Hillary House Restaurant

restaurant — Papanui · Christchurch

About Hillary House Restaurant

Hillary House Restaurant is a bistro-style eatery in Papanui, Christchurch, named in loving memory and respect for Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who became the first people to reach the 29,032-foot summit of Everest on 29 May 1953. The restaurant honours their legacy with a menu popular for its Kiwi cuisine, alongside dishes drawing on Nepalese, Japanese and other international influences.

The kitchen is known for slow-cooked Canterbury classics — think eight-hour lamb shoulder, twelve-hour glazed beef cheek, and crispy skin pork belly — alongside fresh New Zealand seafood like Akaroa salmon, blue cod, and a seafood chowder built from clams, mussels, squid and shrimp. A wide sharing plates menu brings in bolder, more playful dishes, from Nepalese-style honey orange mango pork to Japanese karaage fried chicken and tempura tiger prawns.

Hillary House has been recommended by Restaurant Guru, and offers dine-in, online ordering for pickup, catering, and table reservations for those planning a visit to the Papanui neighbourhood.

Signature items

  • Ed Hillary Style Grill Fish
  • Roast Lamb
  • Seafood Chowder
  • Half Kilo BBQ Pork Ribs
  • Honey Orange Mango Pork
  • Ribeye Steak

Menu

Salad

  • Classic Chicken Caesar Salad — Traditional Caesar salad with chicken
  • Hillary Special Salad (Vg) — Restaurant's own vegan salad creation

Burger

  • Kiwi Burger — Classic Kiwi-style burger
  • Chicken Schnitzel Burger — Burger with a chicken schnitzel patty
  • Vegetable Burger (V) — Vegetarian burger option
  • Pork Belly Burger — Burger featuring pork belly

Sharing Plate

  • Honey Orange Mango Pork — Nepalese style lightly battered pork tossed with honey orange mango sauce
  • Honey Orange Mango Chicken — Nepalese style lightly battered chicken tossed with honey orange mango sauce
  • Bao Buns — Choice of cauliflower, pulled pork or chicken
  • BBQ Popcorn Cauliflower (GF) — Homemade spiced tempura cauliflower with BBQ sauce
  • Tempura Prawn — Tempura tiger prawn served with chipotle aioli
  • Fries — Served with tomato sauce and aioli
  • Onion Ring (Vg) — Secret seasoned crumbed onion ring served with chipotle sauce
  • Pork Belly Bites (DF, GF) — Slow cooked pork belly bites served with apple sauce and pan jus
  • Prawns Dumpling — Prawn and ginger dumpling coated in chef's special Asian mint and coriander dressing, served with pan jus
  • Spanish Prawn — Tiger prawn tossed with garlic and tomato
  • Lemon Pepper Calamari — Lemon pepper floured calamari served with aioli
  • Japanese Karaage Fried Chicken (DF) — Crispy fried Japanese-style chicken served with miso mayo
  • Loaded Fries — Fries baked with bacon and cheese, served with gravy
  • Loaded Chips — Crispy chips baked with cheese, served with gravy
  • Garlic Cheese Bread (Vg) — Ciabatta bread toasted with garlic butter and mozzarella cheese
  • Tempura Tiger Prawns — Tiger butterfly prawns in tempura batter, deep fried, served with sweet chilli or aioli

Hillary House KIWI Classical

  • Seafood Pasta — Pasta with a seafood mix
  • Seafood Chowder — New Zealand mixed seafood — clams, mussels, squid, shrimp — in a chef's special recipe chowder
  • Blue Cod Fish and Chips — Beer battered or pan-fried blue cod served with fries and salad
  • Ed Hillary Style Grill Fish — Grilled John Dory fish, roasted duck fat potato, vegetables and hollandaise sauce
  • Chicken Parmigiana — Australian-style chicken breast lightly crumbed, topped with Napoli sauce and mozzarella, served with fries and salad
  • Chicken Fillet — Kiwi-style lightly crumbed chicken fillet with mushroom sauce, mash and veggies
  • Roast Lamb — Kiwi-style eight-hour slow cooked Canterbury lamb shoulder with roasted potato, carrot, pumpkin, peas and broccoli, mint sauce and gravy
  • Roast Pork — Slow cooked Canterbury pork shoulder with roasted vegetables, homemade gravy and apple sauce
  • Roast Beef — Kiwi-style eight-hour slow cooked beef cheek with mash and vegetables
  • Glazed Beef Cheek — Twelve-hour slow cooked beef cheek with mash, vegetables and pan jus
  • Crispy Skin Pork Belly — Slow cooked pork belly with mash, baby carrot and broccolini, served with red wine jus
  • Half Kilo BBQ Pork Ribs — Canterbury slow cooked BBQ pork ribs baked in BBQ bourbon sauce, served with fries and coleslaw
  • Ribeye Steak (250gm) — Canterbury ribeye steak served with choice of two sides and a sauce
  • Hind Lamb Shanks — Canterbury hind lamb shanks double braised in Speight's Distinction Ale, served with mash, baby carrots, peas and house red wine jus
  • 200gm Akaroa Salmon Fillet — Served with potato rosti, beetroot, broccoli and hollandaise sauce
  • Blue Cod Fish n Chips — Beer battered blue cod served with fries and salad