Guidebook for Auckland
Food Scene
The long tradition of the New York Jewish delicatessen has been honoured at The Fed, Al Brown’s Auckland homage. You’ll find matzo ball soup, house pastrami, reubens and latkes, but there’s also glorious Montreal poutine, lemon meringue pie and damn fine cherry colas. We love the seamless, smiling service and the soothing background hum of chefs at work, audible from the open kitchen. Cosy wool blankets make pavement dining possible year-round.
BEST SERVICE WINNER
Havana or Coffee Supreme
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Federal Delicatessen
86 Federal StreetThe long tradition of the New York Jewish delicatessen has been honoured at The Fed, Al Brown’s Auckland homage. You’ll find matzo ball soup, house pastrami, reubens and latkes, but there’s also glorious Montreal poutine, lemon meringue pie and damn fine cherry colas. We love the seamless, smiling service and the soothing background hum of chefs at work, audible from the open kitchen. Cosy wool blankets make pavement dining possible year-round.
BEST SERVICE WINNER
Havana or Coffee Supreme
The inner city is hardly a place of calm or tranquility, but even when it’s busy, The Lunchroom always manages to fill you with a sense of both — it must have something to do with the quality of sunlight filtering through the huge windows, and the sheer expanse of space. Owner and chef JJ Holland crafts bistro-style dishes that look like works of art and serves them with fresh juice or lovingly made Kokako coffee. Best of all, you get to enjoy the fruits of his labour with a satisfying view of all the very busy running about on Queen St.
BEST FOR: A smart lunch in an oasis of inner-city calm.
Kokako coffee
The Lunchroom
45 Queen StThe inner city is hardly a place of calm or tranquility, but even when it’s busy, The Lunchroom always manages to fill you with a sense of both — it must have something to do with the quality of sunlight filtering through the huge windows, and the sheer expanse of space. Owner and chef JJ Holland crafts bistro-style dishes that look like works of art and serves them with fresh juice or lovingly made Kokako coffee. Best of all, you get to enjoy the fruits of his labour with a satisfying view of all the very busy running about on Queen St.
BEST FOR: A smart lunch in an oasis of inner-city calm.
Kokako coffee
Serial cafe entrepreneur David Lee achieved a new level of brilliance when he opened this breezy, design-focused cafe this year. Hipgroup alumni work the kitchen and the floor — signature swift service and artistic swipes of colourful purées on the plate give them away. Lee’s Korean heritage is celebrated with dishes like the beautifully fresh bibimbap with 62-degree egg and kimchi krepes. An emphasis on inclusion means your gluten-intolerant dining companion can order alongside your refined-sugar-averse pal without causing a fuss. The cakes are exceptional.
BEST FOR: Inventive cuisine at both ends of the healthy-eating spectrum.
Flight coffee
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Major Sprout
21 Graham StSerial cafe entrepreneur David Lee achieved a new level of brilliance when he opened this breezy, design-focused cafe this year. Hipgroup alumni work the kitchen and the floor — signature swift service and artistic swipes of colourful purées on the plate give them away. Lee’s Korean heritage is celebrated with dishes like the beautifully fresh bibimbap with 62-degree egg and kimchi krepes. An emphasis on inclusion means your gluten-intolerant dining companion can order alongside your refined-sugar-averse pal without causing a fuss. The cakes are exceptional.
BEST FOR: Inventive cuisine at both ends of the healthy-eating spectrum.
Flight coffee
It’s one of the smartest dining rooms around and unlike many all-day joints, the design comfortably transitions. Remarkably, they manage to put up wonderfully inventive dishes at a competitive price point, which makes you feel all big-city cosmopolitan. There’s a lot of egg on the breakfast menu but thankfully it’s joined by star touches such as wagyu bresaola, aged ricotta or perfectly seasoned minced mushrooms, and your choice of sourdough or
seven-grain bread. At lunch you can order crispy battered piper — hallelujah for interesting fish options.
BEST FOR: Lunch meetings on your own dime.
Allpress, Eighthirty or Peoples coffee
The Store On Quay
130 Quay StIt’s one of the smartest dining rooms around and unlike many all-day joints, the design comfortably transitions. Remarkably, they manage to put up wonderfully inventive dishes at a competitive price point, which makes you feel all big-city cosmopolitan. There’s a lot of egg on the breakfast menu but thankfully it’s joined by star touches such as wagyu bresaola, aged ricotta or perfectly seasoned minced mushrooms, and your choice of sourdough or
seven-grain bread. At lunch you can order crispy battered piper — hallelujah for interesting fish options.
BEST FOR: Lunch meetings on your own dime.
Allpress, Eighthirty or Peoples coffee
It’s tucked into a concrete bunker and looks out on a car park, but overcoming problems like that is what turns the ordinary into the special. The Botanist is popular for breakfast, lunch and functions (and as a bar). Chef Sara Simpson covers the bases with an inventive and frequently changing menu (special favourite: chorizo, ham hock and chipotle braised beans with fried egg and sourdough), while florist Eden Hessel offers her beautiful arrangements right there in the shop.
