Mumbaiwala Christchurch brings the street food culture of Mumbai to the BNZ Centre on Hereford Street in Christchurch Central City. The concept is drawn straight from Mumbai's roadside vendor stalls, where the city gathers in the evening to snack on small plates served by the local 'walas' — and the restaurant recreates that experience, serving delicious food and drinks as if you were standing on a vibrant Mumbai street.
The kitchen offers an authentic taste of India through a unique street food selection and a mouth-watering menu of dishes the team encourages you to share, just as they do in India. Rather than a plate each, the Mumbaiwala way is to order a spread of favourite dishes for the whole table — have fun and enjoy.
The Christchurch restaurant is fully licensed and open seven days, with lunch Monday to Friday from 12pm to 2pm and dinner from 5pm til late (weekends from 5pm onwards). It also caters for functions, with private dining rooms for groups of up to 60 people and a choice of banquet and a la carte menu options. Reservations and online ordering are available, along with gift vouchers for the Christchurch restaurant.
Mumbaiwala Christchurch brings the flavour of a Mumbai street evening to the middle of Christchurch's central city. From its spot in the BNZ Centre on Hereford Street, the restaurant takes its inspiration from the roadside vendor stalls of Mumbai — the places where the city gathers as the sun goes down to eat small, punchy snacks served by the vendors everyone knows as 'walas'.
The idea behind Mumbaiwala is simple: recreate that experience on the other side of the world. Food and drinks arrive as if you were standing on a vibrant Mumbai street, served by the restaurant's own Walas, with all the buzz and colour that come with it. It is an authentic taste of India, built around a unique street food selection rather than a standard restaurant checklist.
The distinctive thing about Mumbai street food is that it is rarely eaten alone. Snacks are small, social and fast, ordered in waves and passed around. Mumbaiwala builds its menu around that habit: dishes are cooked so the whole table can share them, just as people do in India.
Rather than one plate per person, the Mumbaiwala way is to order a spread of the kitchen's favourite dishes and let everyone graze. The team sums it up in the line they use everywhere: they will serve a selection of Mumbaiwala's favourite dishes to share — have fun and enjoy. It makes the restaurant a natural pick for catch-ups with friends, family dinners and work gatherings where nobody wants to commit to a single main.
Because the food is built to be shared, evenings at Mumbaiwala tend to be lively rather than formal. Plates come out as they are ready, the table fills up in stages, and the emphasis stays on fun. It is a style of dining that suits the central city well, whether that is a quick bite between things or a longer evening with a full table.
Mumbaiwala Christchurch is also set up for bigger occasions. The restaurant has private dining rooms that can host groups of up to 60 people, which puts it among the more flexible function venues in the central city.
Function hosts can choose from a range of banquet and a la carte menu options, and the team invites anyone planning an event to get in touch to talk it through. Venue hire is offered across the Mumbaiwala group, with the Christchurch restaurant included.
Mumbaiwala Christchurch is fully licensed, so drinks sit alongside the food the way they would at a street stall with a good bar. Hours run across the whole week: Monday to Friday there are two services, lunch from 12pm to 2pm and dinner from 5pm til late, while Saturday and Sunday are dinner affairs from 5pm onwards.
Reservations can be made online through the Christchurch booking page, which is handy for evenings and larger tables. If you would rather eat at home or at your desk, the Christchurch kitchen also takes online orders through the group's ordering site.
Gift vouchers are available for the Christchurch restaurant — an easy present for anyone who loves Indian food. And if one visit leaves you curious about the wider map of Indian cooking, the group's sister restaurant, Permit Room, also in Christchurch, specialises in South Indian cuisine.
The restaurant sits at the BNZ Centre, 120 Hereford Street, in Christchurch Central City — an easy stop for office workers on a lunch break and diners heading into town for the evening. The team can be reached on 03 943 9536 or 021 434 530, or by email at [email protected].
Whether you come for a quick weekday lunch, a long shared dinner or a function in one of the private rooms, the promise is the one Mumbai's street vendors have always made: good food, full of flavour, served in a place where everyone is welcome to linger a little longer.