Restaurants in Auckland
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White Lady
The lady in white stealthily materialises after dark, or is it that everyone's too drunk to notice her arrive? This mobile burger bus has been frying-up fast food to late-night boozers since the '50s. The burgers are exxy, but monstrous and greasy and best enjoyed while bathed in the neon glow of the late-night city.
reviewed
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Café Melba
Old school through and through, this dim and moody café has businessfolk clustered at its teeny tables both inside and out on Vulcan Lane. At breakfast, there is Eggs Benedict done three ways: veg, regular and with salmon. Or dip your spoon in delectable stewed fruit or porridge. Later at lunch, the menu moves to bagels and curries.
reviewed
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Agnes Curran
Beyond the compact courtyard, Agnes Curran café embodies the kind of homely comforts that encourage staying a while. An obviously homemade melting moment or lamington with tea or coffee tastes better surrounded by vintage-style kitchen gear and pottery. Quiches, pies and filled baguettes mean you can stay on for lunch.
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Sheinkin
Sheinkin stands out amongst the other eggs-and-coffee joints in Auckland's CBD due to its stellar Israeli-inspired food, quality coffee and unhurried atmosphere. They do a fabulous tasting plate, soups and salads and there is plenty of glossy reading material to peruse while you wait for your bagel.
reviewed
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Toto
A comprehensive list of Italian and NZ wines accompanies Toto's choice of fine Italian fare. And dinner ain't over in the Montecristo Room till the fat lady sings, with set menu and opera singing available Saturday. Movie and music nights also feature.
reviewed
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Stone Oven
On weekends you’ll want to get in early or get ready to queue for the breads, pastries, cakes and baked goods. Perfect for scoffing in situ, or away from the madding crowd.
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SPQR
This ivy-covered Ponsonby Rd hot spot is well known for good Roman-style, thin, crusty pizzas and excellent Italian-influenced mains. The surrounds are a stylish blend of the industrial and the chic, the lights low (bring your reading glasses!), the buzz constant and the staff smooth and camp all at the same time.
reviewed
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Iguacu
This always-popular multilevel bar and restaurant complex offers smart, casual dining. A European and Pacific-Rim menu is meat heavy, with a smattering of seafood. The relaxed, potted-palm atrium-like atmosphere heats up on Sunday after 12:00 with live blues and jazz.
reviewed
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I
Canton Cafe
Constant queues out Canton Cafe's door are certainly no reflection of this cheap-and-cheerful restaurant's pace. More a sign of the popularity of this BYO-wine place's excellent Chinese dishes, which you'll have done and dusted within 30 minutes. Next!
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Manuka
Bowl in off Devonport's main street for bumper breakfasts and pizza cooked how it should be - fuelled by wood. Snaffle the corner window booth to watch the passing traffic or hover over a sprawling weekend paper; there's a place for everyone at Manuka.
reviewed
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Rocco
Raise a glass to Rocco. Here, your glass will likely be filled with a heady mix from the cocktail list, and you'll be toasting the flamboyant and friendly service that brings you exceptionally fine Spanish-accented fare. Fahbulous dahling.
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Oh Calcutta
Arguably the country's best Indian (they will argue), Oh Calcutta ventures beyond the familiar butter chicken into exotic and ebullient menu territory. Try the sweet chilli duck, fish tikka (spiced and smoked) or something from the tandoor.
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Satya
Hugely popular, this humble-looking and humbly priced eatery has the best dahi puri (an entrée of chickpea, potato and yoghurt on a pappadam) and masala dosa (a crepe filled with potato-and-onion curry) in town.
reviewed
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Euro
Euro is a thoroughly slick package of imaginative Mod-NZ cuisine, good-looking wait staff and sexy surrounds. The harbour views aren’t the greatest, but the dishes are always pretty as a picture.
reviewed
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Mekong Neua
Plundering the cuisine of Northeast Thailand and Laos, this welcoming restaurant will fill your head with delicious fragrances and dreams of rice paddies.
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Landreth & Co
A popular brunch spot with an old-Ponsonby feel and a sunny rear courtyard. For something a bit different, try the kedgeree (kippers, rice and egg).
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White
Perfectly propped high above Waitemata Harbour, White's gleaming interior reflects nature's mood. Terrace tables are a treat in fine weather, and the stretched communal table makes a comfy landing for solo diners. Fine local produce is treated with cooking styles and ingredients from around the world, and partnered with international and local wines. Bookings essential.
reviewed
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Soul Bar & Bistro
Eating seafood by the water is a must in Auckland and this modernist gastrodome boasts an unbeatable Viaduct Harbour location and some of the best seafood in town. Despite its large size, it really packs them in, even mid-afternoon, and the whip-smart service keeps things moving at a brisk pace. Come for the life-changing whitebait fritters and the great local wines.
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Esplanade Restaurant
The fairly conservative restaurant menu (lamb shanks and char-grilled salmon) is in contrast to the outrageously good location: a corner commanding harbour views. The hotel's Mecca café (breakfast, lunch and dinner) offers a more casual alternative, with more menu options than the restaurant, including egg-based and sweet dishes for brekky or brunch.
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Wildfire
Auckland's finest Brazilian churrascaria is all-you-can-eat meaty fun for carnivores. Tell your knife-wielding passador (waiter) when you can eat no more of the giant skewers of meat, otherwise they'll keep coming with more marinated lamb, beef, fish or sausages sliced straight to the plate. There's a small à la carte menu too.
reviewed
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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.
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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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Mentatz
Japanese and Korean faves for homesick students dominate the long menu here, where the atmosphere is low-key and friendly and the bill ends up small. Try the spicy cold Ramen, which is true to its description or some shiokara ('squid marinated in its own guts'), which is proof of how good a little guts can be.
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Logos
Space Age meets New Age at Logos café. With low-slung lightbulbs downstairs and themed rooms upstairs (brought to you by the colour blue, green and one Mid-East-inspired). The mostly veg menu sneaks in some chicken and seafood, but offers lots of animal-free dishes. It's all healthy, including the wine-list.
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