Jesse Mulligan Restaurant Recommendations: Where To Eat In Hawke’s Bay And Auckland’s Best Raw Bar

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.

Hi Jesse,

We’re heading to Hawke’s Bay for a weekend in October. Should we book any restaurants in advance or just follow our noses when we get there?

Brad and Bianca

Hi guys. I would definitely book now for Craggy Range – it’s the hot ticket in town and the main dining room is closed for renos so it will only have limited seating in the cellar door while you’re down there (the kitchen is being extended and it plans to reopen sometime after your visit). Headed by the peerless Casey MacDonald, Craggy’s restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, cooking vegetables grown fresh in its own garden.

For something more casual (though food is on the heavier side) drop in for lunch at Clearview – I love their French onion soup – you can probably get away with a last-minute booking here.

If you’re into wine there are a couple of great places I can recommend: Church Road does a “Tom Experience”, with a tasting of its premium wines in an underground museum (much of which is ancient repurposed wine tanks), while in Havelock North Smith & Sheth offers a multimedia cellar door experience in which you’ll drink some of the best wines of your life, in a very comfortable but completely unexpected venue. Enjoy!

Hi Jesse

I feel terrible about asking you, but not terrible enough to stop myself doing it – I need to take two international visitors out for dinner in Auckland on Friday night. Something nice and NZ. Should I go to the new bar atop the Intercontinental for a drink and then dinner at Ahi or do you have a better, cooler idea? Thank you in advance.

Sarah

Hi Sarah, don’t feel terrible, this is literally my job.

But perhaps it should be yours as well. Your plan is perfect, no notes.

After our proper dinner at a second restaurant, I told Victoria I was going to take her for a final drink at Queen’s (that’s the name of the rooftop restaurant you’re talking about). It was a cold windy Sunday night and I could tell she really just wanted to go home and watch some TV but I insisted, walking her through Commercial Bay, past Advieh to access the Intercontinental lobby.

Sadly this entrance was locked up so we took a nearby elevator to the ground floor. The ground floor was also locked up so we got in the elevator again to return to level one. But the elevator was now locked too so … well, you get the gist. We gave up, somehow found our way back to the Downtown carpark and missed out on the view but I’m sure you’ll do much better – consider booking a table to make sure you get a seat, and time your drink for sunset if you can.

Just for clarification, the entrance to Queen’s isn’t via the hotel but through a wineshop around the corner – during daylight hours you won’t have trouble finding it, though consider planning your walking route in advance.

Hi Jesse,

I have a friend over from Aussie who’s attending a conference here in September. She’s only free for a two-hour gap between 4pm and 6pm, and I don’t know where we should go. The conference is at SkyCity. Any ideas? I’m not a big drinker but a glass of wine or something would be fine.

Lisette

Hi Lisette, Auckland does have a post 4pm problem, particularly if you’re looking for a catch up that isn’t based around alcohol.

Can I send you to Depot in Federal St? The location is good for you and unlike most cafes and restaurants it is open right through this time (and will be very relaxed about you parking up for a snack and a drink). Perhaps check with your friend in advance but consider getting a selection from the raw bar. You could do four oysters, four clams and four tuatua for about 80 bucks, and you’d be showing off the very best of Auckland eating.

Just a note that Depot’s raw bar is very fresh. The last time I ate clams there they were still moving in the shell so if that sounds off-putting perhaps stick to the more stationary molluscs.

Previously recommended by Jesse Mulligan

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

A New Pizza Joint & Where To Find Lunch In Auckland’s Inner-City. Also, all the highlights from the hospitality scene in Ōtautahi.

Great Chinese food and where to go to impress a chef. Plus, a reader suggests accessible eateries and a pet-friendly dining room.

Where to take a vegetarian and accessible eateries. Get out of the city centre to find some of the best accessible eateries.

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.