Jesse Mulligan Auckland Restaurant Recommendations: Where To Dine For Fussy Eaters & Septuagenarians

In this fortnightly series, Viva’s resident dining-out editor shares his sage advice on exactly where to eat. He’s eaten a lot of bad meals so you don’t have to.

Do you have any restaurant-related questions or dining-out conundrums? Jesse is here to help.

Email Jesse at Viva@nzherald.co.nz and tell him what you need. Where and what do you like to eat? How much do you want to spend? If you’re just visiting, where are you staying while you’re in town? Who are you eating with? Does anybody have access issues?

Here are some questions he’s been asked lately and what he told them.

Hi Jesse,

We need to celebrate my daughter’s 20th birthday on Tuesday night and I was wondering if you could help with some suggestions, please? She will be celebrating with her friends in the weekend, so this is just a family-with-partners dinner.

Nine people (me, six x 20-25-year-olds, two x 75+. One fussy eater, but will always eat lamb or beef. Good cocktails/drinks list. Mid-range prices (I’m guessing it’s going to be expensive to pay for nine people with drinks…we went to Soul Bar last year).

I’ve looked online at Dr Rudis and just seen your review of Tacoteca — my daughter loves Mexican but the two 75+ don’t.

Many thanks, Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Your daughter is lucky to have a mum like you!

On price and excellence, I think pasta is probably the genre for you. Auckland has done very well in this space over the past few years and I think everybody would love an evening at Cotto (Karangahape Rd, delicious, but could be a bit loud for the older couple) or Ada (what a great chance for everyone to check out a piece of Auckland history, in this beautifully renovated former convent in Grey Lynn — if you haven’t been before I think this should be your first choice, though note I haven’t visited since a changeover of chef earlier in the year).

Looking elsewhere in the Mediterranean, Daphnes on Ponsonby Rd is the new home of the chef who created the reputation of both Ada and Cotto (they’ve recently opened on Tuesdays, too) or, on the other side of the city, I’m overdue to return to Gerome which does fantastic refined Greek cuisine in Parnell — my spies tell me it’s in great form right now.

Hi Jesse,

I read your review of Roses in Viva this morning and was wondering what the logic was behind scoring a pop-up like Roses, which is temporary and run by one chef and one front-of-house staff, versus not scoring places like The Hidden Village and Eggs and More, which are, arguably, more restaurant-y than Roses is? Not trying to start anything, just curious, as it seems odd to me to think some restaurants are more scoreable than others.

Thanks! Jonah

Great question, and I wish there was a black-and-white answer. Before the Covid pandemic everybody got a score — out of 10 first, as I recall, and eventually out of 20 to allow for a little more fine grading. Then the world stopped and everything went weird and when the restaurant scene finally sputtered back into action I decided that we would omit scores altogether for a while — to treat the column as more of a weekly reminder about (only) the good things going on.

The scores eventually returned but some weeks I still have that impulse — to tell people about a restaurant I loved, which would probably fail on many of the core elements of a scoring system: bathrooms, drinks list, attentive service and menus that aren’t laminated to repel spills.

So, when you (still very rarely) see a restaurant without a score it’s because I’ve found one thing I love about it (usually the food) and don’t want the other stuff to hold me back from writing about it.

Is it always completely clear to me which sort of restaurant is which? It’s not, but I hope my decision makes sense more often than it doesn’t.

Hi Jesse,

I am a vegetarian (not vegan) and in the time I have lived in Auckland, I have struggled to find a Japanese eatery that has an array of interesting, healthy mains as an option. I’m thinking soba noodle dishes (yasai yaki soba), tempura vegetables, yasai katsu curry, steamed vegetable gyoza as well as good use of edamame and a wider variety of the fabulous pickled vegetable dishes which I know they do so well.

Most restaurants I have visited concentrate on fish dishes (understandable) with just a few token vegetable side dishes.

Can you assist?

Thank you, Julie

Hi Julie,

I’m going to send you to Nic Watt’s excellent Masu at SkyCity. Tempura vegetables? Check. Good use of edamame … would a spicy edamame miso taco do the trick?

They also do vegetarian sushi with carrot, eggplant and green beans, and while I don’t think they do pickled vegetables as a separate side, you’ll find some takuwan (pickled radish) sprinkled throughout the menu.

Not all of the dishes you mention are represented but there is plenty for you on the robata grill including a signature carrot with miso and sunflower crumble. Treat yourself to their 11-course vegetarian tasting menu at $95 per person.

Previously Recommended By Jesse

What you’ve asked, what he’s shared.

Where To Go For Great Japanese; Eateries Worth Visiting Out West. One reader asks, “Do you pay for the meals you review?”

Where To Dine For Great People-Watching; Places That Go The Extra Mile. One reader says, “I want flavour, I want tastes of abroad. I don’t want fussy fare.”

Where To Eat That’s Actually Fun; Dinner That Isn’t Crowded. One reader is looking for a spot “that shows how good Auckland restaurants can be”.