Jesse Mulligan Auckland Restaurant Recommendations: Where To Take A Vegetarian & Accessible Eateries

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.

Jesse,

We’re heading out for a final flat dinner before two of us leave on our OE. Can you recommend somewhere around K Rd – one of my flatmates is vegetarian and I am gluten-free. I know, it’s a nightmare, sorry!

Kim

Kim, I’m going to send you to Tempero, one of my favourite Auckland restaurants, where both of you will be well catered to. Tempero is an owner-operated business, featuring the twin delights of chef Fabio Bernadini and his partner and restaurant manager Tiffany Low. The food is inspired by the home-kitchen cuisine of Fabio’s native Brazil and, importantly for you, each dish is marked for its dietary suitabilities.

For mains, you’ll enjoy acaraje, which I reviewed as “a ball of pureed black-eyed beans, deep-fried then split in half and filled with vegetarian delights: a paste of okra, onion and toasted cashews, a crispy palm heart vinaigrette. Underneath it all was a vatapa sauce of coconut cream and ground peanuts”. Eat that with a relleno or stuffed chilli, and as many sides as you want – they’re all suitable for both of you too.

Of course, the best thing is you won’t feel like you’re making any sacrifices – the above dishes were some of my favourites on the menu; I didn’t even think about the fact they were vegetarian and gluten-free.

Hi Jesse,

My mum needs a hip replacement and can’t walk very far at the moment. Are there any accessible restaurants (ideally with no stairs) you can recommend in Auckland, in particular restaurants with parking nearby?

Thanks,

Stationary

Hi, say hello to your mum for me! I hope the surgery she needs comes swift and fast.

Let’s get you out of the city, where restaurant parking is a distant memory. How about Azabu Mission Bay – the food and views are beautiful and you can get the car very close. For something even flasher, Paris Butter in Herne Bay is among the top handful of restaurants in the country – a call to the restaurant beforehand will guarantee they’ll make things as easy as possible for you.

Hi Jesse,

My dad lives in Matakana and every so often comes to the city to take me out to dinner. He loves somewhere a bit different and doesn’t mind spending some money. He quite likes Italian but I think we’ve done all the good ones! Do you have any suggestions?

Liv

Hi Liv,

I wonder if you guys have been to Kazuya? Even after more than 10 years in the same location, it’s still a bit of a secret, behind a mysterious door on upper Symonds St. Through that door you’ll find one of New Zealand’s greatest chefs, creating degustation dishes of tremendous beauty and flavour. Kazuya Yamauchi used to work at Acqua Pazza, a fine dining Italian restaurant in Tokyo, and you can see elements of both cuisines in his work: the careful exactitude of Japanese cheffing, combined with elements and ingredients more familiar in European cookery. His “Texture” dish is a great example of this: 30 varieties of vegetable, each prepared differently for maximum deliciousness and served together on one plate. As I said in my review: “it’s soft porn for vegans, or it would be if it weren’t served with prosciutto”.

Previously recommended by Jesse Mulligan

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

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.

Where to go for the best Vietnamese food in Auckland; dinner before a show. Plus, one reader asks where to find some of the city’s hottest new openings.

Where to go for a special anniversary dinner; lunch in Wynyard Quarter. Plus, two great dining out spots in Browns Bay.