LBQ drops anchor for one night, trading its usual warmth for something saltier. Long communal tables, low light, rope and timber, and the Pōneke Shanty Club leading the room through some rousing singalongs. Sea shanties were never written down. They travelled port to port, voice to voice, and that's exactly how the evening works. By the second set the room is carrying the chorus. Between the music, anonymous dockside confessions are read aloud and become part of the night's folklore. Food is hearty and built for winter: slow-braised beef cheek and dark ale pie, or roasted kūmara and caramelised onion pie to start. Char-grilled market fish or a smoked mushroom and lentil wellington to follow, and a spiced rum sticky pudding or dark chocolate and sea salt tart to close. Your ticket includes three courses and three drinks. Choose from curated beer, rum, or non-alcoholic ginger beer.

For August, LBQ becomes The Siren Song Tavern, a place where sea folk, land folk, and the windblown commuter gather to drink, converse, and trade tales of the ocean and whatever waits beyond Oriental Bay. This is where sailors would gather if they'd discovered craft beer. Expect proper tavern fare built for winter nights and long conversations: slow-braised beef and dark ale pie with mash and winter greens, lamb shoulder with rosemary jus, roasted kūmara and caramelised onion tart. Behind the bar: ales worth docking for, rum with backbone, rotating New Zealand craft options, and two house cocktails brewed exclusively for the Tavern. Dishes pair with beer and rum, the kind of food that keeps you steady while the stories grow taller. Come in out of the southerly, find your crew, add your version to the legend.

Pulled pork shoulder, with Kāpiti smoked cheddar, jerk coleslaw, pickles, onion crisps, potato crisps, and rum BBQ sauce in a seeded brioche bun, with paprika-salted crinkle-cut chips and jerk mayonnaise.