BEST FOR: Original brunch food with easy parking.
Three Beans coffee
6 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
The Botanist Cafe
90 Wellesley St WIt’s tucked into a concrete bunker and looks out on a car park, but overcoming problems like that is what turns the ordinary into the special. The Botanist is popular for breakfast, lunch and functions (and as a bar). Chef Sara Simpson covers the bases with an inventive and frequently changing menu (special favourite: chorizo, ham hock and chipotle braised beans with fried egg and sourdough), while florist Eden Hessel offers her beautiful arrangements right there in the shop.
BEST FOR: Original brunch food with easy parking.
Three Beans coffee
Chuffed is a comfy cafe down a corridor, but it started life as a roastery, and cold-drip and batch-brew options proudly complement the espresso. The busy kitchen produces one of the best arrays of baked goods in the inner city — blood orange and rhubarb cake? Yes, please. And the menu is strong on specials. The seating is in a covered courtyard: quite a surprise when you thought you were entering the atrium of an office tower.
BEST FOR: Inner-city meetings.
Chuffed coffee
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Chuffed
43 High StChuffed is a comfy cafe down a corridor, but it started life as a roastery, and cold-drip and batch-brew options proudly complement the espresso. The busy kitchen produces one of the best arrays of baked goods in the inner city — blood orange and rhubarb cake? Yes, please. And the menu is strong on specials. The seating is in a covered courtyard: quite a surprise when you thought you were entering the atrium of an office tower.
BEST FOR: Inner-city meetings.
Chuffed coffee
Walk to the rear of the dark art deco building and you’ll find a study in contrasts at Eighthirty, its white open space infused with light. Being boutique coffee roasters, they’re serious about their caffeine and it shows — choose batch, brew or siphon, from $3.80. The food in the small counter-top cabinet — granola and coconut yoghurt with fruit compote, bacon and egg brioche, bagels, slices and so on — is consistently good (our raspberry, coconut and rhubarb muffin was moist and a little tart — the antithesis of the airport variety). The retro soundtrack deserves a special mention — it’s a long time since we heard “Maneater”.
BEST FOR: Coffee (of course).
Eighthirty
35 High StWalk to the rear of the dark art deco building and you’ll find a study in contrasts at Eighthirty, its white open space infused with light. Being boutique coffee roasters, they’re serious about their caffeine and it shows — choose batch, brew or siphon, from $3.80. The food in the small counter-top cabinet — granola and coconut yoghurt with fruit compote, bacon and egg brioche, bagels, slices and so on — is consistently good (our raspberry, coconut and rhubarb muffin was moist and a little tart — the antithesis of the airport variety). The retro soundtrack deserves a special mention — it’s a long time since we heard “Maneater”.
BEST FOR: Coffee (of course).
Wooden planks fold out from the side of the building onto the pavement as make-shift tables and chairs outside Greedy Guts. Owners Sam Richardson and Lili Deng, ex-Cereal Killa, are resourceful, you see. They pull off culinary miracles daily from their minuscule kitchen, like their avo toast, which is elevated by perfectly grilled sourdough, chilli, pistachio and lemon. Daily baking and mean toasties prove a good cafe doesn’t need to be big, just imaginative.
BEST CAFE WITH 20 SEATS OR FEWER
Greedy Guts Cafe
44 Wellesley St WWooden planks fold out from the side of the building onto the pavement as make-shift tables and chairs outside Greedy Guts. Owners Sam Richardson and Lili Deng, ex-Cereal Killa, are resourceful, you see. They pull off culinary miracles daily from their minuscule kitchen, like their avo toast, which is elevated by perfectly grilled sourdough, chilli, pistachio and lemon. Daily baking and mean toasties prove a good cafe doesn’t need to be big, just imaginative.
BEST CAFE WITH 20 SEATS OR FEWER
Yael Shochat has closed her cafe/restaurant at 57 Fort St and now operates out of larger premises a couple of doors along. There’s lots of Israeli and other Middle Eastern deli food in the counter displays and chillers, and a welcoming main seating area at rear. Yael introduced Auckland to shakshuka, and her version of this baked egg and spicy tomato breakfast is still a wonder. The rest of the menu is pretty fine, too.
BEST FOR: Brilliant comfort food downtown.
14 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
Ima Cuisine
53 Fort StYael Shochat has closed her cafe/restaurant at 57 Fort St and now operates out of larger premises a couple of doors along. There’s lots of Israeli and other Middle Eastern deli food in the counter displays and chillers, and a welcoming main seating area at rear. Yael introduced Auckland to shakshuka, and her version of this baked egg and spicy tomato breakfast is still a wonder. The rest of the menu is pretty fine, too.
BEST FOR: Brilliant comfort food downtown.
