C1 Espresso, High Street, Christchurch

Who would have thought that an old post office building could be so attractively presented in 2012? Locals here have always seen the High St Post Office building which has housed Alice in Videoland for many years as a marvellous, iconic Kiwi edifice, an amazing art deco beauty that has survived the earthquakes that have ravaged the city. “Alice” has returned and invited in to the ground floor space the equally as iconic C 1 Espresso, formerly across the road on the corner of High and Tuam. The café has quite convincingly maximized the opportunity and offers plenty of room to laze about drinking coffee, inside on chairs or even soft bench seats along a wall, or al fresco, eating everything from Corn & Coriander fritters to Pan fried Tofu on toast. Inside the atmospheric main chamber you get the feeling that this is the place to be in the city and the place where you can readily connect with what we had and what we were. The overriding sense might even extend, for some, to deep-seated joy..
From the cabinet came the spanikofita, essentially spinach and cheese of course, water dispensed from a lovely old Singer sewing machine adapted as a water fountain, and from the espresso a long black. All the elements for a satisfying pit stop after a hot walk around the perimeter of the red zone. What surprised me were the numbers of people in the café – it is a drawcard. For me, I will return often to sample more of the fare but also to enjoy the quiet contemplation of being in such a glorious building.