Whilst restaurant review sites are a good place to start there's something to be said for looking through a restaurant's menu and using your own gut feeling about where to eat. 50 Bistro doesn't rate as highly as a lot of restaurants in Christchurch but I've absolutely no doubt that it's better than most of them.

We were looking for something a little special while visiting Christchurch and 50 Bistro did not disappoint. The menu is elegant and refined with a lot of thought put into the dishes. We had the Duck Parfait and Scallops with Pork Belly for entree and both were very tasty, the former probably the most impressive only because scallops and pork belly seem to be served everywhere these days (but that's because it's usually so good!). For mains we had the Duck and the Pork with sides of mash and kale. Both mains were well cooked and served "two ways" which seems to be a theme amongst the mains at 50 Bistro. The truffled mash was really good, very truffle-e but not too much so. The kale was little bland and in need of at least seasoning, I guess it meant that we had our greens but probably not much else.

The desserts were almost all classic but each with it's own unique twist. Often when dining out you find that there is obviously someone in the kitchen with a little more creativity and at 50 Bistro it's definitely their Pasty Chef. Whilst the entrees and mains were very good, the desserts were both very good and very interesting.

With dining like this don't expect massive portions and it's not going to be a cheap meal but that's not what you come to somewhere like 50 Bistro for. There is thought put into the dishes, the quality of the ingredients is obvious and the staff are a lot more attentive. Speaking of which, whilst the staff may not have been the most polished group, they were genuine and eager and I'd take genuine but perhaps a little rough over stuffy and fake but perfectly executed any day of the week.

All in all we had a great meal and having scoured various sources for the best place to eat were very pleased that we chose 50 Bistro, even over other more highly rated restaurants in Christchurch.