Overview
Dine Dunedin will return to the South Island's second-largest city from Friday, August 6—Sunday, August 22, showcasing the region's finest food and drink. The aim of the annual festival is to prove that the student capital has more to offer than just instant noodles and room-temperature Speight's.
There are four ways you can get a taste of Dine Dunedin in 2021, including one-off events, set menu lunches, self-guided burger tours and beverage tastings. Highlights from the first lineup include a dinner party in a 1900s merchant house, Black Friday feasts at secret locations across the city, a Logan Brown and Emerson's collaboration dinner and boutique spirits workshops.
Those who enjoy the finer things in life can sign up for a chauffeured progressive dinner. Four diners will be whisked away in a high-performance sports car to three of the city's finest spots for first-class food and drink matches, including Larnach Castle for the entrée, Tītī for the main course, and Luna for dessert and a nightcap.
Local chocolate heroes Ocho are opening for a special evening with Cardrona Distillery. There will be chocolate, a collection of fine spirits and liqueurs, and a few stories. Elsewhere on the lineup, KiwiHarvest and Precinct will be turning rescued food into dinner, chef Hagar Ozri will teach the key aspects of running an eco-kitchen, and The Press Club will serve up seven courses for dinner. You can't have a food and drink festival in Otago without mentioning the 'Pride of the South' — Speight's and Evansdale Cheese will pair the local brew with a selection of cheeses for $30 per person.
Visitors looking to become part of the Dunedin Burger Society will have a lineup of mouthwatering creations to tick off. Previous burgers have featured Danish gravy and roast pork, haggis and neeps, and local tahr and venison.
Dine Dunedin runs across Dunedin from Friday, August 6—Sunday, August 22. For more information, visit dinedunedin.co.nz.