Eat · Auckland
Eat like you live here.
The cafés, wine bars and neighbourhood favourites worth knowing — what we’d actually book, and what we’d send a friend to try.
Tables we love
Long-table pasta places, wine-led kitchens, neighbourhood standards. The list we keep saving for guests.
kingi
A considered, all-day seafood-led restaurant on Tuawhiti Lane in Britomart — sustainably sourced from independent NZ fishers, farmers and growers, with a brilliant Steak Frites lunch deal weekdays and rotating Martini month specials. Attached to The Hotel Britomart.
Milford Motel
"Palm Springs in the middle of Milford" — a restaurant and cocktail bar with a huge louvred outdoor dining area, vintage LA-style bar inside, and a retro motel aesthetic throughout.
Tuitui Museum Bistro & Café
A proper sit-down bistro inside Auckland Museum, open to all — no ticket required. Kiwi classics, woodfired pizza, local wines and the best Tuesday night deal in Parnell: $10 happy hour food and drinks every week from 5pm.
Alma
A consistently outstanding Andalusian restaurant in Britomart — wood-fire cooking, sharing plates, and one of the city's best Spanish wine and sherry lists. A slow, wine-soaked evening to plan around.
Bivacco
A buzzing Italian bar and grill right on the Viaduct Harbour waterfront — wood-fired pizzas, handmade pasta, summery spritzes and one of the city's deepest Italian wine lists. A perfect slow-sunny-afternoon spot.
The Engine Room
North Shore institution since 2006, The Engine Room is a husband and wife-run neighbourhood bistro in Northcote Point serving seasonally driven, locally sourced food with genuine soul. The goat's cheese soufflé is legendary. Book ahead.
Nanam
Multi-award-winning Filipino restaurant on Hurstmere Road, Takapuna. Bold flavours, sharing plates, signature lechon, and excellent cocktails — plus private dining for up to 50. Perfect for pre-show dinners before the Bruce Mason Centre.
Bar Magda
A hidden basement bar tucked off Karangahape Road with a Filipino-fusion kitchen, exceptional cocktails and a rating of 18/20. The kind of place that feels like a discovery — and once you've found it, you'll keep coming back.
Empress Garden
Herne Bay's legendary Chinese restaurant — iconic Peking Duck, red lanterns and the warmth of dining in someone's home.
Azabu | Mission Bay
Contemporary Japanese with a Peruvian twist in an iconic beachfront setting — one of Auckland's most special dining experiences.
Hello Beasty
Bold Asian fusion sharing plates inspired by Japan, Korea and China — one of Auckland's most exciting dining experiences.
Cafe Hanoi
Contemporary Vietnamese in a stunning heritage warehouse — authentic Hanoian street food meets the best of New Zealand produce
Slow mornings
Pastries worth queuing for, weekend brunches with small plates, cafés you'd want to live next door to.
Daily Bread | Britomart
Mother
Auckland's most quietly confident recent opening — a Richmond Road bakery-café by day (from 6:45am, 7 days) and a natural wine bar with small plates by night (Tues–Sat, 4:30pm to late). From the Honey Bones / Lilian / Hotel Ponsonby team, with baker-chef Petra Galler.
Milford Motel
"Palm Springs in the middle of Milford" — a restaurant and cocktail bar with a huge louvred outdoor dining area, vintage LA-style bar inside, and a retro motel aesthetic throughout.
Dulcie
A bright, airy daytime eatery across from the water in Devonport — excellent food, generous servings and great coffee, for breakfast and brunch.
Chateaubriant
A slice of Paris in Devonport — French pastries, a deli-charcuterie counter, and Parisian tables out front, moments from Cheltenham Beach.A slice of Paris in Devonport — French pastries, a deli-charcuterie counter, and Parisian tables out front, moments from Cheltenham Beach.
Tuitui Museum Bistro & Café
A proper sit-down bistro inside Auckland Museum, open to all — no ticket required. Kiwi classics, woodfired pizza, local wines and the best Tuesday night deal in Parnell: $10 happy hour food and drinks every week from 5pm.
Takapuna Beach Cafe
Iconic beachfront café on Takapuna Beach.
Vaniyé Patisserie | Onehunga
French-inspired patisserie with hands-on pastry workshops — Onehunga's most exciting sweet destination.
Vaniyé Patisserie | Parnell
Vaniyé in Parnell is a celebration of French patisserie craft, bringing exceptional handmade pastries, tarts and desserts to Auckland. Every visit feels like a moment…
Sweet things
Italian gelato, Taiwanese tea, bakery counters and the chocolate shops worth crossing town for.
Bear Gelato
Small-batch gelato made on site on Dominion Road, from gochujang caramel to coconut pandan. Open until 10pm most nights, so it's made for after dinner.
Small Mercies
Korean twisted doughnuts and good single-origin coffee from a tiny shopfront on Mount Eden Road. Mostly takeaway, and the iced ones go early.
Moustache Milk & Cookie Bar | Henderson
A cookie bar in a semi industrial pocket of Henderson that looks like an installation and stays open until 10pm. Go for the cookie pies and the limited editions.
Coco Lane | High Street
Thick, gooey New York–style cookies in a heritage High Street shopfront.
J’aime | Commercial bay
A red-on-red macaron boutique on Level 1 of Commercial Bay — handcrafted macarons in twenty-plus flavours including Flat White, Feijoa Crumble and the much-anticipated Brûlé, plus brittles, panforte and butter crayons. Auckland's most considered macaron destination.
Scrunchy Millers | Auckland CBD
A retro-charming CBD outpost of Scrunchy Millers — the same Gold-medal Dark Chocolate gelato, exclusive Biscoff, and Kiwi-classic ice cream flavours (Toffee Pops, Pineapple Lumps, Mallow Puff) as the Milford original.
Scrunchy Millers | Milford
The best ice cream in Milford — a Covid-pivot success story serving real fruit ice cream, award-winning gelato and the exclusive-to-them Biscoff flavour. Take-home pints, custom cakes and dairy-free options too.
Duck Island Ice Cream | Britomart
One of the CBD's most recognisable storefronts — handmade ice cream with boundary-pushing flavours including fairy bread, lamington, lolly cake and salted caramel.
Duck Island Ice Cream | Ponsonby
Auckland's most creative ice cream — including the legendary fairy bread flavour that tastes exactly like childhood.
Duck Island Ice Cream | Newmarket
Auckland's most creative ice cream — including the legendary fairy bread flavour that tastes exactly like childhood.
Duck Island Ice Cream | Takapuna
Auckland's most creative ice cream — including the legendary fairy bread flavour that tastes exactly like childhood.
The flat white, refined
Roasters, espresso bars, design-led cafés where the coffee is the point — not the avo on toast.
Small Mercies
Korean twisted doughnuts and good single-origin coffee from a tiny shopfront on Mount Eden Road. Mostly takeaway, and the iced ones go early.
Parable House
A design-led Eden Terrace café that earns its reputation on both counts — the space is minimal and beautiful, the coffee is award-winning, and the food is genuinely good. The kind of place you stay longer than planned.
Daily Bread | Belmont
A genuinely excellent North Shore coffee stop — exceptional pastries, consistently great coffee, and a large relaxed space that works for commuters, laptop mornings and mum groups alike. A local institution without trying too hard.
Chiasso Coffee Roasters
Devonport's favourite specialty roaster — the essential stop for the morning ferry crowd.
Tonight's pour
Wine bars, cocktail rooms, jazz spots. The places that get better the later you stay.
