Viva Restaurant Awards 2023

Back for 2023 and just in time for summer, Viva’s dining out editor Jesse Mulligan and deputy editor Johanna Thornton select this year’s best places to have dinner, crowning a Supreme Winner, a Runner Up, and highlighting some special category winners.

Jesse Mulligan

Welcome to this year’s Viva Top 50 — a beautiful list of restaurants that represent the best of Auckland eating.

In some ways 50 is an arbitrary round number — why not do 40, or 60? But it’s funny each year how it seems to perfectly capture the number of places we’re truly excited about right now. That’s the test by the way — you can award points for cutlery and music and butter temperature all you want, but unless the restaurant puts a little spring in your step on your way to eat there, it doesn’t make it onto our final list.

My thanks to Albert Cho who founded this list with me in 2021 — he has graduated to fully fledged restaurateur since then, with his own Ponsonby eatery on the way and a year running the floor at Aigo Newmarket (yes, it’s on this list) under his belt. This was his Top 50 as much as mine, and we’re grateful that he’s handed over the job with good wishes.

Stepping into his shoes this year is Viva’s deputy editor Johanna Thornton, manager of Viva’s food content, serial diner outer, and the editor of my restaurant columns these past few years. She and I talk food each week anyway so it was a natural move to bring her in for a more intense two months of eating, and talking about eating.

We always have restaurants that narrowly miss out, and this year there are a handful of big names that we just couldn’t find space for. Sorry. There are definitely more than 50 great restaurants in Auckland, but on this list you’ll find the ones we’re vouching for any night of the week, on any sort of occasion.

Have fun exploring this brilliant collection of restaurants and our thanks go out to the restaurateurs, who for the most part didn’t ask to be reviewed, but who we hope will benefit from the surge of interest (and bookings) this list always creates.

Johanna Thornton

In Auckland we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to world-class restaurants that are uniquely of our city. It’s so rewarding to celebrate them with Viva’s annual Top 50 Auckland Restaurants, which acts as a dining out guide for the whole year, ideal for referring to again and again. It’s a list Auckland, and the hardworking restaurateurs, chefs and staff that prop the industry up, can be so proud of.

As Viva’s deputy editor, I curate Viva’s food and drinks content and work closely with dining out editor Jesse on which restaurants to review for his weekly column. He jokes that I’m always out at dinner, but who can blame me when there’s always somewhere new to try, or an old favourite to revisit?

I usually work behind the scenes to bring Viva’s Top 50 feature together, and this year I’ve had the honour of helping to formulate the list too, which has involved weeks of dining out, assessing not only the food, service, environment and atmosphere but also asking ourselves how much we want to go back — a true test of a great restaurant.

It’s a difficult task comparing restaurants, from a 100-seater with an army of staff to a neighbourhood bistro where the chef not only cooks but delivers your food too, and it’s even harder to narrow the list down to 50. Jesse pitched a Top 70 this year. It could easily be a Top 100.

One of the most exciting things about Auckland’s restaurant scene is how it’s constantly evolving and every year we see new restaurants opening, as well as some significant closures. This year we’ve included a cut-off for new openings of October 1, and since then at least five new restaurants are welcoming diners, from Michael Meredith’s Pacific-inspired Metita to Josh and Helen Emett’s Gilt Brasserie, Sarah and Jordan Macdonald’s Osteria Uno in Birkenhead and chef Henry Onesemo’s contemporary Samoan restaurant Tala in the old Pasture space. Even the brilliant Albert Cho, previous Top 50 judge, is busy working with Namu Group on his new restaurant Tobi, slated to open in November. We can’t wait for Jesse’s reviews later this year and in 2024.

We hope this showcase encourages you to book for dinner as soon as you can — we’re sure these restaurants won’t disappoint.

WATCH THE JUDGES VIDEO

What Jesse said

Last year a handful of restaurants were under serious consideration for Supreme Winner, but this year it only took a meal each, at Ahi, to know we had our champion. This restaurant is in a different class — maxing out on points for service, atmosphere, innovation and, of course, food.

A typical dish at Ahi will have at least a dozen components. Chosen for beauty and seasonal deliciousness, each of these ingredients will have been squeezed, sliced, roasted or crumbled, often over several hours, until it arrives on your plate in a form that expresses its unique qualities. When you eat it with the other parts of the dish, the symphony begins. This is food better than you can ever imagine it could be.

The kitchen is open so you can see how hard they’re working. Sometimes a chef will come tableside to introduce a particular plate, but mostly you’ll be served by a team of waiters and restaurant managers who are both precise and warm, exacting but informal.

The restaurant is open seven nights a week, and it is always full. Through the tough latter part of the 2023 winter, Ahi was the place you couldn’t get into. I ate at the bar (an underrated spot) twice, and watched a full dining room of happy people eat the meal of their lives. I dipped in and out of several courses but noted the new He Korero o kai Aotearoa or A New Zealand Food Story menu, where $165 gets you at least 10 different taste experiences. Te reo Māori sits comfortably on the menu alongside English — reflecting the team’s passion for the unique taonga of Aotearoa.

Word has got around. You will often find yourself sitting next to a group of food tourists, though it could just as easily be a business dinner or a couple on a date. Ahi is all things to all people, it is the greatest restaurant in the country, it is the future of New Zealand food.

