Comparable to both ceviche and carpaccio, ‘crudo’ is technically a dish of raw fish or seafood, likely dressed with oil, citrus juice, and seasonings. And it seems there’s at least one iteration on every good menu in Auckland. In light of our summer appetites, lusting for light dishes as opposed to hearty, soul-warming ones, we saw fit to glorify our favourites by way of the following list.
Eating & Drinking
9 of the Best Wynyard Quarter Restaurants and Bars
Discover the best Wynyard Quarter restaurants and bars – perfect for your next night out.
Wynyard Quarter is the newest waterfront neighborhood in Auckland, quickly becoming one of the coolest spots in the city.
Aside from the beautiful ocean views, this part of Auckland has an array of wonderful restaurants and bars. With a variety of different cuisines and alcoholic beverages, it’s the perfect place for an afternoon stroll that ultimately ends in lots of food and drink being consumed.
The beloved Jo Bro’s Burgers has opened its first dedicated outpost in Point Chevalier
No-fuss yet full of flavour, Jo Bro’s Burgers has garnered a following all over town — both from its 80s-leaning caravan rolling around Auckland and its spot at Titirangi’s joint outing, Street Feast. Now, Brody Jenkins and Josh Barlow have found a permanent, dedicated outpost for a full appreciation of their perfected burgers.
Auckland Bars and Restaurants That Are Undeniably, Unabashedly Romantic
Alright, alright. So we’ve sat here all day grumbling about Valentine’s Day, about manufactured romance, about disingenuous, ‘love’ related holidays and the atrociously high price of roses. Words like ‘phooey’, ‘poppycock’ and ‘hell naw’ have been bandied about. Pay no attention to the phones under our desk, messaging that special someone, planning a little get-together later on. If we run into you at these undeniably romantic, unashamedly snuggly Auckland bars and restaurants, don’t be too harsh on us. We love love.
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Bringing its intoxicating Indian street food to Auckland
Mumbaiwala is a restaurant that has its meaning written all over it. “Mumbai is big. It’s full of dreamers and hard-labourers, starlets and gangsters… and a thousand and one Walas,” reads the wall above the main dining room.
FISH Restaurant Has Reopened With a New Menu, New Ethos and Award-Winning Chefs at the Helm
Sure, a restaurant named FISH doesn’t leave a lot of unanswered questions over the type of food it serves.
The Hilton’s signature restaurant, perched on the end of Princess Wharf with arguably Tāmaki Makaurau best views of Waitematā Harbour, has garnered a reputation for many things during its 11 year run: stand-out service, an exceptional wine list and of course, that million dollar view out from the Northern tip of Princes Wharf to the Hauraki Gulf and back to the city skyline.
But most of all, it’s got a rep for serving up some of the city’s finest kaimoana ever since it first was opened by celeb-chef Simon Gault back in 2011.
Now, after months of closures throughout level 3 and beyond, the waterfront eatery has reopened with a refreshed menu and two internationally acclaimed chefs at the helm.
Multi award-winning, Al Brown-trained chef Des Harris (ex-Hunting Lodge, Clooney, Logan Brown) has taken over as the hotel’s new Culinary Director, putting his particularly inventive cooking style front and centre of the reinvention. The new Executive Chef is Aussie Josh Seeds, who has spent the last couple of years working in hotel kitchens from London to Japan.
There are, of course, plenty of non-seafood options for those eaters who can’t think of anything worse than an oyster straight out of the ocean. The new menu boasts pork belly, cheeses, cauliflower and lamb rack. But its the deceptively simple, straight-from-the-water flavours of the seafood that are set to make this spot shine again. Go soon, while the weather is still turning it on.
FISH can be found at 147 Quay Street in Auckland’s CBD. It’s open 6.30am – late from Monday – Friday, and 7am – late on Saturday and Sunday.
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From killer cocktails to stunning seafood, these are our favourite places to eat and drink in Viaduct Harbour
Viaduct Harbour has long been a favourite location of Aucklanders. Its idyllic waterfront views are invitation enough to wine and dine the day away. The only struggle you may face is deciding on a place to spend a long lunch that could potentially stretch into the dinner hours. As such, we have curated a list of our favourite bars and restaurants in Viaduct Harbour, from rooftop bars to all-day eateries, to add to your list for languid summer dining.
Meet Green Door Pizza, Auckland’s deliciously authentic new pizzeria
The team behind some of Auckland’s most popular eateries has delved into a delicious new venture: pizza. Named Green Door Pizza, the new opening is the brainchild of David Lee and Oliver Simon of Gochu and Good Dog Bad Dog, along with Tom Hong (co-owner of Lee’s Newmarket eatery The Candyshop) and Oliver Rennie.
