Smash burgers, laksa, spring-onion pancakes and more: chef Josh Hunter makes the case for putting Sydenham on your Christchurch food map.

Sydenham, the inner city suburb that is centred on and around Colombo Street, is a place of residential houses, retail and light industry, and increasingly a rather compelling food landscape. Across its 274 hectares there’s passion, variety and quality in spades, reckons local chef Josh Hunter (Ngāti Tūwharetoa). You just need to know where to look.

Hunter is well acquainted with the neighbourhood. As head chef and events manager for local caterers Food by Fire and Fire & Feast, he spends much of his working life here, cooking over flames and organising food events at their Sydenham-based offices (check out their social media too for upcoming events). He also has a specific interest in the lesser told stories of kai Māori, which he has explored though two pop up series: The Whakapapa of your Kai and The Boil Up.

Sydenham has also been a formative part of Hunter’s food journey. His grandfather grew up in the area and helped spark his interest in cooking. These days, Hunter’s office and base of operations are also in the suburb, meaning he spends, by his own estimation, “more time in Sydenham than I do at home”.

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing,” he adds. “But it’s a great place to spend so much of my time in.”

Here, Hunter shares his favourite food stops (and more) in the suburb that he loves for its boundless diversity and slight grittiness.

Three words (other than vibrant) that sum up the food in Sydenham: Diverse, unpretentious, emerging

My most controversial food opinion about Sydenham: It has a severe lack of bistros and more high-end restaurants.

Everyone has a dining out pet peeve. Mine is: When people are straight up rude to the FOH staff. Also when a restaurant is too loud.

The local dish I crave most: The single cheeseburger from Papa’s Smashies. It goes so hard. Papa P (the owner, Piripi Baker) has so much knowledge around smash burgers – he’s perfected the technique. I’m always trying to get as much knowledge out of him every time I dine at his amazing establishment.

The best restaurant in Sydenham is: Base Pizza at 107 Montreal Street.

Why I love Base Pizza: They specialise in pizza and all their pizzas are hand stretched and cooked in a woodfired oven. Great vibes, great drinks and it always has a warm feeling. Their chef Sammy H is one of the best pizza chefs around and James, their bartender, is always at the bar serving their $10 pints. (Actual imperial pints!)

My go-to order is: A Sir George (BBQ sauce, bacon, pepperoni, red onion, pulled beef, mozzarella and cracked pepper) with chicken tenders and the ranch crust dip to dunk the edges of the pizza into.

A recent food discovery I can’t stop talking about: Makan Junction – it’s a casual Malaysian restaurant that does dine-in and takeaway. Get the Penang curry laksa!

A place I’ve been dying to try is: Two Bros Tacos which recently opened in Sydenham Underpass. It’s a smoked birria taco truck by Rychalo Thompson, who also runs Rick’s Ribs, and chef Ryan Henly – and it just looks so tasty. I’ve been hearing great praise from people around the neighbourhood too. Ka pai.

Celebrating with a group? Book a table at: Base Pizza.

Pub or bar of choice: This may be a bit of a controversial choice for a guide to Sydenham, but my pick is Moon Under Water. It’s in the crosshairs of three suburbs – Sydenham, Beckenham and Somerfield – but today I’m going to claim it as being within Sydenham’s boundaries.

For a late-night food fix you’ll find me at: There is a spot called BURGERHAUL on Colombo Street that stays open every night (except Tuesday) till between 12am-4am. They serve burgers and other naughty food out of a caravan. It’s where the bro chef Stevie Tiwa takes me. We generally end up here around 1am after a big day on the road or on the tools, grab one of their outdoor tables and solve all the great problems of the world over a few burgers.

Got visitors from out of town? I’m taking them to: Sydenham Underpass. Plenty of great quality options there to keep everyone happy.

An ideal date spot would be: A while back me and my partner would do regular date nights at 5th Street. It was always well lit, comfortable and they made us feel so welcome.

Make sure to order: The lamb shoulder with butternut pumpkin yogurt and macadamia from their large plate menu. Always tender and on-point.

