Spirit House Dunedin

"Disappointing experience. We’re generally laid back people who don’t complain, but we will be trying somewhere else next time. When we first arrived, the hostess ignored us for a good few minutes before greeting us and pointing us to our table. Then, our selection of drinks weren’t available, it took a good 15 minutes to get served water which we ended up having to ask for and we never got our entree. Not one person checked on us at any point to see how we were doing or if we wanted to purchase something further…"

"Great cocktails, food was very flavorful and tasty. Lots of veg options. The dishes were relatively large so perfect for sharing and doggy bag for later."

"I made a booking online and was informed that I would have 1 hour and 20 minutes for dinner. That's fine, but if you restrict people to a small time period then you better make sure that you take the order quickly and serve the food in a reasonable time. Neither of those things happened. Sure, it was busy, but that's not my problem. After drinks and entrees, both delivered late, the mains eventually arrived and within 10 minutes my table was informed that we had to vacate the table for another booking. I said that wasn't going to happen and asked to see the manager. The manager came out and instead of asking what the problem was immediately went on the attack and told us we had to leave. She even suggested that she would bring out some containers so we could pack up the food. I had to laugh. I told her she had two options. The first was to pay for the whole meal including drinks (about $220), and we would pack everything in containers and leave in 10 minutes. The second was to not bother us for no less than 30 more minutes. She left and left us alone, but obviously to have had that experience tarnished the dining experience. I then heard them trying to pull that same nonsense on a nearby table, and their reaction was similar in that they complained they should have gotten the food out faster. I went over to that table and, in front of the manager who was telling them they had to leave, told the folks at the table that they (the manager) had tried to pull the same nonsense on me and we weren't leaving. In the end they didn't leave either. What horrible service. I made the restaurant pay for all my drinks for what they did. I will never return to that place."

"Seated next to the window with a gorgeous view out to st Claire's beach, it created the perfect setting for a dinner date! The seating arrangement was slightly cramped but the servers were very accommodating and made it bearable. I ordered the lamb shank in curry sauce and it was served with a side of rice. It was deliciously sweet and instead of curry, reminded me of an intense satay flavour, I wish it could have been a bit more tangy but it was relatively on the sweet side however the sauce was great paired with rice! The lamb was very tender and easy to shave off the bone and the sauce meshed well together with the meat. There were some potatoes in the dish too but that was about it. Would recommend! 3.8/5 For dessert, we shared a cheesecake. The cheesecake wasn't really phenomenal, just an average tarty and creamy thick slice, accompanied with plain vanilla and a side of two lychees. Nothing exciting, but a goodie to finish dinner. 3/5 Overall, enjoyed my time, the staff are very lovely, and the food was decent and ambience pretty enough for a second visit."

"Ordered the Cantonese Sweet and Sour Chicken with steamed rice The chicken is not the best one I've had but it's decent. The dish itself could use a bit more gravy as it made the rice a bit dry to eat. Rice is in a nice portion. Overall a 3.2/5 dish cause it made me miss home. Spaces in the restaurant is a bit congested when it gets crowded. Maybe some Thai songs could be used as background noises to markup the Thai Ambience. The location is also by the sea so nothing could go wrong with a great view towards the ocean. Atmosphere is a solid 4.3/5 Service is great actually. A few flaws would probably be one of the newer servers were in a jersey/ sportslike attire. That could maybe be a bit better but service overall was excellent. Solid 4.7/5"