Amusement and Other Recreation Activities

The Laboratory & Apollo Lincoln

The Laboratory is a lot of things; a family friendly casual dining restaurant, a cosy pub for locals to gather and sample the beers from our own micro-brewery, a great place for a coffee and brunch with friends and the home to a 15 seat boutique cinema. Please do give us a call before you set out as we are often fully booked especially on Friday and Saturday evenings.

We shall not be surprised when you ask us what the building was before we turned it into The Laboratory, but you may be shocked by our answer! The building was constructed in 2015 using mainly recycled materials, often salvaged from earthquake damaged buildings. Before you enter just pause to take a look at the 17,000 bricks carefully removed from the floor of the Canterbury Saleyards. Take a wander inside and look up to see the 13m wide trusses that determine the width of the building, these came from the Wards Brewery built in 1860 on Fitzgerald Avenue in Christchurch. Climb the old staircase that came out of the Rangi Ruru School boarding house, tread on the thick Rimu floorboards carefully removed from the Lane Walker Rudkin clothing factory on Brougham St. Admire the bar counter that came out of the Hororata Tavern after the 2011 earthquake and the collection of old radios in the snug, coppers for hanging lights, anglepoise lamps and bone handled knives. Nothing much is new here including the lavatories, but don’t worry it all works just fine!

The food is designed for groups to enjoy together. Our wood fired pizzas are famous in Lincoln and the hand cut chips are to die for! Ask your wait staff what would be the right number of tapas dishes and pizzas for your table and then relax with one of our craft beers, including our very unusual hand pulled English style cask-conditioned real ales.

If you are out on a romantic date then perhaps venture upstairs onto the mezzanine where you will find quirky but comfortable easy chairs, sofas and even an Indonesian opium bed beneath the illuminated red luscious ladies! Or maybe a date night at The Apollo Cinema is on the cards, check out what is showing from all the latest releases by clicking on the cinema link at the top of this page. Book online or drop into the bar to get your tickets.

In the summer the beer garden is a great draw, with old picnic rugs to lay out on the grassy slope, games to amuse both adults and children plus an open fire in the covered courtyard to warm your knees on chilly evenings. With no TV screens to distract you, we are sure that you will enjoy the convivial atmosphere and have many a night to remember at The Lab!

Please book your table by calling 325 3006. We look forward to seeing you all soon!