Review Best Cafe

Nicephore Loisel

It’s called best cafe and restaurant and they mean it! Food was so fresh and cooked to perfection, delicious! Fresh salad and fish caught that day, all freshly made to order, yet wonderful and prompt service. Super friendly staff and lovey local atmosphere. Would definitely recommend to anyone visiting Dunedin, even if only here for a few hours, it’s a great lunch option!!!

JC L

Great authentic seafood. Learnt that it’s one of the longest standing seafood diner in Dunedin. Seafood platter was great as it allowed us to gave multiple menu items a try. Do drop by if you’re in Dunedin!

Erin

The look of this place drew us straight in. Reminded us of the old fashioned fish and chips shops in the UK. The food didn't disappoint. The cod and chips were amazing! We were especially impressed with the additional bread and butter and vinegar on the table already! The service was quick, and thoughtful. It was just what we needed on a cool day in July.

James Burgess

Absolutely delicious. Incredible service, beautiful meals great value for money. Thanks for having us!

Robin Walsh

We were keen to try some SI blue cod and this cafe did not disappoint. Lovely fresh fish, perfectly battered, and fantastic chips! Very good coleslaw salad as accompaniment. Vinegar and bread and butter a nice touch, reminded me of old school fish and chip restaurants in England. Excellent service. Got the impression some our fellow diners were long term repeat customers,always a good sign. Very convenient central city location and interesting historical information on display as well.

John Osgood

I picked this place at random to meet with family. Never been here in the past, but the food was amazing. The staff were awesome, checking in occasionally. I'd informed them when I'd arrived to let them know that I had a small group attending soon and they happily accommodated with the limited knowledge that I had. The food was great, and I'd recommend it to my family and close friends if they ever head this way.

Anthony Floyd

First time to NZ. Had to get some fish and chips. The service was great and the food even better!

Meena Al-M

Cosy atmosphere. Friendly staff. Delicious food. Price at current market price. Staff is very precise on what is frozen, as oysters are not in season. Fish & Chips was yum, forgot to take photo. Coleslaw was very fresh, I think vinegar based. In my view I liked how it was not creamy which went well with battered food. Paua Pattie was filled with great amount of PAUA, for the price I was impressed. Tartare Sauce filled with generous amount of chopped pickles &/or capers. Good quick dinner for two people. Also this is the first fish & chips restaurant I left without smelling like fried food on my clothes and hair. Definitely an eatery I will visit again.

Janette Howie

Customer service was amazing. Great food.

Jess Casey

Fabulous fresh fish! The grilled mussels were a stand out and the fresh oysters! The service was incredible despite being short of staff. Will definitely be going back to try the seafood chowder. 👍⭐️

Lenny Barretto

The food is great, and so is the service. The two employees on duty front of house were really friendly and conversational. There were some items that weren't available which is completely understandable as it's a seasonal game, but that's not the reason for 1 less star. My wife and I feel the portions are quite small compared to what we are used to with seafood. My wife typically gets full easily, but we both still had hunger after our meals. I was surprised at little volume of chips given for the fish meals, but they do give you complimentary bread and butter which is nice.

爱果爸爸

Great food, impeccable service. This is a small shop, a small shop with a history of 90 years, a small shop worthy of respect. They not only treasured the restaurant's earliest menu, but also treasured the menu full of customer comments. A restaurant that truly cares about customers will surely become a century-old restaurant, come on!

Leisha Bell

This place has the best chips! Cooked in beef fat, so nice! Had the blue cod which was beautifully cooked in light fluffy batter (GF option available too). Kids has really decent sized and reasonably priced kids meals. Everyone very happy and satisfied with their meals :)

Gemma Wong

Best fish and chips in town! Service fantastic, Lovely staff that are happy to go the extra mile for there customers. Thank you best cafe for a lovely meal and a great experience. Definitely be back soon!

Kirini

After reading some of the other reviews there is no doubt that 'Best Cafe' lives up to its name and previous reviews. A pleasure to eat fish which was lightly battered and crisp, along with chips that were well coloured and crunchy. If you love 'old school' service this is the only place to visit in Dunedin.

Shakila Akter Jahan

Ordered the Pan Fried (Fish of the Day) Tarakihi in meal. Fresh salad and crunchy fries on side. Friendly staff and was able to make my milkshake just the way I wanted. Omg the whole meal was so perfect😋 Highly recommend this little restaurant (almost 100 years) when visiting Dunedin ❤️ Keep up the great work team 🫡 🥰

I Law

It was recommended by the local if I want to get fish & chips. Ordered blue cod and the battered fish is excellent. The fish is fresh and the batter is crispy and not thick. The only let down is the chips are not as good as the fish. The staff is very friendly. The shop decor is retro and interesting.

Charlotte Jang

All the staff was so sweet and kind, and the food was amazing too! I chose Blue cod&Gurnard fishes and battered oyster, crumbed scallop. Good point is they dont sprinkle salt on them not like common F&C T/A shops. Their tartar sauce was good too!

Amy Coleman

We use to go to this place a lot. When I was hunting around for a dinner option for my birthday with friends who had kids I thought of best cafe but I was wrong ..... I would not recommend this place if you have kids, after spending a whole tables worth of money between us a waitress asked if we could keep our kids seated and quiet as she had had a complaint from 1 person .... for her to pick one person over a table of people combined with the way she spoke to us was awfully handled and not good customer service ... the food also wasn’t at the normal standard of this place.

Shane Williams

The shrimp cocktail was very nice, the service was great. The rest of the meal was poor. Sole fillets were just very thick batter with about an inch wide strip of actual fish inside. The Blue Cod was very small for the price. They seem to take great pride in their quality of fish, it really had nothing on the fish I've had at just the Bluff fish and chip shop. I've given it a 3/5 but that's only because of the enthusiastic service and the shrimp cocktail. Wouldn't go back.

