Over priced and pretentious food – without actually tasting particularly good. For the prices you pay, and for the very small portions they deliver, I would expect the food to be exceptional. It just fails to be so. It is like food from a average cafe but at four times the price.

For a restaurant that is regularly mentioned in Cuisine magazine i thought it was pretty average in terms of food, service and ambience. We arrived around 8pm on a Wednesday night and suddenly noticed how cold it was inside, meals were okay my partner ordered the steak and hand cut chips with some fancy butter i think this dish was pretty plain and could have been cooked at home! wont be in a hurry to go back.

Great place and quiet friendly atmosphere. On both occasions I have eaten there we were lucky to be seated in a comfortable space. But I did note on my way to the toilets that this would be bothersome to the dinners seated in the adjacent tables.

The food was fantastic, well presented and served. This restaurant is a wee gem and I would encourage anyone to eat there. I just hope that they are lucky to be seated in the comfortable areas with no or few distractions so that they can enjoy the great experience.

A beautiful looking bistro with nice detail, although seating was awkward. We entered a very quiet restaurant, and found it frustrating when the waiter seated the next arriving guests directly next to us. The tables along the back row being 30 centimeters apart, and for the rest of the evening we had a awkward meal, hearing the dilemmas of the relationship next to us.

Non alcoholic drinks are limited…. mocktails should be on every menu in the 21st century, sober drivers shouldn’t be limited to a glass of coke or orange juice. I was told they don’t have the resources to make mocktails….. this frustrated me as they have a kitchen full of food and juices to make something creative. Another added issue when we requested a salad for an entree, the chef refused to make anything that wasn’t on the menu… I was shocked that they didn’t have some form of a salad, for a starter or even entree.
I realize it is frustrating when someone orders something that isn’t on your menu but what about the old saying ‘the customer is always right’. Take the money and charge me $30 dollars for a salad… money is not the issue.

The food we did order tasted ok, although it was hard to enjoy re: statement above.

The atmosphere was great. food was fast and tasted great as well as the presentation. service was also good. Good night out.

Drove all the way down from Christchurch and was looking for a quick meal in an unfamiliar town. Found this place, ordered the entrocote with homemade fries and a glass of local beer. Could not have been happy, perfectly seared, seasoned and cooked steak and great fries. Ate there on 3 occasions during my 5 day stay and was happy every time. Will be returning!

For some reason the atmosphere was really bad. I too was seated beside the toilets which was not a great start.

The waitress didnt bother checking if our meal was ok, though it was. Only real issue for me was that i wanted to leave rather than have dessert as i never got settled on the bench type seating.

Mains and starters lived up to their reputation however.

Fantastic – a wonderful dining expereince….. loved the calves liver – yum yum, great service too….. thanks guys. A frequest diner and love it.

Rob

Very disappointing. I felt totally uncomfortable the entire time I was here. I’m young and sometimes get mistaken for a student. But I do not think I should have to wave my money around in order to get good service. We were seated way down the back near the toilet, despite that fact that the place was nearly empty as we were dining quite late. I felt like we were just shoved down there like naughty children. We were upset by the fact that we were constantly being disrupted by people walking past to use the bathroom. This happened four times during our meal. Normally I would not bother to get upset by something to insignificant. But the food was not good either. I felt like they had whipped it up very fast in the hope of getting us out so the staff could go home sooner. I mentioned that my chicken had blood still in it. It was probably alright, but I’m a bit paranoid and I didn’t get sick. The waiter told me he would get me another. I said not to worry because we had ordered a couple of sides and I didn’t feel like I was missing out because there was plenty more food and I knew I would not go hungry. but he shot back “well you’re going to end up getting it for free so you might as well take it anyway”. I was gobsmacked. He also took away my partner’s meal and another side dish of roasted vegetables that we had been sharing before my partner was finished. Not only is it terribly rude to remove someone’s plate while the other person is dining, but to take away the other person’s food while they are still holding their fork?!
The final straw for us was when someone came out of the bathroom and we received the odour of a hefty dump as a contribution to the end of our flavoursome meal of raw chicken.
This is the WORST dining experience I’ve ever had.

I can see why this place was in the Cuisine magazine finalists.
international standards produced right here in Lil old Dunedin…
Some of the hinted flavours in my food I hadn’t tasted in years it was utterly superb. I had the rabbit to start and the veggie tasting plate for mains (I am not a vegetarian but I would highly recommend this plate). My partner had the shredded duck soup and steak for main. He could not fault it saying it was the best food he has eaten in Dunedin. Dessert was divine but what I enjoyed most was a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon chosen with advice from the attentive staff that explored my preference for taste and matched to both mine and partner’s meals (I was blown away at the wine selection) served in huge wine glasses enhancing the wine experience.

Great food, great wine as always. This is a quality dining experience. The only issue would be the cold draught during winter as the door opens straight up onto the street. Maybe this will be changed in the future. But don’t change the food or wine! Class!

Our experience at this restaurant was one to be remembered. The quality of service and food was excellent. We enjoyed how our waitress was very helpful and prompt with service. The wine list was very nice, as was the very interesting menu. Although some of the ingredients we did not understand, our waitress was helpful when asked questions. Loved how there were many game dishes available. I had a quail entree which was cooked to perfection, as was the main course i tried, the pork belly which was also cooked great, seasoned very well. The Parfait was also perfect. All of my other quests were very very happy with their meals. We tried the rabbit, seafood broth, game fish, crayfish, rib eye and lamb rump, which were all very well presented. Plates were cleared promptly and drinks were offered again. Waters were always fresh and the atmosphere was great. Its always nice to dine in a restaurant were the wait staff are dress smartly and linen on the table is given. Highly recommended and would definitely dine again!!

Cannot agree with the first two reviews and by comments from others customers we were not alone.
We had wonderful service not stuffy prompt and friendly. The wine list was excellent. An inspired menu, most notably the entrees where game featured. Our dishes were above expectation perhaps my squid and water melon could have been larger – but very well priced. The atmosphere is European probably a little sparse for some but it works well.

When you travel you are always looking for something a little bit special.After reading the awesome review in Cuisine this was the place.The 2 Chefs Bistro…..a contradiction in terms really.There was more than 2 chefs and by the food they were clearly not chefs.My langoustine was so over cooked and the insipid flavoured sauce well thats something I’ll never forget.Shame cracking building.And it would have helped if the floor staff were more aware of customers outside of cleaning.

Lovely fit out however one of the biggest disappointment Ive had.Extremely cold when we dined 2 of my guest had jackets covering their legs and the other wore a scarf for the duration….wasn’t picked up on by waiting staff, lighting was so dim you could just about read the menu.Well the food is not particularly great very safe and boring wasn’t one item on the menu that grabbed me.When the food arrived it tasted of the fridge which isn’t a good taste..Extremely disappointing and basically boring.The whole place doesn’t seem to gel the menu and fit-out really don’t match..which is a shame.No salt on the table which was needed and to be offered pepper before you have even tried your food is very amateur and expected in a cheap pasta chain restaurant not in an establishment where you are paying for quality.This is a disappointment.

Excellent food and superb service. The only (minor) quibble was it was quite noisy and hard to hear the other end of the table of six. This was on the upper level and it may have been better downstairs. Highly recommended.