1908 Restaurant

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#1 of 1 Restaurant in PortobelloInternational, European, $$ - $$$

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1908 Restaurant

Review

At a glance

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Website

+64 3-478 0801Improve this listing

About

Classic New Zealand dining in a historic character building with courtyard overlooking the stunning Otago Harbour. Open for Lunch and Dinner.

Features

CUISINES

International, European, New Zealand

Meal types

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

FEATURES

Accepts Credit Cards

Free Wifi

Full Bar

Gift Cards Available

Highchairs Available

Outdoor Seating

Parking Available

Reservations

Seating

Serves Alcohol

Table Service

Wheelchair Accessible

Location

7 Harington Point Rd, Portobello, Dunedin New Zealand

Parking Available

Is this restaurant good for lunch?

Yes

Unsure

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Hours

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Closed now

• Opens at 12:00 PM

Sunday

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Monday

Closed

Tuesday

Closed

Wednesday

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm5:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Thursday

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm5:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Friday

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Saturday

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

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4.5

(633)

Excellent

406

Good

160

Average

Poor

Terrible

Nicholas K

3 contributions

Quality Food & Wine at a Great Price

Feb 2025 • friends

Staying for 3 nights at Broad Bay we ate at 1908 on our second of three nights. Experience was fantastic in every respect: great food, fabulous wines, friendly and attentive service, and very good value for the quality. So good that we booked to go again the following night. We had the same wines but largely different dishes. And were looked after by different staff. The experience was just as good and had we been staying another night we would have gone back a third time. Just a great experience. Thank you to all of the team who work so hard to make it such an enjoyable place to eat.

Written 15 February 2025

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jason h

Mosgiel5 contributions

5 star

Mar 2022 • couples

Booked a reservation for our wedding anniversary dinner based on other reviews we read on trip advisor and was not left disappointed. Food was spectacular, I had the seafood chowder (brilliant), ribeye steak (outstanding) and a cheeky wee dessert of berry parfait which topped off an amazing evening. We will be back!!!

Written 25 March 2022

David ML

Hi Jason, glad you enjoyed your evening and thanks for coming!

Written 26 March 2022

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

chimayred

Durham2608 contributions

Glad to see there are 557 other good to excellent reviews!

Jan 2020 • solo

drove the length of the Otago peninsula to see the Albatross colony only to find out that you had to take a fairly expensive tour that was booked for the next 3h. On the way, I had skipped breakfast, and didn’t want to stop for fish N chips or at a Burger King or macdonalds....i knew I’d recognize the right place when I saw it. Very few towns of substance (like...none?) along this very scenic drive (drove down by the water; apparently there’s another inland Highcliff road as well. But there were 2-3 cafes in Portobello and I parked, and as i did saw a sign for this. Looked very interesting, sort of an old inn or old house; went in; beautiful dining areas; met who I think may have been the owner, who seated me out back and told me to take the best seat with a view of the Otago Harbour. I wanted to avoid the usual, esp too much starch, so I got the seafood chowder, which lemme tell you...NZ does as well as anyone, and certainly better than most of the places near me (I’m living in New England. Ours tastes every bit as good, a little different, but most NE chowders load up on the potatoes and NZ hasn’t seemed to learn how to adulterate their chowder, to their credit). Very good. I got a toasted Cajun chicken, pesto and sun dried tomato sandwich that was perfect, both size and flavor. Reallly enjoyed the place. A worthwhile stop and probably a worthwhile destination too if you are in the area and want a beautiful relaxed place near the harbour. If you are in Dunedin proper and looking for a good restaurant that is special this might fit the bill.

Written 20 January 2020

MikeyJP17

Goudhurst127 contributions

Joyless

Nov 2024 • couples

Sadly this was a rather joyless experience. We were seated at a table for 2, but some way apart, at the long ends of a rectangle. When we asked if there was a way one of us could switch sides, so we could be closer, the answer was no; no attempt to deal with the issue. Our server also forgot about our wine and had to be reminded. Our starter, which we shared, was good and liked. My main course, lamb shoulder, was dry and tasteless, accompanied by too much carrot etc in the ‘ballotine’. A jar a sauce was part of the course; but contained only about a tablespoon of sauce. Amazingly mean; I should have asked for more, but already had a bad feeling about the place. My main course was poor value for money. We shared a desert, and helpfully a different server offered to put our shared sundae on two plates. It was quite good, but my wife and I both felt the sundae contained frozen berries. It was noticeable that as soon as it was 8pm the door sign was changed to ‘closed’; a couple arriving at 8.25pm were turned away. I didn’t notice any other customers enjoying themselves; the atmosphere was dull and downbeat. This is a restaurant which needs to up its game! I du

Written 19 November 2024

lizlubee

Santa Fe538 contributions

Decent food but service could have been better

Nov 2024 • couples

We were staying nearby so made a reservation for dinner. It was early when we arrived and there weren't many diners besides us. The setting was quaint and we were pleased there was a vegetarian dish (a tofu curry) on the menu. The service however was rather poor. When we asked questions about the fish offering that evening, the young woman server really couldn't answer them and eventually told me I could "just Google it". I guess it was too much to ask that the server actually knew about the food she was serving. The food was OK but it's probably not a place we would return to.

