Formaggio's is a ristorante & pizzeria on Colombo Street in Beckenham, Christchurch, serving dinner every night of the week from 5:00pm 'til late — either as restaurant dining or takeaway. The menu spans Italian-style pasta, pizza and antipasti alongside traditional NZ mains, vegetarian options and a dedicated plant-based menu, with produce sourced from local businesses and dishes created in-house by a skilled, experienced team.
The pizzas are the headline act: Harry and Damio, Formaggio's pizza chefs, create their crusts and combinations fresh from scratch each day using the best local ingredients. Thirteen dine-in pizzas share the board with a takeaway list, and the Pollo Pesto — basil-pinenut pesto, smoked chicken, tomato, avocado and mozzarella — is the house favourite. The plant-based menu is, in the restaurant's own words, 'world famous (in Christchurch)', giving vegans plenty to celebrate alongside everyone else.
Beyond the pizza oven there's a serious pasta, gnocchi and risotto selection, a bistecca section featuring NZ beef aged a minimum of 28 days from Traiteur of Merivale, and antipasti like the arancini Siciliani and signature pizza bread. Save space for the house-made desserts, which arrive 'with a little fan-fare' for birthdays, or a dessert cocktail or liquori.
Formaggio's is a fully licensed venue with an excellent selection of Italian and New Zealand wines and beers. It's set up for groups and events, offers gift vouchers, has a kids menu (Menu per Bambini), and takes online bookings for tables of up to eight. Parking is available at 150 Colombo Street.
Formaggio's Ristorante & Pizzeria sits at 150 Colombo Street in Beckenham, Christchurch, and it keeps simple, generous hours: open every day of the week from 5:00pm until late, for restaurant dining or takeaway. That consistency makes it an easy habit for the neighbourhood — a place where a midweek bowl of pasta and a Saturday birthday dinner get the same warm, convivial treatment.
The menu is built around Italian-style pasta, pizza and antipasti, with traditional NZ mains, vegetarian options and a dedicated plant-based menu alongside. Produce is sourced from local businesses, and dishes are created in-house by a kitchen team the restaurant describes as skilled, experienced and motivated. The result, they say, is real food prepared with care and respect — presented as a proper dining occasion rather than a quick feed.
The dine-in pizza list is the heart of the place. Harry and Damio, the pizza chefs, create the crusts and combinations fresh from scratch each day using what Formaggio's calls the best local ingredients. Pizzas come in one size — a Medio 30cm cut into eight slices — with gluten-free available on request, and the range runs from the classic Margherita to the loaded Di Carne and the folded Calzone Paradiso.
The one to know is the Pollo Pesto: basil-pinenut pesto, smoked chicken, tomato, avocado, mozzarella and parmesan. It's Formaggio's most popular pizza and the must-try on the takeaway list. The Diavola — salami, anchovies, olives, tomato, garlic and chilli — is back by popular demand.
Before the mains arrive, the antipasti section does proper work: arancini Siciliani with taleggio and roasted red pepper, truffled polenta chips, and the signature pizza bread baked with garlic, cheese, chilli and basil-pinenut pesto.
For the main event, the pasta and gnocchi list covers both the beloved and the house-original: hearty Spaghetti Bolognese made with organic beef and pork from Traiteur, the fiery Spaghetti Roberto with spicy Italian sausage and chicken meatballs, Le Lasagne — Formaggio's rendition of a best-loved Naples classic — a rich Carbonara, and slow-braised beef short rib ravioli. There's a risotto too, which changes with the kitchen's latest creation.
Carnivores can point at the Bistecca section: New Zealand's finest beef, aged for a minimum of 28 days and supplied by Traiteur of Merivale, currently grilled Canterbury beef fillet with potato gratin, seasonal vegetables and Café Roma butter.
Formaggio's is notably proud of its plant-based menu — 'world famous (in Christchurch)', as they put it. Vegan pizzas such as the Zucca e Zucchine and the Ortolana come topped with plant-based mozzarella and parmesan, and much of the antipasti list — bruschetta classica, crispy potato skins, Kiwi-style fries — is plant based as well. It's a genuine reason for vegans and their non-vegan friends to book the same table.
Save room if you can. The house-made desserts are ready to serve with a little fan-fare for birthdays, and the more adventurous can finish with a dessert cocktail or liquori. Younger diners get the Menu per Bambini, featuring classic Italian pasta and pizza plus an ice cream sundae designed to make the kids smile.
Formaggio's is a fully licensed venue with an excellent selection of Italian and New Zealand wines and beers — the list suggests trying a new Italian red or a more familiar local Waipara chardonnay. It's set up for groups and events, described as the perfect venue for your next group dining experience: book online for up to eight people, or call or email for larger groups. Gift vouchers make it a fantastic gift for colleagues, friends and loved ones.
Can't dine in? The takeaway menu offers 11 pizzas including the Pollo Pesto, plus the pastas, risotto and Le Lasagne — which, the menu promises, won't let you down.
Parking is available at 150 Colombo Street, and if you have an allergy or dietary restriction, let your waitstaff know before ordering. Gluten-free options are offered, though the kitchen is not a 'gluten-free zone', so an ingredient or dish can't be guaranteed free of allergens.