Dress up, turn up, wind down, mellow out — Delilah on Oxford Terrace is Christchurch's cocktail-forward bar and kitchen built for both halves of an evening. The room's self-described 'lush vibe' is a mix of frills and chills: ease in over sharing plates and a glass of something cold, then stay for DJs and the dance floor as the night picks up. Lunch and dinner run seven days a week, brunch takes over weekend mornings, and happy hour pours daily from 4pm to 6pm.
The kitchen leans into grazing: breads and boards, raw and cured plates like kingfish crudo and Canterbury Angus beef carpaccio, and small plates from buttermilk fried chicken to lamb pastilla, eggplant meatballs and pork cheek bao buns. Bigger appetites turn to the larger plates — seafood bouillabaisse, wagyu burger, osso buco — or the Josper Grill, where Canterbury Angus eye fillet and ribeye, Lake Ohau wagyu sirloin and a 650g bone-in ribeye come off the coals. Weekend brunch covers cheese toasties, breakfast burritos and crème brûlée french toast.
Drinks are the headline act: a playful, pop-referencing cocktail list (Hey There Delilah, Midnight Sun, Murder On The Dancefloor), proper mocktails, an extensive wine list heavy on New Zealand regions, tap beer and a deep gin selection. Fridays bring live music from 9pm, DJs spin from 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and weekends add 'Delilah does Lunch' — the city's original cocktail lunch — while a $29 midweek lunch deal makes Monday to Thursday easy. Under-18s are welcome when accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
On Oxford Terrace in Christchurch's central city, Delilah introduces itself as 'the mysterious, the delightful' — and the room backs it up. It's a cocktail-forward bar and kitchen built for both modes of an evening: dress up and linger over sharing plates, or wind down into DJs and the dance floor. The vibe, in the venue's own words, is 'the perfect mix of frills and chills.'
Lunch and dinner run seven days a week (12pm-3pm and 5pm till late), with weekend brunch before that and happy hour every day from 4pm to 6pm. Whatever the hour, the through-line is a lush, playfully glamorous room that takes its drinks — and its entertainment schedule — seriously.
The food menu is built for the table. Start with breads and boards — a house-baked sourdough boule with confit garlic and chive butter, or a charcuterie and cheese board — then move through raw and cured plates like seasonal oysters, kingfish crudo with harissa and preserved citrus, and Canterbury Angus beef carpaccio with truffle mayo.
Small plates do the heavy lifting: buttermilk fried chicken with chipotle mayo, slow-cooked lamb pastilla, crispy squid with lime crema, eggplant meatballs stuffed with mozzarella, corn and jalapeño croquettes, and pork cheek bao buns. For bigger appetites there's rigatoni with wagyu beef ragu, a seafood bouillabaisse loaded with Cloudy Bay clams, mussels and market fish, the wagyu burger with cajun fries, osso buco over polenta foam, and a proper chicken parmigiana.
The Josper Grill anchors the larger end of the menu: grass-fed Canterbury Angus eye fillet and ribeye, Lake Ohau wagyu sirloin with a marble score of 5-7, and a 650g Savannah Angus ribeye on the bone that needs at least 30 minutes on the coals before it's served medium rare, carved, with a choice of port jus, mushroom jus, herb butter or chimichurri. Sides like beef-fat potatoes with gribiche and brussels sprouts with crispy bacon earn their place, and dessert is no afterthought — the ice cream sandwich hides sticky toffee pudding under espresso martini caramel sauce.
Weekends start early-ish: brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 12pm, with a cheese toastie on champagne ham, a slow-cooked beef cheek breakfast burrito, crème brûlée french toast and eggs benedict over potato rösti.
Midweek, the $29 lunch (Monday to Thursday, 11am-3pm) is the accessible entry point: chicken parmigiana, wagyu burger, tempura market fish and chips or chicken salad, each with a glass of wine, beer or a soft drink.
Then there's the main event. Delilah does Lunch — Christchurch's original cocktail lunch — takes over Saturdays and Sundays from 11am, with last seating at 3pm. At $85 per person (bookings essential), it's a long, self-aware afternoon: charcuterie and cheese for the table, a run of sharing plates like fried chicken and crispy squid, and five rounds of cocktails — I Kissed A Girl, Pink Pony Club and the namesake Hey There Delilah among them — with mocktails on request.
The drinks list is the point. The house cocktail menu riffs on pop culture — Midnight Sun, Hot To Go, Murder On The Dancefloor — alongside a proper mocktail list. Behind the bar sits an extensive wine list leaning on New Zealand regions from Marlborough and North Canterbury to Central Otago, plus champagne for the occasion, a deep gin cabinet and tap beer.
Happy hour sweetens the deal daily from 4pm to 6pm, and again on Friday and Saturday from 9pm until close. Fridays bring live music from 9pm, and DJs take over from 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays — check Delilah's socials for who's playing.
Delilah is at 122 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch Central City. Hours are 11am till late Monday to Friday and 10am till late on weekends; bookings can be made online or by calling 03 366 6644, and gift cards are available. Under-18s are welcome with a parent or legal guardian, with standard ID rules for alcohol service. The kitchen flags vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free options across the menu and can accommodate some dietary changes with advance notice, though dishes are prepared in areas where allergens are present.