Favourite dish: The pāua crumpet combines two of our most beloved ingredients — one a rare and expensive kaimoana, the other a nostalgic baked treat with a distinctive honeycomb surface. The crumpets are tiny here and so are the slivers of pāua, their richness countered with fermented peanut butter and a little cheffy mayo.

— Jesse Mulligan

What Johanna said

Jesse and I have been doing a lot of dining out to put this Top 50 list together. The standard of Auckland’s restaurants is so high, it’s hard to imagine topping an experience from one night to the next.

But Ahi brought everything I love about restaurants back into sharp focus.

On a quiet Sunday afternoon, I assumed it would be good, but what I experienced was superb. The kind of meal that you don’t want to end, where you end up ordering three desserts, a digestif and a coffee, just to drink it all in until the last minute.

Ahi meets all the criteria Jesse and I are looking for in a Top 50 restaurant: great food and drinks, excellent service and atmosphere, but there’s also an indescribable X factor that makes you excited to be in that dining room at that moment, knowing that all the elements of a great night are about to unfold like magic.

As far as dining rooms go, it’s hard to beat a table at Ahi, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows that overlook Auckland’s waterfront and the heritage buildings of Britomart. You can watch the chefs, led by Ben Bayly and Mike Shatura, hard at work in the open kitchen, cooking over an open fire (Ahi means fire in te reo) and diligently plating some of New Zealand’s finest produce.

The service, led by Chris Martin and Lucile Fortuna, is impeccable. There’s not a question their highly trained team can’t field, nor a recommendation they can’t make. At Ahi, two servers clear your plates in perfect unison; returning with a fresh warm set and just-polished cutlery. Your waiter can not only suggest a Sicilian gamay noir to pair with the venison but can tell you how the grapes grow near the peak of a volcano, bringing chalkiness and subtle hints of volcanic soil to the wine.

If you haven’t been to Ahi in a while, you’ll find the food’s presentation has been pared back and refined. Gone are the tree logs and animal horns, replaced by elegant plates heroing New Zealand produce, some of it sourced from Ahi’s own organic garden. Every dish is a beautiful expression of New Zealand ingredients that tastes even better than it looks.

What an absolute joy it is to dine here. Thank you, Ahi, for being a stunning showcase of New Zealand food, flavours and ideas.

Favourite dish: The apareka (asparagus) featuring two perfect spears, one white, one green, topped with a hazelnut soil and plated alongside a ‘Russian salad’ resembling a flower, with a creamy lager and Edam cheese foam concealing chopped capers and pickles, encased by perfect orange lantern flower petals. Either that or the crispy potatoes with black garlic sauce — these are 10/10.

— Johanna Thornton

What Jesse said

I love this restaurant so much. After visiting on a whim earlier in the year it became the place I sent almost everyone.

“Do you know that TV show The Bear?” I would say. “Sitting at the bar next to the kitchen is like watching a live episode.”

Well, there’s possibly a little less drama. But you can feel the tension and devotion to excellence, overhear the asides and coded language that make a restaurant kitchen of this quality tick.

But, of course, the main event isn’t the theatre, it’s the food. Chef Kyle Street has taken his apprenticeship at Depot and turned it into a vocation, cooking food that could only come from New Zealand, including fun nods to some of our favourite nostalgia foods (Marmite, jet planes, chips and dip) along with high-end seafood creations and delicious bistro-style mains, with a twist.

Once a protege of Al Brown, Kyle now pays it forward to the next generation, employing fresh grads and sometimes even current students of a local culinary school and providing an education money can’t buy.

Favourite dish: The optional kaimoana seafood platter changes regularly but is worth saying yes to: a life-changing combination of oysters, ceviche and some tiny “ice cream” cones filled with market fish tartare. On my visit I lucked into a bowl of simple fried potato chips served with a “dip” of impossibly light crayfish mousse.

— Jesse Mulligan

What Johanna said

Culprit is a good time. From the playfulness of the food to the happy energy of the dining room. You can feel the atmosphere from the moment you ascend the stairs, as the sound of hip-hop and excited diners comes into earshot.

Culprit has shaken things up in the past year, ditching the trolley service it became renowned for when it opened in 2016 and offering a set seasonal chef’s menu instead (with a few extras if you ask nicely). Chef/owner Kyle Street describes the food as nostalgic takes on classic Kiwiana dishes, with his team of chefs taking familiar flavour combinations and presenting them in fun ways.

You’ll eat little salmon belly cones topped with wasabi avocado cream with your fingers, or dip asparagus wrapped in crispy filo and dusted with Marmite powder into a gruyere whip. Culprit’s near-iconic duck dish hasn’t gone anywhere; reinvented for the season as a pork-stuffed half duck with confit leg.

The dining room has had a makeover too, with table lamps to better illuminate the food, black mesh sheers adding intimacy and warmth and a showstopping foliage chandelier by The Art Department, affectionately named The Mighty Boosh.

Favourite dish: The palate-cleansing jelly jet planes, most recently watermelon flavoured with black sesame and a line of sherbet for dipping.

