One of the Locals: Your Insider’s Guide to Ōtepoti Dunedin

A trip to Maggies is guaranteed to make your day. This tearoom, bar and arcade has been doing its thing for over a decade now and locals’ love for the place only continues to bloom. Open all week long, Maggies has a reputation for serving exceptional coffee made better with a cabinet of sweet and savoury pinwheel scrolls. Come for brunch, a cheeky lunch beer, or pop along on a Friday night and you might catch some lovely live music from local and NZ artists.

A hop and a skip from Maggies, Woof! has created a fun, carefree and inclusive space for locals to fill their cup – in every sense. Well known for their expert shaking and stirring, the cocktail list demands your attention here, with a different special entering the scene each month. New Zealand craft beers and beautiful wines are also available, and an impressive menu of delicious snacks and small plates means you can stay all night if you like. Grab a seat on the sidewalk or find a cosy pocket amongst the array of plants and eclectic decor inside.

If you’re an avid frequenter of Dunedin cafés, there’s a 99.99% chance you’ve already enjoyed a great coffee using Common Ground beans. For a true coffee-roaster-to-coffee-cup experience, we recommend visiting their HQ, Common Ground Espresso in South Dunedin. Order a brew at the espresso bar counter, grab a bag of beans for your at-home coffee needs, and catch a glimpse of the team crafting quality small batch roasts.

Hidden down No Name Alley, Steamer Basin may not make a song and dance about their taproom location but you can bet every beer lover in town has sniffed them out. Originally starting out at the farmers’ market, owners Karen and Paul have gone from a Saturday stall to a bustling neighbourhood microbrewery full of patrons (and their dogs) sipping seasonal pints and devouring slices of pizzas at communal tables. Steamer’s brewing philosophy celebrates local ingredients, sourcing malt from Canterbury, hops from Nelson, and the best filtered Dunedin water.

The largest contemporary art project space in Otago and Southland, Blue Oyster operates as a non-profit art space for creatives to experiment and showcase their ideas in a supportive environment. There’s a new exhibition to admire every 5-6 weeks, as well as a full schedule of events for the arts community, including talks, panel discussions, film screenings and workshops. Sign up to the email list on their website to stay in the loop.

Located in a dreamy upstairs space on George Street you’ll find the flagship store of Company of Strangers, a local label founded by Dunedinite Sara Aspinall. Sara’s timeless range of clothing and jewellery are all designed in Dunedin and made with love and care in New Zealand. Alongside the in-house collections, Company Store plays host to other friends in the fashion world, including a thoughtful curation of like-minded New Zealand designers and brands from further afield.

Helmed by the talented duo Mathew Lewis and Sheena Booth, His and Hers Catering is a top pick for catering across the harbour and wider Otago. Luckily for the rest of us, they also operate a popular Friday Shop out of their space in Port Chalmers. The menu is stacked with delicious eats – think hearty homemade pies, flavour-packed noodles, and nostalgic treats like custard donuts and lamingtons. Grab something to devour on the spot or stock up for later adventures.

While tucking into a sandwich or plate of poachies from any of your favourite Dunedin cafes, you may have noticed that the quality of bread is supreme – and that’s probably because their supplier is Body of the Year. This bakery delivers loaves of sourdough to some of the city’s best kitchens, using locally sourced flour and a natural fermentation process to produce the healthiest and most delicious bread possible. Aside from appearing on cafe menus and in cabinets, you can find loaves to take home at The Junction, Taste Nature, and Maggies – just to name a few.

Just a couple of blocks from St Clair Beach, this takeaway cafe plays a key role in the community’s weekday schedule. Since opening in early 2023, The Junction has become the neighbourhood’s meeting point for great coffee, fresh kai, and a good natter. The brews are smooth (remember to BYO coffee cup) and the cabinet is chokka with baked goods and fresh sammies. Pop over to the shelf to pick up a loaf of Body of the Year sourdough or a jar of Bay Rd Peanut Butter.

There’s nothing like a generic hotel room to remind you of your tourist status. If you want to camouflage yourself as a fellow Dunedinite, might we suggest a few nights at The Princes Apartment. Just a block away from the Octagon, this 158-year-old historic building was lovingly renovated into a charming European-style apartment by ceramic artist Amanda Shanley. With her studio downstairs, a complimentary one-hour introduction to wheel-thrown ceramics is also offered to interested guests.