She - Chocolat

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Address

79 Main Road
Governors Bay
Christchurch
Region: Canterbury
Licence: Fully Licensed
Cuisine: Contemporary New Zealand
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Contact

Phone: 03-329 9825
Website: www.shechocolat.com

Open

Wednesday - Friday
10am - 4pm

Saturday and Sunday
10am - 5pm

Comments

Welcome to She Chocolat
- the home of true chocolate passion. We are the artisan creators of fine chocolate delights, perfect for gifts, treats, and moments of bliss...

Our Chocolaterie and Restaurant in Governors Bay, Christchurch is the home of our chocolate, and the epicentre of our creative explosion...

At She Chocolat we are passionate about chocolate. We are enthrawled by it's mystery and spirit. Our love of chocolate inspires a deep interest in it's heritage, and in how it has moved our ancestors and played in their lives.

Its mystical nature touches us across the ages, connecting peoples and traditions with a common love.

The creative threads of our Restaurant at She Chocolat in Christchurch are woven through our inspired savoury menu and our divinely decadent chocolate menu. Let your taste buds sing, your heart awaken, and feel the passion with which we create...

Perfect for a lazy brunch/lunch; enjoy great service while you take in the stunning views of Governors Bay from the comfort of our extensive decking. Or while away the cosy winter hours with a bowl of chowder, a real hot chocolate, and a good book...

Menus

4227_She_Chocolat_Weekend_Menu.pdf
4227_She_Chocolat_Midweek_Menu.pdf
4227_She_Chocolat_Chocolate_Menu.pdf
4227_She_s_Drinks_Menu.pdf
4227_She_s_Wine_List.pdf

Overall DineOut Score based on 32 reviews

Total		6.7
Food		6.8
Dessert		6.6
Presentation		6.7
Service		6.2
Environment		7.4
Toilets		7.1
Child Friendly	Yes

Review by: zwirnie (4) on 24th August 2010

Total		6.1
Food		5
Dessert		N/A
Presentation		7
Service		7
Environment		8
Toilets		N/A

Went there a couple of weeks with a few friends. The service was very friendly and the atmosphere was good. However, the food could not deliver the expectations we had. I had Eggs Benedict, which where over-poached, and the bacon was way too crispy. For a rather simple dish like that I expected a lot more. My friends had pancakes and the big breakfast, which was better, but still nothing that would justify the drive from the city to there. We are not sure if we would come back again ...

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Review by: cancerianfoodie (15) on 27th April 2010

Total		6.1
Food		5
Dessert		N/A
Presentation		6
Service		7
Environment		8
Toilets		8

As a cafe excellent, but as a dining restaurant not as good.
The funny thing is that the prices are reflective of a fine dining restaurant, however the food is reflective of a funked up cafe. If the prices were lower I would have been very happy, however I expected more because it was dearer and the expectation certainly was not met.

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Review by: lemurkat (62) on 24th April 2010

Total		8.1
Food		8
Dessert		N/A
Presentation		8
Service		9
Environment		8
Toilets		7

