The Lane 49 Salisbury Street, Christchurch Central City, Christchurch, Canterbury 8013

"I visited the restaurant for the second time last night, but it was my friend's first visit. On my initial visit, I had breakfast and ordered hot pancakes. During that visit, I noticed that on Wednesdays, the restaurant offers a beer and burger special for $28, and I was quite pleased with the quality of the food. Since my friend and I hadn't seen each other in quite some time, we thought it would be a great opportunity to go there together. Unfortunately, after our experience last night, we do not plan to return to the restaurant and cannot recommend it to others. We were left with a very negative impression due to the way one of the staff members (whom we believe was the manager) treated us. Shortly after being seated, my friend and I were excited to catch up with each other. She took her phone out and remarked on how nice the restaurant looked, intending to take a photo. We were seated near the kitchen area, at a table for two. As my friend attempted to take a photo of the kitchen area, the manager walked into her shot and approached us, raising her voice and stating that taking photos was not allowed. We were both taken aback and confused by her reaction. My friend responded, "Oh, really? Okay." The manager continued in a firm and raised voice, emphasising that we needed to ask for permission before taking photos. Eventually, my friend deleted the photo. However, the way we were treated left us feeling shocked and wanting to leave. We understand and respect people's privacy when it comes to taking photos and videos, particularly in this era of social media. However, my friend had no intention of invading anyone's privacy. She simply wanted to capture the ambiance of the place, and the manager unexpectedly walked into the frame and proceeded to confront us. Let's be realistic, if the photo were to be shared on a social media platform like Instagram, there wouldn't be any recognisable individuals in it. Most people aim for an aesthetic or even use editing tools to remove unwanted objects from their photos. We acknowledge that this wasn't the point the manager was trying to make. However, there are better ways to communicate such matters. For instance: "Excuse me, due to the privacy of others in the restaurant, we kindly request that you avoid capturing anyone in your photos. Could you please delete that photo?" or "Hey, sorry, due to the privacy of other people in this restaurant, please try not to include anyone in your photo. Would you mind deleting that photo?" The manager's approach, on the other hand, involved standing over us, raising her voice, and making a scene that was audible to nearby tables. It left us feeling embarrassed and disheartened. We are not children who are still learning the rules of restaurants and social etiquette. It would have been more appropriate to address us as adults. Once again, I reiterate that my friend was simply trying to take a photo of the restaurant itself, and you happened to walk into the frame. Regarding the food, I would rate it 8 out of 10. However, the service, particularly the incident with the manager, was highly disappointing."

"Dinner night out with friends Great service even though busy. Had a few entrees to share and cocktails. Couldn't choose just one so had a few, they were all lovely and yum."

"The place is pleasant, the service is good although a bit absent minded and the food is good, although slightly too salty. The reason for the 3 stars is the cost/value. The servings are very small. The lamb meatballs (20$ iirc) had 4 small (about 3cm diameter) meatballs. The steak was 200gr (not complaining about that, it was written in the description) but the sides were very small. The most problematic was the slow roast lamb. This is usually a substantial dish. It was TINY. We ended up still a bit hungry..."

"Cute brunch place! Food was yum and service was great. We got the roast lamb hash (lamb wasn’t as prevalent as expected) and flat white (more of a cappuccino tbh). Portions weren’t too big which I appreciated."

"This was the first place we went to once I got picked up from the airport. It was Christmas day and most places were obviously shut. We were served by BugZ, who was hilarious, joking around with us as though we were long lost friends. We had lots of laughs. It’s a wee place with a nice relaxing vibe. Soon after sitting, we ordered our food, lots of options, which was nice, I had the French toast ($16). We were also given Christmas crackers so it was somewhat a cracking good time."