Big Lizard

About Big Lizard

Big Lizard is a sandwich and pastry shop at 22 Vogel Street in Dunedin, open Tuesday to Saturday and built around the day's bake rather than an all-day menu. Breakfast runs from 8am until 10am or sold out, lunch goes through to 2:30pm, and the cabinet is full at opening and winds down from there.

The menu leans on the breads themselves — focaccia, baguette, sourdough and potato rolls — with fillings that range from a classic ham, butter, pickles and mustard baguette to rare beef with Swiss and horseradish, roast chicken mayo, or a vegetarian cauliflower pakora focaccia with coyo raita and masala crisps. From the kitchen come hot sourdough melts and a pressed Reuben, while the cabinet covers croissants, cheesecake, fruit tart, brownies and more until it sells out.

Coffee is served black, white, filter or iced, alongside tea, hot chocolate and bottled drinks like orange juice and feijoa fizz. Online ordering is available for pickup, and catering orders are handled through Bread Tech.

Big Lizard Dunedin: Sandwiches, Pastries and a Selling-Out Cabinet on Vogel Street

On Vogel Street in Dunedin, Big Lizard keeps the brief refreshingly narrow: sandwiches and pastries, done properly, in quantities that match the day. The shop trades Tuesday to Friday from 8am to 2:30pm and Saturdays from 10am to 2:30pm, and it runs on a baker's rhythm rather than a restaurant's. Breakfast is served from 8am until 10am or sold out, lunch carries through to 2:30pm, and the cabinet is loaded at opening and thins as the hours pass. Locals learn the rule quickly: come early or take your chances.

Bread Is the Point

Almost everything here starts with the bake. Breakfast belongs to the focaccia — one version with potato, rosemary and tallegio, another with salmon, cream cheese and bagel spice — and to soft potato rolls packed with crisps, egg and cheese, with or without bacon. It's a short menu, and that's the charm of it. Vegetarians are looked after across the day too, with (V) options marked from lunch right through to the fries.

At 10am the lunch menu takes over, and it splits neatly in two. Ready to Go is the grab-and-walk half: focaccias and baguettes already made and waiting. There's a vegetarian focaccia with artichoke, red pepper, eggplant and rocket, a roast chicken mayo with cos and iceberg, and baguettes filled with asparagus and egg salad, ham with butter, pickles and mustard, or rare beef with cos, Swiss and horseradish. It's the fastest way through the door if you're on a short lunch break.

From The Kitchen is where things get hot. Sourdough comes out as mushroom and tuna melts and the shop's Reuben, pressed and warm. The focaccia work turns bolder here as well: cauliflower pakora with coyo raita, cucumber and masala crisps, and a chicken schnitty torta with salsa roja, lime onions and mozzarella. Fries dusted in chicken katsu curry salt cover the sides, with sauce on offer alongside.

The Cabinet and the Coffee

The cabinet is half the reason people talk about Big Lizard. From 8am until it sells out, it holds croissants and almond croissants, the chocolate-filled chocssant, a pullapart, cheesecake, fruit tart, an apple turnover, brownies and cookies, plus savoury picks like B+E kasundi and ham and cheese. The pullapart is the sort of thing worth grabbing if there's a table of you. Because the day's bake is the day's stock, the best selection is the earliest selection — another nudge to arrive in the morning.

Drinks stay straightforward: coffee black, white or filter, mocha and hot chocolate, tea, and iced coffee and iced mocha for warmer days. Bottled orange juice, pineapple and pear, and a feijoa fizz line the chiller.

Planning a Visit

A few practical things help. Saturdays start at 10am, so there's no early bakery run that day — the cabinet lands mid-morning and lunch runs straight through to 2:30pm. The shop is closed Sundays and Mondays, and note the breakfast window: 8am to 10am on weekdays only. If you're racing the clock, online ordering is available through the Big Lizard site, which is a quiet advantage on a street where everything sells out. Feeding a crowd? Catering is handled through Bread Tech, linked from the site, and the shop posts its day-to-day on Instagram under @biglizardotepoti.

What makes Big Lizard worth the trip is the discipline of it: a tight menu, bread at the centre of everything, hot food made to order, and a cabinet that rewards punctuality. It's a Dunedin lunch hour run the way a bakery would run it — and by 2:30pm, when the shelves have emptied, you'll understand why the early birds keep coming back.

Signature items

• Reuben
• Cauli Pakora Focaccia
• Chicken Schnitty Torta
• Rare Beef Baguette
• Almond Croissant
• Breakfast Focaccia

Menu

Drinks

• Black Coffee — Espresso coffee, served black.
• White Coffee — Espresso coffee with milk.
• Filter — Filter coffee.
• Mocha — Espresso and chocolate together.
• Hot Chocolate — Classic hot chocolate.
• Tea — Tea, served hot.
• Iced Coffee — Chilled coffee over ice.
• Iced Mocha — Chilled mocha over ice.

