Northern Tavern is an Invercargill sports pub with enough food behind the bar to stand as a dining destination in its own right. The venue sits on the corner of St Andrew and Sydney Streets, combining a restaurant and function area with a screen-filled sports bar, TAB facilities and a bottle store. That arrangement lets different visits take different shapes: a meal can be the main event, a live game can set the agenda, or a group can gather around familiar pub dishes without needing a formal restaurant setting.
The main menu is built around substantial Southland pub fare. Roasted pork shoulder comes with vegetables, gravy, crackling and apple sauce, while the lamb-and-onion pot pie is baked under puff pastry and served with vegetables. Foveaux Strait blue cod brings a distinctly local element, beer-battered and paired with tartare, salad and fries. Schnitzel, steak and chips, pork ribs and chicken-and-bacon pasta complete a line-up designed for diners looking for a full plate rather than a token bar snack. The choices move between roast dinner, seafood, fried favourites and grill staples without becoming just a burger list.
Sandwiches and burgers give the menu a more casual route. There are steak and chicken sandwiches with layered fillings, along with beef, chicken and vegetarian burger choices. Elsewhere, flash-fried squid comes with salad and a Thai-style dipping sauce, and the crispy chicken salad balances fried chicken, bacon and brie with vegetables, cashews and house vinaigrette. The kitchen also invites diners to discuss allergies and dietary requirements, useful in a menu where sauces, crumbed dishes and shared snack plates all need a little attention.
Separate snack, children's and Gold Card menus make Northern Tavern workable for more than the late-evening sports crowd. Guests can call in for something quick, settle around a meal during a match, or arrange catering and a function in a dedicated part of the premises. The combination of broad food choices, multiple viewing screens and group facilities gives the venue its community-pub character. It is best approached as a place to eat and gather, with the sporting atmosphere adding energy rather than replacing the kitchen.
Address: 40 St Andrew Street, Invercargill 9810, New Zealand
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