10 September, 2024

Drifter Christchurch welcomes Rambler restaurant and bar in heritage space

Edited by Travel Weekly

The Kiwi quirky Drifter Christchurch hotel is set to welcome a new destination for food, drinks and revelry as its new restaurant provides Rambler opens on Thursday, 12 September.

The new restaurant is set to be a new lively destination for both travellers and locals with food and beverage, plus entertainment seven days a week.

Housed in one of the great heritage buildings of Christchurch and spanning its ground floor, Rambler’s huge industrial-style windows front Lichfield St, while inside it offers a long L-shaped bar, lounge and table spaces, plus a DJ booth.

The 1919 building is heritage-listed and was built as a manufacturing facility for the Wellington Woollen Manufacturing Company.

Rambler seating.

“Rambler is the final element of Drifter Christchurch to open, and what an opening it is,” Leisure Accommodation Collective CEO, Luke Moran, said.

“It’s not lost on us that Rambler and our hotel Drifter sit where many times were had in what was Minx Bar and the vibrant area of Sol Square. We’re excited to welcome back so many locals who have loved the area in the past, and to also welcome travellers who are staying with us at Drifter.

“We hope it becomes a true melting pot for the people of Christchurch and for visitors, and that the Rambler party regularly carries on well into the early hours.”

Like the rest of Drifter, the space was designed by Auckland-based design studio, CTRL Space, with an aesthetic that blends industrial fixtures with soft custom furnishing which surrounds the bar centerpiece. It also features a huge canvas mural by Mexico-based artist Beni Single with film photography of the Canterbury region filling the space.

Rambler designer, CTRL Space.

Maximus Perry from 5th Street Restaurant in Christchurch was brought on to deliver the Rambler menu concept for Drifter which offers breakfast, all-day bites, a locally driven drinks list, and a roster of live local DJs and musicians.

The food menu at Rambler was created with snacking, sharing, and drinking in mind while making most of the Canterbury region’s epic produce and producers that include the likes of Grizzly bread and pastries and Bones pickles.

Breakfast at Rambler.

Breakfast from 7am offers an assortment of pasties, eggs and sides, granola, toasts and toasties. Diners can enjoy the cinnamon toast with blueberries, Chantilly cream and toasted coconut, and triple cheese toastie with cheddar, Swiss cheese, parmesan and caramelised onion.

From 11am, there’s stracciatella and bacon agrodolce and crispy caper, roasted butternut pumpkin with hummus and pumpkin seed, beef croquettes with charred onion and red wine jus, then there’s fried chicken with ginger honey glaze and garlic mayonnaise, and crostini with warm smoked salmon, pickles and buffalo labneh. Spiced olives, toasted breads, roasted garlic butter and olive tapenade, and a cos salad with Caesar dressing and pangritata are also available.

Rambler dishes.

Moving through to more substantial dishes, they offer a lamb smash burger with American cheese and pickles, and a chicken katsu sandwich with sesame slaw and togarashi. Both served with fries.

There’s also a late-night menu from 10pm, where diners can order triple cheese toastie from breakfast, plus olives and fries, with rosemary and parmesan fries, and fries kasundi with garlic mayo.

They can also enjoy a tight list of cocktails including spritzs and highballs, a Rambler gimlet with lemon sherbet and rosemary, negronis, Tommy’s margaritas, espresso martinis and a salted caramel old fashioned. There are some great no-booze options too, including a rose and elderflower fizz.

Rambler Bar.

Beer leans local Christchurch, including Brew Moon pale ale and brews from Three Boys and wine is very much New Zealand focused, with a by the glass and bottle list from Canterbury, Marlborough, Hawkes Bay and Central Otago.

Rambler is the latest space to open at Drifter Christchurch, a 95-room hybrid hotel with a capacity for 372 guests that opened in June. The Drifter concept offers both shared and private accommodation, and a roster of social experiences designed to bring guests together. Music is a huge part of that, so the arrival of Rambler is a very welcome addition to the Drifter Christchurch offering.

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Drifter Christchurch Rambler