Walking into this establishment, one has to wonder how seriously to take it all. The combination of spirituality and chocolate is an interesting one, and also something that seems - oddly - to work. There is indeed something exceptionally decadent and sensational about tasting really good chocolate. Anyway, I digress, we weren't here for the chocolates but for lunch. So as we were escorted to our table I resisted the platter of delicious chocolate truffle mouthfuls (which I believe were $3 or so each). We were offered a choice of seating, and we wisely chose the fire, for it was a cold and rainy saturday and it also put us far from the chocolate temptation. After glancing through the menu, I eventually decided on the Kumura and Corn Cake Stack. The steak sandwich was rather tantalising too, but I felt like something a little lighter for lunch. My companion (now my husband) selected the Eggs Benedict - with Bacon. Whilst the waitress saw to our orders, we pondered over the chocolate menu-book. Rather thicker than the menu, it seemed to be written in an almost over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek manner. I've been told they take their chocolate very seriously here, and as I've said, I almost agree. It is far more sensible to savour every tiny bite of a $3 chocolate than it is to eat an entire $3 block. Anyhow, within what could not have been more than ten minutes (or maybe the menu was so engrossing we lost track of time), our meals were brought to us. Top marks for speed, and top marks for presentation. My three Corn Cakes stood in a tall, proud stack, smothered by a canopy of salsa and avocoado, slices of luscious silverbeet sandwiched between each. Beside them, a garden of salad and some juicy chunks of beetroot. As has been noted before, I feel beetroot is somewhat underappreciated as a vegetable, so I took some time to appreciate its sweet taste. The Corn Cakes too were delicious, firm and warm. All in all, a rather tasty meal, and I have it on good authority that the Eggs Benedict was very nice too - it certainly looked rich and creamy in the hollandaise department, and contained a few vegetables too. The prices were fairly reasonable and the servings generous without being daunting. However, paying at the chocolate counter was a risk unto itself, and I see why they have the register there. The Ginger Macaroon was calling to me, "... I'm only $5.50 if you take me away, and I'm decadent and delicious..." I wavered, but I remained true to my waistline (somewhat suffering from my Honeymoon indulgences) and resisted its lure. However, the waitress did manage to tempt me with a small (free) mouthful of chocolate, dark and rich (none of this "milk chocolate" nonsense), and I have to report that it was indeed exceedingly good chocolate and the sweet aftertaste lingered as a pleasant reminder for much of the afternoon. Truly, when it comes to chocolate, it is better to indulgence in a little of the luxurious than a lot of the mundane.

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Review by: Mr Lu [DineOut VIP] (381) on 31st January 2010

Total		6.9
Food		8
Dessert		N/A
Presentation		7
Service		4
Environment		7
Toilets		N/A
Child Friendly	Yes

The word ‘she’ may well be firmly entrenched in the English language as a personal pronoun but “She’ in the context of She Chocolat Restaurant is an initialism for “Spiritual Human Evolution”. The first-time visitor to this eatery is aware of a sect-like feel to the place, especially when much of the literature, including menus, carries wording like, “She Chocolat. Sacred Chocolate alchemy” and “a sacred place of inspiration for the human spirit.” Delve further and you will discover that the restaurant and its people are devout followers of The Form – Reality Practice. Let me point out that I didn’t see any of these realizations in a negative sense as I was somewhat intrigued by it all.
Our waiter, when quizzed on the name, ‘She’, launched into an effusive, 2 minute proclamation of how The Form had added immeasurably to his life. This wasn’t, I felt, a blatant attempt at proselytisation, as I had brought the matter up and he was simply responding to my interest.
When he realized he was preaching to the equivalent of a deaf, dumb beached walrus, he reverted to waiter and took our orders accordingly.
Within a very short time it became apparent that most members of staff seemed not to have specifically assigned tables to look after, as we had no fewer than 4 different people attending throughout the meal. Whether this unsystematic approach by servers was a factor in the quite unsatisfactory delay in getting our food remains to be seen.
It took 45 minutes for our soup to materialize and we started to enjoy what was a wonderful main course quite some time after that. In fact, it was one and a half hours after our arrival that we got our mains.
Yes, there was a table of twelve or more adjacent to us but otherwise all other diners in the restaurant arrived later than us.
The staff were aware that our wait was longer than even they were happy with and did offer a 10% reduction of our bill when it came time to pay so that was appreciated.
My Canterbury Lamb with Mint Quinoa, Candied Beets, Organic Medjool Dates, Garden Greens & Raisin Chocolate Sauce was a meal good enough to placate the human equivalent of a beached walrus, and my spiritual and physical being, so all was well in the end. I found the use of melted chocolate on the plate, covering the beets and swirling about the mouth with the lamb a rewarding experience indeed. The food was interesting, a little different and certainly beautifully cooked (lamb). My party and I enjoyed a bottle of Craggy Range Single Vineyard Merlot 2006, hailing, of course, from the Gimblett Gravels wine growing region much loved by us all.
Disappointingly, our water bottle was not replenished in the two hours and forty five minutes we were at the table. This wasn’t a fatal omission as it was a dark, grey, drizzly day outside ………….but when you’re driving it’s always such a good idea to drink at least a glass of water for each glass of wine you consume….at the very least.
By the time we’d had coffees we were ever so slightly exhausted, our defences were down & our afternoon was well past the halfway mark, making us perfect candidates for a religious or sectarian conversion.
If you want to find out more about The Form – Reality Practice please visit www.bernieprior.org ……….and may the Force be with you and with your chocolate bars.

