Restaurants in Dunedin & Otago
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Riverstone Kitchen
This spacious haven 12km north of Oamaru on SH1 blends leather couches and polished concrete for a sophisticated ambience. The menu showcases simply prepared produce and local flavours, with standout options including lamb with smoked eggplant and free-range scrambled eggs with pesto on ciabatta. Beers include the best of the South Island and the North Island, and you can also pick up organic jams and preserves in the cool on-site deli.
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Bisztro
Bisztro Warmed by open fires and with service smooth but relaxed, this restaurant is hidden away in an old wooden house on an almost-suburban street. Ingredients are largely locally sourced and carefully selected. The restaurant also sells its own preserves and relishes, so if your meal inspires, grab some chilli paste or pickle to cater your slow-food, roadside meals later in your travels.
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Circadian Rhythm Café
Specialising in organic Indian curries, this all-vegan cafe is also known for its cookies and cakes. The superfriendly staff will also try to tweak things to oblige gluten-free requests. Circadian Rhythm is a music venue, with a variety of interesting acts on Friday nights from 5.30pm. Dunedin’s Emerson’s and Green Man beers are both available, so you don’t have to be too healthy.
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Etrusco at the Savoy
A wonderful, large and noisy space, with magnificent marble pillars, high ceiling, fireplace and central bar, Etrusco is great for large groups of family or friends; less wonderful for a quiet romantic dinner. Pastas and thin-crust pizzas are the mainstay, and wine is encouraged. A fun night is guaranteed, though reports of the pasta itself range from magnifica to non.
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Izakaya Yuki
Cute and cosy, with a huge array of small dishes on which to graze, Yuki is a lovely spot for supper or a relaxed, drawn-out Japanese meal. Make a night of it with sake or draught Asahi beer, and multiple plates of yakitori (grilled skewers), gyoza (dumplings), or sushi and sashimi. The wall-to-wall sumo wrestling videos will ensure you don’t eat too much.
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Modaks
This funky little cafe and bar, with brick walls, mismatched formica tables, and couches for slouching, is popular with students and those who appreciate chilled-out reggae while they nurse a pot of tea. Sundaes, smoothies and beer make it a great escape from the heat, and grilled homemade focaccia bread with yummy, interesting toppings warm the insides in winter.
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Plato
A regular winner in Cuisine magazine’s Best of NZ’s gongs, Plato has a retro-themed location near the harbour and a strong beer and wine list. Try standouts like Goan fish curry or slow-braised pork belly with crispy crackling. Plato’s spin on seafood is always excellent, and Sunday brunch is worth the shortish trek from the CBD. Bookings are recommended.
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Whitestone Cheese Factory & Café
The home of tasty, award-winning organic cheeses. Try the creamy Mature Windsor Blue or the ultrarich Mt Domet Double Cream. Buy cheese to take away, or dine here on various cheesy treats after you’ve tried the range of samples for a gold coin donation. The cheese rolls are an Otago delicacy, and there are also local fruit juices and Central Otago wines.
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Scotia
Now relocated from the Dunedin Railway Station to a cosy heritage town house, Scotia toasts all things Scottish with a wall-full of single malt whisky and hearty fare such as smoked salmon and char-grilled venison. The two Scottish Robbies – Burns and Coltrane – look down approvingly on a menu that also includes haggis, and duck and whisky pâté.
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Post Office Café & Bar
Clyde’s stately old 1899 post office houses a popular restaurant famous for its garden tables and gourmet versions of substantial favourites such as barbecue steak sandwiches or hotpot. The neighbouring old postmaster’s house has lovely rooms (doubles from $95) with antique furnishings such as travelling trunks and bureaus.
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Mojo
Quite possibly Dunedin’s sunniest spot for a lazy brunch, the spacious and high-ceilinged Mojo teams yummy counter food, bagels and bircher muesli, with superlative coffee all the way from Wellington. From 11am a more substantial menu – think pizza and steak sandwiches – kicks in, with wine and beer also available.
