Adam Ain't Cooking

Cleavers Corner is a new and modern gastro pub which has recently opened on West Street in Ashburton, Christchurch. In New Zealand. Yeah I know it's a bit far afield compared to my regular reviews, but I was on holiday so had to review at least one place I stopped in!

You enter either from the main corner door, or one of the side window doors, where a server greets you. The uniform here appears to be black trousers and a denim shirt, which is certainly an unusual look, but that's their style.

The layout, like many Ashburton and Christchurch table-service eateries (bakeries don't count, they're literally everywhere... sometimes you want more than a cheese roll!), is a large open square room with tables dotted around, no breaking up the space or layout. This can be a bit of a shame if you would like a little privacy or a quieter area to sit, as everyone is basically in the same area. However, it's modern, bright, and clean, which is good enough for me.

We're handed the menus and told about the specials, as a bottle of water for the table is placed between us. The menu is simple but tasty food, focusing on fresh ingredients and quality. For our starters, we order pan fried dumplings, seared tuna, salt and pepper calamari, and a bread and dip selection.

The food arrived well presented, and looked extremely appealing. The quality and presentation was excellent, and all of the party enjoyed their starters. The bread in particular was a generous amount, with delicious fresh dips and balsamic vinegar with oil.

For our mains, we ordered the beer battered catch of the day (which on this day was red snapper), chicken breast, and pork ribs.

The mains, like the starters, arrived in good time. The atmosphere at Cleavers' is friendly, social, and relaxed, so it was pleasant to simply enjoy your company whilst waiting for your food.

The mains were again excellently presented, and very generous portions! The red snapper was tasty but subtle, and although the batter was perfectly crisp, tasting the fish on its own gave it a different flavour, which was pleasant. The chips were perfectly cooked, and a generous bowl of salad also provided. I did ask for vinegar, it being a classic British staple to have salt and vinegar with fish and chips, and they obliged a little while later by bringing out a small dish of what at first we thought was balsamic vinegar (if malt vinegar isn't popular, it's no shame to not have it commonly available), but it turned out to be a good strong malt vinegar, which after decanting it over my meal with a knife and fork to sort of... flick it over the fish and chips... worked well.

The bacon wrapped chicken breast was juicy and excellently flavoured, with tasty flavourful potato cubes in accompaniment. The ribs came on a giant chopping board, which I'd normally consider a bit of a gimmick, but in this instance it seems practical. They were perfectly glazed/sauced, with great flavour.

The portions were so big that we didn't even have room for a dessert, but those looked great too.

If you live near Ashburton or Christchurch, it's worth a visit. There's loads of free parking nearby, the food is tasty, and the service is friendly and casual.