Went here for my birthday after hearing great things I just had to go. The meat was just perfect everyone’s on the table cooked just right. The salad bar was also great. Loved the banana salad and the egg salad, Would return again Thanks for a great night out.

We’re from the US and have had trouble finding a good steak here (grass fed and all that). Usually very tough. So, being in Dunedin on Christmas eve and knowing no one we just walked in. In a nutshell:

The staff was very attentive

The steaks were cooked to perfection, and the meat was tender and juicy.

The cook (who I believe is also the owner) came round to every table and checked to make sure that everyone was happy with the way their meat was prepared.

The salad bar was good staple fare; nothing fancy but I enjoyed everything.

I’d definitely recommend this place.

Can’t go past The Huntsman for the best steak in town, and we have tried a few. Steaks cooked to perfection and nothing is a problem if you want to alter the meal. Peter is a great host and has a fantastic memory. One of the few chefs in town who will actually cook things as you have asked even though he may not agree. We are working our way through menu.

We were given a discount voucher to this restaurant where you get $30 off, it was just as well. We got there just after it opened and were greeted cordially enough by a young guy at the counter. We were seated in a booth with lots of brochures on the table and the menu was explained to us. Free salad bar/help yourself. It was freezing in there. The guy bought over a heater that did not appear to work at all. We had our jackets over our legs to keep warm. I inspected the salad bar and there were only three there. They hadn’t yet stocked the salad bar. I didnt think it was that good to be open for business and the place is freezing cold and the food is not ready. We were given menus and given a chart to indicate differences between rare, medium rare etc. Good idea except someone forgot to show it to the chef. I ordered beef steak which was past the medium rare i asked for. Wife had venison steak. She had three pieces one was okay the others hard and dry. Problem was they were irregularly cut with thin and thick ends almost impossible to cook properly. Mains were $32 or $33 each and came with two baked potatoes that had been reheated to warm.
The salad bar was boring, shredded red cabbage, grated carrot, watery coleslaw, potato salad pasta gerkins olives and pickled onions. The curried eggs were quite nice.
To add to the experience an older man who appeared to be the owner was busy negotiating a business deal with a guy at the table behind us in quite a loud voice. A bit unprofessional really. If it wasnt for the 30 dollar voucher we would have felt really ripped off.

Wow. How to explain the delights of this restaurant? We dined there less than an hour ago and it’s a place we will go again! The menu is varied but if you go to a steak house, you ought to stick with what they are best at. The way the steak is cooked is clearly explained, with pictures, so that even those whose brains are frazzled will know what they are ordering!

We had the steak with peppercorn sauce, cooked medium. It was absolutely wonderful. The roast potato was a lovely accompanyment and the salads were sensational. I loved the kumara and orange one and went back for seconds. My husband tried some of everything, even the one that I shied away from, (the reviewer below seemed to enjoy it, so next time, I’ll try it!) the banana salad.

We didn’t have dessert; it would’ve been a struggle to move if we had! Again – that’s for next time. We really enjoyed the ambience. The service was attentive without being intrusive. We were able to thank the chef for his skills – and that means a lot. We’re all too quick (as humans) to complain when we’re dissatisfied, so a few praises don’t go amiss!

We look forward to dining there again . . . and again . . . and again! Thank you, Huntsman Steakhouse!

Came here last night with my boyfriend for a birthday dinner and while the service was very friendly and efficient, the food could have been better.

The entrees we ordered were squid rings and blue cod, and I thought they were overpriced for the quantity received. The squid rings were only average and while the blue cod was better, three small pieces for $15 seemed over priced.

The mains were tasty, but again, over priced. The unlimited salad bar was sub standard, considering that there were no leaf salads available- mainly consisting of carbohydrate-heavy potato salad, kumara/pumpkin salad and the like. My boyfriend commented that the smell of the banana salad had permeated the other salads, and that this was off-putting.

In short, tasty mains but overall I have definitely experienced better.

I come here often. The only bad thing i could say about this place is that if you eat a steak here you cannot go anywhere else again. I ate here and loved the steak, easily the best I’ve ever had. Then I went to Angus it was rubbish in comparison, then lone star- rubbish, belmacewn no 7 -rubbish. This place has ruined me! I can’t buy a steak anywhere else again, because this steak is that GOOD. I think this inside looks awesome, however the outside decor should be upgraded a bit, neon lights do not match the old time British look on the inside. This place is Dunedin’s best kept secret.

My husband and I eat out fairly regularly and while we like to try new places we always find it really hard to go past the Huntsman because of the great meals and the salad bar. I (to most chefs horror) like my steak well done and it has always arrived at the table perfectly cooked. The peppercorn sauce is to die for and don’t even get me started on the salad bar! The Banana salad in fantastic. I have never left this restaurant disappointed and the staff & Peter always check that everything is to our liking. Keep up the great work guys! See you soon.

