Shamiana Hornby is the Christchurch outpost of Shamiana Cuisines of India, a name that has been part of New Zealand's food scene since 1989. Founder Satish Shetty opened the first Shamiana on Great North Road in New Lynn, spending a decade honing his skills and perfecting recipes before pioneering the brand's food court model at Lynn Mall. That formula worked — by 2019 the group had grown to 50 stores across New Zealand and Australia, and today it employs more than 170 people across both countries.
The Hornby branch continues that story from unit FC-4 in the food court at The Hub Hornby shopping centre on Main South Road. It serves the group's Indian cuisine to shoppers, workers and families in Christchurch's south-west, making it an easy stop for a meal while out and about.
Prefer to eat at home? The branch takes delivery orders through Uber Eats and Door Dash. Enquiries can be directed to the store via [email protected].
Every branch of Shamiana carries a piece of a remarkable New Zealand story, and Shamiana Hornby in Christchurch is no exception. The tale begins in 1989, when founder Satish Shetty opened the first Shamiana Indian restaurant on Great North Road in New Lynn, Auckland. It was not an overnight success. Satish spent a decade there, working day and night, honing his skills and perfecting his recipes through what he describes honestly as failures, struggles and small wins.
The turning point came when he was offered a store in the newly refurbished Lynn Mall shopping centre food court. Satish moved quickly, borrowing $150,000 from the bank to open the first Shamiana food court branch. The result — and the feedback — were fantastic, and he realised he was onto a good thing.
What followed was bold even by ambitious standards. Satish signed leases for two more food court sites, at Westfield Downtown and Manukau Shopping Centres. This time the banks were not willing to lend the extra money, so he signed both leases anyway — a leap of faith that he would find the money needed before his cheque was cashed. It paid off. By 2019, Satish had built an empire of 50 stores across New Zealand and Australia, and today the Shamiana group employs more than 170 people across both countries.
That journey matters if you are eating at Shamiana Hornby, because it explains what the brand is about: Indian food made accessible, consistent and quick enough for everyday life, served from the kind of busy shopping centre spots where people actually are.
Shamiana Hornby brings this story to Christchurch's south-west. You will find the branch at FC-4, The Hub Hornby, 418 Main South Road — a food court site within The Hub Hornby shopping centre, handy for shoppers, locals and anyone passing along Main South Road. The store's contact is Homnath, who can be reached by email at [email protected] for enquiries or feedback.
As the name Cuisines of India suggests, the focus is Indian cooking — the kind of hearty, familiar plates the group has been serving New Zealanders and Australians since the late 1980s. Being in the food court means no fuss: order, take a seat and eat at your own pace, whether it is a quick lunch between errands or an easy dinner out with the family.
If you would rather enjoy Shamiana at home, the Hornby branch takes online delivery orders through both Uber Eats and Door Dash, so its food can come to you within the delivery radius.
One practical note: opening hours are not published on the Shamiana website, so if you are making a special trip it is worth checking with the branch by email or looking at the Uber Eats or Door Dash listings, which usually reflect when the store is taking orders. The shopping centre setting also makes it an easy combined trip — pick up what you need, then sit down to eat.
From a single restaurant in New Lynn to 50 stores across two countries, Shamiana's growth has been built on unglamorous fundamentals: long hours, recipes refined over a decade, and food court locations that put Indian food where people already are. For Christchurch, the Hornby branch is the local chapter of that story — a straightforward place to eat well without ceremony, backed by nearly four decades of know-how.