“What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?”
There’s a few actually. Richard Langston, who’s a friend, his 40th birthday at the Arc Cafe in Dunedin. It was a band with Bob Scott from the Bats and the Clean, Martin Phillipps from the Chills and Alan Haig on drums…
– John Campbell in Real Groove, May 2000.
Arc Cafe itself is an internet cafe by day (and did I mention free?) and Dunedin’s primary band venue by night. On any evening you’re likely to bump into at least one person who featured on the Scarfies soundtrack, and you’re bound to have a whale of a time.
– Anna Thomson, Caught in the Net, Capital Times (Wgtn), 2000.
If only there was an Arc in every town.
– NZ Musician, June/July 2000.
Definitely left of centre, but if you want to take a walk on the wild side of Dunedin’s cafe scene check it out, right across the road from the venerable Southern Cross Hotel. Very cheap but very edible vegetarian cuisine including chunky pizza, pasta and lasagnes. There’s a resident sculptor next door and internet sites out back. The coffee has real chutzpah too.
– Good Food Guide, North and South magazine, June 1998.
Wonderful Arc Cafe would be an asset in any city: out front there’s a laid-back, grungy bar-cafe with mismatched tables and a gentle, welcoming vibe from the be-dreaded staff and drinkers; in back there’s a dark live-music venue where fine bands play to packed crowds, or lousy bands play for their own entertainment. Good for a midday coffee or a late night beer. The vegetarian fare here is some of the best (and certainly the healthiest) options for late-night snacking.
– Lonely Planet:
Dunedin's Arc Cafe and Arclife Records Archive 
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