C1 espresso

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872 reviews

#11 of 181 Quick Bites in Christchurch$$ - $$$, Quick Bites, Cafe, Healthy

+64 3-379 1917+ Add website

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Hours

Sun

7:00 am - 5:00 pm

Mon

7:00 am - 9:00 pm

Tue

7:00 am - 9:00 pm

Wed

7:00 am - 9:00 pm

Thu

7:00 am - 9:00 pm

Fri

7:00 am - 9:00 pm

Sat

7:00 am - 5:00 pm

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.0

872 reviews

#11 of 181 Quick Bites in Christchurch

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

Someone from this business manages this listing.

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PRICE RANGE

$8.00 – $21.00

CUISINES

Cafe, Healthy, New Zealand

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Gluten free options

meals, features

Location and contact

185 High Street, Christchurch 8142 New Zealand

+64 3-379 1917

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Does this restaurant offer outdoor seating?

Yes

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Details

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About

C1 Espresso is an iconic Christchurch café located in the central city. We reopened in the old High Street Post Office after our original premises, established in 1996, were destroyed in the Canterbury earthquakes. We are renowned for our pioneering espresso, big breakfasts, and vibrant atmosphere. We're open from 7am to 10pm, 7 days a week. It’s hard to explain in a few words what C1 is all about. So feel free look over our reviews, good and bad, and get to know us better. And then why don’t you drop into our premises on the corner of Tuam and High Streets to experience C1 for yourself. Order a set of sliders, delivered to your table through our pneumatic tubes. Try a Colombian cold drip or freshly squeezed orange juice on a hot summers day, or grab a coffee made to perfection by one of our talented baristas. Established 1996. Re-established 2012.

PRICE RANGE

$8.00 – $21.00

CUISINES

Cafe, Healthy, New Zealand

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Gluten free options

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours, Drinks

FEATURES

Takeout, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Street Parking, Wheelchair Accessible, Wine and Beer, American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Digital Payments, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards

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4.0

872 reviews

Excellent

415

Very good

253

Average

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Terrible

Little Piggy

Washington DC

Best, Most Inventive, and Futuristic Breakfast in Christchurch and Beyond

Dec 2019 • none

Breakfast may be deemed the most important meal for the day, and rightfully so, but why have breakfast when you can experience and immerse yourself in breakfast? For this ultra-modern and hip interpretation of this morning meal, look no further than C1 Espresso. This location on the outskirts of Cathedral Square and the shopping hub is housed in a rather sterile building, much the same as a bank or financial institution. Once you enter its doors, you realize that you've been transported to an alternate universe. The olive-colored chairs, high ceilings, arcade games from yesteryear, and industrial light fixtures and beams make this cafe unconventional, but that is exactly what makes it so special. C1 has a great breakfast (brekkie) menu, with muesli, three types of benedicts, eggs in a variety of preparations as well as the "Super Choice Bro" (much the same as a classic English breakfast), but just walk up to the glass displays adjacent to the cashiers and baristas and start salivating. Sausage rolls, mince meat pies, banoffee pie, lamingtons, maltese pie, and other sweet and savory concoctions as well as a full-service espresso bar make this cafe pleasing and delightful for any discerning tastes. Two key things to try at C1 are the lamington cake, which requires a berry injection, and the iced tea concoction, which involves a beaker, a test tube, some chemistry, and actually serves 2 people. Their espresso beverages and tea options were extraordinary as well. If you do order from the menu, portions are large so order wisely, especially if you plan to order everything from the glass displays. Service was very nice as well, all served with a smile on their face. It was raining pretty hard when we visited that day, but nothing could dampen our enthusiasm and admiration for what C1 Espresso has done to usher in a new age of breakfast prowess. Keep up the lofty work!

Written 9 January 2020

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.

Kevin H

Waitomo Caves

Finally Made the Coffee Trip!