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Review by: JenniR (1) on 28th January 2010

Total		4.7
Food		4
Dessert		6
Presentation		7
Service		2
Environment		6
Toilets		N/A

She Cafe is a place I've been very excited about for a while now, and I wanted to share this excitement for decadent delights with the people I love. I booked a table for 6 for a midweek lunch to celebrate my birthday. The service, while friendly and smiley, was unacceptably disorganised. We had to ask for the drinks menu, and then the lunch menu, and when we had finished lunch the dessert menu. It took 1hr and 40mins from being seated to receiving our main meals. Added to this annoyance I found a blond hair hiding under one of my tortilla and my guest complained that her fresh bread was stale. The dishes were inconsistant in size, and somewhat overpriced.
This is the fourth time I have been to She since September 2009 and the first time I have tried the lunch menu. Every other time my experience has been good so I am hoping this was just an off day (they did appear to have only one chef in the kitchen). We recieved a complementary truffle each for our inconvenience, which was a nice touch. However the lack lustre service tainted my experience to the point that I felt extremely embarrassed about recommending "She" to others. Even after my query regarding the length of time it was taking to receive our food (I stated we had been waiting for 1hr but was corrected by the waitress that it was not one hour since she had taken our order but in fact only 30mins) we still had to ask for items that should be a normal part of service (i.e. requesting the dessert menu).
I'm very disappointed. "She" has so much to offer and I really hope that the staff receive some adequate service training. It could become a really topnotch establishment!

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Review by: Serenity 37 (1) on 28th November 2009

Total		6.2
Food		7
Dessert		6
Presentation		6
Service		5
Environment		6
Toilets		N/A
Child Friendly	Kind of

Our experience was a bit mixed. We turned up (apologetically) 10 minutes late, and were told this had meant they had had to rejig all the tables. However, they were only half full for the whole time we were there. But it left us feeling a bit embarressed and got things off to a bad start.
The menu was short but interesting. There were reasonable vegetarian choices, with add on meat options. This was good for our family, but not so good when we had asked what was vegetarian and got eggs benedict with bacon on the side (the bacon had been an option, we had asked just for the standard). This was sorted out quickly however.
The Kumara stack was a lovely mix of flavours, but was not hot enough - barely warm. The eggs benedict were good too.
We felt that the pricing was inconsistent - the kids shared a platter for $21 - four small slices of bread, two apple slices, two orange slices, a piece of watermelon, a few small pieces of cheese some jam and a couple of chocolate things - thought it was very overpriced - $14 would have been ok, but still at the high end. The eggs and kumara stack were more fairly priced.
The coffee was good, although again, not hot enough for my liking. The icecream deserts I thought were also overpriced, and were a mix of homemade and movenpick - not sure which was which, but for $12, thought they could have done better. A nearby table had the brownies which looked very good.
The service was pretty good, the waitress was new, and did not know the menu (for which she apologised) but did offer to ask the chef when we had a query about something.
The entrance area is a bit cramped, as you pay at the chocolate bar area. All in all, it was good, I would go back, it has a beautiful view,and nice food but lacks the snappy service of a top notch cafe.

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Review by: squeakysqueak (1) on 22nd September 2009

Total		4.7
Food		N/A
Dessert		5
Presentation		5
Service		3
Environment		6
Toilets		N/A

Really wanted to like this place, walked in all smiles, found a seat and waited for our order to be taken. Waited and waited. My partner kept nagging me to just leave but I insisted on staying. Finally about 20 minutes later water was given and our order taken. Another 20 or 30 minutes later our drinks came which were finished in minutes. It wasn't bad but it wasn't amazing either for the price you pay, definitely not worth the wait. Luckily it was a nice day and that cheered me up afterwards.

