Kiwi dining meets generous global comfort food, pairing hearty tavern mains with live gigs and private events. The kitchen turns out everything from scotch fillet loaded with creamy seafood or paired with onion rings and mushroom sauce to 18-hour slow-cooked pork hocks, pork ribs in Poroti special sauce, and beef meatballs over risotto with dragon breath sauce. Evenings from 4 pm bring curries served with rice and naan bread, including tender Indian-spiced lamb and a Durban lamb curry dished up in a hollowed-out half loaf of bread. Alongside pizzas topped with everything from pulled pork and Korean smoky sauce to salmon and feta, there are loaded burgers, steaming pots of garlic cream mussels, and sharing platters of nachos and sticky date pudding to match a cocktail list full of rum and fruit punches.
One of five bars within a kilometre in central Whangārei, it sits on Hannah Street just down the road from the Jovial Judge Tavern, offering private function space for birthday bashes and corporate gatherings alongside regular public gigs. Our pick in central Whangārei for Durban bunny chow and live music on a Friday night.