Inati

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#43 of 1,106 Restaurants in ChristchurchEuropean, New Zealand, $$$$

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Inati

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About

INATI is the realisation of a dream to invigorate dining with a sense of excitement. At INATI, you will dine around the chef's table and share in the experience that is the theatre of the kitchen. INATI offers seasonally-inspired tasting plates that challenge the notion of the traditional dining experience. INATI is to achieve a state of joy by combining exceptional food with great friends.

Features

CUISINES

European, New Zealand

Meal types

Lunch, Dinner

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

FEATURES

Full Bar

Gift Cards Available

Reservations

Seating

Serves Alcohol

Table Service

Wheelchair Accessible

Location

48 Hereford Street, Christchurch 8013 New Zealand

Is this restaurant wheelchair accessible?

Yes

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Hours

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Closed today

Sunday

Closed

Monday

Closed

Tuesday

5:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Wednesday

5:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Thursday

5:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Friday

5:30 pm - 11:00 pm

Saturday

5:30 pm - 11:00 pm

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4.6

279 reviews

Excellent

220

Very good

Average

Poor

Terrible

Dennis J

Hamilton640 contributions

A delightful experience.

May 2024 • couples

A top class restaurant where the food is interesting, distinctively styled and a delight to eat. The wine selections we had were all local and the better for that. Obviously thought has gone into the selections and it was great to try some new to me. We dined at the counter which added to the evening by being able to watch the assembly of our food and chat with the staff, who were all fitted in with the overall excellence of the restaurant. We had a pre-dinner drink in the cozy bar where my wife tried a cocktail called "Titanic" which she reckons was one of the best she has ever had. This is a great place, just don't look closely when it comes to paying.

Written 22 May 2024

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Victoria C

1 contribution

Fine dining at it's best

Oct 2024 • family

I went to Inati for the first time last night. They exceeded every expectation I had. The service was flawless, the food was a work of art, and the food was the best I've tasted, I enjoyed every mouthful. The meal was worth every cent.

Written 14 November 2024

Nicholas B

Melbourne617 contributions

Such a Highlight!

Oct 2023 • couples

We came here for dinner on our two night break to Christchurch, it was was one of the biggest highlights of the trip! The majority of seating is arranged at the countertop around the open kitchen. The stools are quite high to get up onto, so best to notify in advance if you need a low table or have accessibility issues. The restaurant is in a compact yet sophisticated modern space. We didn't order a fixed menu, just a la carte, although they were able to come up with a fantastic array of vegetarian dishes - some on the menu, some not. Everything was spot on, we loved some courses more than others, although everything was an experience! Some of our favourite dishes were the confit potato dish, the celeriac toast one and the mushroom tiramisu. We had an incredibly considerate and cheerful younger guy looking after us for the night who helped to navigate the menu and provided useful wine suggestions. The only downside was being seated directly beside the only other couple in the restaurant when we arrived (we were there on an early booking). Such an impressive night and a big recommendation for fellow foodie travellers (or locals).

Written 21 October 2023

JS1942

Christchurch34 contributions

A disappointing experience

Dec 2023 • family

Said to be the place to go for fine dining it is fair to highlight the positive. The one star is earned for an excellent wine selection. Time for some constructive suggestions. Your staff should not just regurgitate the scripted introductions, they should look you in the eye and establish appropriate human interaction so you feel welcome - quite different from giving you the impression you should be grateful for having chosen the restaurant. Food portions should be slightly bigger and should resemble the elegance of your website. Hacking a finger thick tentacle off an octopus and serve with a dollop of something white looked so revolting that two of my guests would not touch it. You have to turn your focus from pretence to elegance. You also need to match your prices with your ambiance. The room is crowded like a roadside diner. 4 people - 8 minuscule samples of the chef’s limited skill combined with modest helpings of wine cost over $900. An underwhelming and overpriced evening, not to be repeated.

Written 27 December 2023

Ron K

San Diego709 contributions

Amazing service, beautiful presentation, but food looked better than it tasted…

Oct 2024 • solo

Location - in CBD area in CHC, easy to find Ambience- comfortable yet elegant Service - top notched. I was extremely impressed by every single waitstaff there - everyone was polite and friendly. Very good training! The food - here is what was not excellent about this restaurant. Most of the food items I tasted were ok but not amazing. The presentation was stunning , but unfortunately the taste was average . I had the six course tasting menu, and overall I’d say the food was mostly ok but not too impressive. The duck trumpet dish was perhaps the most creative and tasty dish. The asparagus tasted good , but the “crispy” Parmesan on top was a little soggy. The lamb dish came with three different kinds of lamb - I liked the variety very much , but the rump meat was not as tender as I’d like.. It is with regrets that I could not give this place a 5 star rating . The service and presentation were one of the best ever, but the taste was just not all there ..

