Esplanade Restaurant — Restaurant in South Island

Yikes. Esplanade has been up and down over the years and it is very firmly in a 'down' period at the moment. Other recent reviews concur. We ordered 2 pizzas, the salmon one and salsiccia (sausage/mushroom) plus a side of fries. I know its authentic Italian, and these are white pizzas but come on. There was so little sausage that not even every one of the 6 slices had a bite of sausage on it and it cost $30. There was maybe half a sausage broken up. The salmon pizza had 6 tiny scraps of salmon. It was actually ridiculous for $31 when you could go elsewhere and order an entire salmon fillet meal for not much more $. I had to sort through the mounds of rucola dumped on top to pick out the manky, slimy/yellow etc leaves. They also brought the fries about 15 minutes before the pizzas, presumably because they knew there was a long wait for the pizza. They were delicious and a good portion-size but who wants their side ages before their meal? The housemade lemonade is extremely sour and appeared to have no sugar added. I got used to it and liked it, but I think many wouldn't have been able to drink it at all. When we went to pay, (and were paying for everything despite it being so disappointing), the grumpy FOH woman asked how everything was. We told her although it tasted nice, it honestly was disappointing and not good value. She got visibly angry and barely said anything more - don't bother asking people if you are only fishing for compliments. NZ businesses always moan that customers are reluctant to give honest feedback but when you do, you get so much attitude, why would anyone bother? When lunch costs half a day's pay, its fair to expect it to be better quality and a better...

Worth the wait! Two friends out for last minute dinner plans. No booking, walked in on a Wednesday night just after 7pm. Fantastic atmosphere. Place was packed out. No spare tables. Hostess advised a 30 minute wait. She then pulled up 2 chairs at the bar for us & we ordered a garlic pizza & some drinks. We waited over 30mins because there were 5 small groups ahead of us waiting for a table too, but that time flew by super quick. Eventually we got a table. Ordered another garlic pizza, a pappardelle and a lasagna, plus 2 beers & 2 assortments. I had the 2 Pale Ale beers from Sawmill Brewery in Matakana, Auckland. I'm from up Matakana ways (been living in Dunedin for 3 years) so it was an absolute treat to find a drink on the menu from home. My friend had an espresso martini & contessa red wine. She didn't love the martini because the coffee was burnt. But the red wine she enjoyed. I had the lasagne which was super, super good. And my friend, the pappardelle, which she enjoyed. Found the wait staff to be attentive & ready to help at the drop of a hat. Really great experience. No complaints whatsoever. Cost per person was approx. $70 on this visit. Highly recommend this restaurant to dine if your looking for a casual yet quality...

One of the best places in town when it comes to views with a coffee or a vino. We go there whenever we want a lift in our moods. Walk on the beach, see happy dogs and then sit inside or outside on a table in this legendary restaurant. Great service and food that is not pretentious but yumm and authentic. Love you team. Quick lunch stop with our friends from Auckland. They loved it, we love it anyway. Arancinis were delicately flavored with saffron and in thick tomato sauce and fresh grated parmesen cheese. Pizza in fresh baked base was delicious as well. Vino and coffee as per their usual high standards. Service was prompt with smiles. An absolute gem in sunny dunners. A wee stroll on the beach was a perfect finish to our afternoon. Love this place, can't say it enough. Had coffees and a pizza to share. Great views of the beach, a humming dining space, chefs serving wood fire pizzas and a fairly switched on team, a recipe for a divine experience. Thanks team. Come with our guests from up North and we're they totally blown away or what! Fermented dough pizzas, terrific wine selection and great ambience with stunning views. Everything top notch and tasty. Service impeccable. No wonder why this place rocks. Thank you...