starfish cafe & bar

we were looking for something a little bit delightful with some nice seafood for a early evening meal in st clair. this appeared to fit the bill. it's not obvious when you enter but there is a dining area upstairs as well and this was a more inviting environment that the downstairs area so i was pleased.  

there were a number of times on the menu not available that evening - and i would rather food be fresh or not availably - but it limited choices and an inventive chef i though could have created a couple of substitutions as specials. the dish i wanted came with skinny fries so i was pleased when i asked if it could be replaced with thick cut fires (which were featured on another dish) that this was not a problem.

the food came quickly and was really well presented. i really wanted a sparkling water and was surprised that this time was not stocked.the wait staff were a little hit and miss but none of that would prevent me giving this place another go if we were in town.

this place is hard to rate. i'd recommend coming here for brunch and they have a good selection of takeaway cabinet food. 4.5 for that sort of thing. we've had dinner here though and that was bland - seemingly tailored to not offend (low in heat/spice on things that need it like tacos for example).  much better places within 60 seconds walk to grab dinner.  also, beware of primetime brunch, place can suffer from making too many coffees too fast (burntish).

i went to the starfish cafe with a friend for brunch on a sunny saturday. to say that the place was heaving would be an understatement but we managed to find a table inside by waiting a few minutes or so.

we both ordered the ‘famous’ starfish stack - i don’t know who or what made it famous but it was basically a large wedge of toasted bread with bacon, hash brown, a sweet chutney/relish, poached egg and hollandaise sauce. it was tasty but not spectacular.

we had two flat whites - lukewarm and pretty average.

the one thing that did stand out was their cheese rolls - lovely flavour and consistency but be warned, do not let the cheese touch your skin - it’s volcanic hot!

located right next to st clair beach, starfish is always bustling with energy! i have been here on numerous occasions, usually to get away from north dunedin, and love the bright beach vibes of this super café. it is somewhere that you can take your grandma for brunch or a place that you and a mate can go to for a quick coffee. something that i love is their "beetroot latte" & "tumeric latte"; how pretty, creative and tasty!! i have tried many of the dishes on their expansive menu and have never been disappointed. also, a special shout out for their beautiful interior. the only downside would be that it is on the pricier side of café food, however i do feel that it is really good quality food so is still worth it - @gastrogeeny

quality isn't what it once was. i ordered the mexi bowl and my partner (a chef) both agreed that it was under flavoured, seemingly missing any salt or pepper.
coffee was also not very good on the day.
on a positive, still rate the cabinet food.

first time: we had breakfast early. was ok food, coffee ok, daughter liked her smoothie. nice place though we didnt feeel it was that clean on the day we were sitting outside.

second time: we had drinks and nibbles. great service. good price and the food was yum. the decor and relaxed ambience inside and out was very nice.

third time: came with the kids again for drinks and snacks. the service was consistent, helpful, attentive, and friendly. everything felt clean, the food was good.

fourth time: came for our first evening meal. again the service was excellent, not over bearing but friendly and helpful. asked if our meal was ok berfore we finished them. both of us had the grilled salmon and we both agree it is the nicest and most memorable meal we have had in a long time. beautifully cooked salmon with a delicious range of flavours and textures - was totally yum!

you will regularly find me at starfish cafe sipping on a coconut milk mochaccino.

the place is wonderful, cafe-styled food made with quality ingredients and customer service is great. the cafe is strategically placed in from to the beautiful st. claire beach.

recommend this to anyone and everyone who is passing by the greater dunedin area.

beautiful food at a very nice location. friendly staff that made the lunch an enjoyable experience. i have traveled a long way to get to this part of the world and felt it was worth it just even to be at this restaurant.

i use to buy hot drinks from this place quite a lot whenever i was around the esplanade. recently, i bought a delux hot chocolate and unfortunately there was nothing delux about it at all. i was expecting it to be grand. i won't buy it again, but whenever i'm at starfish i'll buy something else from their menu.

great place to stop by, right next to the beach and easy to find carpark.
we ordered creamy fish and shrimp chowder and kumara bacon and spring onion cakes. they were both amazing.

i had the fish and prawn chowder which was delicious and served with nice bread. good coffee as well. the atmosphere is also really fantastic, laid back but with good food. there are two floors, so plenty of space to sit outside or inside. on a sunny day i'd definitely recommend coming here and sitting outside with a wine or beer, and enjoying the view.

starfish always provides nice food with a great vibe!. the breakfasts are amaze balls, try the breakfast stack.. its a winner. love the renovations. love the coffee, love the atmosphere. always great!

we went for lunch to check out the new setup there. the line to order went super slowly however the food came out quite quickly once ordered. nice coffee and really good burgers. we had a nice spot in the sun as well. nice atmosphere however now i'm slightly burnt :)

great coffee and love the food!

me and my friend went here for lunch and enjoyed some really really delicious lunch!! service was great too and the food came out in less than 10 minutes! all in all a really great place!