Written 13 October 2024

andyww2018

Savelletri535 contributions

Superb Fine dining with a bit of informal theatre

Jan 2023 • couples

We really enjoy eating at the counter as the chefs operate and being able to look forward to the food we can see being prepared . Inati doesn’t disappoint . Each of the 6 dishes we chose was enticing , perfectly cooked and full of textures and punchy flavours. The combinations are interesting but in all the hero ingredient still shines through . The Earth dishes bring veg to life - for example confit potato with seaweed and caviar and corn charred with a creamy polenta and black garlic were both superb Crayfish toast has a ‘butter ‘ spread rich with a bisque flavour . The larger lamb main was also to share , plated separately and cooked 3 ways perfectly and to compliment each other . There’s plenty of food but it’s not over bearing . The wine list is quite extensive , varied and quite pricey as you might expect but with some good options by the glass . Service is engaging and informed but still nicely informal . Excellent throughout , and great use of New Zealand ingredients in innovative exciting dishes

Written 19 January 2023

FlamingoKiwi

Fort Myers7 contributions

Definite 10 experience

Mar 2023 • friends

My two friends and I agreed, this was a 10 dining experience. Matthew could not have been more attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. The menu had a nice range of options for a group with varied palates. Our bourbon drinker was most impressed with the Buffalo Trace offering. Accommodating a vegetarian was no trouble, and there was a surprise "trust us" veggie treat delivered. For the quality and uniqueness, we all thought it was a great value as well.

Written 24 March 2023

ChandlersForders

Eastleigh88 contributions

Wonderful meal and experience

Jan 2025 • couples

Excellent tasting menu at this 1st class Christchurch restaurant. Beautifully prepared, interesting dishes with a strong nod to NZ cuisine - all local high quality produce too. Excellent wine pairing and superb service and conversation with the chef/owner, his wife/maitre d' and the rest of the team. Faultless and highly recommended - as good as any Michelin starred restaurant we have been to.

Written 13 January 2025

Anny D

2 contributions

Mixed experience, not the best restaurant in NZ

Nov 2022 • none

Mixed experience for us at INATI on Saturday 26 November 2022. On arrival there was confusion whether we could sit at a table or had to sit on barstools at the “watch the chef” bar. We would have preferred a table but weren’t given a choice. They assume that the preference is to watch the chef (on the website too), don’t assume please, we wanted to focus on the food not the show. As our space wasn’t yet cleared we were shuffled into the cocktail bar and when we had no interest in a cocktail were given a glass of luke-warm water. Not a good start. Dishes served were of variable taste to us, some absolutely great, some not so and a bit flat, lacking dimension/umami in particular. We chose the Trust Us 6 plates with wine. Started great with the cured fish, glorious taste. But couldn’t see the fuss of the duck foie gras with rhubarb jam in cones with (regularly appearing) toasted seeds on top and when asked by the chef what we thought of it, we indicated that. He took offense to that and gave a petty snarky comment that wasn’t it a bit late for us to be out. Yes we have some grey hair, but what the xxx, if you can’t handle less than glowing comments don’t ask for feedback. I suppose being a Brit he is used to British people who typically don’t want to offend and don’t give honest feedback. The meat dish with the venison and “haggis boudin” sausage was glorious as was the leek dish. The broccoli stem dish suffered from poor prep with stringy bits left at the bottom. Strawberry dessert was ok.. The wines were mostly well balanced with the dishes, although the dessert wine was missed in the rush but compensated with a fortified red, which was a nice touch. Nice also to see a local Lyttleton potter being used for plates and the little pinched jug for the jus over the venison. The pinched little jug was recognisable in similar shapes in the exhibits by Cheryl Lucas on at the time at the ChCh Art Gallery. Inati is not the best restaurant in NZ in our opinion, but it is pretty good, so maybe it is a bit depending on what is in Trust Us on the day. And yes different people have different taste preferences so a chef needs to accept that. Overall our experience at a faultless Trust Us at AHI in Auckland a few weeks earlier was much better.

Written 4 December 2022

BestDreamcatcher

St. Albans293 contributions

One of the best meals we’ve ever had!

Feb 2025 • couples

Probably one of the best meals we’ve ever had. An 8 course taster with wine pairing sitting at the pass watching the amazingly disciplined and talented team in action, all run in an incredibly relaxed and generous way by chef Simon. Too many highlights to name but the oysters were incredible and who knew you could make pork belly taste like that???

Written 8 February 2025

grubbs1981

Christchurch2 contributions

Bland, expensive, cold, dissapointing.

