Mike was travelling solo in Christchurch and thecuriouskiwi mission he chose to accept was to have dinner delivered via pneumatic tube at C1 Espresso. Initially delivery speed was up to 140km/h, surely the fastest dinner delivery in town, maybe even the world? Delivery speed has since been reduced to prevent food carnage.

The greens in your fast food may come from C1’s gardens

We first saw (and sent a cannister flying) around a pneumatic conveyor system at The Faraday Centre in Napier. The systems were once used in New Zealand department stores to transfer cash between divisions.

Eventually the pneumatic tube system at C1 will deliver food cannisters from the kitchen to all tables, in the meantime you may need to collect cannisters from a tube near your table.

The stainless steel cannisters speed through these pipes

Mike collected the cannister containing his dinner from here

Open cannister containing 3 sliders and curly fries – $20 at C1 Espresso

Dinner consisted of three sliders (mini burgers) and a side of curly fries for $20. Mike’s a tough burger critic and he reckons they’re good burgers and good value, they suffered no ill effects from their speedy tube ride. He wanted to wash his dinner down with a Vailima beer from Samoa but it was out of stock, he had a Stoke lager from Nelson instead.

Singer sewing machine dispenses water at C1

C1 still deliver food the conventional way too but they have other unconventional delivery systems in the cafe as well – water is dispensed from a Singer sewing machine, and a bookshelf door opens to let you through to the bathrooms.

You’ll find C1 Espresso on the corner of High and Tuam Streets, they’re open 7 days from 7am, serving high speed sliders from 3pm-9pm.