Auckland’s best Indian restaurant
Google Auckland’s best Indian restaurant and it’s no surprise that Oh Calcutta comes up #1.
It’s been my favourite for over 15 years and last night I went back after a long time (I moved out of the ‘hood and Parnell seems so far away now…). Meena, the gorgeous owner and creator of the fabulous dishes, still remembered me and our table of 5 were mightily impressed.
We started with tender tandoori lamb cutlets with little silver foils on the bone to eat them from. And onion bhajis that come in a large plate to consume by fork rather than as individual balls. Great sauces to accompany each.
Mmm oh how I love butter chicken!
Then comes the reason we are here: Oh Calcutta’s Butter Chicken is to die for. Seriously, if you are about to order your last meal before you go to meet your maker, make it Meena’s butter chicken! It’s rich, tomatoey and creamy and the tandoori spiced chicken is always tender. There is so much sauce that sopping it up with a roti or naan is my most favourite thing to do. (Note to self: never come here on a date. It’s not a good look)
On the menu is a Lamb Nawabi, but as I prefer the tender chicken pieces, I ordered it with chicken – and they are always happy to oblige. This is a mild curry with onions, tomatoes and fenugreek in a spiced coconut sauce.
We also had the Lamb Roganjosh which was pronounced the best he’d eaten. He’s been away from Auckland for about a year and reckons he forgot how good Oh Calcutta’s Roganjosh was.
Our Weight Watchers companion dined on Tandoori Chicken which she enjoyed – but was clearly robbed by not being able to sop up the copious and delicious sauces with a freshly made Roti. The other dish on the table was Chicken Tikka Masala – tender chicken pieces smoked over charcoal and finished in Meena’s classic rich tomato, onion and coriander sauce.
A bottle of wine, an extra glass and a beer and all up we paid less than $45 each and rolled out of there chewing a Minty from the cashier (trying not to wreck our dentures) and all agreed Oh Calcutta is the best curry house in Auckland – if not the world!
151 Parnell Road | Auckland | ph 09 377 9090.
An afternoon at Riverhead Pub
Whether you’ve got your own boat and want to brave the tides, you take a ferry from downtown Auckland, and cruise the upper Waitemata harbour, past the Chelsea Sugar Factory, Kauri Point, Hobsonville Airbase, Herald Island, the Poremoremo inlet and Huapai Golf Course to the Riverhead Pub, or just drive, it’s a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Tootling past Westhaven Marina and under the Harbour Bridge
If you don’t have your own boat, book a ferry with The Red Boats or the Riverhead Ferry which depart from downtown Auckland.
It was a bit lumpy out here so my pic is not that clear!
Meanwhile, I travelled in convoy from the Outboard Boating Club in Orakei on their family day out with my cousin and her family, and 166 more of us. Although some took their cars, which in hindsight was a great idea as the wind and swells really got up!
Cruising past the Hobsonville Airbase around Herald Island
After about an hour and 3/4 we see the Riverhead jetty where we waited our turn to stop and clamber out while our skipper went off and anchored in the muddy water and waited for the tender to pick him up
The Red Boat is docked out front
It’s BBQ time! On sunny Sunday’s the Riverhead can do 2000 covers.
It’s non stop sizzling – except for a quick photo
Live music starts at 2pm on Sundays at the Riverhead Pub which is one of the coolest places to spend an afternoon. In 2010 new owners Stephen and Paula bought the pub which was in receivership and frequented by a rather shady clientele. They had been sailing the world for 9 years in a boat they had built themselves before becoming landlubbers. It’s been such a successful venture, they haven’t had time to look back!
If you come by car (or hog) this is the pub entrance
There are several bars, nooks of restaurants, outdoor seating – it’s huge!
The Riverhead is the 2nd pub in New Zealand to have applied for a liquor license and Stephen and Paula have done a ton of research and printed out century-old newspaper articles mentioning the pub and its sometimes dodgy past!
Andy whips up a chocolate martini with a flirty smile
Quirky decor and historic documents as art adorn the walls providing an insight into this pub’s skulduggerous history
This boar watches over one of the dining rooms
Gardens sprawl all the way down the water – and kids are discouraged from playing in them!
We set off just on high tide where the upper harbour was nice and calm. It was a different story heading into the wider harbour with an extreme wind warning in force, swells and gusts of up to 40 knots!
Home time
Next time we have visitors from out of town, we’ll be bringing them here for sure.