Sept 2020 • none

positives: The service was very good, the wine selection is great and lovely to see a restaurant really promoting the New Zealand wines. The chocolate truffle was fantastic, great to see them done properly with a chocolate shell and not just rolled in cocoa. The overly drunk, slurring, blinking one eye at a time still being poured alchohol birthday girl at the table in front of us was entertaining to watch. cons: the cauliflower: I presume it was meant to be warmed as some of it was warm, other parts of the same steak were cold, cold plate, very bland and lacking seasoning. Salsify: cold plate but thankfully the food had seen some form of warmth to it this time although just above room temp. Black garlic puree was nothing exciting and fridge cold. Seasoning was lacking if at all even present. beouf-nut: 25 minutes is stated as the time on the menu for preparation...this is all good, but at least serve the thing hot.3x large chunks of fat and cartilage that should have been removed from the mix when it was being pulled/prepared. We both got cold chunks of meat/fat. due to the cold chunks, there was a pocket of undercooked dough. The sweet sugar crust on sticky beefnuts just didnt seem to work. Sauce was nice and the first thing i may have seen a waft of steam from! Venison: cold, cold, cold, tepid. $75 for 4 small pieces of cold sous vide venison with cold puree on a cold plate, the other plate was pulled neck meat that was pan seared, this was tasty but tepid on a cold plate with more cold puree that the seasoning needed adjusting. We didnt bother with dessert at this point as we had already had enough cold food and didn't wish to risk more wasted time and money. Our coats however were stored in a hot water cupboard which was lovely.....a suggestion, perhaps you could have put our food in there for a bit to warm it up? If you are going to price yourself in the same league as restaurants like Attica, you need to warm your plates, check your food temps and that its actually cooked and even a damn commi knows to season things!

Written 12 September 2020

Wendy R

283 contributions

Underwhelmed

Aug 2020 • couples

My husband and I were realy looking forward to this restaurant after reading the reviews, as we really enjoy this type of dinning. We decided to have the 8 course chefs choice with wine match. The wine match was excellent and complimentary to each dish we received, it was definitely worth the extra money and the highlight of the night, not being big wine drinkers we enjoyed everyselection he made for us flavors were exactly as discribed. Staff were initially attentive and friendly but as the night drew on, we ended up with another staff member, who certainly held less attention to detail with the experience. By not explaing meals in detail, we had to requst cutlery changes after dishes with sauces so you didnt confuse taste and flavors of dishes, at one point while we were being served our wine in the middle our waiter explainging what we were getting he chipped into the couple next to our tables questions about wine, and left us hanging for our explanation...... The first 3x courses were exceptional in taste, presentation and description the claims, duck and smoked fish. However the following 5 dishes artichoke, Cauliflower, Celeriac generally tasted nice however they were all so similar with bland colours of cream or brown and certainly didn't set themselves apart from a visual perspective with any presentation or colour even the desert was just cream and brown and still partly frozen, which was never explained, if that was how it was ment to be served?? A real come down from the experience with the fist 3 dishes . The pork loin was unusually chewie, the amazing sauce that was discribed as "disolving the fat", was tastless and a non experience of what it was meant to have done???? Perhaps a little more thought from the chef about the combinations he is servings so each dish is eye-pleasing, unique, and complimentary to the dishes in the set. Decor was nice, modern and fun to be able to side around a bar like situation and watch meals being prepared, however not cosy or romantic the coat service was a nice touch. But i will agree on other reviews at a height of 170cm found the bar stools really high to get into. Overall food portions we good but it was the total experience we had gone for and found it underwhelming for the cost of food on its own.

Written 28 August 2020

Anthony M

1 contribution

"Trust us" is convenient for them not good for us.

Mar 2024 • couples

Our last night in New Zealand a special night for my birthday we did the "trust us" menu. Clearly we got all the dishes that no one else ordered and mostly were fails, the earth/ land /sea motif made us think we would get something from each category but we did not get any seafood dish though we were told later that if we ordered extra add-on dishes (more than the 6), at full price, of course we could order seafood. They realised we were not likely to be back to Christchurch from Melbourne soon and did not need any special treatment. We would not be treated like this in Melbourne. Dont trust them.

Written 21 May 2024

Aurelia Gamboa

Franz Josef32 contributions

Excellent! Highly recommended 💕

Mar 2021 • none

Excellent! This is one of our best dining experience in Christchurch. Food serving is different from the traditional style we know of. It’s a surprise ! 😀 find it for your self ☺️ Pricing is quite higher than normal as it comes to be a “posh” fine dining restaurant but it’s worth it because we celebrated my partner’s birthday anyway 🥳🎂 Service of the staff is exceptional. It’s a two thumbs up for them. Highly recommended!!!

Written 19 March 2021

Wayne K

Hamilton1305 contributions

Disjointed and under-whelming

Feb 2022 • none

Four of us came here and sat at the counter (to the 'action'). Prior we had a nice sit and a drink until our table was ready. This place is for sharing. Small plates, large plates etc. Unfortunately, each plate comes out one at a time - a plate of vege, eat that, then something else, eat that. By the time we had finished we didn't really feel like we had actually had a meal. The food was tasty but the dishes are minuscule. The service was impeccable. It was interesting watching the food prep but it was more plating than making. In the end, it was $150each - 'on trend' and over-rated. Much better for a similar setup the next night (my next review).

Written 25 February 2022