Andrew Charnley

The best oysters ever.. Great staff friendly and professional thanks Ash Would recommend as a must do after the brewery tours.

Lance Patterson

Excellent atmosphere great staff and like the name states best cafe. My wife had steak to her perfection ( she’s a hard woman to please ) I had oysters eggs and chips. We will be back definitely �

Kylie McDonnell

Down in Dunedin for the weekend seen best cafe advertised as having the best fish and chips So thought we would give them a go my dad brought a grouper cost $7 and to say he was utterly disappointed was an understatement it was in pieces and lucky if it was the size of his palm. Also ordered jumbo sausage but was a standard size sausage steak and onion rolls and chips were overcooked. Poor selection and boards all over the place. Very very disappointed.

Tony Vaughan Reid

Iconic in Dunedin. Has always been known for it’s great value for money. A bit of a shame to see people leaving a bad review when they couldn’t get their way once, after years of clearly enjoying your cafe. Looking forward to the renovations being complete!

Christian Kasper

Haven't been here for a while but still best f&c in Dunners. It's the little things that make it so special... the bread & butter, coleslaw, beetroot slice and the autographs on the wall. Love it!

Kristina Delgado

Best Cafe is amazing! The blue cod and oysters were cooked to perfection. The chips were beautiful with all the little crispy bits too. Delicious handmade tartare sauce. What a treat! Thank you, see you next time we're in Dunedin!

Sheryl Burns

Lovely fish - fresh, tasty and cooked to perfection. The atmosphere transported me back to the 1950's evoking memories of family outings that warranted a hat and gloves for my mother and 'best', but uncomfortable attire for me. The thinly sliced bread with butter to accompany the meal was the trigger for many technicolor flashbacks. Thank you for the whole experience.

Penny Forde

Amazing food, amazing service. Highly recommend this diner

Keeley Anderson

Best Blue cod & chips in Dunedin & great service! Will definitely be back! �

Miguel A Borge

I ended up in this cosy little place that seemed very authentic and local. The fish and the scallops were so fresh and delicious!

Chee Wei Loh

One of the best Fish n Chips and oysters! Yum!!

Spencer Ho

Best blue cod and oysters in town!! The atmosphere is great, have not changed a bit since day 1.

Kirti Malhotra

Tucked away off the main square towards the railway station. This was the busiest restaurant we walked past, so decided to give it a go. The staff was very nice and friendly, and the food very good good, though the hand made chips were not as good as I was expecting. A good selection of fish, the pan-fried fish was really nice as was the crumbed blue cod.

Jayne Gutry

Best fish n chips I've had in years. Handcut chips and a delicate batter on the fresh blue cod. Cafe style more like a 1970s feel. Meals come complete with slices of bread and curly butter. I sneaked in some super fresh bluff oysters and a glass of milk. Mister made a piggy of himself and gorged on 3 whitebait fritters...not a crumb left behind and a generous amount of whitebait in each fritter. Well worth a visit.

DianaW

Really old fashioned retro feel about this small cafe not far from the town central octagon. We came across it by chance on our wanderings & decided on the famous blue cod. We were not disappointed either was succulent & fresh- melted in the mouth

Steve Luise McLean

Waitresses were really friendly and coped well with 2 cruise ships in town. I had a bowl of seafood chowder and fresh complimentary bread; a no fuss establishment and great value!Yum!

Rosemary Young

After some very fresh Fish and Chips at a reasonable price without having to travel far? Why not give Best Cafe a try. Everytime we are in Dunedin we always make a stop at Best Cafe for their Blue Cod Fish and maybe chips (if we are hungry). You can dine in or take away. Note, this is not the usual cafe that you think of serving coffee, brunch of bacon and eggs etc, but more of a fish and chip store. Please check out my website for a more indepth review.

Beverley E

Just have to have a great feed of Blue Cod and Bluff Oysters (providing they in season). The owners are very friendly as were the staff. Look forward to my next visit there next time I'm in Dunedin. :)

Linda Renalson

We have been to the Best café many times over the past years when visiting Dunedin. The Oysters are fantastic. I'm hoping you will open on Easter Saturday as I want to take my elderly parents there for an oyster lunch. My Mum will be turning 82 and all she wants is Oysters from Best Café for her Birthday. So lets hope the weather stays fine and you are open

Rachel H

I went with my parents a year or so ago and could not order anything but ginger beer as everything was cooked in animal fat (I'm vegetarian). Sadly, I had ordered here before, stated that I was veg, and never been told of the animal fat situation. unethical :(.

Peter Macleod

Started an 8-day tour of lower South Island in Dunedin with "Blue cod and chips" from the Best Café. Best we both had since "Haddock and chips" in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. Finished our tour by coming back and having a repeat to eat on the way to Dunedin airport. Highly commended.

Libby Mills

I had heard that this place was a great place to eat so I took my daughter there for lunch. I explained what time I had to be back at work so when our meals came 40 minutes later I was able to take 2 bites burn the roof of my mouth then leave to run back to work. I did not pay for my meal just my daughters who I left there to eat hers by herself. This was at my suggestion. The man who took my money went to great lengths to explain to me that you could not go anywhere in winter and expect to get your meal within 30 minutes. Try 40 and yes you can. I wont be back unless my work suddenly brings in a 2 hour lunch break!

Mick Forward

very nice meal would not hesitate to return next time in Dunedin on holiday.only negative was oysters out of season at the time. Go Mabel all the best

Dot

Just the best for their Oysters and Blue Cod. Mabel has done her business well. The place hasn't changed much in all the years I've been going, which are too many to mention. The waitresses now, could do with a personality check though.

Review Best Cafe - Dunedin