My partner and I came here recently for dinner and we both had satisfying meals. I have been here a few times in the past and have always enjoyed the food, which is why I returned.
I thought the salads were even better this time around, I really liked the banana salad, I had to keep going back for more, I had never had anything like it before! It was delicious.
The steak was cooked to perfection and worth every penny as far as I am concerned.
The only thing that was a bit strange was the way one waitress was talking to another-she seemed angry and annoyed that the other waitress was working at a slower pace than her and was letting it be known! I felt sorry for the poor young girl who was trying her best!
Apart from that…well done guys! A friendly establishment with a homely feel and hearty well cooked food

We had a meal at Hunstsman recently and could not believe the absolutely exhorbitant prices! The prices are what we would pay for a five star restaurant and yet these meals were just pub meals.The steaks and salad bar were okay for a pub meal-if we’d paid pub meal prices. We have had far nicer, and much more reasonably priced meals at mitchells! We sat in little booths reminiscent of 1970′s style restaurants. The waitress was pleasant but only asked us for drink order once and we never got asked if we’d like dessert or coffee at all. Certainly not a place we’d ever return to.

My partner and I decided to have the lasagna and chilli con carne, just to try them out. Unfortunately they were rather unpleasant. The lasagna was basically a bowl of melted cheese and sauce and seemed like it had been taken out of the freezer and microwaved. The chilli con carne was a slop of unknown proportions and was no better.

Although this is a steakhouse attention still needs to be given towards non-steak meals.

The steaks were cooked perfectly and were very nice. The salad bar was disappointing, although after my steak I could hardly fit anything else in!

Unfortunately there were only two people working when we went (one chef and one waiter) but nearly a dozen customers in the restaurant which made it a bit of a wait.

The garlic bread was just two rolls with a bit of butter, I wouldn’t recommend it.

My family were regulars while under the previous owners and my son and I could never see past getting anything but the “special” called the RBT. We called in recently to see if the RBT is still as nice as it used to be, and to our surprise its now even BETTER!
I also like the new seating arrangements as you don’t feel so closed in now.
Wonderful food, great service and an excellent and most attentive waiter

After consuming enough beer to kill a horse I travelled through town and found this Restaurant. The food – okay , Service terrible. I asked for a refund on the steak I had bought, It was declined as “I had already eaten the steak”. The steak was NOT well done, it was raw. I want my refund please. Thank you and good night.

We had a work function at the Huntsman recently. The steaks were large and delicious – the potatoes were great – and there were plenty of salad options to choose from. The service was good – and it was particularly nice to have the owner come through for a chat, and one of the staff agree to take a group photo for us. All in all a great night out.

We ate here at Huntsman for the first time last night and I can’t fault it. The service was great (the young waiter was not only efficient but also a fun personality), the food arrived in good time, the restaurant is clean, attractive and carries a cosy atmosphere, the all-you-can-eat salad bar is always an asset to a restaurant and last but not least the food was absolutely delicious! The roast potatoes are to die for and the garlic prawns are sensational. The people in our group who had steaks all reported that they were cooked to the requested amounts and were great. The owner is very caring of his customers and I am told he regularly comes out to chat and check that they’re happy with their meal; he did this with us. I am from Nelson but will definately return to Huntsman next time we’re passing through.

This was without a doubt the worst dining experience I have ever had, though the waitress was polite and cheerful the service was slow and disappointing.

The entree (Squid Rings and a Garlic Bread) was well below parr being some sort of reconstituted Squid with no taste and the Garlic Bread was a over toasted bread roll with little Garlic butter.

The wait for the mains was long and the meal when it arrived was disappointing with neither of our steaks cooked to our specifications also the lack of choice and the lack of flavour with the salads was also once again disappointing and changing from a nice baked potato to a deep fried potato not a good move.

I have eaten at the Huntsman for 32 years on and off and all I can say to the new proprietor is if something isn’t broke than dint fix it!!!!!!!!!

Things should have been left the way they were because that recipe worked.

Overall was abit disapointed at the quality of the food considering how much we were charged for an average meal for 2 compared to other restaurants.

The only positive i can say was the service from the waitress and the steak being good, everything else that comes with it wasnt nice at all.

All in all, we probably wouldnt dine there again.

Great service! the owner is wonderful, and the chef, Tom, was absolutely wonderful! He even came out to the tables to check how everything was!
The steaks are the best I have ever had, the lamb was amazing, and their soups are great as well!
Might want to go with a reno’ in the near future, but other then that, keep up the good work!!

The staff are very helpful. There’s a salad bar so you can choose what you want with your steak as opposed to the generic salad on the side most places do.

Most importantly they do the most delicious steaks I’ve ever had!

Me and my partner went for dinner for our anniversary a wee while back. At first i couldnt get use to the really odd atmosphere, but the service was good and it was the most amazing steak ive ever had!! i can’t wait to go back

I was really disappointed. The meat was over-priced and served sparingly, and with no other options bar the salad bar and the baked potato. The salads were an odd, limp selection and the potato simply boring.

A very good meal and wonderful salad bar. My husband always enjoys the steak and I enjoy a variety. Very good service. I know it changed hands but the food is still as good as it ever was. Nice for a quiet Sunday night meal. Have probably been going there for over 30 years.

A great friendly small restuarant with reasonably priced food – mostly steaks, but fish and vegetarian options are available.

Salad bar was refreshing and had great variety.

Service was genuine and friendly.

Nothing fancy but a good hearty REAL meal-”Steak Mignon” was a treat