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Review by: fairymia (2) on 8th September 2009

Total		6.4
Food		8
Dessert		3
Presentation		7
Service		6
Environment		8
Toilets		8

went for lunch a week or so ago, and it was delicious, tasted fresh and amazing, cant complain at all...and the deck with that view and the sunshine is really something. we had both recently had a birthday so decided to do dessert and were preparing ourselves for some kind of chocolate heaven, we ordered a brownie and the ice cream. The ice cream was nice but the brownie tasted fridgey and not really that fabulous at all, which seems a pity when eating somewhere which prides itself on chocolate!!! of course the chocolates themselves are delicious, who can go past a decadent date mmmmm...flat whits to finish were really good, would go back for lunch and a wine on the deck, but skip dessert next time.

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Review by: ellecim (1) on 9th August 2009

Total		6.2
Food		N/A
Dessert		7
Presentation		7
Service		3
Environment		8
Toilets		N/A
Child Friendly	Kind of

I was really looking forward to having a drink and some chocolate at She. But by the time my order arrived I was just too annoyed to really enjoy it. Kind of ironic considering the new agey vibe they are trying to encourage. Must be short staffed at the moment. By 3pm they had also run out of just the items my friends wanted to order.
I think that a 45 minute wait for a cup of tea and a small slab of chocolate with some cream is verging on ridiculous. Felt sorry for people waiting for real meals. My advice would be to have a snack before you go there on a weekend - it's just too busy for its own good.

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Review by: dyl2dyl (1) on 3rd August 2009

Total		6.2
Food		5
Dessert		8
Presentation		8
Service		4
Environment		7
Toilets		N/A

when the waitress asks would you like my food to come at the same time as my guest and i say yes. you would think we would. but no.. Desert was good but the reason i chose it was for the sorbet which they did not have on that day..Let down...$10 for fries over priced...Hot choc menu exceptional

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Review by: dinerouter (12) on 17th May 2009

Total		8.4
Food		8
Dessert		N/A
Presentation		9
Service		9
Environment		9
Toilets		7

What a beautiful place, the chocolate is just glorious to look at and taste. Great outdoor setting, quality organic food, divine hot chocolates and really lovely staff. Certainly worth visiting.

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Review by: Simie (19) on 4th May 2009

Total		6.9
Food		6
Dessert		7
Presentation		7
Service		9
Environment		7
Toilets		N/A

We went here for lunch on a weekend. The menu is small, and we ordered a kumara stack and eggs benedict with smoked salmon. These were good, but I think a little over-priced. I enjoyed having the eggs benedict on a potato cake rather than a muffin. When we left there was a specials board outside with seafood chowder on it and another special on it, but this was not mentioned to us when we got our menus.
The hot chocolates were REALLY good, and we had dessert of a couple of small chocolate things, at $7.50 each i felt these were overpriced and not particulary good. The service however was fantastic, very prompt and friendly. Would possibly return for another hot chocolate!

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Review by: Jodz06 (2) on 10th April 2009

Total		4.3
Food		5
Dessert		N/A
Presentation		5
Service		1
Environment		6
Toilets		N/A

This was the second time we have visited She cafe. The first time was midweek, back in January. For a Wednesday, the cafe was relatively quiet. We were not acknowledged when we walked in, and we had to ask 3 times for a high chair to be bought out ( if it was visible, I would have got it myself). The food was ok, it was more about enjoying the sunshine on a great summers day. Deciding to ignore the bad service we received last time, we decided today would be a nice day to head over the hill to make the most of a sunny Good Friday.. Once again, you walk in and no-one greets you!!!!! There were no menus around, so we had to scout around all the tables looking for some. There were a heap of dirty dishes sitting at our table and no-one bothered to clear them. Once we had decided to order, the waitress came out, walked right passed us and served the table of 6 who had just sat down!! Finally the dirty dishes were cleared, once our food was bought out.. Other tables were having to ask constantly to have water bought to the table, the waitresses just didnt seem to have it together and know what tables had ordered. No-one looked happy to be working the public holiday, despite knowing this is what happens when you work in hospo! When we went to leave, we had to be asked what we wanted when we went up to the counter.. ummmm what we wanted to do, was pay the bill!!! I have never had to ask to pay, they are so disorganised there, that they would never know if people left without paying anyway.. I felt annoyed at having to pay the extra 15% surcharge for such bad service.. if the service had been great, I wouldnt have minded, as this is to be expected when you dine on public holidays.. Will only be returning if we are calling in for a quick drink and dont have to worry about waiting 40 mins for food when the cafe is half empty!!!

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