Best Café

Restaurants key icon.
Restaurants key icon.

MondayClosed.

Tuesday11:30 am – 8:00 pm.

Wednesday11:30 am – 8:00 pm.

Thursday11:30 am – 8:00 pm.

Friday11:30 am – 8:00 pm.

Saturday11:30 am – 8:00 pm.

SundayClosed.

30 Stuart St, Central Dunedin, Dunedin

03 477 8059

While suggestions of a BYO venue might send alarm bells ringing for some in Dunedin, Best Café is a Dunedin institution that has been on the scene since 1932 and is well worth a visit (and perhaps a return to your student days).

Best Café has undeniably stood the test of time. It exemplifies the old saying that simple food done well is the best food, serving some of the tastiest, freshest seafood in the country. It’s essentially a fish and chip restaurant straight out of the 1970s. Maybe even the 1950s. It doesn’t pretend to be anything else and it’s completely comfortable with the fact that it is kitsch. It’s all Formica tablecloths, vinegar in glass bottles, blackboard menus and coloured chairs that you wouldn't be surprised to find gathering dust in an old country town hall.

There are shrimp cocktails, whitebait fritters and ice cream sundaes with pink wafer biscuits and chocolate fish. It’s an ode to childhood for many. But the fish and chips are the real winner: the fish is fresh, the chips are hand-cut Agrias, and there’s free white bread and curled butter to get you going.

The drink selection is well thought out, but many opt to bring their own – corkage is only $6 for a bottle of wine and $2 per bottle of beer. The lineup of empties from BYOs over the years is surely a testament to the venue’s popularity.

Everything about the place is nostalgic and that’s what’s so charming about it.

Words by Abigail Egden & Photography by Naomi Haussmann

Information not correct? Report an error

Location

30 Stuart St, Central Dunedin, Dunedin

Nearby Places

Estelle Flowers

A hand reaching for flowers.
Place Dunedin

Adding a touch of colourful botany to Moray Place, Estelle is a Parisian-style florist.

PLATO

A plate of food.
Place Dunedin
Bars key icon. Restaurants key icon.

Hidden under the Otago Peninsula Road overpass you will find PLATO, an eatery that is retro both inside and out.

Toitū Otago Settlers Museum

Portraits on a wall.
Place Dunedin
Galleries and museum key icon.

Whether you’ve just arrived in Otago for the first time or have lived here for years, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum will give you a new appreciation for the region and how it’s come to be what we know today.

Dunedin Public Art Gallery

A featured exhibition in the foyer.
Place Dunedin
Galleries and museum key icon.

The jewel in Dunedin's crown.

Similar Places

Good Good

Close up of artwork on the wall.
Place Dunedin
Bars key icon. Restaurants key icon.

A mean spot for burgers, beers and vibey energy.

Rhubarb

A table full of food.
Place Dunedin
Cafes key icon.

A bright and sunny spot to eat eggs benedict and read the newspaper, or squeeze your pram in for a date with other parents.

Vanguard Specialty Coffee Co.

Seating area in Vanguard with big monstera plant.
Place Dunedin
Cafes key icon.

A fresh look and take on the independent coffee scene in Dunedin.

Commons Eatery

Outside view of Commons Eatery.
Place Dunedin
Cafes key icon. Restaurants key icon.

It’s a wonderful thing to meet an eatery you love – even better when that place welcomes you morning, noon, and night.