What a way to wreck a beautiful lazy Sunday!! This was my 3rd visit to this place and was by far, the worst meal I have had in years!! I cant remember when I was last so disappointed.. To begin with – 4 mains options on a menu – one had blue cheese in it – not a favourite of many people, venison as another option – again, not everyones favourite – why not have beef??? There was also a chicken salad and I think from memory, a scallop salad. I ordered the smoked chicken “salad”… this arrived and consisted of 5 pieces of non smoked chicken, that was that dry it was crumbling in my mouth.. the salad was a pitiful handful of mesculan and 4 pieces of grated carrot with some burnt cashew nuts on top and an oily red dressing.. terrible.. The breads and spreads had a tiny amount of spreads, not enough for 2 people, the bread was like a rock! My husband ordered seafood chowder, only to be told they had “run out”… it was 1pm on a Sunday lunch service – hardly the end of the day!! The kids platter was a joke, everything was yellow – doughy split muffin, some grated cheese (?), corn chips, a wet Eskimo lolly, and 4 slices of fruit – hardly a healthy option and $10.50!!!! We didnt eat all our meals, completely obvious that we didnt like our meals, yet no-one thought to ask if things were ok.. We were going to complain when paying, but there was a queue behind us, we just wanted to leave.. it was almost an insult having to pay for the food, especially what they charge for their meals too! We will NEVER go back!! On the upside, the playground is great! Drive a bit further to Tai Tapu and check out the Raspberry Cafe or the Tai Tapu Pub!

Went for breakfast 26 june, party of four.What a great location,just far enough out from the city. Excellent seating (by the fire) very friendly staff, not to long to wait. meals were enjoyed by all. would go again.

Lovely Venison Salad, & partner had a lovely Chicken salad, with a glass of wine each – Exquisite day with wispy high cloud overhead, sitting outside, under the fruit trees – 21 degrees with a very light Nor Easter (Sheltered in the valley)!
Service was prompt, & efficient, & wait staff knowledgeable – a most pleasant day had by both of us !

We made our first and last visit to the Packingshed this weekend. On arrival one of the waitresses greeted us politely and was trying to find us a table when a young woman whom we assumed to be the duty manager, who had a most unfortunate attitude for someone in the hospitality trade, snapped “casuals outside”, speaking about us as though we weren’t there and making us feel most unwelcome and as though we were an inconvenience. We left immediately and won’t be back.

Not recommended. Disappointing to find a cafe with such potential fall down at almost every turn. Service was a little was slow and unfriendly. Coffees were overpriced, burnt, small and a lukewarm. The smoothies were had ($6.50) each were small, and contained no essence of berry whatsoever. Trim milk in a tall glass. To be fair, the food was pretty reasonable, but a bit of improvement needed here.

16.01.2011
Visited Packing Shed for family 70Th birthday, like others wondered what was in store but what a surprise, all 13 of us were very pleased with the food, the girls serving us were great with a sense of hum-er and what a great place for kids they could happily place in sandpit without us having to be hassled by bored kids. Would definitely go again!

Visited the packingshed today although we were a bit hesitant after reading some reviews.

We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived, without a booking, the staff were very friendly and helpful in placing an extra table outside in the shade so we could enjoy the lovely weather.

The meals came out in a reasonable time considering how busy it was. I had the monkfish which was very good and my husband enjoyed his venison sandwich. Desserts were fabulous, after been told there was no plums ripe on the trees yet i opted for the drunken plum alternative of drunken berries and brownie which was divine and my husband got the special of affogato which he loved.

Juices were a bit pricey. coffee was good

Staff were very friendly. Will definitely be back

I have been thinking about whether to write something since going to Packing shed for brunch the week before Christmas.Met with friends for a Sunday brunch as we fancied somewhere close to town but with a ‘country’ feel. The restaurant itself is beautiful, lovely feel to it with outside eating and ideal for all ages. Staff were friendly and fine – unfortunately coffee was probably the worst I have been served in a restaurant – a latte which was more like coffee with hot milk just heated up and added – no body to it – in fact the waitress could hardly carry them as they were slopping and very weak taste. All had Big Breakfasts which were fine for quantity but considering we were one of the few groups there this particular morning it was fairly cold. The boys poached eggs were quite hard balls, not very tasty at all. Don’t like complaining (in fact none of us did but all felt afterwards we should have done). So ……beautiful setting, could be fantastic – but the coffee has to be up to scratch so please – really work on that and get a good barista and serve the meals hot and all will be perfect. Thank you.