Sydenham’s best …

Breakfast: Heirloom Cafe. The Gringo hash which is a plate of Mexican pork hash, smashed avocado and pickled fennel is my go-to with a long black. If I’m feeling adventurous I’ll get the salted orange iced latte.

Coffee: Venue 105 by Crisp and Vale which houses their espresso bar. They use Embassy Coffee and chef Hannah does the best cheese scones around.

Sandwich: Grizzly Baked Goods’ buffalo cauli sandwich which has cauliflower roasted in buffalo sauce plus swiss cheese in their potato loaf – it slaps something! Also a bit different from your regular sandwich combination which is nice.

Noodles: Makan Junction. Their $16.50 serving of char kuey teow is epic.

Pie: The jalapeño and brisket pie from the OG Sydenham Bakery.

Comfort meal: It’s not technically a meal but my comfort food is the aforementioned jalapeño and brisket pie from Sydenham Bakery.

Seafood: What A Catch. Always fresh with lots of variety and everything is presented so nicely.

Fish and chips: No Name Food Bar. A great name and really good prices. There are always so many great characters there that love to have a yarn while we’re all waiting for our orders.

And the best place to unwrap and eat them is: In my office. Sorry Gill (Gill Thomson, my boss) – no eating in the office but I’m a rule breaker, you know that! No word of a lie, then I go for a post-fish and chip nap under my desk.

Bread: Grizzly Baked Goods. Both the original sourdough or the potato sourdough are great.

Baked treat: Monkey bread from, once again, Grizzly Baked Goods. It’s a cluster of flaky croissant pastry topped with cinnamon sugar and a go-to for my partner and I. My partner would always crave them when she was hapū, so in a sense they always remind me of my daughters too.

For a serious sweet tooth, head to: Grumpys for their ring donuts. I usually order the apple fritter or the hazelnut. Such a naughty but delicious treat.

If you’re after spice, make a beeline for: I usually order a pizza from Gussys and then pop over to Bones Pickles offices (this isn’t open to the public but you can find their products online or at the Christchurch Farmers Market) and buy a jar of their chili peanut to top it with, so it’s more of a Z line.

The dairy with the best lolly selection: Triton Dairy AKA the banana dairy has lots of variety from all over the world. They also have generously sized $1 and $2 mixes.

My favourite grocery shop: Maihan Supermarket – it’s a Middle Eastern grocer. They have a great halal butcher and a great range of different ingredients. I usually leave with some stuffed vine leaves and shawarma spice mixes. It’s a great cultural hub.

For the best produce, I stop in at: Funky Pumpkin. I am always getting a bargain on my produce here and their theme song is always stuck in my head. “Weee’re all going, to the Funky Pumpkin…”

A perfect place to linger over a drink: Churchill’s Tavern is a bit rough and tumble but good for a pint – especially if you’re in the mood to not to bump into anyone you know. It reminds me of what pubs were like when I was younger.

My favourite local hospo personality: There are two. One is Mike Bones from Bones Pickles. He is a creative force as well as a genuinely nice guy – and he loves a beer. The other is Rod Thomson from Base Pizza. He was originally a stonemason and he’s an open book of knowledge – always lending a hand to help out. I’ve learnt so much from him.

For outstanding people watching, go to: Allpress has great coffee but I always have a good time here watching everyone conduct their various work meetings from around the cafe.

A local spot I wish we could bring back from the dead is: Blue Jean Cuisine was a restaurant serving generous pub fare. I was in the old Sydenham Post Office building. It was a staple in the 90s and until the earthquake in 2011, it was where my family would go to celebrate almost every occasion. Back in the 90s, they were ahead of the times with their eco-conscious ethos. They established recycling systems and would give their scraps to a pig farm. It was pretty impressive. A friendly, non-pretentious place with a great ethos.

A restaurant I would love to relocate to Sydenham: Shanghai Bistro in Riccarton. They do the best breakfast in the city: spring onion pancakes, dumplings and pork cutlet. Yum.

The place I return to again and again: Papa’s Smashies. Papa P throws down the best burgers in Chch – and he’s a lad.

Why I love eating in Sydenham: It’s a suburb that never feels too fancy or over the top and there is such a diverse range of cultures and people living here, working here and eating here. It has a nice touch of grittiness too which I love.