— Johanna Thornton

In alphabetical order

Hāngī pork belly. Photo / Babiche Martens

Hāngī pork belly. Photo / Babiche Martens

Ada

★ Special category winner: Most promising chef

With the introduction of new chefs Kia Kanuta and Patrick Markus, Ada has transitioned from Italian fare to kai Māori, serving standout dishes like rēwana fry bread, ika mata, hāngī potatoes and the best beef short rib I’ve ever eaten, coated in horopito and harakeke rub. How special it is to enjoy a menu like this in a setting like the historic Convent Hotel, which is still one of the most beautiful dining rooms in Auckland. — Johanna

Cuisine: Kai Māori. Address: 454 Great North Rd, Grey Lynn. Contact: Adarestaurant.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Babiche Martens

Aigo

I love this place so much — it’s a shrine to flavour, nominally making Korean-inspired food but willing to borrow from other cuisines (particularly Italy) if that’s what’s required to make it taste even better. The two restaurants are different to each other but have distinct personalities — either make a great venue for catching up with foodie friends who think they’ve seen it all. — Jesse

Cuisine: Korean fusion. Address: 168 Ponsonby Rd. Contact: Namugroup.co.nz

Aigo’s tuna tartare, cucumber and crispy eggplant. Photo / Babiche Martens

Alma

★ Special category winner: Best restaurant for any occasion

This is still the restaurant I recommend most often, with its brilliant Andalusian-inspired menu cooked by the clever Jo Pearson, and served by some of Auckland’s most charming waitstaff. The setting is lovely, with its warm, tiled-lined interior, leather banquettes, open fire and glimpses of the harbour. Open for lunch and dinner, it’s equally appropriate for a long lunch or a celebratory dinner for two. Extra points for one of Auckland’s best cocktails: the tomato manzanilla martini. — Johanna

Cuisine: Andalusian. Address: Cnr Gore and Tyler St, Britomart. Contact: Alma.nz

Tomato anchovy tostada. Photo / Babiche Martens

Amano

A by-word for reliability, Amano isn’t any the less exciting for being consistent. It takes incredible discipline and devotion to run a dining room this big and this brilliant, and the fact you can get a beautiful meal at any time of day and always feel like you lucked upon the best waiter in the city is a tribute to the people at the top. This is a great place for out-of-towners — insist they order at least one dish from the handmade pasta counter. — Jesse

Cuisine: Italian. Address: 66-68 Tyler St, Britomart Place. Contact: (09) 394 1416. Savor.co.nz

Stracciatella tamarillo and seafood spaghetti. Photo / Dean Purcell

Azabu

(Ponsonby and Mission Bay)

While the Ponsonby Road iteration is sleek and intimate (it won best spot for a first date in last year’s awards), the Mission Bay restaurant is open and sprawling with views of the adjoining park. Both offer fresh sashimi, sushi and ceviche-topped tostadas on their Peruvian/Japanese-style menus, but Azabu Mission Bay has the addition of a robata grill for caramelising meat and vegetables to perfection and might just have the advantage this summer. — Johanna

Cuisine: Japanese Peruvian. Address: 26 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby; 44 Tamaki Drive, Mission Bay. Contact: Savor.co.nz

Rainbow sushi and chicken and salmon yakitori. Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Babiche Martens

Aigo’s tuna tartare, cucumber and crispy eggplant. Photo / Babiche Martens

Tomato anchovy tostada. Photo / Babiche Martens

Stracciatella tamarillo and seafood spaghetti. Photo / Dean Purcell

Rainbow sushi and chicken and salmon yakitori. Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Fiona Goodall

Photo / Babiche Martens

Mozzarella sticks with caviar. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Chef/owner Reginaldo Richard. Photo / Babiche Martens

Lamb ribs, sambal ijo and soft herbs. Photo / Josh Harvey

Lamb ribs, sambal ijo and soft herbs. Photo / Josh Harvey

Bar Magda

This subterranean bar and restaurant is discoverable via a flight of stairs off Cross Street, through a set of velvet curtains. The red-hued dining area is divided into areas depending on your mood. Are you in for a cocktail and a snack, a private dining experience, or the full tasting menu of chef Carlo Buenaventura’s modern Filipino cuisine? There’s nowhere else you’ll eat spiced ham terrine with crab fat mayo (Carlo’s take on Spam) or swordfish and scallop kilaw (cured seafood). — Johanna

Cuisine: Modern Filipino. Address: 25b Cross St, Auckland CBD. Contact: Barmagda.co.nz

The shared steak. Photo / Babiche Martens

The shared steak. Photo / Babiche Martens

Baduzzi

A no-brainer if you’re in the Wynyard Quarter area but an all-rounder for many occasions, whether that’s a long lunch at an outdoor table or a big family dinner. This Italian restaurant from the exacting Michael Dearth still has its meatballs menu, yes, but it’s the handmade pasta that’s some of the city’s best and we hope the buttered magliati with braised duck and porcini mushrooms never comes off the menu. — Johanna

Cuisine: Italian. Address: 10/26 Jellicoe St, North Wharf. Contact: Baduzzi.co.nz

