Emerson's Brewery — Restaurant in South Island

Nobody can fault the beer in this place, and for the most part the staff are fantastic ... however...

It's 1930 on Friday, and we're trying to enjoy ourselves and get a bit of a political discussion going. Yes, we're animated, but we're not rowdy.We're asking for a taster flight. Nothing more. Our first waitress was perfectly welcoming and ready to take our order. Cue obnoxious (sure, gorgeous) waiter, mid order. Immediately insists that we order food with our alcohol. Insists that we consider whether we need another drink. His tone suggested that our behavior was too rambunctious... this on a Friday night at 730 in a half empty provincial bar. We'd had two pints each...

Our sin? God knows. But we felt unwelcome, frankly threatened, and for the next 20 minutes, drank nothing but water before settling our bill and taking our business elsewhere. This is not what Dunedin needs. A little bit of energy - political or otherwise - is what our venues need in this city.

I suggest a willingness to accept that Friday night is going to have a level of animation that needs to be accommodated by the staff in order to foster an ambiance that is conductive to a night worthy of the adjectives "The City" and "Friday". Disappointing.

p.s. why put a zero % beer at the top of a beer menu. That needs to be shunted...

Visited Emerson's for a little lunch with the other half ☺️ As it was our very first time visiting, we went in with 0 expectations 😅

We had a reservation which I would recommend making as it tends to get quite busy, especially during lunch.

We ordered a few sharing plates which definitely was a good choice as there was more variety to choose from:

Triple cooked chips with optional paprika (would recommend leaving the optional paprika out on this as the chips would definitely taste better without it)

Popcorn prawns in a siracha sauce (10/10 and hands down the best dish) 😍

Chilli salt squid with aioli (equally as good as the popcorn prawns - 10/10!)

Sticky BBQ pork ribs (hubby rated this a 7/10 - please note this is served with peanuts so be sure to request for this to be excluded if you have a nut allergy)

For drinks, we ordered the Emerson's Tasting Tray which was a hit! The service was exceptional and our waitress did a great job in checking in on us and clearing away our dishes. We were also really impressed that our sharing plates were prepared in under 10min!

We had a wonderful time dining in and would highly recommend visiting if you are looking to celebrate a special occasion, enjoy some down time with your partner or just grab a quick meal. The visit is...

This place was amazing! The bar manager deserves a medal—or at least a raise. Not only was he incredibly friendly, but he also gave us a full TED Talk on rugby and even moved our table next to actual rugby players (All Blacks). We don’t know if we became part of the team, but we were mentally preparing to be tackled.

But then… there was Mic Mac. A local roughian who appeared to have been baptized in cocaine. This man had the energy of a raccoon on Red Bull. He would not leave us alone, but thankfully, the bar manager handled him like a bouncer at the gates of Heaven—swift and final.

But the real adventure started when we asked for a bar recommendation. We were just casually walking there, thinking we’d enjoy a chill drink, when BAM—out of nowhere, a flash mob of 300 wild 20-year-olds exploded around us. It was like accidentally stumbling into the Hunger Games. One second, we were strolling; the next, we were in a full sprint for our lives. We saw our lives flash before our eyes—and it was mostly just bad decisions and brunch.

All in all, incredible restaurant, 10/10 service, but I did not sign up for an impromptu episode of Survivor: Nightlife Edition. Would definitely come back, but next time, we’re bringing...