Starfish Cafe & Bar

Top service from the lovely lady who served me this morning. While I chopped and changed my mind with what I wanted for breakfast, we finally got there. She was so patient with me. Thank you. The granola was amazing! I will be back again and again for that! I felt like I was on a tropical island having this breaky. It was such a treat!!

Fantastic! It was a very hot and extremely busy day but the staff coped so well. We were told our meals would probably take around 40 minutes. We accepted this due to the high volume of people but our meals arrived in 20 minutes. My calamari was the best I've ever had in the world!

A beautifully presented and tasty breakfast! We had the eggs Benedict and biscoff waffles. All the staff were very lovely too!

Wanted to go upstairs but two of the staff told us upstairs closed. However, we can clearly see there are customers upstairs. Staff here are LIARS. NOT IMPRESSED. If you can’t accommodate people upstairs on the day anymore due to staff shortage or anything, just apologize and kindly explain, and that’s fine, but LYING with a cold face is NOT ACCEPTABLE.

An extremely busy Cafe. And whilst it’s far from the most atmospheric venue and the service lacks any real quality the food and coffee more than make up for it. The starfish stack was just what was called for after a night out. It was tasty and filling. Yes it would have been nice had the hash browns been made in house but that’s a wee niggle. Better service and this would be a five star review. I feel the staff are simply over whelmed as the cafe is simply over run.

Let me re-word my previous review to explain better: We were incredibly disappointed with our experience. From the moment we arrived, we were not greeted or offered water. We were seated at a used table that hadn’t been cleaned, and when we went to order—fairly early in the day—we were told several key items like burgers and fish were already unavailable. Two of our meals arrived a full 30 minutes before the others, and at no point did anyone check on us. When we inquired about ordering a salad, we were met with unnecessary rudeness. One of the meals wasn’t even touched because the chips were cold and the salad was well below an acceptable standard. Overall, the service was unwelcoming, the food was inconsistent, and the experience left us both dissatisfied and frustrated. We will not be returning. ———————————————— Hi Starfish Team, Thank you for your response — though I must say it feels dismissive and somewhat irresponsible. When customers spend $70 on two meals and two drinks, it’s not unreasonable to expect basic standards of service and some recognition when those standards aren't met. Instead of acknowledging the multiple concerns raised, your reply downplays them and implies we the customers at fault. Firstly, to suggest that the meals arriving 30 minutes apart was due to staggered ordering is misleading. We ordered less than 10 minutes apart, and as a group of four dining together (which the staff were informed of), it's basic restaurant practice that meals should be timed to arrive together. No one wants to eat while the others wait — or worse, eat a cold meal. Secondly, to say we said everything was “fine” to the manager is frustrating. This is because we had not yet received any food so we did not mean the food was fine because we did not have it. This highlights how little effort was made to check in with us during the meal. The claim that staff were cheerful and helpful when we requested a salad contradicts our experience. We were made to feel like an inconvenience, and there was no effort to be accommodating in a way that felt welcoming. We were told you don’t sell salad even though you serve salad with a lot of different dishes. This is especially disappointing as it is a very simple request that requires no cooking. Finally, selling out of key menu items so early in the day is not just a sign of "fresh food and strong demand" — it also signals a lack of preparation. That’s not something to be proud of when it affects customer experience so significantly. There was no apologies for the lack of greetings, no cleaning of the table we sat at, meal check, no water or glasses offered to us, and we were also not given new cutlery. I am not writing this to attack, but to be honest - after all that is what reviews are for. After reading multiple bad reviews from the last few months I see that there is only defence and not apologies for any mistakes. A simple acknowledgment that things didn’t go well would have gone a long way. Instead, your response has only added to the disappointment. I really don’t mean to sound disrespectful but with past experience working at a restaurant I was confused by the staff having pride in how our table was ‘handled’. It could have just been a chance to improve in a positive way. :)

We had a very enjoyable meal. Service was friendly and efficient. The food tasted great. What a wonderful setting and obviously popular. It was good to see diverse groups made welcome.

Fish and chips was really good in my opinion!!!!! The chicken waffles was super good too! Recommended!!!

Love this place. Staff are super friendly, food & coffee are great, and the ocean is only 30 seconds away. It's a go to spot for me every time I'm home

if you are hungry do not come here. The waiters are indifferent and the food takes forever.. The only positive is the atmosphere, which you get to enjoy for a very long time because the food takes a good solid 90 minutes. We are staying at the resort which is the only came back here. We had the same type of service last night, but it wasn't quite as slow as today. go somewhere else!!

Enjoyed our lunch after renting some surfboards and enjoying the waves. Had a mocha which was served with marshmallow which made it a bit sweet. Tried the mermaid latte which was earthy from the turmeric but interesting. Eggs Benedict with the beef brisket was on point as the brisket has crispy, tasty ends. Wife had a land bowl which had a variety of fresh veggies and mashed beetroot. Overall, great food, especially after some time in the water.

A cute little place by the beach with very good food but sometimes spotty service. Good breakfast and expressive drinks.