Photo / Fiona Goodall

Beau

Ponsonby wine bar Beau hums every night with happy customers. With a sense of community at its heart and a goal of being inclusive, you can feel that warmth even on a harried Friday night when tables are scarce, and the staff is stretched. The wine list is extensive and exciting, and the food is ideal for sittings big or small, whether it’s charcuterie and cheese or a plate of juicy Scotch fillet with all the sides. Don’t miss the sunny courtyard, one of Ponsonby’s hidden gems. — Johanna

Cuisine: Bistro. Address: 265 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby. Contact: Beauponsonby.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Bivacco

This is a waterside behemoth — offering acres of dining space and yet seemingly always full. A busy kitchen of chefs serves up wonderful modern Italian food with a changing menu of dishes inspired by the season. A great place for groups or a lunch you secretly hope will kick on until the evening. — Jesse

Cuisine: Italian. Address: 115 Customs St West, Auckland CBD. Contact: (09) 801 6505. Savor.co.nz

Mozzarella sticks with caviar. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Crayfish tortellini. Photo / Babiche Martens

Crayfish tortellini. Photo / Babiche Martens

The Butcher Baker

★ Special category winner: Best new restaurant

Our furthest-afield Top 50 restaurant, 40km northwest of Auckland in Helensville, The Butcher Baker is well worth the drive. Housed in a beautiful historic brick building with a courtyard that could be in the South of France if you squint hard enough, The Butcher Baker is the vision of Brazilian chef/owner Reginaldo Richard, whose aim is to cook locally grown, delicious food. Expect to dine on a short seasonal menu, designed around the restaurant’s impressive woodfired oven and a farm-to-table ethos. — Johanna

Cuisine: Bistro. Address: 5 Commercial Rd, Te Awaroa, Helensville. Contact: Thebutcherbaker.co.nz

Chef/owner Reginaldo Richard. Photo / Babiche Martens

Candela

Last year’s Top 50 Auckland Restaurants Supreme Winner, Candela impressed with its electric atmosphere, perfect martinis and appealing tapas menu, the ideal restaurant before going out-out. The Iberian-inspired Karangahape Road restaurant is still a solid spot for dinner, with its menu heroing individual bites (great for trying a bit of everything) and a thoughtful wine list canvassing New Zealand and European styles. — Johanna

Cuisine: Iberian. Address: 155 Karangahape Rd, Auckland CBD. Contact: Candelabar.co.nz

Pork collar, sweetcorn and mandarin gel.

The oyster pakora. Photo / Babiche Martens

The oyster pakora. Photo / Babiche Martens

Cassia

Every mouthful you eat here will be perfect — with enough authentic Indian flavour and technique that it qualifies as a curry house, but one unlike any other curry house in the world. That’s largely due to Sid Sahrawat, New Zealand’s greatest chef, who’s done an incredible job of recreating his home country’s cuisine at a level that competes with the great fine-dining kitchens of our city. — Jesse

Cuisine: Indian. Address: 90 Federal St, Auckland CBD. Contact: (09) 379 9702. Cassiarestaurant.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Emily Raftery

Photo / Emily Raftery

Cazador

★ Special category winner: Best service

It’s not surprising Cazador has been among the awards these last few years. Every time one of their charismatic staff members or owners talks to you, you feel like handing them some sort of trophy. One of Auckland’s oldest restaurants, it’s also one of our most innovative — you’ll find little hints through the food and cocktail menus of their current passions and obsessions. As good a place to take your parents as it is a date you’re looking to impress. — Jesse

Cuisine: Bistro. Address: 854 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden. Contact: Cazador.co.nz

Photo / Emily Raftery

Celeste

It’s only been around a few years but for so many of us this is a comfort restaurant — the place you go when you need to feel the love. A narrow bar on Karangahape Road with few enough tables that even half a dozen diners can feel like a party, though it’s rarely that empty, it has a short but excellent menu with casual French influences and a fantastic wine list to go with it. Celeste and its owners have added immeasurable value to Auckland’s eating scene. — Jesse

Cuisine: Neo bistro. Address: 146b Karangahape Rd, Auckland CBD. Contact: Barceleste.com

The octopus. Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Cocoro

An oasis of Japanese perfection in suburban Ponsonby, Cocoro has become an institution, where chefs devote every second of their workday to your mouth’s happiness. Care, attention, love, reverence — all the things that typify life in Japan are present in this beautiful room, with an astonishingly good wine list and wonderful service. — Jesse

Cuisine: Japanese. Address: 56a Brown St, Ponsonby. Contact: Cocoro.co.nz

Sushi and sashimi. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Pork collar, sweetcorn and mandarin gel.

Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Emily Raftery

The octopus. Photo / Babiche Martens

Sushi and sashimi. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Photo / Babiche Martens

Scallops with black pudding. Photo / Babiche Martens

Duck with butter mash. Photo / Babiche Martens

Duck with butter mash. Photo / Babiche Martens

Cibo

How do they do it? One of the most fun dining rooms in Auckland, with great food to match, you can see why some locals never go anywhere else. The menu is almost as delicious to read as it is to eat, with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options alongside more traditional bistro proteins, inflected with Asian flavours and a touch of Cibo’s inimitable magic. And then there is the pavlova menu … — Jesse

Cuisine: Bistro. Address: 91 Saint Georges Bay Rd, Parnell. Contact: Cibo.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Cos lettuce, chickpea pancake and mussel flatbread. Photo / Babiche Martens

Cos lettuce, chickpea pancake and mussel flatbread. Photo / Babiche Martens

Daphnes

Pivoting from Greek–inspired fare to a looser, more Italian-style menu earlier this year with the introduction of a new chef, Ponsonby Road restaurant Daphnes has undergone a bit of a refresh and we’re here for it. The beautiful dining room looks the same, and so do the sourdough flatbreads, except now they’re served with nduja short rib, chilli mussels and tahini mushrooms. Happily, Daphnes is now open for lunch, Wednesday through Sunday. — Johanna

Cuisine: European. Address: 71 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby. Contact: Daphnes.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Trevally sashimi. Photo / Babiche Martens

Trevally sashimi. Photo / Babiche Martens

Depot

★ Special category winner: Best of New Zealand

Auckland’s pioneering casual restaurant opened in 2011 and yet you can still find owner Al Brown working the floor on a Tuesday night, pouring your beer and sweeping the floor. It’s a reminder of the dedication it takes to keep an operation of this standard running in a city when a new restaurant opens every week. I can report that your favourite dishes taste just as good as they did on day one, the oysters are still the city’s best, and there are new additions to the menu (okay, three) to keep things interesting. — Johanna

Cuisine: NZ bistro. Address: 86 Federal St, Auckland CBD. Contact: (09) 363 7048. Depoteatery.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Courgette flower. Photo / Babiche Martens

Courgette flower. Photo / Babiche Martens

Duo

There is a lot of love in this menu, and the husband-and-wife team who run the restaurant infuse every aspect of it with care and attention. The food is very seasonal (the menu changes every couple of weeks) and there’s also a daily blackboard menu where the chef showcases the best ingredients of that morning’s market, each transformed into something memorable and beautiful. — Jesse

Cuisine: Bistro. Address: 138 Hinemoa St, Birkenhead. Contact: Duoeatery.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Esther

Hotel dining has no right to be this good. But Esther has become one of our favourite places to send people — a very stylish restaurant infused with head chef Sean Connolly’s personality and energy. Projects like the dairy cow menu typify his commitment to extracting flavour wherever he can find it, sitting on the menu next to more familiar but equally delicious bistro fare. — Jesse

Cuisine: Bistro. Address: 4 Viaduct Harbour Avenue, Auckland CBD. Contact: Estherrestaurant.com

Scallops with black pudding. Photo / Babiche Martens

The courgette. Photo / Babiche Martens

The courgette. Photo / Babiche Martens

Flor

A narrow space on Karangahape Road, Flor manages to do incredible things, mostly thanks to the energy of the chefs who aim very high and always hit the mark. In a sense their food is cutting-edge but they make deliciousness a priority — reinventing some classics not for the sake of it but because they’ve worked out how to coax even more flavour from an ingredient. Make time for the fantastic, largely natural wine list. — Jesse

Cuisine: Bistro. Address: 366 Karangahape Rd, Auckland CBD. Contact: 366krd.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Forest

Purple walls, cork tables, fresh greenery and a sweet crayon mural on the walls, Forest’s new home on Dominion Road has been designed just as owner/chef Plabita Florence intended it, having outgrown the Symonds Street space she opened in 2019. The vegetarian menu is now a tight edit of la carte options, canvassing seasonal produce cooked in inventive ways, like roasted purple kūmara with a savoury Marmite cream, topped with peas and rosemary, or witloof tacos with leek, pickles and spicy lime mayo. — Johanna

Cuisine: Vegetarian. Address: 243 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden. Contact: Whatisforest.com

Kūmara with peas and Marmite. Photo / Babiche Martens

Raw kingfish. Photo / Babiche Martens

Raw kingfish. Photo / Babiche Martens

Gemmayze Street

A real crowd favourite, Gemmayze serves Middle Eastern food with a modern twist to hungry hordes on Karangahape Road. The restaurant does a great job of being all things to all people — a great place for a Tinder date, but perfect too for a large group needing some room to stretch out. — Jesse

Cuisine: Lebanese. Address: Shop 16, St Kevins Arcade, 183 Karangahape Rd. Contact: Gemmayzestreet.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Gochu

It’s easy to forget that some of the best modern Korean food in the city is being served at a little half-restaurant in the Commercial Bay food court. Every dish is a flavour bomb, and if you thought they’d sacrifice service (and wine) given their location you’d be wrong — they treat waitering as seriously as any dedicated bistro. Arrive hungry and plan to fall in love with the food. — Jesse

Cuisine: Korean. Address: Level 2, Commercial Bay, 1 Queen St, Auckland CBD. Contact: Gochugotyou.co.nz

Gochujang-charred octopus. Photo / Babiche Martens

Beasty sashimi selection.

Beasty sashimi selection.