A kitchen using no dairy, gluten or refined sugar could be considered a fun-free zone, but not Misters. The current lunch menu includes Japanese, Turkish, Thai, Chilean and Danish “bowls”, which all feature a different base — rice noodles, quinoa, cauliflower tabbouleh, potato, rice — and different topping options, from glazed wagyu beef brisket to nori and black sesame crumbed tofu. Flavour is well to the fore, as is fresh seasonal produce.
BEST FOR: Vegetarian food that excites.
Misters
12 Wyndham StA kitchen using no dairy, gluten or refined sugar could be considered a fun-free zone, but not Misters. The current lunch menu includes Japanese, Turkish, Thai, Chilean and Danish “bowls”, which all feature a different base — rice noodles, quinoa, cauliflower tabbouleh, potato, rice — and different topping options, from glazed wagyu beef brisket to nori and black sesame crumbed tofu. Flavour is well to the fore, as is fresh seasonal produce.
BEST FOR: Vegetarian food that excites.
Theirs is the first cabinet to be filled each day with Scratch’s signature tarts, pies, brioches and doughnuts before orders are met across the city. The roomy, comfy cafe is a dangerous place to find yourself with a 3pm sugar craving, which must be a daily battle for workers in the densely populated corporate buildings that surround it. Order from the menu if you have time and be pleasantly surprised by originality that changes with the seasons.
BEST FOR: An indulgent morning tea.
Three Beans coffee
Scratch Bakers
5 Graham StTheirs is the first cabinet to be filled each day with Scratch’s signature tarts, pies, brioches and doughnuts before orders are met across the city. The roomy, comfy cafe is a dangerous place to find yourself with a 3pm sugar craving, which must be a daily battle for workers in the densely populated corporate buildings that surround it. Order from the menu if you have time and be pleasantly surprised by originality that changes with the seasons.
BEST FOR: An indulgent morning tea.
Three Beans coffee
Drinks & Nightlife
Get ready for the real VIP lifestyle you have only heard of. It all begins at Face Club, right at the epicenter of Chancery.
39 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
Face Club
50 Kitchener StGet ready for the real VIP lifestyle you have only heard of. It all begins at Face Club, right at the epicenter of Chancery.
Arts & Culture
History, heritage and culture are brought to life at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Founded in 1888, it remains New Zealand’s largest visual arts experience.
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Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki
Wellesley Street EastHistory, heritage and culture are brought to life at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Founded in 1888, it remains New Zealand’s largest visual arts experience.
Auckland's original outdoor market is back at its home of Victoria Park Market every Saturday and Sunday. A vibrant inner-city market with stall holders selling artisan food, street food stalls, arts and crafts, original art and hand made offerings with a focus on NZ –made products as well as authentic local goods from around the world. Set throughout the historic complex, you will find limited edition pieces ranging from jewellery, fashion and accessories to homewards, ceramics, prints and more.
27 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
Victoria Park Market
210 Victoria St WAuckland's original outdoor market is back at its home of Victoria Park Market every Saturday and Sunday. A vibrant inner-city market with stall holders selling artisan food, street food stalls, arts and crafts, original art and hand made offerings with a focus on NZ –made products as well as authentic local goods from around the world. Set throughout the historic complex, you will find limited edition pieces ranging from jewellery, fashion and accessories to homewards, ceramics, prints and more.
The Civic, one of the few remaining Atmospheric Theatres in the world, was built in 1929 and specifically designed as a 'movie palace' for talking pictures ('talkies'), which had just been introduced to New Zealand. The first purpose-built cinema of this type in the country, The Civic has become a much-loved Auckland landmark and entertainment venue.
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The Civic
269-287 Wellesley St WThe Civic, one of the few remaining Atmospheric Theatres in the world, was built in 1929 and specifically designed as a 'movie palace' for talking pictures ('talkies'), which had just been introduced to New Zealand. The first purpose-built cinema of this type in the country, The Civic has become a much-loved Auckland landmark and entertainment venue.
Entertainment & Activities
For the hungry, the thirsty or the restless, Britomart is alive with eating and drinking options at any hour of the day. From the first early-morning caffeine hit to late-night revelry in the lanes, terraces and other intimate corners, Britomart establishments cater to your every appetite.
Award-winning restaurants serve up fresh, innovative local food and the best of many international culinary traditions. And in a city that takes its coffee extremely seriously, Britomart’s cafes serve some of the finest roasts in town.
359 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
Britomart
1150 Shortland StFor the hungry, the thirsty or the restless, Britomart is alive with eating and drinking options at any hour of the day. From the first early-morning caffeine hit to late-night revelry in the lanes, terraces and other intimate corners, Britomart establishments cater to your every appetite.
Award-winning restaurants serve up fresh, innovative local food and the best of many international culinary traditions. And in a city that takes its coffee extremely seriously, Britomart’s cafes serve some of the finest roasts in town.