The Dish: A Not-So-Secret Cocktail Bar, Whangārei’s Beachside Taverna & More Delicious Food News

Some of Wellington’s best-loved restaurateurs open a new spot up north, hot cross buns are well and truly in the oven (and being loaded with pecan-flavoured creme), and some New Zealand drinks brands are doing admirable things in the B Corp space.

Local Talent Taverna opens in Whangārei

If you’re heading north for Easter weekend you’d be wise to stop in at Whangārei’s new eatery Local Talent Taverna, from the talented Matt Hawkes (ex Mason, Rita) and partner Sophie Evans. The duo left Wellington for Whangarei last year, leaving fans of their Newtown wine bar Mason bereft, in search of a slightly cruisier pace, as well as “surfing, beaching, exploring”, say the pair. They’ve kiboshed their own plans with the opening of Local Talent Taverna, a relaxed restaurant serving fresh, seasonal Mediterranean-style fare alongside natural wines and beers on tap from Wine Diamonds and Parrotdog. The duo worked on the interior themselves, creating booth seating, fashioning a chequerboard floor and hanging photographic prints from the likes of Si Moore, as well as the odd surfboard in a nod to the beachside location. There’s also a pool table! On the menu you’ll find loosely Greek-inspired dishes like buttermilk marinated shawarma spiced chicken souvlaki; Greek fries with saffron aioli; and smoked brisket bifteki cheeseburgers. Local Talent Taverna is open Wednesday through Saturday, offering an all-day menu from 12pm - late. 99 Cameron St, Whangārei.

New opening on Auckland’s Lorne St: Paname Social

A welcome new addition to Auckland’s Lorne St is Paname Social, a gorgeous all-day restaurant in the style of a Parisian bistro, from the team that brought us Atelier, Wander and Ambler. Housed in a handsome heritage building recently refurbished by Warren and Mahoney architects, the interior has high ceilings, brick walls and exposed beams, with booth seating down one side and a large shared table by the streetfront window. There’s also a collection of tables on the sidewalk, something we love to see. Owner Matt Gosset says he’s always known the potential of Lorne St, having opened hole-in-the-wall coffee shop La Boulange there 12 years ago. He and the team wanted to bring Parisian flair and European style to Paname Social, which means an all-day brunch menu, coffee after 3pm, a bistro menu from 11am (Wed-Sat), a great wine list of 50 European and New Zealand wines, and an oyster and Champagne bar. “Our aim is to showcase French hospitality, and bring a real French bistro to Aucklanders, whether it’s for a croissant and coffee on the sidewalk tables, a quick business lunch with colleagues or a lengthy dinner after work,” says Matt.. Find it at 3 Lorne St, Auckland City.

Buy tickets to a degustation dinner with a difference

Kingi Private opens as Auckland’s newest luxury private dining space

There may be no shortage of private dining rooms in Auckland, but ones where you can also watch the chefs prepare your special dinner? Now that’s a different story. Kingi Private opens as Auckland’s newest luxury private dining area, promising a unique dining experience that combines the warmth of Kingi with the refined elegance of The Libraries at Hotel Britomart. Kingi co-founder Tom Hishon and head chef Uelese Mua have created a five-course tasting menu reflecting the restaurant’s sustainable ethos. “We’re going to have some fun in this space and create an interactive experience that will be remembered for the right reasons,” says Tom. Step into the light-filled, brick-lined Kingi Private and guests are greeted by an expansive raw-edge swamp kauri slab table beneath a shimmering fish-scale chandelier. Diners can view the chefs preparing their meal through a glass-boxed ‘larder kitchen’. The capacity is up to 14 guests for a sit-down meal or 12 for a catered meeting. Full dining menu and other catering options are available, but booking the space for your private event will set you back a minimum of $1500. Find Kingi Private on the ground floor of the heritage Buckland Masonic Building, with interiors designed by Cheshire Architects, who also designed Kingi, the Libraries and the Hotel Britomart.

Snack on a coffee-infused Easter Egg

Allpress’ sell-out Easter eggs have returned for another year, to the delight of all the caffeinated chocolate lovers out there. Allpress has collaborated with Bennetts of Mangawhai to create two coffee-flavoured chocolate Easter eggs. The Double Espresso is made from 80 per cent cocoa chocolate, spiked with an espresso blend — good for fans of dark chocolate and a long black — while the creamy Flat White egg combines 45 per cent cocoa chocolate with Allpress’ A.R.T. Espresso Roast for a milder, milkier option. They’re sold as six eggs in a cute cardboard egg carton for $18, available at Allpress’ Ponsonby, Dunedin and Christchurch cafes, its Auckland roastery, and Farro Fresh.

The last word on hot cross buns

Who makes Auckland’s best hot cross buns? Or more importantly, who makes the buns that you’ll love the most? The Viva team have been on a mission to taste test some of the city’s finest specimens, canvassing their fruit and spice levels, texture, aroma and taste. We’ve tried pecan custard-filled buns, sourdough, chocolate and doughnut buns — all of them delicious — and rounded them up in this helpful guide to Auckland’s best hot cross buns. Enjoy!