Came in for a sneaky post-surf brunch and boy oh boy wowee what a ripsnorter. Can see why it's called starfish - shining bright in a dark Dunedin sky and a real rare catch. Haven't seen staff be so helpful since the one Gandalf used in Lord of the Rings. Five out of five stars, or as I now like to say, you're not Dunedin until you've eaten at Starfish. Quality location, staff and product. Lock and load.

Great food and good service The organic burger and lamb shank was huge for 2 Asian and it was amazing

Wow. Just out for drive to St. Clair and came upon Salt. From the Art Deco interior, love lights & walnut walls lovely. The barman 'Richie" cool as. Offered us a few quality beers and recommend the Emerson's IPA - hoppy pale ale, made down the road. It went really well with the cheese rolls. You only fine them in the South Island of NZ. Also check out the "Bedford burgers". Check this place out. Come one - come all.

The Starfish Cafe & Bar in Dunedin is located right at the beach in the neighborhood known as St. Clair. They offer dining inside and outside, upstairs and downstairs. They also have a private dining room upstairs in the back. They offer takeaway coffee and pastries and full meals to eat on the premises. We elected to sit upstairs in the front where we had a great view. We ordered the meat dish of the day (called the "butcher's cut") which turned out to be lamb and we also had a pan fried fish of the day. Both dishes were excellent. They are located only about 10 minutes from Dunedin's CBD.

Such a happening place on the beach amazing staff and great coffee and food you won't be disappointed

Absolutely divine spot out in st Clair. Prime seating on the balcony on a sunny day or inside on a rainy one. Went for a coffee and a snack and was not disappointed. Best cinnamon scrolls in town paired with a coffee is heaven! Served by a super friendly Meg who also happened to make the delicious coffee. Will be returning for the same experience!

Despite this restaurant being slightly pricey, I would definitely return. The staff were super friendly and nice and had excellent service skills. There were a lot of staff working at the time which meant that you were served fast and your food was prepared fast. The food itself was delicious. I had ordered the soup of the day, which at the time was kumara, coconut and chilli I believe. It was also served with ciabatta which was toasted perfectly. My only issue was that the drinks were quite expensive, averaging about $9. However everything else was amazing.

This place is brunch paradise , next to one of the most beautiful beaches in Dunedin . Food was soooo perfect that I don't have enough words to describe . Starfish stack was like a full fledged dream inside the mouth . Softness from ciabatta bread , salt from hashbrown , sourness from baked tomatoes , sweetness from BBQ and smokyness from salmon and last not least perfect creamy not at all overwhelming hollandaise sauce . OMG I can eat this dish everyday . Double fried agrian potatoes was our other dish , it tasted great too , m not sure it was magic of potatoes or hollandaise or the perfectly oozing eggs , the whole combination was top notch . Since the time I landed in NZ , everyone told me that ppl here hate Starbucks , pete etc coz coffee here is amazing , somehow till date I was not convinced but the moment I had a sip of hot cappuccino here , there was no more reasons to be in state of denial , iced coffee was equally good with house made whipped cream . I wish I wud have been staying here longer to have some extra meals .

A bit busy in the mornings, but with good reason. The coffee is excellent. The staff a very friendly. The gourmet pizzas are simply delicious, with a healthy amount of toppings and a perfect base. This place definitely lives up to the hype, it was recommended to me by a local, and I in turn, recommend a visit here.

This is the best breakfast spot in St. Clair, and one of the best in Dunedin. It's often busy, the coffee is very good, and they have some variations on the typical brekkie that are amazing. I love the Dr. Feelgood Trio -- they'll let you substitute any of the juices on the menu for Green Goddess if you wish. I've eaten here a dozen times and never had bad food. It can be quite busy and the service can be slow. The tables are often not properly cleaned and I regularly have to ask for tableware and napkins, but that is not unusual in Dunedin -- no worse than most other places. Highly, highly recommend.

This restaurant got our attention as it was a quick walk from our hotel. Without a reservation, we were quickly seated in a cozy room. The place quickly filled up. The only downside was that there was no fire in the fireplace. It would have made it even cozier and it was COLD. The fish and chips as well as the seafood chowder were high quality. Nice draft beer selection. The sundae for dessert was okay but nothing special but there were several other dessert choices that sounded good. We would return if in the area.

Enjoyed the fish & chips, flat coffee and pastries. Starfish has a live band playing on certain late nights if you're just not ready to go to sleep at 11 p.m.

Have visited this Cafe for Brunch and for tea and coffee runs. Service is really great, fast and all servers are very kind and attentive. It would pay off to reserve a table for brunch since it can get very busy. They are really good about reserving your spot and seating you as soon as you arrive. Their Starfish stack is not only presentable but also delicious. Their hollandaise sauce is not overwhelming and instead of overpowering the whole meal it brings it together nicely. They also have a wide range of Teas to choose from and really great hot chocolate and coffee. It's also great that the location of the cafe allows you to head for stroll down the shore after brunch.

Delightful easy eating with some quite sophisticated preparations belying their cafe setting Map has this cafe located on esplanade. Actually is a few meters around the corner