Emerson's Brew Bar sits in the heart of Dunedin's Octagon — a celebration of great craft beer, great food and great Kiwi hospitality, with a quintessentially Kiwi interior and a large, sunny outdoor area looking over the square.
The kitchen builds its menu on seasonal Otago produce, with every dish made in-house and designed to pair with the drinks list. Instead of heavy pub fillers, expect plates like crispy squid with tamarind caramel, mussels and clams with toasted ciabatta, and high-quality ribeye with garlic butter, alongside tacos, burgers, fried chicken wings with six sauces and a hot platter made for sharing.
The beer bank pours the heavy hitters of the Lion Brewery portfolio, and weekends bring local acoustic acts and DJs. Open from noon till late Wednesday to Friday and from 11.30am till late on weekends, it's a spot for after-work drinks, long lunches, dinners with friends and kicking on through the night.
Brew Bar — the Emerson's Brew Bar — sits in the heart of Dunedin's Octagon, on the square where the city naturally gathers. It's a celebration of great craft beer, great food and great Kiwi hospitality: a quintessentially Kiwi interior inside, and a large, sunny outdoor area outside that catches the Dunedin sun and looks out over the Octagon. Whether you're meeting friends for a few drinks after work, settling in for lunch or dinner from the renowned menu, or kicking on through the night, it's built for lingering.
The menu here isn't about heavy pub fillers. It's built on seasonal produce from the Otago region, and every dish is made in-house and designed to pair with the drinks list rather than just sit alongside it. The kitchen's calling cards include crispy squid with tamarind caramel and soy-toasted seeds, mussels and clams with toasted ciabatta, and a high-quality ribeye with garlic butter — classic Kiwi dishes made with care and expertise, from locally sourced ingredients.
Lunch is a lower-key affair: over lunch, Wednesday to Sunday, you can order prawn tacos or fish tacos by the pair or the trio — the prawn version comes with grilled prawns, guacamole, slaw and red chilli.
Fried chicken wings are a fixture. Order six or twelve and choose from six sauces: honey soy (sweet and savoury), BBQ (sweet and smoky), Cajun dry rub (hot, smoky and savoury), buffalo (hot and tangy), Korean (sweet and spicy) or sriracha (sweet and spicy).
There's something to hit the spot on every occasion — wings and nibbles while you watch the game, a larger meal with friends and family, or dessert and drinks. Sharing plates run from fries with house-made aioli and garlic bread to battered onion rings, Korean BBQ pork belly bites with apple salad, and a chef's selection of breads with house-made dips. For the table, the hot platter feeds three with chicken wings, sausages, squid, onion rings, pork belly bites, fries and sauces.
The mains list covers the bases generously: a roast beetroot and pumpkin salad with feta and almond dukkah; chicken, prawn or fish tacos; fish and chips with battered or pan-fried fish of the day; a fried buttermilk chicken burger with your choice of ten sauces; a BBQ pulled pork burger with swiss cheese and pickled apples; a classic cheeseburger and fries; and nachos built on house-made tortilla chips with pulled pork and black beans. The braised beef cheek — with potato purée, broccolini, baby carrots, pesto and beef gravy — is the slow-cooked centrepiece. Finish with an affogato made on Allpress espresso and vanilla bean ice cream, or the ever-changing dessert of the week made in-house by one of the chefs.
Beer is the other half of the story. The Brew Bar's beer bank brings you all the heavy hitters of the Lion Brewery portfolio — fitting for a bar carrying the Emerson's name in the heart of Dunedin. The whole menu, from the crispy squid to the braised beef cheek, is designed to pair with what's in your glass, and few settings beat a cold pint in the sun on the Octagon.
Through the week it's an easy after-work drink spot; come the weekend, local acoustic acts and DJs keep the bar kicking on through the night. Visitors seem to leave happy — "a great spot with friendly staff, great food and service," as one Tripadvisor reviewer put it after a visit that stretched from a few drinks into a full meal. "A great day was had by all."
Brew Bar is at 12 The Octagon, Central Dunedin. It opens from 12 noon till late Wednesday to Friday, and from 11.30am till late on Saturdays and Sundays. Call 03 477 3776 or email info.brewbardunedin@gmail.com, and gift cards are available if you're paying it forward. If you have allergies or dietary requirements, let the team know — many dishes can be prepared gluten-free on request, though the kitchen can't guarantee the absence of traces of nuts and other allergens.