I wish I had read the other reviews before we visited this cafe! It was a disgrace from beginning to end.
During the entire 90 mins we were there I am unsure if any of the 5 staff managed to crack a smile, even acknowledging us seemed to be an ordeal. Being gluten free I went to the counter prior to ordering to discuss options with the waitress. Clearly this was all just a little too much of a pain in the butt for her as she was not particularly helpful. So we all ordered a breakfast and when we all ordered poached eggs we were promptly told that they did not poach eggs as it was just too hard when they were busy???? I thought she was joking! What cafe does not offer poached eggs?? And 7 customers is not busy! I have had to cook 240 poached eggs at one time, so surely they could cook 10…..
To make matters worse the fried eggs were hard and the bottoms crunchy, my gluten free meal came with toast and everything appeared to have spent a minute or 2 longer than it should have in the fryer!
The water bottles were filthy, as were the glasses, many of them were chipped, the tables were dirty, the towel in the toilet was all frayed, but above all the service was non existant.
Had we not been miles away from another cafe we would have promptly left.
On a positive the coffee was ok. I was happy to pay for one, but definitely wouldn’t order another.
We will NEVER go anywhere near this cafe again and ensure that all those we know don’t make the same mistake we did.
Given the price they charge for a meal, I would expect it to be top notch. Sadly it was anything but.

Well, reading some of the other reviews I am wondering whether we have been to the same place!! Yes the setting is nice and kids play area is a real bonus but we went there really really hungry and after a Sunday lunch there came away still hungry!! The menu choice is very limited, portions are very small and half the “meal” was a salad of very little effort indeed! We had to stop off to get something to eat on the way home! Even our 8 year old daughter (who is not a big eater) was still hungry after her kids meal of 2 small slices of pizza for $10.50! The drinks were expensive so we had water which was warm and had a funny taste and when I asked for ice they said they do not have ice.
As I have read in other reviews the service was haphazard and unfriendly and one of the waitresses threw something at the chef and swore at him!
When we left there was no thank you and when I said we were all still hungry and expected to be full after a meal out she gave no indication that that she cared a less and made no comment at all.
I am really not a moaner and have never written a review before and very rarely complain but this really was a joke! Such a shame as the setting provides alot of potential.
My 8 year old daughter says “There was hardly anything on my plate! I was hoping for it to be a mini pizza not 2 small slices! The water was really warm and tasted disgusting!”

Went there for brunh. Food was average. The cafe itself has a very nice setting. However, our first impression was the staff was unfriendly. No smile when we walked into the door. We asked for a drink menu, the menu never came. We asked for water, she unfriendly told us to help ourselves over the corner with the water. By the time we paid and walked out the door, the staff didn’t even say a word, not even a thank you! We will never come back again.

Yesterday we spent a very pleasant lunch with our family visiting from Australia. We chose this venue after seeing the ad in the Chch Press supplement and deciding it would be the perfect venue for the three year old, he had a ball.

However, one small gripe. When I mentioned the free bunch of peony roses mentioned in the ad the waitress just said that you needed to have cut out the ad. I hadn’t read the small print but feel in the name of good customer relations it wouldn’t have hurt to say that as you had obviously read the ad we will give them to you anyway, after all there were plenty of them growing!

Fantastic approach Packingshed, you have all the right ingredients for a peaceful and tasty lunch. Sun, space, fresh produce, friendly staff. This has been one of the most enjoyable lunches I have had in awhile. With a great kids play area and knowing your children can move around the open spaces, yet still be safe made lunch for me and my family really relaxing. The food was lovely, the coffee hot and strong, and best of all I could actually sit and sip while I watched the kids play.

A group of ten friends and relations had lunch at the cafe on a recent Sunday. The weather was wonderful and we ate outside. Loved the setting, with the hens scratching in the orchard and the hills all around. It’s so close to Christchurch but in another, better world! And the food? Fabulous! Great choices, wonderful flavours, reasonably priced and promptly served! We all had a great time. The gift shop is a real bonus, too!

Went to the packing shed for lunch on Saturday, and it was absolutely fabulous!!

Sat outside (weather was awesome, really sunny) and had a lovely lazy lunch with a friend.
It’s quite a quaint place (fruit trees, chickens pecking around) and the food was great.
The food was really yummy, very fresh and very reasonable (about $19 a main). I had a main and a dessert, there was so much food that i had trouble finishing my dessert!
Have been here about a year ago and the portions were quite small, but not so now.
Will be back next weekend with my partner! So full of praise for this place!

this is a fantastic place to spend a beautiful lunch in a great spot so close to chch central. It feels like you are miles away but its only minutes from Halswell. All the fruit is grown in the orchard and organic, everything is home made and really tasty and they make good coffee too.