Tequila Mockingbird - Christchurch product reviews

We recently we out for my husbands work dinner, the restaurant decided upon was Tequila Mockingbird, a relatively new restaurant in Christchurch. Due to the size of our group they preferred us to use the Chef's Comilona Menu, which is a fancy way of saying the chef will pick what you eat, all of it gets laid out on communal plates on the table. It was an excellent way to try so many different things from the menu instead of having to decide what you were having.

We had Pao De Quejo (Brazillian style cheese puffs) with jalapeno cream cheese, Piquillo Peppers (wood roasted Spanish peppers, tomato parfait, toasted bread), Spicy Crispy Pork (Jerk Spiced) with sweet potato salad, Wakanui Beef Cheek Asado Negro with spring onion souise and black bean vinaigrette, Smoked Fish Croquetas as our entrĂ ©e. Seared Scallops with chorizo crumble and carrot puree, Spiced Rubbed Salmon with cauliflower puree and roasted florets as our main with a salad of spicy greens, watermelon and what I assume was a balsamic style dressing, followed up with Churros Con Chilli Chocolate which I was pleasantly surprised to find the chilli wasn't overpowering in the chocolate ganache as the last time I'd tried it somewhere it was.

All were plated up with around six servings per plate or board and placed along the table for us to serve ourselves from. Although it seems like a lot we went away satisfied but not over full as I often tend to do when we go out. It also gives a good basis of any follow up visits, things you'd like to try more of or not have again.

They also have an extensive drinks menu with specialist tequila (as you would expect by their name), a range of latin cocktails and traditional sangria which they will almost make non alcoholic for those that don't drink or need to sober drive.

The staff were wonderful, happy to answer questions, fulfil requests and were always nearby, the plates were swapped out as soon as they were empty and the only time we had a wait was between our mains and dessert which was probably a good decision and allowed us be ready for the dessert. Overall we plan on going back and feel that it's excellent value for money, we will probably do the Comilona menu again as it's nice to be fully served and not have to worry about choices.