Also known as: The Edge, Rockpool & Micky Finn’s, Micky Finn’s Irish Pub
Location: 85 Hereford Street, Christchurch City Centre
Current status: Running — pool bar on ground floor; Micky Finn’s Irish Pub (live music weekends) on first floor
Active: 1995–2011, 2015–present
History
The Rockpool opened in 1995 in a building on Hereford Street in Christchurch’s central city, quickly establishing itself as one of the city’s most distinctive entertainment venues. Operating initially under the name The Edge, the venue occupied two floors: the ground floor housed what would become Christchurch’s premier pool hall, while the first floor was given over to Micky Finn’s Irish Pub, a live music bar that would host nightly bands throughout the late 1990s and 2000s.
The pool hall was the centrepiece of The Rockpool’s offering. At its peak it boasted 20 top-class pool tables, with games priced at just $1 — making it one of the cheapest and most popular places in the CBD to while away an evening. The venue also became known for its signature teapot cocktails (the “infamous TeaPot”), which became so associated with the Rockpool brand that the teapot dance tradition is still referenced in the venue’s contemporary marketing. The ground floor drew a diverse crowd: students, office workers, tourists, and serious pool players all rubbed shoulders around the baize.
Upstairs, Micky Finn’s carved out a reputation as Christchurch’s finest Irish pub, serving Guinness, Kilkenny, and its own-brand Micky’s Ale alongside a back bar functions room. Live bands played most nights of the week during the venue’s heyday, with extended hours running through to 3:30am. The drum and bass scene in Christchurch found a home in the Rockpool during the 2000s, with DJs performing live every Wednesday through Saturday night on the ground floor. The city’s drum and bass community had been active since Pylonz started putting on parties around 1995, and the Rockpool became one of the regular venues for this scene as it grew through the early 2000s alongside acts such as Salmonella Dub and the emergent Shapeshifter.
The venue closed in 2011 following the devastating Canterbury earthquake sequence. The February 2011 earthquake — magnitude 6.3, centred near Lyttelton — killed 185 people and caused catastrophic damage across Christchurch’s central city. The Rockpool and Micky Finn’s, along with scores of other CBD venues, was forced to shut as the cordon went up around the city centre. For four years the building sat inaccessible, its fate uncertain as the post-earthquake rebuild reshaped the urban landscape around it.
The Rockpool and Micky Finn’s reopened in 2015, positioning itself as “the only pub in Central City” during a period when much of the CBD remained a construction site. The reopening was a significant moment for Christchurch nightlife: the venue represented continuity with a pre-earthquake era that many locals feared had been lost entirely. Today the complex operates as a gastropub and entertainment venue. The ground floor Rockpool hosts pool tables (now 13), DJs nightly, gaming machines, and a self-service TAB. Micky Finn’s upstairs continues to offer live music on weekends. A Bridies Bar & Bistro also operates within the complex. The venue bills itself as home of pool, good food, and live sport on big screens — a living reminder of the city’s resilience and charm.
Originally built around 1953 and established as The Rockpool Bar in 1995, it has weathered decades of change to become a proud institution and a living reminder of the city’s resilience and charm.
The Rockpool, official website