Hello Beasty

I can’t think of a restaurant that packs more flavour into each dish — this is the place to go if you want to teach your taste buds a lesson. Serving cuisine inspired by China, Korea and Japan, Hello Beasty is a family operation in the middle of the Viaduct — hardly the place you think of for “mom and pop” style restaurants. Every time I eat here, I’m so grateful that Hello Beasty exists. — Jesse

Cuisine: Asian fusion. Address: 95-97 Customs St West, Auckland CBD. Contact: Hellobeasty.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Kūmara with peas and Marmite. Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Babiche Martens

Gochujang-charred octopus. Photo / Babiche Martens

Trevally sashimi. Photo / Babiche Martens

Snapper terrine. Photo / Babiche Martens

Nduja clams. Photo / Babiche Martens

Chicken, quinoa tamale and beef skewers. Photo / Babiche Martens

Soft shell crab slider. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Hotel Ponsonby

★ Special category winner: Best restaurant for a first date

Auckland needs more restaurants like Hotel Ponsonby. The perfect blend of bistro-meets-pub-meet-bar, of which there are countless examples in cities like London and Melbourne, but sorely lacking in Tāmaki Makaurau; somewhere you can go for a drink and an excellent snack, or settle in for substantial dinner or a Sunday roast, where the surroundings are beautiful, and the staff are on to it. Hotel Ponsonby is just as perfect for a day sesh in the sunny courtyard as a late-night meal in a cosy leather booth. — Johanna

Cuisine: Casual bistro. Address: 1 Saint Marys Rd, St Marys Bay. Contact: Hotelponsonby.co.nz

Trevally sashimi. Photo / Babiche Martens

Kingi

A flash Britomart eatery founded on unflashy principles: sustainability, traditional techniques and a deep love of the sea. Owner Tom Hishon is a man with seemingly unlimited energy for projects that excite him, and Kingi is another huge success: a seven-day-a-week, breakfast-through-dinner affair where the odd parts of the fish are celebrated — snapper heads and cod wings are a favourite — but presented in such a way even the most bone-averse eater will find them difficult to resist. — Jesse

Cuisine: Seafood. Address: Tuawhiti Lane, 29 Galway St, Britomart. Contact: Kingibritomart.com

Snapper terrine. Photo / Babiche Martens

Market fish with vadouvan butter and duck fat potato. Photo / Babiche Martens

Market fish with vadouvan butter and duck fat potato. Photo / Babiche Martens

Lilian

Grey Lynn’s favourite osteria and wine bar is still as great as ever, serving regulars their fill of woodfired pizza, Cloudy Bay clams slick with lemony nudja and those crispy lamb ribs with black garlic and pistachio. Lilian recently added a Friday and Saturday lunch service to its roster, which will be music to the ears of anyone who’s queued for a coveted weekend table. Chef Otis Schapiro has been working on a suite of new summer dishes, some of which will be exclusive to the lunch menu. — Johanna

Cuisine: European. Address: 472 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn. Contact: Lilian.co.nz

Nduja clams. Photo / Babiche Martens

Madame George

With the addition of its new dining room El Comedor, Madame George is ready to welcome larger groups to its inviting, and just plain fun, restaurant and bar on Karangahape Road. It’s always been the place for pisco sours and Peruvian cuisine at one of its coveted outdoor tables, but it’s also perfect for a sit-down dinner from the a la carte menu, or to sample its best plates, the MG Choice set menu. — Johanna

Cuisine: Peruvian. Address: 490 Karangahape Rd, Auckland CBD. Contact: Madamegeorge.co.nz

Chicken, quinoa tamale and beef skewers. Photo / Babiche Martens

Masu

A big Japanese restaurant with perfectionist standards, Masu is a city classic — it celebrates its tenth birthday this year. The only thing inauthentic about Masu is that it serves almost everything — the menu here has been designed so you can eat whatever Japanese dish you’re in the mood for right now, alongside a fantastic sake menu curated by a team with an obvious passion for great food and drink. — Jesse

Cuisine: Japanese. Address: 90 Federal St, Auckland CBD. Contact: (09) 363 6278. Skycity.co.nz

Soft shell crab slider. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Milenta

★ Special category winner: Best summer restaurant

Auckland’s best summer restaurant, this Victoria Park open-air dining room is an exciting place to visit — a great spot to take friends from out of town. There is a new energy in the kitchen thanks to chef Al Alfante and the food is just incredible — much of it cooked over open coals, with South American flavours inflecting most of the dishes and great respect for the ingredients of the season. — Jesse

Cuisine: South American-inspired. Address: 210-218 Victoria St West, Auckland CBD. Contact: Milenta.co.nz

Smoked pork chop with salsa picante and pomegranate molasses. Photo / Babiche Martens

MoVida

Creating modern Spanish tapas in the old Ostro space downtown, MoVida has one of the cleverest kitchens in Auckland. The famous Melbourne restaurant has done a great job of reimagining its proposition for the New Zealand market (helped, of course, by access to our superior meat and seafood). — Jesse

Cuisine: Modern Spanish. Address: 52 Tyler St, Auckland CBD. Contact: (09) 302 9888. Savor.co.nz

The cured wagyu. Photo / Babiche Martens

Fish with eggplant. Photo / Babiche Martens

Fish with eggplant. Photo / Babiche Martens

Mr Morris

Our Supreme Winner in 2021, chef Michael Meredith has been busy launching his new restaurant Metita, but that doesn’t mean standards have slipped at Mr Morris. The Britomart restaurant is in the capable hands of head chef Zane Neustroski and team, cooking modern Pacific and New Zealand dishes with exciting local produce. Mr Morris is the kind of restaurant you can relax in immediately, knowing you’re going to be taken care of, and that all the elements, from the music to the lighting to the wine, will hit the right notes. — Johanna

