Tiny Door

Tiny Door is New Zealand’s very first hole-in-the-wall food experience, offering restaurant quality food in a quick-as-a-flash grab-and-go manner to the hungry people of Ōtautahi Christchurch. Keep your eyes peeled for a tiny (and we’re talking literally tiny) blue door at the Guthrey Centre and you’ve found the holy grail of take-away dining. There is no sign writing around to point you to the right spot, so it really is all about discovering it for yourself. Behind said door, vendors of various local hospitality producers, whip up the best of their offerings ready for you to enjoy on the run. 

So how does it all work you ask? Well, that is exactly what we wondered as well, and the good people behind the Tiny Door concept were kind enough to thoroughly explain ... 

At the Tiny Door location you’ll find a QR code. Once you’ve scanned that code using the camera on your phone, you will get access to a menu of the current offerings behind the door. Choose a meal of your liking, make an order, and watch the tiny door open up. An arm, yes a real human arm, will poke through and hold up your precious cargo. It is much like a human vending machine with an actual person behind the door setting up your order and passing it through to you - a happy little elf appearing with a delicious meal just when you need it.

The people cooking behind the door change regularly and could be a chef from your favourite Christchurch restaurant, or someone new starting out in the food game. 

For established foodie businesses, the Tiny Door provides an opportunity to try something different, or experiment with menu ideas before taking the risk of changing things up at their own establishment; and for wannabe foodie businesses, a chance to trial a concept and pursue a dream without the constraints of a traditional bricks and mortar establishment.

Now, if you want to be in the know about who is hiding behind the door before you set out on a quest to find it, a full week’s menu can be viewed on the Tiny Door social media pages, and also by signing up to their weekly newsletter.

There are options for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the vendors of these meals changing throughout the day (though sometimes staying the same, depending on the schedule of the week). Half the fun is the aspect of mystery and surprise, so come with open eyes, explore a limited menu of quality food you won’t get to taste elsewhere and engage in a modern way to eat out.