Lillies

An ethereal green glow emanates from the windows of what looks to be another garage workshop in Christchurch's industrial neighbourhood of Phillipstown. And perhaps once upon a time it was – but these days, the only machinery you’ll find at 495 St Asaph Street is a red commercial dough mixer, fermentation barrels and a soft serve machine operated by wine and cider makers Will Bowman and Liam Kelleher. 

Will and Liam, both born and raised in Ōtautahi Christchurch, opened Lillies in the winter of 2024, sending waves of excitement rippling through the city. Afterall, where else could you find an urban cidery, winery and restaurant in the vicinity? Exactly.

Before acquiring the keys to the restaurant, the friends/business partners spent the previous years working on their own independent labels out in North Canterbury, as well as collaborating on a cider project together. They soon began plotting the move to an urban cellar, and today are able to craft, bottle up, and pour all organic drops of Vita Wines, Lele Wines, and Lillies Cider under one inner-city roof.

As well as sharing a passion for fermented grapes and apples, the pair have impressive food experience and are naturally wired to have new recipes and flavour combos constantly whirring around in their heads. It was unquestionable that the kitchen would play a key role at Lillies.

Proof that good things often come from thoughtfully concise menus, the offering is divided into two simple sections: ‘pizza’ and ‘not pizza’. In the kitchen, the brick wood-fired oven ties the menu together, with almost everything cooked over the flames. The pizza bases are thin with puffy, burnished and chewy crusts reminiscent of those on the streets of Napoli, with slightly unorthodox toppings that may offend Nonnas but delight each diner nonetheless. At the time of writing, spicy squid ragu, cavolo nero with sausage and chilli, and garlic, mushrooms and lemon are some of the simple but genius flavour combos. There’s a Mediterranean influence running through the rest of the ‘not pizza’ menu and it’s all best shared. NB: You’d be a fool to leave without a swirl of homemade soft serve.

How Will and Liam have managed to make such a cavernous space feel only convivial and never cold is beyond us. From the bay laurel green to the crackling fireplace and the sheer joy radiating from the kitchen, Lillies is an inviting space for boisterous groups of friends, hot dates, and families with kids running wild and free. Keep an eye out each month as they welcome a chef, winemaker, musician or artist friend to share their space and oven with.