Cuisine: Modern. Address: Cnr Galway & Commerce St, Britomart, Auckland CBD. Contact: Mrmorris.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Raw fish, chicken wings and Brussels sprouts. Photo / Alex Burton

Raw fish, chicken wings and Brussels sprouts. Photo / Alex Burton

Omni

John Yip and Jamie Yeon’s small but mighty yakitori restaurant and wine bar on Dominion Road is the place for elegant plates of sashimi slick with makrut lime oil, pickled vegetables and Auckland’s best prawn toast. In the open kitchen, all parts of the chicken are cooked over binchotan charcoal, an ideal match with Omni’s comprehensive natural wine list. — Johanna

Cuisine: Japanese. Address: 359 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden. Contact: Atomni.co.nz

Photo / Alex Burton

The kingfish crudo. Photo / Babiche Martens

The kingfish crudo. Photo / Babiche Martens

Onslow

Josh Emett is creating excitement with his new Chancery restaurant but Onslow, in a beautiful new building in the old part of Auckland, is better than it’s ever been. This is a properly flash restaurant, with very assured servers and a fantastic team of busy young chefs creating a blurry hive of activity in the open kitchen. The food is incredible — throw in a couple of the high-class “snacks” with your order. — Jesse

Cuisine: Modern bistro. Address: 9 Princes St, Auckland CBD. Contact: Onslow.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Smoked pork chop with salsa picante and pomegranate molasses. Photo / Babiche Martens

The cured wagyu. Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Alex Burton

Photo / Babiche Martens

Tomato and strachiatelli pizza, carrots and ricotta. Photo / Babiche Martens

The pāua ravioli. Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Babiche Martens

Rigatoni, pork and fennel sausage ragu. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Photo / Babiche Martens

Ooh-Fa

★ Special category winner: Best vibe

Do one thing and do it really, really well. That’s the ethos behind Ooh-Fa which specialises in sourdough pizza, natural wine and great vibes. Ooh-Fa’s woodfired Marana pizza oven takes centre stage at this 22-seat restaurant, turning out dessert-plate size pies, meaning it’s a wise idea to order all six on the menu for a group of four, and have the staff course them out for you perfectly. Ooh-Fa fills up fast, and securing a seat is like being invited to the best kind of party. — Johanna

Cuisine: Pizza. Address: 357 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden. Contact: Oohfa.co.nz

Tomato and strachiatelli pizza, carrots and ricotta. Photo / Babiche Martens

Origine

This might be Auckland’s most impressive dining room — a huge, modern space in Commercial Bay with views of the Ferry Building and sparkling sea beyond. The menu is beautiful and unique too — with a fulsome range of very French dishes that the city was missing before now. It’s a great wine list, so lean on the sommelier to help you into the right bottle for the right occasion. — Jesse

Cuisine: French. Address: Level 2, Commercial Bay, 172 Quay St. Contact: Origine.nz

The pāua ravioli. Photo / Babiche Martens

Barbecued hapuka with asparagus. Photo / Babiche Martens

Barbecued hapuka with asparagus. Photo / Babiche Martens

Paris Butter

A little restaurant with big ambitions, Paris Butter exudes energy, leading the industry with its innovative and collaborative spirit. Chef Zennon Wijlens is a superstar — an obsessed food magician who refuses to let tradition or the laws of physics get in the way of maximum flavour. An essential restaurant for anybody who wants to see how good New Zealand food can get, and who isn’t scared off by fine dining prices. — Jesse

Cuisine: Fine dining. Address: 166 Jervois Rd, Herne Bay. Contact: Parisbutter.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

Pici

Petite St Kevins Arcade favourite Pici is a sought-after spot for pasta and natural wines, and is equally as enjoyable when you’re propped at the bar or tucked away in its cosy mezzanine dining floor. The pasta is housemade, simple and affordable with a rotating menu of classics like beef shin ragu with pappardelle, Pici’s take on cacio e pepe, and specials heroing whatever’s good that week. The Pici team recently opened wine bar and shop Tappo just next door, with take-home bottles and rudely generous servings of cheese. — Johanna

Cuisine: Italian. Address: Shop 22, St Kevin’s Arcade, 183 Karangahape Rd, Auckland CBD. Contact: Picipasta.co.nz

Rigatoni, pork and fennel sausage ragu. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Prawn tostadas. Photo / Babiche Martens

Prawn tostadas. Photo / Babiche Martens

Ragtag

An incredible Mexico-inspired restaurant in the last place you’d expect to find it — the Westmere shops. The room is small and sweet, the servers much the same, and the food is incredibly good — every time a dish arrives you think ‘lucky we ordered this one!’, but soon you realise there are no duds on this menu. A great place to catch up with great friends in the ‘burbs. — Jesse

Cuisine: Mexican bistro. Address: 162 Garnet Rd, Westmere. Contact: Ragtagnz.com

Photo / Babiche Martens

Sidart

★ Special category winner: Best drinks list

If you haven’t visited recently, you owe it to your taste buds. Nobody in Auckland is more ambitious than chef Lesley Chandra but though his fine dining food is world-class in its execution, he’s devoted to democratising this level of eating — offering a la carte options and innovative non-alcoholic pairings too. It’s easy to forget about this beautiful space hidden away in Three Lamps but it’s a must-visit for any serious foodie. — Jesse