Jan 2020 • none

A fun little eclectic cafe. The interior design was a mix between Beatnik and Steampunk with the food vacuum tubes delivering the tasty comestibles. Most of the servers were nice and friendly although there was one cheeky sourpuss at the front counter taking orders when I was there. She either needed a hug or a boop on the end of her snoot...or both. 😜 The food was pretty good, although somewhat limited. Nothing super extraordinary or special per se. AND....apparently it is technically impossible (according to Miss Sourpuss) to put some red onion on the BLAT Sandwich even though it is offered on other sandwiches. Oh well. The chips were what you'd expect, except it was definitely not a "bountiful harvest" of chips as are typically served at other places. The iced tea that changes colors was pretty good. The flat white was very flavorful and well prepared. Top notch locally roasted brews!! Notably: Prior to eating, it is oft' times prudent to wash ones hands. The path to the bathrooms was through a magic hidden sliding bookcase. Totally cool. On the bathroom doors, gender designations were with Star Wars Figures. (again, totally cool.) The bathroom speaker was playing Harry Potter audiobooks. (Super cool.) Overall a fun little place. When you're there give that cheeky little sourpuss a hug from me.

Written 13 January 2020

Ashleigh S

Rolleston

Easy to get a table

Jul 2020 • friends

Dined with friends, unfortunately despite ordering immediately after us there was a significant delay between meals arriving, we had almost finished ours before theirs arrived. Good to have coffees arrive at the same time as our food. Staff were lovely and polite.

Written 4 July 2020

Ajwaywar

Auckland

Excellent all round

Oct 2021 • family

I’ve been twice this week for lunch, once for work once with family. The Buddha bowls are awesome, reasonably priced and really fresh and delicious. The banoffee pies from the cabinet are beautifully presented but also taste amazing too. My 4 year old loved getting his cheeseburger delivered via the tube, again really reasonably priced and they give the kids a mini play dough to keep. So thoughtful!! The staff behind the counter were helpful and friendly. Thanks for two great lunches this week, we will definitely be back!

Written 7 October 2021

Shirl T

Auckland

Great Cafe for the kids (and kid at heart)

Dec 2020 • family

Brought our kid’s here out of recommendation from a friend, the staff were super friendly in explaining how everything worked and were very patient while taking our order (we had 15 people). The food was great in quality and presentation. The fries were really crispy and yummy. We did have a small incident while there: I guess they were doing some painting in the bathroom hallway, and one of our friends got paint smeared on her pants and shirt. She told the management, and they are quick to offer to wash or replace her clothes. I appreciate them taking care of this issue so promptly. Overall, great food served in a fun way!

Written 13 December 2020

wanderinghedgehogs

Nice atmosphere but..

Mar 2021 • couples

Nice atmosphere. The place is incredibly beautiful down to the smallest detail such as the cute collectable tea matchboxes (photo included). You can collect different ones each time you come for each flavour. We had the big breakfast, which was great. My chai latte however was incredibly average. The kind where milk + sprinkling cinnamon on top = Chai. However, my partners mocha was great. Staff were nice. Not rude like others have stated. The young lady with the big white tooth clip in her hair was particularly friendly and helpful describing how tea worked. Also incredibly fast. Four stars only for the Chai and the fact they include this odd outdated page of negative reviews from 5 years ago in their menu(photo included). Honesty, with new owners, I don't see the point of it. Makes you guys look petty. Maybe if the negative reviews were a least funny, but they are boring such as no trim milk. Seems a passive aggressive way to discourage negative reviews. But the establishment is so nice, it seemed unnecessary and odd.

Written 23 March 2021

Kelly H

Christchurch

Friends, Filo and Gumboot Tea

Sept 2020 • friends

Caught up with a couple of friends for an early lunch and grabbed a table outside in the sun. Service was friendly and food delivery was quick. I had a chicken filo parcel out of the food cabinet which came hot to the table with a side of a delicious green salsa. It was honestly one of the best filos I’ve had - full of flavour and the filo wasn’t too flaky. I had a pot of gumboot tea alongside lunch which came with a complimentary matchbox sized gift of tealeaves enough for a pot to take home “For Now - For Later” - really nice touch. And the outdoor part of the cafe was dog friendly with the additional member of our party happily curled up under the table. Great spot to catch up with friends.

