Black Pearl of Dunedin, Dunedin

Took the wife there for an anniversary date. For starters, the front door is so shoddy it barely stays closed- with entrees being around $40 you think they'd fix the door. The ambiance was okay. Very 1980's out-dated colors, etc. My wine glass was chipped and when we told the waiter, he took it, filed it, and returned it. He then told me that they were is grandmother's glasses. Never heard of a restaurant which makes waiters to bring their own houseware. I got the oven-roasted pork chop. It was okay- wasn't cooked all the way but it was so big I could barely eat half of it. My wife got the parrothead fish. Was supposed to be flakey and not fishy per the waiter. It wasn't. It was very moist...and fishy tasting. The dressing for the house salads was good. Not too many beers to chose from. The music was terrible...Who considers Rod Stewart singing old classic jazz tunes romantic? They tried but certainly are a far ways away from being a four or five star dining place.

Went there after reading up on this super restaurant. Was a fantastic experience in fine dining with superior service. If you are in a hurry this is not for you, it is apparent it is important to the staff and Chef that you ar treated/fed extremely well !! I will be back there soon. Would rather 1 GREAT meal than 2 or 3 mediocre ones and The Black Pearl ie that GREAT meal. Very nice soothing & romantic atmosphere.

My wife and I have dined in restaurants all over this country. Some damn fine restaurants in places like Miami, New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, and some quirky but good restaurants in California and and New York etc.. I only say this to make a point. We know and appreciate good food. To find a Restaurant like the Black Pearl in a little town is amazing. The food - the service - the ambiance ,even the wine list was good. I would have to rate this as good as any restaurant we have ever dined in anywhere. Period. Thanks for letting me add my 2 cents. Andrew

The food might be special, but we will never know. Having heard so many good things about this restaurant, I made our Valentine’s Day reservations many weeks in advance. When we arrived the maitre de asked if we had a reservation. I said that we did and told him my name. He turned away, saying he had some things to do and he would be back. We waited as he stopped at the tables of other dinner guests. When he returned, he checked the reservation book and could not find our reservation (this has never happened to me before). Rather than offer to correct the situation, the maitre de proceeded to explain how their reservation process works. I said that I clearly remembered speaking to a woman when I made the reservation and she had told me that we would have a center table, because there were no more booths available. Unfazed, the maitre de made no offer of accommodation. When my wife pointedly asked him if planned to provide us with a table or not, he finally said he might be able to fit us in somewhere. We said no thanks and left. If you like indifference and a splash of arrogance with your dinning experience, this is the place for you.