Bottled

• Orange Juice — Bottled orange juice.
• Pineapple and Pear — Bottled pineapple and pear juice.
• Feijoa Fizz — Bottled feijoa fizz.

Cabinet

• Croissant — Fresh croissant from the morning cabinet.
• Cheesecake — Cheesecake from the daily cabinet.
• Fruit Tart — Fruit tart from the daily cabinet.
• Chocssant — Chocolate-filled croissant pastry from the cabinet.
• Pullapart — Pullapart bread from the cabinet, till sold out.
• Almond Croissant — Almond croissant from the morning bake.
• B+E Kasundi — Bacon and egg with kasundi from the cabinet.
• Ham and Cheese — Ham and cheese option from the cabinet.
• Apple Turnover — Apple turnover from the daily cabinet.
• Brownie — Chocolate brownie from the cabinet.
• Cookie — Cookie from the daily cabinet selection.

Breakfast

• Focaccia — Potato, Rosemary, Tallegio — Warm focaccia topped with potato, rosemary and tallegio cheese.
• Focaccia — Salmon, Cream Cheese, Bagel Spice — Salmon and cream cheese with bagel spice on focaccia.
• Potato Roll — Crisps, Egg and Cheese — Soft potato roll filled with crisps, egg and cheese.
• Potato Roll — Bacon, Egg and Cheese — Bacon, egg and cheese in a soft potato roll.

Ready To Go

• Focaccia — Artichoke, Red Pepper, Eggplant, Rocket (V) — Vegetarian focaccia with artichoke, red pepper, eggplant and rocket.
• Focaccia — Roast Chicken Mayo, Cos, Iceberg — Roast chicken mayo with cos and iceberg lettuce.
• Baguette — Asparagus, Egg Salad, Watercress — Asparagus and egg salad with watercress on a baguette.
• Baguette — Ham, Butter, Pickles, Mustard — Ham with butter, pickles and mustard in a baguette.
• Baguette — Rare Beef, Cos, Swiss, Horseradish — Rare beef with cos, Swiss cheese and horseradish.

From The Kitchen

• Mushroom Melt — Mushroom melt served hot on sourdough.
• Tuna Melt — Tuna melt toasted on sourdough.
• Reuben — Classic Reuben, pressed and served warm on sourdough.
• Focaccia — Cauli Pakora, Coyo Raita, Cucumber, Masala Crisps (V) — Cauliflower pakora with coyo raita, cucumber and masala crisps.
• Focaccia — Chicken Schnitty Torta, Salsa Roja, Lime Onions, Mozz — Crumbed chicken torta with salsa roja, lime onions and mozzarella.
• Fries — Chicken Katsu Curry Salt (V) — Fries tossed in chicken katsu curry salt, with sauce available.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Big Lizard located?

At 22 Vogel Street in Dunedin.

What are the opening hours?

Tuesday to Friday from 8am to 2:30pm, and Saturdays from 10am to 2:30pm. Closed Sundays and Mondays.

Do items sell out?

Yes — breakfast runs from 8am until 10am or sold out, lunch goes to 2:30pm, and cabinet items are available until they're gone, so earlier visits have the best selection.

Are there vegetarian options?

Yes. Vegetarian items are marked (V) on the menu, including the artichoke, red pepper, eggplant and rocket focaccia, the cauliflower pakora focaccia, and fries with chicken katsu curry salt.

Can I order online?

Yes, online ordering is available through the Big Lizard website for pickup.

Does Big Lizard do catering?

Yes, catering orders are handled through Bread Tech at breadtech.co.nz, linked from the site.

What drinks are available?

Coffee (black, white, filter, mocha), hot chocolate, tea, iced coffee and iced mocha, plus bottled orange juice, pineapple and pear, and feijoa fizz.

Tips

• {"body":"The cabinet runs from 8am until sold out and breakfast wraps up at 10am, so mornings have the fullest shelves.","title":"Go early"}
• {"body":"Saturdays start at 10am rather than 8am, and the shop is closed Sundays and Mondays — plan your bakery run accordingly.","title":"Mind the weekend hours"}
• {"body":"Online ordering is available through the Big Lizard site, which is handy on a short lunch break.","title":"Order ahead"}
• {"body":"The shop's Instagram, @biglizardotepoti, is the best place to keep up with what's coming out of the kitchen and cabinet.","title":"Follow the bakes"}
• {"body":"Larger catering orders go through Bread Tech at breadtech.co.nz, linked from the Big Lizard site.","title":"Catering for a crowd"}

Good to know

• {"dietary":"Vegetarian items are marked (V) on the menu."}