Dunedin City may be famous for its craft beers and excellent coffee, but you'll also be spoilt for choice when it comes to sweet treats, juicy burgers, cheap eats and fine dining.
1. Good beers made here
The iconic Speight’s brewery arrived in 1876, but the more refined and experimental end of the beer boom now take centre stage.
Emerson’s is the oldest of these, and their custom-built taproom and restaurant are a short stroll from both the University and Forsyth Barr Stadium. It’s a large room that still feels more cosy than cavernous, while a lazy pint in the sunny courtyard is prime real estate.
At the other end of town, New New New has breathed new life into the old brick stables. With a strong Sino-Futurist aesthetic and an R&D focused output, it’s fast become a fixture of the thirsty and discerning. The catch? The Taproom & Garden Bar is only open on Friday evenings, so seize the moment!
For the best put together beer lists from further afield, park up responsibly at Eureka, Ombrellos, The Portsider or Albar – especially if they have local lads Cell Division or Noisy Brewing Co on tap.
2. An even stronger brew
Good coffee has been serious business in Dunedin for decades. At a time when national distribution reigns supreme though, your local options are forging their own path.
Mazagran, a small shop front at the fashionable end of Moray Place, is the veteran among them – small, effortless, with brews that put hairs on your chest.
It was also a finishing school for Jared Culling, who has opened his own fine roastery and espresso bar (Kūkū) out in suburban Caversham. A recidivist record collector, you’re guaranteed good beats and banter to boot.
Tucked away in an industrial park in Strathallan St is Common Ground. Their beans now supply an ever-growing list of local coffee haunts, but for best results, they have some of the most reliably good baristas in town on site.
If you’re in need of something to eat to go with it, Vanguard match their craft with great food built on local, seasonal and ethical supply chains.
3. A little something for elevenses?
The decadent cakes of baker Matt Cross of The Tart Tin – salted caramel meringue; rocky road fudge – are the kinds of things that need to be apportioned wisely. You can order for weekday collection, or visit him up on the platform at the Otago Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. (For a more traditional morning tea option, go see Gilbert’s for an Eccles cake or two.)
Need something more savoury? Beam Me Up Bagels outgrew their market stall, and are now permanently established in the North East Valley. Does what it says on the tin: great bagels, with a fine list of spread options and easily the best coffee anywhere near them.
4. The most important meal of the day
The Esplanade at St Clair, where you can watch the waves crashing in as the sun goes down, is a dramatic dinner setting. Authentic wood-fired pizza and pasta dominate, with a healthy range of ports and desserts to follow. Always add the mozzarella di bufala.
With its graffiti murals and grungy furniture, Good Good is a food truck inside a warehouse, but their caravan pumps out some of the finest burgers in the country. They come in three varieties – chicken, beef and vegetarian (a pulled pork style barbecued jackfruit) – alongside buttermilk fried chicken and sweet potato fries.
5. Delicious degustations
Tucked away behind the main street, both central and somehow secluded, you’ll find Bracken. A converted 19th-century villa, its domestic origins add to the private dinner party vibe. Bracken offers four-course ($49) and eight-course ($99) combinations, plus a wine ($45-$65) or whisky ($35-$45) matching experience for the non-drivers.
The colonial flavour of the building can often work its way onto your plate – how else could you explain a menu that can include haggis; pork belly with black pudding mash; and poached pears with praline and plum ice cream?
In the historic Terminus Building, in the city’s Warehouse Precinct, is Moiety. An even more refined set-up, their five-course set menu ($65) is slightly more adventurous. Ikejime fish, tomato, nori, tofu, rice, kohlrabi, ice leaf, kimchi. Goat milk, financier, honey and cape gooseberry. That sort of thing. Vegetarian and vegan menus can be prepared with a few days’ notice.
