Christchurch guide
The best desserts in Christchurch
Christchurch has a serious sweet tooth. Somewhere between the old-school pudding houses and a new wave of gelato, patisserie and viral bakes, the city does dessert properly — a scoop on a summer wander, a box of pastries, or the full over-the-top pudding after dinner.
The headline act is still Strawberry Fare, thirty-odd years of famous puddings in Merivale. Around it: Rollickin's small-batch gelato, French pastries at Bellbird, cinnamon scrolls and doughnuts on New Regent Street, crepes piled high in Riccarton, and Indian mithai out in Sydenham.
Some are a sit-down affair and plenty are grab-and-go — but all of them are worth leaving room for. Go a little hungry, or at least go with someone to share.
The picks
- 01Strawberry Fare Merivale · Restaurant · Merivale
A Christchurch dessert legend, 35-plus years famous for its over-the-top puddings — though it runs a full breakfast-to-dinner menu, with Hagley Park views.
- 0229 Sweets · Restaurant · Sydenham
A vegetarian and vegan Indian restaurant in Sydenham, big on sweets — plant-based curries, snacks and mithai, a favourite with local families.
- 03Rollickin Gelato Café (Cashel Street) · Cafe · Central City
Christchurch's standout gelato — small-batch, made with real fruit and cream, twelve staples plus three changing specials each week.
- 04Lana Crepes and Waffles · Cafe · Riccarton
A Riccarton dessert cafe — crepes, waffles and sweet things piled high.
- 05Fluffy Bake Shop · Cafe · Central City
A small Tuam Street bakery-cafe doing the simple things well — buttery pastries, soft cream cakes and little sweet things, baked daily.
- 06Dainty · Cafe · Central City
The cafe in the lobby of the Muse art hotel — coffee, breakfast and lunch, plus a hot chocolate that has become a bit of a local obsession.
- 07Bellbird Bakery · Café · Central City
A proper bakery inside Riverside Market — long-fermented sourdough and French pastries, the croissants and pain au chocolat through to the seasonal galettes,…
- 08Zoyi Bakerhouse · Cafe · Central City
A New Regent Street bakery-café from a Craggy Range / Mister D-trained baker — viral cinnamon scrolls, show-stopping doughnuts and novel canned desserts, trams…
- 09Paleta Gelateria · Cafe · Central City
A gelato stall at Little High — small-batch scoops and paletas to finish off a hall feed.
- 10Grizzly · Cafe · Central City
Grizzly Baked Goods' corner at The Welder — doughnuts, pastries and proper baking, with a good coffee to wash it down.
Keep exploring
Common questions
- Where's the best dessert in Christchurch?
- A few to start with: Strawberry Fare Merivale, 29 Sweets, Rollickin Gelato Café (Cashel Street), Lana Crepes and Waffles, Fluffy Bake Shop. It runs from Strawberry Fare's over-the-top puddings to small-batch gelato, French patisserie and the city's viral bakes — sit-down or grab-and-go.
- Where can you get good gelato or ice cream in Christchurch?
- Rollickin on Cashel Street is the standout — small-batch, real fruit and cream, with a chocolate tap — and Paleta does scoops and paletas inside the Little High food hall.
- Anywhere for a proper dessert after dinner?
- Strawberry Fare in Merivale is the classic late one — it runs a full menu, but the famous puddings are the point, and it stays open late enough to land after a film or dinner elsewhere.