A Christchurch Institution
The Monday Room was born from Christchurch’s post-earthquake rebuild.
First opening in 2012 in the historic Grosvenor Hotel building, the space began life as a cocktail bar and nightclub. Its name was drawn from a creative agency’s design brief — inspired by a room where ideas were shared, shaped, and sparked each Monday.
In 2016, after an iconic chapter as a late-night institution, the venue was purchased by Joel Christian with a new vision in mind. Christchurch’s dining scene was evolving, and we believed there was room for a restaurant defined by intention, quality, and hospitality.
The result was a modern European shared-dining experience, grounded in local, seasonal produce, a carefully curated wine program, and bespoke cocktails. On our very first menu, Head Chef Hannah Cooper-Grieve introduced “Trust the Chef” banquet dining to the city — a concept that quickly became synonymous with The Monday Room.
Recognition followed, including Restaurant of the Year and a feature in Cuisine Magazine’s “Christchurch Rebuild” editorial.
In 2018, The Monday Room moved to its most recent home at 161 High Street, within the historic Duncan’s Building. In 2021, Hannah became owner and continues to lead the restaurant alongside long-time manager and co-owner Ryan Simonsen.
Today, The Monday Room remains committed to thoughtful food, exceptional wine, and meaningful moments — recognised nationally by Cuisine Magazine and the Louis Roederer Top 100 New Zealand Sommeliers awards, along with international recognition where we recieved a Bib Gourmand in the MICHELIN guide 2026.
The main dining room is currently on hiatus as we await the build of our new premises. We have taken the opportunity to partner with local events spaces for ‘by appointment’ functions and events.
Trust the Chef
Chef-Owner: Hannah Cooper-Grieve
Hannah Cooper-Grieve is a Christchurch-based chef and restaurateur recognised for her progressive approach to modern European cuisine and her contribution to the evolution of the city’s dining scene.
Over the course of her career, Hannah has developed a reputation for combining technical ability with a strong instinct for flavour, originality and contemporary dining. Her food is grounded in European technique, but shaped by a modern, less conventional approach — drawing on bold flavours, thoughtful composition and the kind of creativity that makes a dish feel both familiar and entirely new.
A defining part of Hannah’s work has been her ability to take ideas more commonly associated with larger international dining markets and reinterpret them for Christchurch in a way that feels relevant, approachable and distinctly local. Through menu development and concept creation, she has helped introduce a more progressive style of modern European dining to the city, balancing refinement with generosity and avoiding the formality that can often surround technically driven food.
Her approach to innovation is not driven by novelty for its own sake. Instead, Hannah focuses on rethinking recognisable ingredients, techniques and dining formats to create food that is expressive, memorable and highly enjoyable to eat. This philosophy has informed her work across restaurants, private dining, events and catering, and has become central to the hospitality concepts she has helped build.
As both chef and restaurateur, Hannah brings together creative direction, kitchen leadership and a detailed understanding of the guest experience. She is closely involved in everything from menu development and culinary identity to kitchen culture, service standards and the broader positioning of a venue.
Based in Christchurch, Hannah continues to develop food-led hospitality concepts with a clear ambition: to keep pushing the city’s dining culture forward while creating restaurants that are contemporary, distinctive and built around genuinely great food.
Ryan Simonsen
Ryan Simonsen is a Christchurch-based restaurateur, hospitality entrepreneur and brand builder known for creating distinctive, high-performing food and beverage concepts.
With experience spanning restaurants, catering, private dining, events and emerging hospitality formats, Ryan has played a leading role in the development and evolution of several Christchurch businesses, including The Monday Room, Pasta Pasta and Central Park Catering.
His work sits at the intersection of hospitality, brand strategy, customer experience and commercial operations. Ryan is particularly focused on developing concepts with a strong point of view — businesses that are not only operationally sound, but memorable, relevant and clearly differentiated in a competitive market.
He takes a hands-on approach to every stage of a project, from initial concept development and positioning through to menu direction, brand identity, marketing, service standards and the finer details of the guest experience. This combination of creative thinking and commercial discipline has become a defining feature of his approach to hospitality.
Ryan has a particular interest in building brands that challenge traditional hospitality models, whether through more accessible dining formats, experience-led restaurants, premium catering or new ways of connecting food, design and culture.
Based in Christchurch, he continues to develop new hospitality ventures while remaining closely involved in the strategy, growth and day-to-day execution of the businesses he operates.