Review Southern Spices - Christchurch

Really fantastic boutique Southern Indian dine in restaurant or takeaway.. thought I knew Indian food/western curry classics, however I found Southern Spice had a refreshingly unexplored side of Indian cuisine and after chatting to the main man at the counter who clearly had a passion for his food, put me onto a main meal and the appropriate bread to match.. & it was amazing loved every bit of it - I tried to save some for lunch the next day.. it didn't last lol. Looking forward to going back to try more

One of the best South Indian restaurants in NZ. Proper authentic food. Have had the Fish Fry, Beef Roast and Parottas. Absolutely brilliant. Wait times are on the higher side, but worth it for the freshly made food. Staff are friendly! Love it, keep up the good work guys!

Authentic Kerala/South Indian food is a rare find and these guys have nailed it. Tried the Masala Dosa, Kerala Chicken Fry, Beef Masala and Puttu. Tastes amazing and great service as well.

I never tried Kerala before until I went to Southerns Spices. My friend reckon this is the closer malaysian's taste bud. I ordered Kerala Chicken Briyani for my dinner. And I love it ! Decent portion and price. Definitely will be back and explore more :-)

The best Kerala style South Indian food we have ever had away from home, will do more visits. Highly recommend for authentic South Indian speciality cuisine, thanks to the helpful and friendly staff.

Good atmosphere.. A complete family restaurant.. The staff of the restaurant are very likable and polite... incredible food taste. highly recommended.

My go to Indian restaurant. I think it is possibly the best Indian restaurant in Christchurch.This is the best Indian restaurant I've eaten at, and I've been to a lot of them. must visit restaurant for foodies :)

This was recommended to us by my friend from Kerala as the place he goes for "home-cooked food". Outstanding! The small restaurant is pretty basic, but I still give 5 stars because the food is incredible as is the service. Great variety to choose from and many dishes that I've never seen anywhere else in NZ. I get something different every time and it is always sooooo tasty. To top it off, they are so passionate about sharing their food and culture with you. It's an absolute treat!!

I just had some of the spicy chicken fried rice for lunch and it was amazing. Tasted super fresh and was cooked really quickly with just the right amount of spice. The staff were friendly and even held the door for me. Will be back

My Wife and I had the best meal here tonight. The food was absolutely fantastic, so fresh and only including good ingredients. Also some interesting new indian dishes on the menu which you wont find in most standard indian restaurants. Many gluten free options too. Service was faultless and very friendly. It was nice to sit in but they also do take away. We cant recommend it enough!

Good ambience.. A complete family restaurant.. staffs in the restaurant are very Pleasing and Polite ... incredible food taste. The essence of few dishes are far more than you describe in words well from personal opinion I must say the credits just goes to the Chefs at Southern spice what they serve and the way they serve......

I absolutely love the food in southern spices because of the authentic Kerala taste. The friendly staff and peaceful ambiance with some delicious food is a deadly combination. I am not a big fan of fish but the fish curry over there changed my mind it's really mouth watering. I highly recommended to try appam, chicken roast and brunch there. All food are freshly prepared n served without losing its natural aroma n taste.

Food is excellent and distinctively south Indian. Highly recommended! If you are looking for authentic dishes from South India in Christchurch, well this is your place. Small, clean and cozy restaurant with warm hospitality.

Took my boyfriend here for lunch and it was brilliant. He is usually very fussy but he loved the butter chicken! The Chicken Malabar was like nothing i've had before... in a good way! The mango lassi's are fantastic and the customer service was great. 5/5 will eat here again. I recommend this place to all my friends!

We found this place when my wife was pregnant and craving for Thosai. Glad we found this shop and may be this is the only place in Christchurch with South Indian style food which can afford for middle class. We went there number of times through her pregnancy and always treated with complimentary :) Friendly owner with welcoming smile. Super delicious food !!! I bet they do have best Fried Rice in town. That is our favorite. Ofcause we will visit again and again :)

This small restaurant is an absolute gem for its vast variety of southern Indian dishes that will tempt and excite your taste buds. This is NOT a western-oriented Indian restaurant. Instead, the owner, Sebin, keeps the cuisine as authentic to the variety of food he grew up with. I would encourage everyone to visit!

Amazing authentic food many fusions in each bite! Absolutely loved this food! had wonderful experience at this restaurant, the staff were very welcoming and advised of dishes to suit my pallet. Cheers!!!

I have been through whole India and New Zealand as well but being a fan of butter chicken I can’t find a better place then this restaurant seriously... the good thing about their butter chicken is that it’s not made with tomato gravy as most of the restaurants do and they make it in different kind of creamy South Indian style which I liked the most thank for this amazing dish team southern spices

Great Food and Service. Naan is Excellent, try this Place !  Have been coming back here for a while, as the Curry and Naan is Very Good. Very Tasty curry and an Outstanding place, hard to find Authentic Indian Meals like this .

Very negative start while taking order unfriendly staff<br/>Long wait<br/>No value for money<br/>Please do not waste your money at this place<br/>Worst food<br/>Quantity is too small everything is extra$$$$ very greedy they just wana make money out of each and every customer<br/>Please avoid using this place for your meals its crap total waste<br/>

Great customer service and authentic south indian food. Excellent overall experience. Dosa is to die for. Just like home food. Highly recommend, great food.

