Esplanade Menu

Esplanade brings Italian dining to the edge of Saint Clair beach, placing pizza, wine and cocktails directly beside Dunedin's surf. Its long daily service gives the room several personalities: breakfast begins at 8am, the beachfront setting suits a relaxed midday stop, and pasta or wood-fired pizza can carry the table into the evening. Ocean views are part of the attraction, but the restaurant is more than a scenic cafe. Reservations, a private room and a full bar support celebrations and planned dinners as comfortably as a spontaneous meal after a walk along the shore.

Breakfast speaks Italian without losing the ease of a neighbourhood morning menu. French toast comes with mascarpone, apple and amaretti, while smashed avocado is sharpened by preserved lemon, chilli and ricotta. A crisp calzone encloses prosciutto cotto, ricotta and basil pesto, and the savoury choices deepen through nduja-buttered scrambled eggs, porchetta toasties and osso buco ragu on focaccia. Even the more substantial plates, such as poached egg with bacon slab, roast potato and basil mayonnaise, use recognisably Italian accents rather than borrowing a theme only for the dinner service.

Later in the day, antipasti make it easy to build a shared opening course. Arancini with saffron and mozzarella sit beside baked cheese with truffle oil, clams in white wine, fried calamari and fish, pork and beef meatballs, and roast-mushroom bruschetta. The pasta selection then moves from gnocchi with osso buco ragu to lamb-shoulder pappardelle, spinach and ricotta ravioli, beef and pork lasagne, and butternut risotto with walnut. Wood-fired pizza completes the restaurant's central promise, giving groups room to mix small plates, pasta and slices rather than commit to a single format.

Wine and cocktails belong naturally in the dining sequence, fitting a venue that can shift from sunny breakfast to an evening by the water. Desserts, takeaway and gift vouchers add flexibility, while gluten-free and dairy-free options are marked across the current menus. The kitchen updates those menus regularly, so the experience stays connected to the season even though its Italian foundation remains clear. For diners, the appeal lies in that balance: a casual beachfront atmosphere, serious breadth from morning to night, and food with enough detail to make the view only one reason to linger.

Address: 2 Esplanade, Saint Clair, Dunedin 9012, New Zealand

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