The student bar's make-over has seen a mural of an octopus and of Captain Cook, seemingly filling his own beer mug, grace the side of the premises on the corner of Albany St and Great King St.
Captain Cook Tavern general manager Stu Munro told The Star Dunedin artist Adam Parata was commissioned to paint the murals.
Mr Munro said the Captain Cook mural was planned but "it's not supposed to look like that".
However, artist Adam Parata said the managers of the tavern had seen sketches before he went ahead and were pleased with it.
[comment caption=What do you think of the Captain Cook mural?]"I have had some people comment on it, but it was not intended that he looked like he was peeing into his cup," Mr Parata said.
"It was a commissioned work. It's Captain Cook and it's the Captain Cook Tavern."
The mural, which took Mr Parata a few days to complete, would be staying, Mr Munro said.
The Captain Cook Tavern closed on December 23 and reopened last week after undergoing major construction throughout the building.
Mr Munro would not put a figure on the cost of the overhaul, which included new booths in the beer garden, installation of additional windows and a new kitchen, but said it had been "enough".
The new kitchen has a pizza oven and comes with a menu of five different pizzas.
"We have kept it simple; it is still a student pub, but we do want to increase our customer base," Mr Munro said.
Last Thursday, the Captain Cook Tavern held an unofficial version of its annual Cookathon. Mr Munro told The Star that the unofficial event was "good, very good, no drama at all".
However, some students were disappointed that alcohol prices had not been lower, with some blaming the recession. The owners of the tavern had been told they would risk losing their licence if the all-day event, which included cheap meals and drinks, went ahead.