The staff was friendly, the idli they served were over priced for the size of them. Giving it 3 stars because it is the only restaurant where i have come across idli and dosa. The food though is belo average. Must say all that excitement of eating dosa miles away from India was not upto the mark.

This place was on my "To Try" list for while. I heard some good reviews about this place and frankly it did not let me down. We planned for a dinner and were pretty hungry when we turned up at the restaurant after running some errands. The place was not packed as usual, I remember the first time I went to this place and had to turn back because it was too crowded and the waiter advised we would have to wait for 20+ minutes to even take the order. Anyways we ordered a wide variety of dishes Chicken Kothu Parota, Beef Curry, Chilli Chicken and Friedrice combo. I seriously had high hopes for the Chilli Chicken and the fried rice combo but it fell short of my expectations, maybe because my friends hyped it too much. I felt the chicken was too oily and the fried rice lacked the Indian influence (Which I expected in a Indian Restaurant). The chicken Kothu parota was good but I felt it could have been better with less greasiness because I think they used much oil. The beef curry was truly authentic. Having said that I would still rate the restaurant Very Good and I would definitely come back for more. This was the only place to where I have been in Christchurch, food tastes close to authentic Indian. I believe it they are getting good business, which is apparent as its crowded most of the time, should concentrate on improving the ambience and expanding to accommodate more customers. The hospitality of waiters and chef are really friendly.

First thing. The menu on Zomato needs updating. (Since I did the review it has now been updated.) Go to the restaurant's website to get a better reflection on what they have to offer. I've obtained a takeaway from this place many times in the past year without reviewing them. Usually because it's been a Friday night and after a couple of ciders, a wine or two and a double scotch, doing a review after a curry is the last thing on my mind. Anyhow, the time is now. In a year this place has gone from nice and quirky to something more professional and now my favourite Indian in town. I'm not being a know all here, but I do know and like my "westernised" curries. I also like traditional Indian meals when I can either make them or buy them. So, last week I went for a selection of items, knowing I was on my own for the weekend and there'll be enough for the next day. Starters of onion bhaji that came with a mint yogurt. Also had a Mysore Masala Dosa (potato, onion, herbs and spices) that came with a portion of sambar and coconut chutney. Another dish was Chicken Malabari (onion, tomato, coconut milk, spices), which came with rice, and also ordered a couple of Kerala Flaky Parottas (parathas by another name). The bhaji were delicious and the 12 inch Dosa was superb. The Malabari is nothing like you'd ever get in a "normal' Indian restaurant. More Malaysian in style. Very fragrant. The parathas were crispy and flaky. Perfect with the Malabari. Check out the online menu. It has many items never to be seen on an Indian menu. Anyway, I'll slowly work my way through the "Kerala" ones I've never had over the next year!

Awesome food, simple decor!<br/>The only place in Christchurch where we could get some proper Indian food. Everything we ordered was authentic and delicious. The staff,, very informative, in fact the owner himself was very friendly and welcoming.

Tasty food and good service! <br/>I ordered masala dosa and chilly chicken both were delicious. What I got impressed by was the service they provide as I stay way too far from the restaurant and still they delivered the food!!<br/>Cheers to the person who came to deliver...thank you!

We enjoyed the food very much.. Awesome dosas and curry.. Especially Puttu and kadala curry was very authentic.. Would highly recommend for all..

I would rate this restaurant as the best South Indian Restaurant I have been to. Its a value for money when you compare $18+ Kiwi Indian foods that you get here. It brings authentic smell and flavour from "Land of Spices" - Kerala prepared with homely affection by the Chefs. <br/><br/>If you have not been to Southern Spices, you have not had Indian food!

The only authentic "South" Indian(Kerala) restaurant in Christchurch. <br/><br/>If you are after the tikkas, vindaloos, butter chicken or the other "North" Indian dishes, then this is not the place. Their dosas and the Kerala Paratta are as authentic they can be. I have tried their masala dosa, kothu roti, paratta, chilli chicken, appam, chicken roast and the biriyani and every time they have served the best food. Was really happy with quantity and price. Has the decor been a bit more inviting and the restaurant had a bit more life to it(may be some music to start with), i would have given the perfect score.

Amazing Dosa. Only place in chch to have authentic south Indian dishes. The staff is an very welcoming and courteous. Should visit once for those who wants some real south Indian food.

Only happened to discover this place by chance as the souvlaki place next door was closed. And what a good chance it was! Being from India, I had given up finding good Indian food in Christchurch that wasn't from the North of India. Lucky to have stumbled upon Southern Spices which serves food from the southern Indian state of Kerala.<br/><br/>We ordered Beef Fry, Kerala Chicken Roast, appams and rotis. The Beef Fry was as close to authentic as you can get and delicious. The Kerala Chicken Roast was very good too. The appams were crispier than they should have been and the roti was slightly overdone but everything was extremely tasty. We were left deliciously satisfied at the end. Will return to try out the other dishes, especially the dosas. <br/><br/>If you want to try authentic, tasty, non-butter-chicken type Indian food, please give this place a try.