Written 27 September 2020

Indiexo14

Christchurch

Shocking service

Jul 2020 • friends

The man who took my order was very rude and impatient. The food was gross and was riddled with what I did not want. He did not seem to interested in listening to my wishes. The staff appeared so sad and did not want to be there. My friend had tried to talk to one of the staff about her tattoo and she did not reply at all and walked off. We both just laughed at how rude that was. Never coming back (:

Written 8 July 2020

SimonMacB

Auckland Central

Go for the quirkiness

Jul 2022 • family

A quick brunch visit to check out this cafe. The decor and uniqueness of this place was worth seeing (going for steampunk crossed with laboratory vibe?) but I have to say the chicken burger and curly fries would probably have been better if not rammed into a small metal tube and shot through a bunch of pipes before being served. The burger was quite soggy as was the chicken and lettuce and whatever sauce was used I could not tell. Fries were a bit limp and not hot. Sure it was a different experience but I don’t think the food quality was particularly good. Great for a kids experience but don’t expect top notch food from my personal experience. Also, as mentioned by one other reviewer, the toilets need a serious clean.

Written 12 July 2022

RRenton

Chapel-en-le-Frith

Bit of fun

Jan 2020 • family

Quirky food delivery by vacuum tubes (some of us are old enough to remember them being used to move cash in dept stores). Food was good: Pneumatic fish n chips, hand delivered eggs benedict. I thought the coffee was good as well, tried a "fat black" which was great. Worth a visit.

Written 7 January 2020

cmac052016

Hobart

C1 is number 1!

May 2019 • none

A warm and welcoming hub in Christchurch. A wide variety of items on the menu and the added quirks of C1 made for a pleasant (and exciting!) dining experience; fries delivered by tubes along the walls, moving bookcases to toilets and a sewing machine water dispenser made for a fun brunch experience. Meals came out in a timely manner and were well presented. Staff friendly and welcoming. Can't wait to return to C1 when I'm next in beautiful Christchurch.

Written 15 January 2020

Dream33297026163

Not worth it

Jul 2023 • family

The only reason I emptied my wallet here was because the kids wanted to experience the daft tube delivery system. The pods your food arrives in conveniently enforce tiny portions that are also unfortunately squashed. It really was not worth the money or effort.

Written 12 July 2023

Anna & Alex

Palma de Mallorca

Unpleasant Employees

Jun 2022 • couples

I recommend avoiding this café. Any food or drink establishment requires three things : (1) good food/drink; (2) atmosphere; (3) good service. We visited this café on back to back days. On both occasions the coffee was oustanding. The first occassion the atmosphere was perfect. However on both occasions the service was terrible. Specifically the same women working there were acting as if they were doing us a huge favor. This was completely opposite to the hospitality that we have been experiencing everywhere else during the past three weeks in New Zealand. Because we thought the coffee was so good and that the women were perhaps having a bad day, we came back the next day. The same women behaved in the same fashion, if not worse, as if they did not care. Perhaps it was the substandard service which colored our perspective but the atmosphere of the cafe seem to have diminished - the lighting more harsh and the music louder and less friendly. Sometimes, even having an excellent product is not enough when the front of house people are so inhospitable.

Written 4 June 2022

Seth Heynes

Thames

Quirky little pop culture cafe

Oct 2020 • none

Was recommended to go here and very glad I did. Was super impressed with how they have taken the old post office and turned it into a cafe. They even use the old transport tubes to deliver your food in! How cool. The vibe is a little retro clash with pop culture references throughout the place. I particularly loved the audible book reading of Harry Potter in the gents. The only thing I would comment on was that I found the staff a little stiff to deal with, not rude, but not exactly comfortable either. I suspect that this might be something they do purposefully as I noted some negative reviews being celebrated in their menu/colouring book on each table. I would definitely go back, food and coffee did the job as well.

Written 21 October 2020

NannaA53

Auckland Central

Loyal customers no more.

Mar 2023 • family

What cafe does NOT offer LARGE coffees? Ordered a large latte and a small coffee in a glass arrived. When queried, we were told ‘we don’t do large’ yet charged $5.20 for a couple of mouthfuls. This cafe is well known for its curly fries -especially for young people. So it was extremely disappointing to discover these are no longer on the menu! If you want to continue to retain families, how about getting rid of the foul mouthed rap music! All in all a disappointing experience and not one that we’ll be repeating, despite being long term and loyal customers at C1.

Written 18 March 2023

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