Ilex Cafe

Took some recently arrived relatives for lunch. Lovely food, would have been nice to have it altogether instead of separately. Only one dish required heating. With unfamiliar visitors it would be useful to have direction showing which way to queue. Given there were 5 parties in the queue, it wasn't the best idea for the person on the till to leave when there was only one other till. Very clean and well presented.

It was a nice surprise to see decent prices on their menu! The location of the cafe is absolutely beautiful and I’d highly recommend sitting outside if you can. There are A-lot of ducks and baby ducklings that will wonder around so be careful! Also keep an eye on your food because the seagulls are bold enough to help themselves haha! The seating inside it really nice also. We went on a Monday morning and it was quite busy, I imagine its much worse in the weekends. The iced coffee oddly had no ice. I assume they pour the shot over the ice cream as well because we didn’t seem to find any in our drink (melted?) and it was more of a chilled temperature than cold or iced. The scone and carrot cake were really good!The menu’s definitely need a wipe. They are really grubby.

Another outstanding cafe in Christchurch. The body prefect barrister definitely makes a mouth watering cup of coffee. Addition to the view of the garden the scones is to die for, served with butter and homemade jam. The spring season also have many ducklings wonder around the outdoor courtyard waiting for foods. So overall a wonderful experience and can't wait to be back again.

I emceed a wedding there, I was impressed with the staff and their commitment to making sure everything works really well. They communicated well, we’re flexible when needed and followed the schedule well. The food was a hit with everyone. Being a vegan I was well looked after. From entree to main course and finally an amazing desert. I even returned again the next day for lunch and got the vegan sandwich off the menu. It was yummm.