Nici Wickes recommends a recipe for making lamb chops go a little further.

Nici Wickes shares a dessert that’s on high rotation at her house.

‘Love a double carb,’ confesses Nici Wickes.

A jar of this in the house makes for quick dinners.

Nici Wickes shares her shortcut for this ‘stunner’ of a dish.

The inventive menu and perfectly executed dishes at Parnell’s latest eatery set Nici Wickes alight with delight.

Janken does two things that satisfy Nici Wickes - it takes bookings and the Japanese cuisine is out of the ordinary.

Nici Wickes lets her friends choose the venue — and is unexpectedly surprised.

Nici Wickes toasts a year of fabulous eating and the amazing people behind Auckland’s dynamic restaurant scene, with a look back at some of her favourite reviews of 2014.

Nici Wickes visits Bambina owners Sarah and Peter Wren, who share a love of food, design, and a great neighbourhood.

K Rd newcomer Apero offers satisfyingly moreish morsels, discovers Nici Wickes, alongside its thoughtful wine list.

Casual little eateries are popping up in a suburb near you. Nici Wickes visits her local.

Nici Wickes visits an enchanting inner-city French bistro and is inspired enough to start planning her next visit to Paris and the south of France.

Fab fattoush salad, buttery-beyond-belief briocheschmarrn — Nici Wickes visits a bakery cafe that has transformed itself.

The newest addition to the Viaduct is serving up wonderful food and has the potential to charge full steam ahead, writes Nici Wickes.

Simon Wright has quietly achieved world recognition without leaving home. Nici Wickes talks to the award-winning chef about his passion for gastronomy, which he shares in a new book.

A 7000km trek across Spain has yielded a truly authentic tapas experience here in Auckland, discovers Nici Wickes.

A short cruise was enough to make an addict of Nici Wickes.

A new Vietnamese opening on Dominion Rd delights Nici Wickes.

Nici Wickes finds herself exhausted with the pleasure of an exquisite prix fixe menu.

Nici Wickes gets her 'just desserts' in this pretty-as-a-picture meadow.

Michael Van de Elzen's new joint serves original yet simple and familiar fare: a formula that keeps Nici Wickes going back for more.

Dining at Masu is a theatrical experience, discovers Nici Wickes, but the man behind the Japanese robata-style venue is as serene as he is driven.

We came, we over-ate, we left ... feeling as light as can be. That’s Nici Wickes’ verdict after sampling Simon Gault’s smart new menu.

The Black Hoof’s tapas take Auckland’s Spanish cuisine to new heights, writes Nici Wickes.

Beki and Esther Lamb's new bistro serves up some wildly nostalgic dishes that will make you misty-eyed with each mouthful, writes Nici Wickes.

Nici Wickes celebrates the flair and Laos-inspired authentic flavours of Bolaven’s new evening offerings.

Prego maintains the high standards it set two decades ago. Beautiful food, writes Nici Wickes, is served impeccably by knowledgeable staff in a happy atmosphere.

What do our national foods say about us as a nation? Nici Wickes asks.

This authentic Malaysian cafe is doing good for the community, and its customers.

On the eve of a trip to New Zealand, the revered food writer is engagingly forthcoming, finds Nici Wickes.

A selection of dishes combines different tastes and textures in delicious ways, writes Nici Wickes.

Pass the sugar-free cake but skip the detox. Nici Wickes reports from day 12 of her sugar-free month.

It's true confession time for the owners of well-educated palates who own up to distinctly non-Cordon Bleu tastes.

With the appointment of head chef Sean Marshall, Libertine has become more sophisticated than its bistro suroundings, finds Nici Wickes.

Nici Wickes contemplates a month without sugar.

Football’s not the only good thing coming out of South America. An eatery serving up delights from Venezuela to Brazil wows Nici Wickes.

Restaurateur Michael Dearth celebrates 10 years at The Grove, along with the team of Auckland star chefs he has nurtured. He shares his secrets with Nici Wickes.

Nici Wickes talks to Frank Camorra about creating a tapas culture down under.

It may be ready to eat, but you missed the best bit!

An unpretentious yet imaginative eatery evokes memories of Thailand for Nici Wickes.

The humble Sunday roast evokes a sense of us, our place, our country.

Nici Wickes discovers a refurbished tavern that’s batting well above its weight in the kitchen.

What once drew sympathetic 'tut tuts' now doesn't occasion even a slightly raised eyebrow.

The Engine Room epitomises the sublime ritual of going out for dinner, writes Nici Wickes.

Sitting under the swinging lanterns at Le Vietnamese Kitchen you could be in a back alley of Hanoi instead of on Ponsonby Rd.

A plush powder room can add a new level of sophistication to the dining out experience.

Teething problems aside, the Sofitel’s Lava Dining seems in safe - and creative - hands with new executive chef Nick Honeyman.

The inspiring couple behind a new Auckland butchery.

We may be in denial, but the stats don’t lie when they tell us we are way too fat.

Farina's exotic tastes of Italy have Nici Wickes coming back for more.

Nici Wickes learns to embrace dining trends that leave a meal’s decisions in someone else’s hands.

Pastry chef and former paragliding champion Jasmin Hill is behind Amaretti Kitchen.

Nici Wickes rediscovers the creativity of Merediths.

The chances of getting a fresh fish bargain keep slipping away.

Shakespeare wrote, "If music be the food of love, play on," and for most of Chris Priestly's working life, a passion for live music has been entwined with his love of Auckland's cafe and food scene.

Nici Wickes returns to an old favourite in the Waitakeres to find it still delivers on every aspect of a great dining experience

What does the trend for "clean eating" mean for those of us who haven't scrubbed up?

Nici Wickes finds this Kumeu highlight well worth going the distance for.

For some of us - including Viva's Nici Wickes - food is an endlessly fascinating topic for discussion.

A burger joint like no other in Auckland goes to a whole new delicious level, writes Nici Wickes.

The latest addition to Ponsonby is a pizza and pasta restaurant from one of the co-owners of Toto Restaurant.

With dishes that are playful but treat you like a grown-up, Parnell’s latest eatery is set to dazzle, writes Nici Wickes

Nici Wickes discovers a new restaurant with much to offer.

Give in to your appetite for winter and the richness of flavours it offers.

A new head chef is giving Galbraith’s a healthy injection of creativity, reports Nici Wickes.

Little and Friday's Kim Evans' foray into the meals market.

Why is it that opting for a non-alcoholic beverage automatically downgrades your options to something deeply unsexy?

Spending time in an international hotel in your home city can be an invigorating way to escape from your regular life.

Nici Wickes is wild about this elegantly prepared cuisine, not only for adventurous eaters.

Popularity appears to have bred contempt in some eateries.

With plates so pretty and delicately flavoured they will make you weep, Cocoro is the pinnacle of Japanese fine dining.

Nici Wickes contemplates cheating . . . with a new food processor.

Simple preparation makes for the most enchanting dishes at a new Herne Bay eatery, writes Nici Wickes.

Tossing is out, chopping is in, writes Nici Wickes.

Missing out on an airline meal - and its accompanying frozen bread roll - turns out to be a blessing.

Nici Wickes rediscovers the fragrant flavours of Vietnam’s roadside stalls at a Grey Lynn local.