Written 7 January 2025

Bruce180852

Cornwall1161 contributions

Handy for the camp sites, but expensive.

Feb 2020 • couples

We ate in here whilst staying in the area, we had the choice of here, or the pub, should have chosen the pub. The staff were friendly, the restaurant itself was quite quaint, but the time taken to actually eat after ordering was excessive, 40 minutes for a salmon and lentils..? My wife had the venison. I’m sorry, but I’ve never had a salmon with so little taste, if I’d have been blindfolded, I’d have had no idea what I was eating, and at $31, with such a small portion, I felt completely ripped off, and still hungry, it’s not a big enough meal. My wife’s venison, she says was lovely, but I wouldn’t know, I don’t like it. So our meal came to over $100..? I really think that is excessive for what we received, and the final insult was the $2.50 charge for my credit card. I’m sorry I cannot recommend this restaurant, I’ve had far better in NZ for a lot less.

Written 28 February 2020

Angela M

East Sussex45 contributions

An exceptional restaurant

Mar 2023 • couples

We were so impressed by our first dinner at this delightful restaurant that we booked dinner for the following night and were impressed again. The restaurant itself is light and airy and tastefully furnished. The menu is comprised of a good choice of starters, main courses and desserts. All dishes were nicely cooked and presented. It was a very pleasant surprise to find 1908 and it stood out as one of the best restaurants we found during our 5-month stay in New Zealand.

Written 19 March 2023

Edward Taylor

4 contributions

Delish!

Jan 2022 • friends

Had the salmon dish with lentils, quite nice flavours. The salmon was cooked ver nice, lentils were al dente. The service was good. Had the garlic bread as a starter, the bread was really nice and fresh, garlic was not over power at all nor was it oily.

Written 31 December 2021

QTbased

Dunedin55 contributions

Surprise Delight

May 2022 • couples

We knew this local restaurant had new owners, and we were waiting to see if they changed the menu to offer more variety and creativity than the previous owners. We’re so pleased they have. Not only that but they have freshened up the decor and it now has a relaxed bistro feel. My wife and I had planned a quick dinner, but with so many tempting items we ended up ordering an entree and a main. The seafood chowder and mushroom croquettes were excellent. The lamb shank and pork belly mains were good. The wine list was also good and offered most wines by the glass which allowed us to match our wine choices with our meals. In fact we enjoyed our meals so much we ended up tempted by the dessert menu and the lemon tart was delicious. All in all we are thrilled to have another quality dining option in our area, and fully recommend everyone make the drive out to Portobello to try the ‘new’ 1908.

Written 6 May 2022

jasonrebeccap

Christchurch2 contributions

Fantastic Food and Fine Dining at its Best

Feb 2020 • friends

Visited this restaurant twice in three days for dinner while staying in Portobello. The owners are wonderful and very hospitable with lots of laughter all while receiving amazing food and service at an affordable price. Highly recommend to anybody visiting the peninsula. Five stars for sure. Thanks. Rebecca and Jason Power

Written 5 February 2020

Sarah Paisley Hunt

Dunedin13 contributions

Understaffed

Feb 2022 • couples

Understaffed. Full tables with unimpressed faces. We were seen for any of the 10 minutes we were waiting at the front door (where states to wait to be seated). We watched another couple attend the till to pay, asking for a refund for their food as they had been there for well over an hour. Customers on the dining tables still had their menus, eye rolling with empty drink glasses. Being walked past & ignored once again, we left. It would have been nice to have a small acknowledgment. Recommend putting a full team of staff on if opening on a public holiday as destinations like this are very popular. Such a shame.

Written 6 February 2022

LoisD96

Auckland Central116 contributions

Perfect location when driving the Portobello Road.

Jan 2023 • family

On recommendation, we had lunch at 1908. The menu offered good choices, and the food was not only presented beautifully but tasted great. Old restored building with character. Service perfect, time to enjoy the meal and cleared away when plates were empty. Would recommend and go again

Written 24 January 2023

Joanna PE

Port Huron4 contributions

Surprise in a penguin country

Feb 2020 • friends

Excellent lamb shanks, venison medallions and seafood chowder, finished with passion fruit panna cotta, hot brownie and mixed berry parfait. The proprietor was very attentive and full of good natured humor. It made for an unexpected evening of great food and company.

Written 19 February 2020

traceymains

Dunedin35 contributions

Disappointing!

Jan 2023 • friends

We waited along time for our entree then a further hour for our mains. We had to chase up a drink that didn’t arrive. The girl behind the bar and bringing out our drinks was not happy to be at work and just plonked the drinks down without a hint of a smile. It wasn’t a busy night but I felt the girls were out of there depth. They had no idea about anything. The meals weren’t great… I’ve had better pub meals and I doubt wether we will be back. The meals were way overpriced and to be honest not worth it. When you have to wait that long you get over it pretty quick.

Written 2 January 2023

Pete P

9 contributions

Amazing meal & service

Oct 2020 • none

Visited 1908 Cafe today with family & dog / sat outside in lovely garden dining area / Toilets very very clean along with the entire restaurant. the entire experience was great (Great friendly quick service / beautifully fresh presented meals - Just a great place to dine with family in a relating atmosphere. Would recommend this to any overseas or close family friends - I will be back !! PS - The staff are friendly & very obliging.

Written 23 October 2020