Salt Bar & Restaurant is an all-day bar and restaurant on Forbury Road in St Clair, Dunedin, open 10am to 9pm seven days a week under winter hours. The kitchen runs the full arc of the day: eggs Benedict on potato rosti and french toast croissant in the morning, a line-up of six burgers from 11am, all-day plates like karaage chicken and salt & pepper squid, then shared plates and mains such as free-range pork belly and a 250g ribeye after dark. Desserts run from affogato to sticky date pudding.
Dietary needs are flagged right across the menu — many dishes can be made gluten-free, dairy-free or vegan — and there is a dedicated kids menu with mini burgers, nuggets, fish & chips and kids desserts. Groups of 15 or more can take a set lunch or dinner menu built around shared entrée platters, and gift vouchers and online reservations are available through the website. The site sums up the food philosophy with Hippocrates: 'Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.'
Salt Bar & Restaurant takes its spot on Forbury Road in St Clair, one of Dunedin's best-loved seaside suburbs, and runs on a simple idea: be the neighbourhood's table from late morning to late evening. Under winter hours the doors open at 10am and close at 9pm, every day of the week. That span covers a lazy brunch, a long lunch, an afternoon burger, dinner with friends and something sweet at the end — with the bar pouring alongside for a sunset drink.
The kitchen's outlook is summed up on the website with a quote from Hippocrates: 'Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.' In practice that translates into fresh, generous plates built from real ingredients — happy eggs, house-made granola, house pickles and pickled vegetables made in-house — rather than food that needs a paragraph of fine print.
Mornings lean brunch-ward. Mushrooms on toast pairs pan-fried portobellos with a white bean and herb spread, red onion and parmesan shavings. Eggs Benedict is built on a golden potato rosti with spinach and hollandaise, the french toast croissant arrives with berry compote, banana, cream and maple syrup, and the bacon buttie packs bacon, lettuce, tomato, aioli and tomato relish into two Scottish baps. Add-ons — free-range bacon, smoked salmon, a hashbrown, an extra happy egg — let you build your plate.
From 11am the burger grill takes over, and it stays lit straight through dinner. Six builds share the list: a double smashed beef burger with bacon, fried onions, cheese, gherkin and Bedford mayo; karaage chicken with soy-infused bacon, edamame slaw and wasabi mayo; hoisin pork belly with house pickles and kewpie mayo; a beer-battered fish burger; a vegan hoisin tofu burger; and the conversation-starter — a snack-size donut smashed cheese burger with maple bacon and pickles, served in a donut.
Around the burgers sit all-day plates: salt and pepper squid with chilli mayo, karaage chicken with steamed rice, Moroccan chicken skewers with tabouli, hummus and flat bread, pearl couscous and chickpea salad with beetroot puree and feta, and beer-battered fish and chips. At dinner the menu stretches into shared plates — a meze platter, karaage chicken bites and steamed bao buns filled with hoisin pork belly — and bigger mains like free-range pork belly with apple cider sauce and a 250g ribeye with your choice of mushroom sauce or garlic butter.
Save room. Dessert runs from an affogato with biscotti to the salt sundae — vanilla ice cream and chocolate treats with chocolate, berry coulis or caramel — plus vanilla bean crème brulee, a gluten-free chocolate brownie with berry compote, and sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce. Kids get their own menu with nuggets, battered fish, mini cheese and chicken burgers, and a Pink Panther raspberry fizzy with ice cream; before 2.30pm they can also order a breaky burger or French toast.
Dietary needs are flagged right across the menu instead of tucked away: the granola can be dairy-free, mushrooms on toast and the fish and chips can be gluten-free, and the vege burger and sticky date pudding can both be made vegan. Several burgers and plates carry gluten-free and dairy-free options as standard.
Feeding a crowd? Tables of 15 or more have a dedicated set menu in lunch and dinner versions, built around shared entrée platters with a choice of two- or three-course formats — an easy answer for a big birthday or work do. Gift vouchers are sold through the website if you'd rather let someone else choose, and reservations can be made online in a couple of clicks or by phone on 03 455 1077.
Find Salt Bar & Restaurant at 240 Forbury Road, St Clair, Dunedin, or follow @saltbardunedin on Instagram and Facebook to see what's coming off the pass. Ten to nine, seven days a week — that's the deal.