Ironic Cafe and Bar

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#8 of 296 Restaurants in DunedinCafe, European, $$ - $$$

What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ironic Cafe and Bar

Review

At a glance

Open until 4:00 PM

, 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Website

+64 3-477 9988Improve this listing

About

Travellers' Choice

2024

**WINNER NZ CAFE OF THE YEAR 2014/2015** OUR FOOD IS FRESH, MODERN AND INNOVATIVE. We source most of our ingredients locally and also use our neighbours at the Otago Farmers Market, Evansdale Cheese, Cairnmuir Central Otago olive oil & fresh fruit & vegetables throughout our changing seasons.

Features

CUISINES

Cafe, European, Contemporary, Healthy, New Zealand

Meal types

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours, Drinks

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

FEATURES

Accepts Credit Cards

Dog Friendly

Full Bar

Gift Cards Available

Highchairs Available

Mastercard

Outdoor Seating

Reservations

Seating

Serves Alcohol

Street Parking

Table Service

Takeout

Visa

Wheelchair Accessible

Wine and Beer

Location

9 Anzac Avenue, Dunedin 9016 New Zealand

Street Parking

Does this restaurant allow dogs or considered pet friendly?

Yes

Unsure

Save this restaurant

Hours

Suggest an edit

Open until 4:00 PM

Sunday

8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Monday

8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Tuesday

8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Wednesday

8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Thursday

8:00 am - 10:00 pm

Friday

8:00 am - 10:00 pm

Saturday

7:00 am - 10:00 pm

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4.4

1,197 reviews

Excellent

796

Very good

248

Average

Poor

Terrible

Royalpha2014

Wrexham22 contributions

Yummy lambs fry

Jan 2025 • couples

The food here is good. I keep returning for the lambs fry with bacon & pepper sauce which is super tasty. The wife says the pancakes are the best she has tasted. The only let down was the service which was extremely slow even though the place was not busy and there appeared to be ample waiting staff.

Written 3 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.

gspotts

Canterbury7 contributions

Sunshine in a sea of grey

Apr 2023 • couples

It was another wet miserable day in Dunedin and tea was desperately needed. My wife and I found this cafe purely by chance after visiting the Railway Station (Stunning Architecture). The cafe was warm and welcoming and although we only wanted tea we were tempted by the scones. They even have Gluten Free ones. We decided to save the scones for later so the staff carefully wrapped them and included plastic knives and pats of butter. They also supplied a carrier bag. We would certainly go again bur 19,000km is a long way to go for lunch.

Written 20 April 2023

Gill O

Ascot749 contributions

Nice place, good food

Mar 2025 • couples

Did not visit as a cafe but in an evening for dinner. Small place with lots of outside seating too. Not overly busy when we were there, but excellent service. Small menu with plenty of choice. Server very helpful and attentive but not interfering. We had a selection of tapas between us and that worked perfectly. Food and drinks arrived promptly, food obviously cooked to order. Would recommend, close to the Railway Station with parking close by.

Written 7 March 2025

Jess G

Hanmer Springs125 contributions

YUCK! An hour of my life I’ll never get back

Aug 2022 • friends

We went in and not only had incredibly slow and disappointing service, but terrible food on top of it all. We ordered beers at the bar to get them and wait for our friend and we’re sent to the table without the beers and waited 10 minutes just for the beer order that we were at the bar for. My friend ordered a wine when she arrived and also waited almost ten minutes for her wine as well before we went up to the bar and retrieved her wine as no one had thought to deliver it after setting it on the bar. We had to wave and ask three times before a server noticed enough to come take our order. The overall experience was already bad, but then our meals arrived. The steak sandwiches were so thin that even a beef snitzel would have been a thicker option for a sandwich. When we were meal checked we expressed our disappointment to which the server said ok I’ll let the chef know and made no effort to repair the situation. The overall meal was bland and an absolute waste of money. When we got up to pay at the till, they asked why we didn’t enjoy the meal. We explained the above and the manager said thanks for the feedback and made zero efforts to make anything right except say “we get that feedback a lot” about the steak sandwich. Omg. If that’s common feedback perhaps make it a meal worthy of coming back for because I certainly won’t be and neither will my friends or anyone we know.

Written 23 August 2022

Jill D

Dunedin2 contributions

Jill

Jun 2022 • family

Was there for lunch with my son and sister. Were given a choice of 2 tables. Went and sat down. Waited for 20 minutes and went and got our own menus from the counter. People came in after us were seated given menus and water and their order taken. We waited and no one came. A waitress did say she would be with us shortly but never came back to us. We flagged down a waiter and our orders were finally taken. We then waited another 30 mins for our meals. One of the meals arrived and it was a very small amount on the plate. Several diners seated near us were given a lot more on their plates for the same meal. My son ordered an iced coffee after his meal and it was another 20 min wait!!! We were given our teas and coffee for free after I let them know when paying that we were disappointed with the service and the very small portion on one of the meals. We felt very let down

Written 15 June 2022

Tony Anthony

Dunedin5 contributions

Don’t waste your money.

