Jesse Mulligan Auckland Restaurant Recommendations: Where To Go For Peace & Quiet

In this fortnightly series, Viva’s resident dining-out editor shares advice on where and what to eat.

Do you have any restaurant-related questions or dining-out dilemmas? Jesse Mulligan 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 his answers.

Dear Jesse,

Are there any restaurants in Auckland where you can hear your dining companions over the din of music and chatter? I’m all for a busy dining room and a good playlist, but is there anywhere for this grandma to enjoy her cocktail and crudo in peace?

Thank you,

Hard of hearing

With quietness, often, comes cost. The Grove is quiet, Paris Butter is quiet. Cocoro too.

If your budget doesn’t stretch to that, somewhere I immediately thought of with comfy, chatter-muffling furnishings is Sunset Bar at the top of the Sudima. Great views too! The food is middle-of-the-road but nice.

There are corners of the Cassia dining room that should suit your acoustic needs. And would you consider Soul? Ironically it’s one of the biggest party bars in town but there are parts of the beautiful main dining room where I think you’d find a good spot, and the staff are talented enough to understand your problem and help you solve it.

Speaking of great staff, I reckon a chat with the team at Cibo could be worthwhile – they’ll know best but I reckon you could find a table in their beautiful courtyard where the voices of others will hopefully drift up and away before reaching your precious ears.

You’ll know this already of course, but off-peak slots on off-peak days are your friend!

Hi Jesse,

My 9-year-old daughter has severe food allergies. She is anaphylactic to wheat, egg, peanuts, rye and barley. So going out for a meal is not an option. Do you know of any restaurant that could safely cater for her? We booked somewhere last week and had multiple phone conversations with the staff before the day to ensure it was possible for her to eat there and they assured us it would be fine and the chef would take all precautions. She was all excited about dining out, but when we arrived for our booking the very cold maitre’d said that they couldn’t cater for her safely. So, a very sad girl and I headed to the Four Square for smoked salmon and crackers.

The only restaurant she has eaten at and is safely looked after is Kobe at Millbrook. But that’s a bit far from Matakana.

Thanks!

Julia

Hi Julia,

As you’ve indicated this is a tough one, and sorry it’s taken me a couple of weeks to reply. In that time I’ve talked to the original restaurant you booked at (not mentioned below, though I think they’ve now been in touch with you to discuss your experience) and called around a few others to get an idea of some solutions.

You’ve picked that Japanese is a pretty good starting point, and I had a good chat to the team at Cocoro who would love to have you in, and have offered the following guidance:

“We will do everything we can to accommodate her allergies. To help us do that, we would like to ask that the visit is not during peak hours and a pre-order is placed. Having a preorder and not doing something out of our ordinary operations at peak hour helps us greatly with making sure the diner with allergies and all our other customers are well looked after.

“Depending on the severity of the wheat allergy, we may or may not be able to use our usual deep fryer as the common oil will have traces of wheat. If the severeness requires it, we will use a separate pot of oil for deep-fry if tempura is ordered. Please contact us directly so we can gauge what we can do and work out a plan for the little girl.”

Thanks Cocoro!

I thought Little Bird’s Unbakery might be a good shout too, given that a lot of their meals are already “free-from”. The great Megan May who owns Unbakery says:

“Poor thing, what a nightmare not being able to eat anywhere, we don’t use any of those ingredients at the cafe or in our production products outside of one drink (a reishi latte that uses a barley extract but I don’t suspect she would be ordering that).

“So yes, she should be safe to eat with us – of course we can’t guarantee no cross-contamination in the factories where our ingredients come from but given most of it is from Ceres we feel pretty confident.

“Hopefully she’s interested in exploring the world of plant-based wholefoods! Another place could be Janken – they are at least GF [gluten free] I think [I’ve checked in with Janken and this looks promising – Jesse], and Michael Meredith is usually very good with allergies. So maybe Mr Morris if they are feeling bougie!”

Thanks Megan! And here’s one more for good luck.

Forest chef Plabita Florence would love to have you both in, and sympathises with your situation:

“It’s a tough one for sure! We would actually be fine with those allergies, although I always say our kitchen is tiny so cross-contamination is possible. We basically never use eggs, peanuts or rye anyway. Hope that helps? Just a note we appreciate a heads up ahead of time as well, so that we can expect to accommodate serious allergies.”

I hope this is a good start, Julia. It sounds like you’re a great mum! Let me know how you get on.

Previously recommended by Jesse Mulligan

What you’ve asked, and what he’s shared.

Where To Find Japanese Food You’ll Love & What To Do About The Bill. Plus more on pet-friendly dining.

Where To Take A Vegetarian & Accessible Eateries. Get out of the city centre to find some of the best accessible eateries.

Great Chinese Food & Where To Go To Impress A Chef. A restaurant packed with heart, soul and a lifetime of experience that is surprisingly fun too.

Where To Go For An After-Work Drink; The Strangest Things I’ve Found In My Food. Plus, news from a beloved bar on Karangahape Rd.

Auckland’s Top Thai Spots; Where To Go For A Quiet, Romantic Dinner. From big menus and a sublime satay sauce to lovely lighting and good acoustics.

Where To Go For Good Gnocchi; A Drink In Mt Eden. Try three different styles of gnocchi cooked traditionally, and Jesse’s current favourite.