapped in bacon. Great main courses and big desserts. The restaurant is right beside the road which runs along the waters edge. Good parking and overall a wonderful dinning experience.

Have been a few times, good food good service. Love the setting too! We had a creme brulee for desert and it was nice but the top had been burnt a little, we told the cashier when we paid and she took it off our bill which was much appreciated.<br/>Have had better food but was still nice for a meal out.

Tucked away in Ferrymead on the water is a delighful little restaurant known only as the 'Watershed Restaurant &amp; Bar'. Reading through the comments here it seems some people are confused as to the purpose of this establishment. While the Watershed is by no means a Ramsey Restaurant, it is indeed a restaurant and a very good one at that. From steaks to fish and chips and pie, it does it all very well. I ate they're a few nights ago and the steak was cooked to perfection. The chips were crunchy yet soft and the salad was fresh and bouncy. A true culinary delight. A meal that's not too hard on the wallet.

One of the worst dining experiences I've had in Christchurch.<br/>We booked a table for 7pm and arrived on time, no table set for us so we had to wait standing in the middle of restuarant while tables were pushed together and set, there were six of us in the family.<br/>Water was brought and poured fairly promptly but drinks order wasn't taken for fifteen minutes and then took ten more to arrive. My wife ordered a blinis which is supposed to be champagne and peach juice, what arrived had champagne and some unidentified flavouring, it certainly wasn't peach and was red, couldn't identify it.<br/>Then the food, all of it was reheated in a microwave, including the filet mignon at $35.95, pretty much inedible, basically a boiled lump of meat.<br/><br/>The meal had no redeeming featues whatsoever, I've had much better ona plane where there is at least a good excuse for microwaving.<br/><br/>Avoid

Went down to the Watershed on a lazy Sunday afternoon with friends to celebrate my mate's birthday. I was very impressed. The ambiance made it a perfect relaxing place to eat and drink. They had fantastic live music playing and the service was excellent. 2 of our party are vegetarians and another is beyond fussy with all sorts of particular requirements. Yet nothing was a problem and the food came out just how we wanted it. Not only does the food come in good sized portions but the drinks come in proper large size glasses which makes a change. Overall I can't fault the place and will be back.