When does a vinegar become a luxurious, sought-after ingredient? When a world-famous chef injects it into chocolates and when the Nobel Peace Prize Awards dinner menu features it by name, that's when.

Love is ... a menu that dazzles, yet is so entirely approachable.

No booking? No problem, writes Peter Calder, who discovers many an alternative in Copenhagen.

A French restaurant so authentic, even the food has an accent.

Auckland is full of fun foodie adventures to inspire and entertain. Nicky Pellegrino makes some delicious discoveries.

A degustation-only menu proves less daunting and more an artistic journey.

On these cold winter nights, is there anything more romantic than dining in front of an open fire? Here are our picks for the best of fireside dining in our city...

The food at Chim Choo Ree is full of smart twists on familiar ideas.

Ponsonby Central’s latest instalment offers an exotic array of Chinese delights.

The Auckland restaurant scene is showing no signs of being in hard financial times. In the past year, 137 new establishments have opened, and fewer than 30 have closed their doors.

Morningside's neighbourhood Japanese restaurant ticks all the right boxes for food and hospitality.

The first batch of new chefs has graduated from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Wellington today, including a former MasterChef contestant who will be working for one of the world's top ranked restaurants.

The international DJs have landed, the bar is stocked with exclusive Armand de Brignac champagne at $1400 a pop, and private booths of plush black velvet await.

Wellington's food festival is a treat for the palate. Don Kavanagh reports.

Peter Calder returns to the city that introduced him to decent food.

Its bistro is no more, but this inner-city hot spot still delivers on taste.

We came here because we wanted to check out a cafe outside our Mt Albert safe-zone.

Behind a modest exterior lies a cornucopia of flavours from the Middle East.

I should never have suggested my three mates meet me at the pub. My idea of a quick beer soon degenerated into several rounds and by the time we arrived at Da Vinci's the mood was somewhat more boisterous than it ought to be.

Bistro warmth combines with good, basic fare to cheer up a winter’s night.

We came here because I was bored of going to the usual jam-packed suspects (Circus, Frasers) on Mt Eden Rd.

A unique Pacific take on Chinese food shines in this playfully original setting.

Some people ain’t too bovvered by examples of bad grammar. But others, the self-appointed “grammar police”, are quick to frown upon the use of faulty punctuation.

My mother drank sherry and her twin drank gin. Although this may sound like a line from an old music-hall song, there is a point to it.

When dining is this good, it's like a dream. One from which I simply don't want to wake up.