Auckland is bursting with eateries keen to attract a younger clientele.

The message about locally sourced, seasonal ingredients has been hammered so repetitively that you almost wish a restaurant offer winter greens from Uzbekistan in February. Almost.

We came here because Divan has an all-day breakfast menu so we could pretend it was morning as we sat down to our first meal.

An old story goes that the guides in the Uffizi, the fabulous Renaissance gallery in Florence, would quietly remind visitors that "it is not the paintings that are on trial here".

Tucked away behind K Rd, a stylish wine bar provides a night to remember.

Isn't Mission Bay a perfect example of the urban seaside? Rangitoto smiles - or in bad weather, glowers - and the wind scoops white-tops across the harbour surface. So why is it the place that good food forgot?

We came here because we often stop for some of their great takeaway coffee en route to the train station at the south end of the Mall and have been meaning to come back for a sit-down meal for a while.

A few tweaks are needed to make this eatery a fiesta of flavour.

An unusual combination of Italian and Iranian, in a Ponsonby eatery, gets the chilli just right.

Regular readers of my restaurant reviews have probably worked out that the Professor is not a shrinking violet.

A restaurant with a Mediterranean twist should become a local haunt.

Mikano offers good looks, reliability and a sense of comfort with a touch of excitement.

It never ceases to amaze me how wide the range of opinion - or experience, which may not be the same thing - can be about a given restaurant.

We came here because we were on an expedition to Devonport and decided to try this cafe away from the main thoroughfare.

A Ponsonby Thai eatery is full of fun and freshness.

The end has come for Auckland restaurant Cin Cin on Quay, host to classy dinners on the waterfront since the late 1980s.

We came here because it’s something of a classic.

Hearty French fare is sometimes just the ticket to ease woes.

I suspect you could spend a year in New York eating nothing but pizza and never eat at the same place twice. I found my pizza heaven at Garibaldi's under the Brooklyn Bridge.