Pub spy: Empire Tavern

Empire Tavern on Nelson Street, Auckland. Photo / Jason Dorday

It's always good to drink in a place with a little bit of history around it and there aren't too many more historical pubs than the Empire Tavern, which I visited recently after a long absence.

There has been a pub on the site since 1866, when the Perth & Dundee Hotel opened there, followed by the Empire, which was built around 1870. It was a time of speculators, conmen, violent sailors, thirsty loggers and ladies of negotiable affection, or the Golden Age of Auckland as it is sometimes called.

Through it all, the Empire has withstood time and the changes of fashion and law that put paid to so many of its contemporaries. Back in 1870, there were 91 pubs for a population of 13,000. To get the same coverage today, you'd need 9800 bars.

Down the years the Empire has played host to some characters, not least the Bassett Rd murder gang and it wasn't too long ago that it was possible to find Bill Ralstons and Mark Sainsburys in the wild, wandering the spectacularly good garden bar and bellowing. It's still possible to spot the odd TVNZ face in the bar, if you are that way inclined.

I wasn't there for micro-celebrity hunting, however. I was there for a beer and while the Empire was never the most adventurous of bars beer-wise, it had always been well kept and served promptly and courteously. Nice to see that the service hasn't changed. Our drinks were presented well by a smiling bartender, who offered us menus as well. The food is standard pub fare, with a couple of unusual dishes, such as the venison carpaccio. It's designed to stick to the ribs and it certainly does that.

The burger was better than good, although She Who Must Be Obeyed found the pork a little on the fatty side. In fact it was hard to find the actual pork, but perhaps it had been a busy day for pork bellies. Anyway, the beer was good, if a bit limited in variety, and the wine list both interesting and reasonable and despite the desperate search for meat in one of the meals, I'd be more than happy to come back and start drinking regularly at the Empire again.

Scores

Service: 4/5
Drink: 3.5/5
Food: 3/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5