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St Lees
Making great use of an old Methodist church, St Lees has interesting artworks, an open fire and plenty of comfy lounge chairs on which to sit as you enjoy coffee, a meal or a glass of wine. Their speciality is pizzas and pastas (available for takeaway too) but you should also try their unique salads and burgers.
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Potpourri
Funky, homey and very kid-friendly, this small cafe has been fattening up Dunedin’s vegetarians and vegans for almost 40 years. Tuck into big, inexpensive portions of quiche, pizza, flatbread melts and spicy samosas. There are lots of organic, free-range and gluten-free options, and takeaways are available.
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Metro Café & Bar
A safe haven for travellers, vegie/vegans, or just people after a chilled-out place for a pot of tea and a mean steak sandwich atop an inventive salad. Be warned that the delightful laid-back attitude applies to meal preparation too – not a place to go if you're in a hurry. Occasional live music/DJs.
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Brewhouse Bar & Bistro
Cromwell’s best spot for a quiet beer also offers robust pub meals big enough to sate the appetite of a 19th-century goldminer. Late 20th-century pop videos and big screen 21st-century sport provide other distractions. A wider than normal range of Speight’s finest complements wines from just up the road.
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Shaky Bridge Café
Over a 110-year-old footbridge near the rail trail, Shaky Bridge is a winery-cafe in a heritage mudbrick building with views of the Manuherikia River. Tuck into locally sourced delicacies such as venison, duck or salmon. Coffee and cake with a side order of vineyard views are perfect anytime.
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Saigon Van
The elegant decor looks high-end Asian, but the Vietnamese food is definitely budget-friendly. Try the combination spring rolls ($9 for six) and a bottle of Vietnamese beer to recreate lazy nights in Saigon. The bean-sprout-laden pho (noodle soup) and salads are also good.
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Bacchus Wine Bar & Restaurant
Bacchus is particularly nice for a meal for two or to celebrate a special occasion. There’s a wine list that the god of wine himself would approve of, and more than a few dishes combine local produce with subtle Asian influences. Try the pork belly slow cooked in Asian spices.
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Palms Restaurant
Hidden away at the bottom of Dowling St, Palms has long been a landmark Dunedin eatery. Food is innovative and usually locally sourced, and daily lunch specials ($10) are excellent value. How does garlic risotto with grilled halloumi cheese or steamed clams and chorizo sound?
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Nova Cafe
Not surprisingly, this extension of the Public Art Gallery has a stylish look about it. Cakes and snacks are famously creative, and Nova is also licensed for beer and wine. Escape into Dunedin’s best choice of interesting food, travel and arts magazines.
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Filadelfios
A brick restaurant-bar that specialises in rather special pizzas and pastas. Read other travellers’ notes on the wall while you wait for your meal to arrive. Dips and antipasto are also popular, particularly late at night when it becomes a lively bar.
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Starfish
In a cosy, brick-clad space, Starfish is the best of the growing cafe and restaurant scene at St Clair Beach. Pop out on a weekday to score an outside table to enjoy your pizza and wine. Catch bus 8, 9, 28 or 29 ($1.90) from stand 1 at The Octagon.
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Good Oil
This sleek little cafe is Dunedin’s top spot for coffee and cake. Try the lemon and sour cream cake ($4). If you’re still waking up, maybe resurrect the day with innovative brunches such as kumara (sweet potato) hash with hot smoked salmon ($15).
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Thai Crom
This Thai eatery is very authentic, with the owner’s mother-in-law drifting in and out. Spice levels are carefully adhered to, there’s cold Singha beer to cool the palate, and the $10 lunch specials are a tasty way to manage your daily budget.
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Governors
Popular with students, Governors does a nice line in early morning pancakes and other light meals. If you’re feeling a little off the pace after the previous night, a strong coffee and an eggy omelette will be just what the doctor ordered.
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