Fantastic food and atmosphere. Great service. Well worth a visit if you are in Dunedin. My Australian friends want to go again when they are over in March. The seafood chowder is the best I have tasted and the lamb shanks, well what can I say, melt in your mouth, the beer ain’t bad either. Take the brewery tour, well worth the time and you can serve yourself some beers afterwards, free of course.

Sorry but was disappointed in this one. Ordered a meat & cheese platter from the menu but the food was not very well thought through. The medium sized option had enough meat for 3 people so couldn’t eat it all, there were no condiments to accompany the meat, some relish or mustard would have been nice. Some of the meat had that fridgy rancid taste. The beer saved the day!

My partner and i dine at Speights Ale House every year for our anniversary and it has never failed to impress! i order the same thing EVERY time..(Chicken Parcel’s) ooohhhh 2 die for =*) the whole experience is always outstanding. However there has been only 1 time (partners 30th with his close family) where the main meal plates were cleared before every1 had finished eating, this made the 1 person feel very uncomfortable and pushed her plate away without finishing and she was only 1/2 way thru her meal which she was thoroughly enjoying =(. was a lil disappointing. BUT we will always be a fan and will return many times and this is still my fave restaurant! tops

This place needs no more recommendation. ALWAYS good! The one time when things went a little awry, a free meal was given and complimentary drinks for the whole table. Excellent.

I’ve only been to this restaurant once for a friend’s birthday party but this is probably the best sit down restaurant in Dunedin I have encountered so far. We had a large group (about 10 of us) and we got our appetizers within minutes and our mains a few minutes after – speedy and incredibly delicious. I recommend the Drunken Steak with Mushroom Sauce: Heaven!

excellent food, great service and reasonable price. i love the highland lamb, tender and succulent

The food is great! good sized meals with really reasonable pricing. Have been back heaps! Try the Black cherry chicken.

My family and I loved it. Coming down from Auckland for my graduation, I had forgotten to book us in for dinner here, but Wendy was able to get us in early and my parents loved it. The atmosphere was comfy, the food was great, and the service was top notch! Great Dunedin experience eating here.

Thanks again Wendy!:)

Lunch was okay, nothing terribly special

My friends and I dine out once a week and, while we occasionally like to try different places, we always find ourselves coming back to the Ale House.

Why? Because the food is consistently excellent, the staff are all friendly, efficient and accommodating, the menu has enough variety to suit all tastes, the meals are generous for a very reasonable price and not once – even when they’re incredibly busy – have we had to wait an excessive length of time for our meals.

I’ll happily recommend the Ale House to friends, family and strangers alike.

p.s. Try the Black Cherry Chicken or the Chicken Phyllo Parcels — yum!

We have just eaten at the Ale House this past weekend, 6th April, one of us is strict vegetarian, he had the spinach and pinenut filo parcels, his meal was a piece of art, and he said he would put it down to the best meal he has ever had for taste and presentation. I had the lamb shanks – best lamb shanks I’ve had. And my partner had the drunken steak and he was very impressed. The meals are large,very satisfying and beautifully presented. Top effort to the chefs and the staff involved. We will be back! Many thanks.

You could say that its expensive pub food, or a cheap restaurant. I think it’s found it’s way beautifully down the middle. Great for catching up with friends over a good meal, and good beer.