Feb 2022 • couples

Food was average, under seasoned with no love, the “award winning” chowder had a fishy frozen cheap taste, and was inedible. My partner had the eggs Benedict sauce was probably out of a bottle and the eggs over cooked. Cabinet food looks all bought In. For someone that is advertising best cafe New Zealand all over the place this was extremely disappointing and expensive for what you get. Not worth the money that they as for it, my opinion ironic is a rip off. Coffee was average.

Written 12 February 2022

Tripper5012

Dunedin99 contributions

Raw poached eggs with poor service

May 2021 • couples

Been to this establishment a number of times in the past and always enjoyed their food and service so it was a bit of a shock to see how this place has deteriorated. Went there for breakfast with another couple today . The staff member was not very friendly when we said we weren’t ready to order . When we did order we ordered 1 poached eggs and bacon 1 pancakes 1 full breakfast 1 eggs Benedict. The poached eggs and the eggs Benedict arrived first . We were not going to start until the other meals arrived but they did not appear at the same time so 2 people watched the other 2 eat their breakfast. It was 10 minutes before the other breakfasts were served . This times it was our turn to watch the other 2 eat their breakfast. The poached eggs were virtually raw as only the outside of the white was cooked . This average price is higher than elsewhere. Just a warning when it comes to paying you will be told if you pay by credit card and pay wave you will be charged another 2.5% so I paid by eftpos using pay wave and was told I paid 2.5 % extra for this bad experience. If I were told that any card using pay wave would attract 2.5 % I would not have used pay wave . It is a bad look to be penny pinching when your food and service is not up to scratch.

Written 12 June 2021

TheRocksKiwi1

New Zealand78 contributions

Food good, service average

Dec 2023 • friends

The food was very nice and I enjoyed the lamb but unfortunately this place is let down by the poor service from the manager. She would be better off leaving staff to serve customers instead. They were also closing very early despite listing their hours as "till late" and sent away several customers. It touts itself as the best cafe in NZ but that was awarded 10 years ago and is no longer relevant.

Written 29 December 2023

Simon G

Rangiora17 contributions

Yummy food in a relaxed setting

Jan 2023 • couples

Lovely relaxed setting, yummy range of delicious food. I had the pancakes and they were light, fluffy and came with a generous serving of maple syrup. Always a plus! Great friendly service - we would definitely visit again.

Written 20 January 2023

Ashleigh K

2 contributions

Highly underrated!

Aug 2022 • couples

Walk past this cafe after the farmers market each weekend and have always meant to pop in. Glad I finally did!! Excellent food, really great service. I ordered a gluten free poke bowl and the chef came out to clarify my dietary requirements which is rare! Really appreciated it. Food was fresh, tasty and generous portion sizes. Would definitely dine here again! Highly recommend.

Written 15 August 2022

Shani

1 contribution

Bad service

May 2022 • family

When we arrived we were greeted with a grumpy person behind the counter and throughout the visit the service was abrupt and when we received our meal we were too nervous to say anything about the fact that our meals were messed up and two of us didn't get the right thing. Afterwards we are now left feeling still hungry and have a dark shadow over our day fron being treated quite rudely. It's been a overall upsetting experience as the cafe is beautiful as well as in an ideal location. It is very sad we won't be coming back here ever again.

Written 12 May 2022

juliegnz

97 contributions

Scones are brilliant

Jun 2023 • couples

We went twice for afternoon scone and coffee. The second day I couldn't see a gluten free scone so I asked and they found me one from the freezer and toasted it. Still delicious. No prices on counter food which seems to be a Dunedin thing but it was reasonably priced. Friendly team and good service.

Written 5 June 2023

Kirstie F

28 contributions

Delicious food with plenty of outdoor and indoor seating

Nov 2023 • family

Outdoor seating and delicious food across from the historic train station. My husband, adult daughters, and I had just visited Sandfly Beach and were very hungry. The pork belly potato skins were just the ticket for me. Their baked goods included gluten free options and the coffee (oat milk flat white since I’m lactose intolerant) was richly flavored. Great find to fuel up before driving to Te Anua!

Written 19 November 2023

feebee10

97 contributions

Amazing food! Couldn’t have faulted anything

Dec 2023 • friends

Amazing dinner and excellent service Couldn’t have faulted anything, service was excellent, were asked if we were happy, food came out hot and promptly. I had 3 courses, while not large servings , was very satisfied and came way full! Steak was cooked perfectly, baked Alaskan was delicious! All our plates were empty and we were all happy, would definitely recommend and we will be back

Written 16 December 2023

stevo

Dunedin7 contributions

Best dinner in dunedin

Feb 2022 • family

From the moment we walked in the door the staff were amazing very professional and very friendly. I had the seafood chowder which was the best i have ever had, my wife had the fillet steak with mushrooms which she loved too , the kids both had fresh blue cod & fries. We loved the decor, food, service and outside fire - we will definitely return !!! Thanks ironic

Written 16 February 2022