Cuisine: Fine dining. Address: 283 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby. Contact: Sidart.co.nz

Duck and mandarin. Photo / Alex McVinnie

Venison, romesco, black pudding, medjool date, smoked cashews. Photo / Josh Griggs

Venison, romesco, black pudding, medjool date, smoked cashews. Photo / Josh Griggs

Sid at The French Cafe

A by-word for excellence in Auckland eating “The French” is no less iconic under the (no longer very) new management of master chef Sid Sahrawat. This is still the place to go to eat the world’s best food, but Sid and his wife Chand have worked hard to make it accessible too — with smaller, more casual menus and friendly collaborations that make this feel less like somewhere you need six months’ notice to book. — Jesse

Cuisine: Fine dining. Address: 210 Symonds St, Eden Terrace. Contact: Sidatthefrenchcafe.co.nz

Photo / Josh Griggs

Soul Bar and Bistro

“Iconic” doesn’t quite cover it. Soul Bar is legendary, as are some of the stories that have started here. Though popular with the fashionable set this is more than just SPQR by the sea — a massive recent investment in the kitchen (including a new dedicated pastry section) demonstrates that when it comes to food, Soul is very committed to being among the city’s best. — Jesse

Cuisine: Bistro. Address: Cnr Lower Hobson St & Customs St West, Auckland CBD. Contact: Soulbar.co.nz

Short rib pappardelle. Photo / Babiche Martens.

Tempero

One of the most exciting openings of 2023, this family operation celebrates the best of Brazilian cuisine, informed by the chef’s travels through the best kitchens in the world. There is so much love in these dishes, and the service is personal but efficient. If you thought South American food was all steaks and baked pastries, Tempero will open up a whole new culinary world, founded on the chef’s own memories of watching his mother and grandmother cook. — Jesse

Cuisine: Latin. Address: 352 Karangahape Rd, Auckland CBD. Contact: Temperoakl.com

Fish mocueqa. Photo / Babiche Martens

Duck and mandarin. Photo / Alex McVinnie

Photo / Josh Griggs

Short rib pappardelle. Photo / Babiche Martens.

Fish mocueqa. Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Babiche Martens.

Photo / Babiche Martens

Mushrooms with duck yolk. Photo / Babiche Martens

Photo / Babiche Martens

Tokki

Milford is lucky to have Tokki, an elegant modern Korean restaurant by chef Jason Kim. The 26-seat dining room might be minimal, but the service and atmosphere are anything but, with attentive staff taking care of you from the moment they open the door. The tasting menu canvasses Tokki’s greatest hits, from the ssam with pork galbi and oiji (pickled cucumber) to the ultra-long flat noodles with chilli and doenjang pork, but it’s the prawn-stuffed crispy chicken wing with truffle mayo you can’t leave without ordering. — Johanna

Cuisine: Korean. Address: 87 Kitchener Rd, Milford. Contact: Tokki.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens.

The Engine Room

I don’t think there’s a more beloved local restaurant than The Engine Room, which flies the flag for great bistro food across the bridge in Northcote Point. Though it varies slightly from season to season, the menu is etched into the mind of every regular — there’s no need to look at the blackboard to choose between, say, the souffle and the schnitzel. The archetypal restaurant that knows what it does well and never strays from that mission. — Jesse

Cuisine: Bistro. Address: 115 Queen St, Northcote Point. Contact: Engineroom.net.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

The Grove

★ Special category winner: Best special occasion restaurant

It can be hard for a restaurant that was best in Auckland 15 years ago to stay top of mind as diners chase newer, shinier things. But it would be a shame to overlook The Grove because arguably it’s better than ever — with brilliant food, world-class service and a wine list to satisfy even the most expensive tastes. Perfect for a celebration dinner when somebody else is paying the bill. — Jesse

Cuisine: Fine dining. Address: Saint Patricks Square, Wyndham St, Auckland CBD. Contact: Thegroverestaurant.co.nz

Mushrooms with duck yolk. Photo / Babiche Martens

The sashimi. Photo / Babiche Martens

The sashimi. Photo / Babiche Martens

Waku Waku

A fine food oasis in a part of town still finding its culinary feet, Waku Waku offers beautiful, considered Japanese food in a purpose-built Remuera dining room. From classics like sashimi to a new version of the savoury custard co-owner Makoto Tokuyama pioneered at his flagship Cocoro, everything you eat here is jaw-droppingly good. — Jesse

Cuisine: Japanese. Address: 1D, 415 Remuera Rd, Remuera. Contact: Wakuwaku.co.nz

Photo / Babiche Martens

_{Team credits}

Judges / Jesse Mulligan and Johanna Thornton

Photographer / Babiche Martens

Stylist / Dan Ahwa

Grooming and makeup / Shirley Simpson

Shorthand designer / Laura Hutchins

Videographers / Britt Walton, Tom Dyton, Sasha Sadlier. Video editor / Shreyas Beltangy, Nimesh GovindGovin

A special thank you to Lilian for the shoot location and tiramisu.