A soaring success
Celebrating one year of grit, grace, and reclaiming space.
Awash in deep ocean blues that nod to the Pacific, Manu’s soft lighting glows against the textured walls, setting the scene for a delicious experience from the moment you walk through the doors. On 7 August, Manu celebrates one year in Ōtautahi, Christchurch, a milestone that marks more than just time. In twelve short months, it has climbed the ranks, captured the hearts (and appetites) of its community, and carved out a space that is as much about representation as it is about exceptional food. In a landscape where many restaurants don’t survive their first year, Manu has done more than simply endure; it has soared.
“It’s been a wild, humbling, and deeply proud ride,” says Karen, Manu’s sole founder and director. “After 31 years in the industry, opening in Christchurch felt like coming home. Even if it wasn’t where I started. To be embraced here, and to hit number one in our first year? That’s not just a win for me, that’s a win for every Pacifica, Māori, and Asian wahine who dares to step into spaces where we weren’t always welcome.”
For Karen, Manu was never just a business. It was a cultural calling. Every decision, every plate, every interaction has been layered with intention and aroha. “The cuisine industry has taught me everything: grit, grace, and the power of standing unapologetically in my culture and my femininity,” she says. “It’s not for the faint-hearted. But it’s also where culture, resilience, and mana can be plated and shared with the world.”
Manu’s food is a contemporary expression of heritage and identity. Blending Pacifica soul, Māori heritage, and Asian precision, the menu is bold, tender, and sometimes unexpected, but always intentional. “Every dish tells a story,” Karen explains. “A story of where we come from, and who we are becoming. It honours the ancestral while embracing the now.”
With the winter months showing no signs of retreat, the menu has evolved with the season, adding dishes like the dashi broth boil up with smoked bacon hock, tender pork belly, wild mushrooms, roasted winter vegetables, and doughboy.
After a year of refinement, Karen says Manu feels like it has found its rhythm. The whole team embodies Manu’s values. Service is grounded in generosity, warmth, and intention. They understand what it means to go beyond the expected, creating experiences that leave guests walking away thinking, ‘that was something else’.
Karen is deeply aware of the role Manu plays in the city’s cultural fabric and embraces that responsibility with pride. “We’re still learning, growing, and evolving, but we do it with purpose, and with people who believe in what we’re building.”
She hopes Manu stands as a powerful beacon for other women, especially Māori, Pacifica, and Asian wāhine, affirming that there is space for them too. “There’s no big corporation behind this. It’s just me,” she says. “I invested in this city because I believed in what we could offer, not just on the plate, but in the way we show up. This is about excellence, representation, and reclaiming one flavour at a time.”