Other restaurants in Auckland Region
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Merediths
Dining at Merediths is the culinary equivalent of black-water rafting – tastes surprise you at every turn, you never know what’s coming next and you’re left with a sense of breathless exhilaration. You’ll need to book well in advance to secure a table for the weekend degustation-only sittings; this is one of NZ’s best restaurants.
reviewed
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CAC Bar & Eatery
The terrible name references the Colonial Ammunition Company, who was responsible for erecting the very sturdy bluestone walls of this stylishly renovated warehouse. Cannonballs have since given way to risotto balls and the only danger is from taste explosions emanating from the tapas menu – particularly from the 12-hour lamb.
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Murder Burger
For quick eats, try Murder Burger, where there is no gilding the lily: the staff wear Meat Is Murder T-shirts, the logo features a diabolically carnivorous-looking kitty and the burgers are full of free-range, organic dead stuff: eye fillet, Angus sirloin, chicken, wild boar, venison, ostrich and fish.
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Takapuna Beach Cafe
With a menu that reads like a travel magazine (Moroccan eggs, Tunisian eggplant, French-style terrine, chorizo, pancetta…) and absolute beach views, it’s no wonder this modern cafe is constantly buzzing. If you can’t snaffle a table you can always grab an award-winning ice cream or snack from the attached shop.
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Te Whau
Perched on the end of Te Whau peninsula, this winery restaurant has exceptional views, food and service, and one of the finest wine lists you’ll see in the country (1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, $3000). Try its impressive Bordeaux blends, merlot and rosé for $3 per taste (11am to 5pm).
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French Cafe
The legendary French Cafe has been rated as one of Auckland’s top restaurants for around 20 years now and it still continues to excel. The cuisine is (unsurprisingly) French, but chef Simon Wright manages to sneak in some Pacific Rim touches. Book well ahead if you want to snag a table.
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Clooney
Like the Hollywood actor of the same name, Clooney is suave, stylish and extremely sophisticated. While the taste combinations are complex (venison with cocoa millefeuille, preserved cherries, black pudding and licorice jus, for example) the outcomes are faultless.
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Grove
Romantic fine dining at its best: the room is cosy and moodily lit, the menu encourages sensual experimentation and the service is effortless. If you can’t find anything to break the ice from the extensive wine list, give it up mate – it’s never going to happen.
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Gala
Mixing modern architecture and antique silver tea services, this bright cafe brings sophistication to the prison precinct. The whiteboard menu is crammed with interesting options: try My Mother-in-law’s North Indian Eggs for a fragrant version of eggs on toast.
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Non Solo Pizza
Like the name says, there’s not only pizza on offer here – delicious though that is. NSP has a bewilderingly large menu of classic Italian antipasto, pasta and grills and a cool street-facing bar with a chandelier made of Peroni bottles. Bellissimo.
reviewed
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Cable Bay Vineyards
Impressive uber-modern architecture, sculpture and beautiful views set the scene for this acclaimed restaurant. The food is sublime but the service isn’t always. If the budget won’t stretch to a meal, stop in for a wine tasting ($5) or a drink on the terrace.
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Mudbrick
Auckland and the gulf are at their glistening best when viewed from Mudbrick’s picturesque veranda. The adventurous menu is crammed with quality ingredients, well put together. This venue also offers tours and wine tasting ($5 to $10, 11am to 5pm).
reviewed
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Shaky Isles
Kingsland’s coolest cafe has cute cartoons on the wall and free wi-fi. They do excellent breakfasts and super-food salads, but it’s hard to go past ‘good stuff in a bun’, the good stuff being mushrooms, avocado, feta, pesto and mayonnaise.
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Soto
Auckland has a surfeit of excellent Japanese restaurants but this is the best. The staff glide by in kimonos leaving a trail of exquisitely presented dishes in their wake – including sushi, sashimi and zensai (Japanese tapas).
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Thymes Tables
Fussy eaters should look elsewhere as this excellent French-style eatery offers only one or two dishes per evening, which change daily. The food is as elegant as the white-walled dining room, and the island’s best deli is downstairs.
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Engine Room
A strong contender for Auckland’s best restaurant, this informal eatery serves up lighter-than-air goat’s cheese soufflés, inventive whiteboard mains and oh-my-God chocolate truffles. It’s worth booking ahead and catching the ferry.
reviewed
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Wild Rose Cafe
Wild Rose does the best impersonation of an Auckland cafe on the island, albeit with the addition of local crowd-pleasers such as toasted sandwiches and burgers. It uses free-range, organic and local produce whenever possible.
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Queenie
Kiwiana reigns supreme at this eccentric corner cafe with one wall devoted to a 1950s paint-by-numbers Maori maiden mural. The food is a step up from standard cafe fare, with a short, adventurous menu justifying the prices.
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Prego
This friendly and stylish Italian restaurant covers all the bases, with a fireplace in winter and a courtyard in summer. And on the subject of bases, the pizza is pretty damn fine, as are the inventive Italian mains.
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Tapiano
Snagging the stream frontage of the cinema complex, Matakana’s flashest restaurant’s menu meanders around the Mediterranean – from hearty French classics to tagines and tapas ($9 to $15) – along with tempting brunch standards ($10 to $17) during the day.
reviewed
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Eight.Two
Hollowed out of an old villa, this dazzlingly white dining room offers a similarly modern menu and a great wine list. Catch the Birkenhead ferry from the city for a memorable night out.
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Plantation
Any Auckland kid who’s ever headed north has pestered their parents to stop here for an ice cream. It also has pies, takeaway food, cooked meals and a nice selection of counter food.
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Delicious
The name doesn’t lie. Foodies flock to this neighbourhood eatery for simple but first-rate pasta at reasonable prices. They don’t take bookings so expect to wait – it’s always busy.
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Urban Cafe
Its urbanity highlighted by an industrial aesthetic, this chic cafe serves spicy Baghdad baked eggs (with lentils and Turkish bread), daily pasta dishes and enticing sweet stuff.
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Currach Irish Pub
This lively and child-friendly pub has a changing menu of seafood, steak and burgers, and is the island’s social centre. Rub shoulders with local musos on Thursday jam nights.
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