January 2014
(Note: Since this post has been written well after January 2014, you’ll notice I’ve mentioned that some places have since closed. I’ve chosen to include them in this list because they were very much a part of our memory of this time.)
AUCKLAND EATERIES
21 Viaduct Cafe
This terrific little cafe is located in the Viaduct at the Sofitel Hotel. We loved the food, and it was a treat to be able to see our boat (and anyone who stopped to look at it) while we ate.
Al’s Deli
Pretty good bagels and coffee.
De Fontein Belgian Beer Cafe
The Belgian Beer Cafe is actually a chain of restaurants, and De Fontein has a terrific location in Mission Bay. The upstairs restaurant can be busy, but the downstairs bar is a fine place to eat and is quieter. The Flemish stew and Beef pie were amazing and reason enough to make the trip to Mission Beach, but the Belgian Book of Beer with its enormous selection of Belgian beers was really something to see. So many varieties of Belgian beer, so little time! (Note: As I write this years later, it looks like the Mission Bay restaurant no longer has the Belgian stew and beef, but the restaurant downtown still does; so that’s where we’ll go when we go back).
KK Malaysian Cuisine
Malaysian/Indonesian food is wonderful and increasingly popular in New Zealand. This was one of the first of many Malaysian meals we’ve had over the years and was delicious. Beef rendang is slow cooked and braised in coconut milk and a curry spice until the liquids evaporate and caramelize around the beef. It becomes fork tender and is wonderful with rice. We also had nasi lemak, a coconut rice dish served with little dishes of sambal (a chili condiment), dried anchovies, peanuts, cucumber and hard boiled egg along with a small portion of a main dish (we chose a chicken curry). This was a great place for an introduction to Malaysian/Indonesian food.
Kang Nam Station
Another increasingly popular ethnic food in New Zealand is Korean food. This was one of our first experiences with it and very nice. We liked it at the time, but since going here it has been far surpassed by other Korean places we’ve been to. Still, it was a nice introduction to the food.
Melba
This is a chain eatery in the Auckland area, a cafe with very good, upscale food. The first location we tried was in this alley street in downtown Auckland. Everything we’ve had here has been really good, but the winner was their Eggs Benedict.
Mexicali
This is a popular chain eatery in New Zealand with decent fast food Mexican, much like Chipotle in America, where you can tell them what you want on your burrito (or salad) as they make it.
Mexico
Mexico is a rather upscale eatery with very nice food. As most Mexican restaurants in New Zealand, it features colorful “Day of the Dead” decor. The food is probably more typical of Mexico City than, say, the Baja-style food we’re used to in California. This is the sort of place that gets expensive if you order several small plates, but we learned we could have a reasonably-priced lunch of two tacos each. Our favorites included the grilled beef taco, fish taco, and an incredible taco made with broccoli, garlic, queso, orange and smoked crema. Good stuff!
Miss Clawdy
While it’s rare, it is possible to find Southern American Food in New Zealand. This New Orleans-style place had terrific specialties such as jambalaya, gumbo, shrimp and grits, etc. The food is authentic and very good.
Monsoon Poon
A nice, somewhat upscale Asian-food eatery much like PF Changs in America. Because it’s only open for dinner (we tend to only go out for lunch) and can get a bit expensive, we only ate here once, but we really enjoyed the food and loved the atmosphere.
St Pierre’s
This New Zealand chain eatery is a fast food-style (pre-made and packaged) sushi place that’s quite good. We typically bought sushi from a stall near a mall food court, but discovered a nice, cozy 2-story St Pierre’s on Elliot Street (second photo).
Sal’s Pizza
Sal’s is a real New York pizzeria that’s managed to open in New Zealand. We don’t even have authentic New York pizza in Los Angeles; so what’s it doing here? It seems New Zealand’s water is similar enough to New York’s water that it can make a proper thin crust. Having enjoyed many slices of pizza in New York, we can attest that this is authentic New York pizza, available by the slice (or a whole pizza). Like New York it’s counter-displayed and you pick out the flavors you want, then they reheat it. They also have wonderful garlic knots. Not surprisingly, this place has become popular and there are now Sal’s located all over new Zealand.
Sky Tower Restaurant
Truly one of our peak experiences in New Zealand and a great bargain considering that by booking for dinner, we got to experience the Sky Tower for free. We did this twice, using our sky tower time to enjoy the sunset, then having dinner as the city lights came on. The views are amazing, but what a bonus that the food is spectacular. A must-do in New Zealand.
Tanuki’s Cave
This really cool downtown restaurant, known as “The Cave,” is a Japanese eatery and Yakitori bar, which means you sit at a bar and order small plates of grilled skewers of various meats, seafood or vegetables (much like a sushi bar). The food is amazing, but it’s the experience of entering “the cave” that leads to the downstairs, lantern-lit eatery that’s the most fun. It’s only open for dinner but well worth the effort to go, one of our favorite meals in New Zealand.
Tony’s Lord Nelson
This is a terrific, old-fashioned steakhouse with wonderful food. Highly recommended!
The Urban Turban
Here we enjoyed good Indian food in the heart of the festive Viaduct, but all good things must come to an end and this restaurant has since closed.
The Waterfront Restaurant
This restaurant, with tables over the water and very nice food, was a nice place to sit and really experience the seaside feeling of the Viaduct. Sadly it’s gone now, but we enjoyed a few meals here.
Yong’s Hand Pulled Noodles
Located in an Asian-themed mall food court, this place has amazing food! Of course the noodles are made on premises and are terrific. One of our favorite eateries in Auckland.
Ice Cream
Our favorite ice cream came from the Swiss chain called Movenpick. We first got to know it in Northland, then enjoyed it in Auckland. Our favorite thing to get was an affogato, a scoop of ice cream with a shot of coffee poured over it. This was particularly good with the chocolate mint ice cream which had huge chunks of chocolate (see the first photo). We also discovered a nice place for gelato, Casa del Gelato, not far from the Viaduct. (Unfortunately it’s since moved to a less convenient location.)
Coffee Drinks
Of course there’s always Starbuck’s, but sometimes we went to a coffee house from a different chain, Gloria Jean’s. We didn’t actually didn’t go to either place for coffee, though, but instead frozen coffee drinks (blended mochas, etc.)
NORTH SHORE EATERIES
Most often we’d eat at local franchises of some of our favorite Auckland Eateries, including Melba, Mexico, and Sal’s. Sal’s and Mexico still have eateries in Takapuna, but it looks like Melba has left the area. For coffee and breakfast we enjoyed the local Robert Harris Cafe (a popular coffeehouse chain), which has also since gone from Takapuna.
We also enjoyed:
Sumo Salad
This was our favorite cafe in Takapuna with absolutely terrific food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sadly it seems this Australian chain didn’t make it in New Zealand as there no longer seem to be any around.
Blunderbuss
Blunderbuss was a pizzeria in Takapuna that was good, but not as good as Sal’s. I guess it’s not a surprise it’s no longer in business.
La Tropezienne
This was a nice little French bakery in Takapuna. Unfortunately we didn’t discover this until were about to leave the area, but the one time we went, we enjoyed it.
Devonport Eateries
We did enjoy a few eateries in Devonport that I covered in a previous post: Lovely Devonport
Note: You can click to enlarge any photos in this post.
–Cyndi