Otis Oat milk one step closer to NZ production

New Zealanders love oat milk, but not many are aware that the majority of the oat milk options on supermarket shelves, even the Kiwi brands, are manufactured offshore because of a lack of infrastructure to create the milk at home. While oat milk has less of an environmental impact than dairy milk, the emissions from this convoluted international supply chain are less than ideal. New Zealand oat milk company Otis has been making inroads into creating its own New Zealand oat milk factory and is one step closer after partnering with Auckland-based Free Flow Manufacturing to create a new manufacturing plant housing some of the world’s most advanced milk manufacturing facilities, according to Otis co-founders Tim Ryan and Chris Wilkie. It is being developed with a world leader in oat milk, Sweden’s Angie Triantafyllou, ex-founder of Oatley, who is referred to as the ‘godmother of modern oat milk’. Otis says the first of their NZ-made oat milk, made with sourthern-grown oats, is due off the Free Flow production line later this year.

O’Connell St welcomes a new ‘secret’ cocktail bar

What’s the big secret? The address of an intriguing new inner-city cocktail bar Panacea is unlisted on its Instagram page, simply stating “hidden in the heart of Auckland”. We’re sorry to give away trade secrets with this week’s The Dish but we’re sure the owners won’t mind. At 22 O’Connell St, up a flight of stairs, you’ll find Panacea bar, which feels a world away from the basic all-white office space it used to be (you can see the transformation of the interior on Panacea’s Instagram account). The Panacea team have built an inviting bar by exposing a brick wall, adding pressed tin ceilings, floral-print wallpaper, rattan furniture and some potted greenery. And to drink they have small-batch cocktails with inventive ingredients like the Huckleberry & Fig, which combines spiced rum with pomegranate, fig dandelion and wild berry miso. The Heirloom cocktail has lime leaf-infused vodka, strawberry, green tea and clarified cherry tomato, and a very intriguing Marshmallow Supernova is made with marshmallow gin, coconut Aperol, charred strawberry chartreuse and cream soda. Find Panacea at Level 2, 22 O’Connell St, central Auckland

InterContinental Wellington has a new restaurant

InterContinental Wellington is opening a new restaurant on April 21 called GPO, in homage to the General Post Office that once occupied the same site. GPO will have a contemporary-classic menu designed by executive check Carl Maunder, highlighting seasonal produce from New Zealand that nods to the food of Southern Europe, the Levant and the Mediterranean. Carl has made a point of working with local suppliers for the menu, which will see the likes of Shelly Bay Baker’s bread, olive oil from Olea Estate, sustainable Haku kingfish from Ruakaka, and clams from Cloudy Bay. GPO will have a signature ‘fruits of the sea platter’ — something we’ve been seeing more of on New Zealand menus, which will feature market oysters, diamond shell clams, mussels, prawns, and crayfish. Find GPO at Customhouse Quay, Wellington.

The Auckland Writers Festival Fires Up

The schedule for the 2023 Auckland Writers Festival has been announced and tickets are now on sale to see 25 international literary luminaries and 200 New Zealand writers, thinkers, and panelists — including Colson Whitehead, Bernadine Evaristo and Eleanor Catton — take to the stage across six days in May. This year’s programme also has a strong food focus with a slew of great events that pair food, books and fun. The Telegraph’s restaurant reviewer, food and travel writer and UK MasterChef judge William Sitwell is in town and will host a lunch at MoVida on Thursday, May 18, sharing some of his most memorable food experiences over delicious food and wine. He’ll also present a talk at the Aotea Centre focusing on his book The Restaurant: A History of Dining Out, in which he takes readers on a gastronomic journey over the past 2000 years. Plus, catch Al Brown, David Cohen and Christall Lowe discussing the evolution of New Zealand cuisine; spend some time with writer Nici Wickes as she chats with Elisabeth Easther about creating recipes for one during lockdown; and Viva Top 50 Auckland Restaurants co-judge Albert Cho will explore his South Korean roots for ‘The Korean Influence’.

Tiraki Wines get a B Corp certification

Marlborough-based wine label Tiraki has achieved B Corp status, making it the first New Zealand wine brand to do so. B Corp certification means businesses meet a high standard of accountability, transparency and social and environmental performance and puts Tiraki wines in a rarified group of NZ businesses that includes Almighty, Ceres Organics, Maggie Marilyn, Kowtow and more. Tiraki achieved its certification by making a commitment to support local, independent businesses and supply chains where possible, such as bottling its wines at nearby Hunter Wines Blenheim. To achieve B Corp certification, Tiraki underwent a rigorous, year-long evaluation to demonstrate that it meets the highest standards of corporate responsibility. Tiraki was founded in 2020 by Josh, Tyler and EllaRose Hammond, the second generation of the Hammond family, who are long-running suppliers of some of New Zealand’s most recognised wine labels with grapes grown on Longfield Farm, Marlborough. And what about the wines? Tiraki has a Marlborough-grown and made sauvignon blanc, $22, and pinot noir, $32.

Pals achieves B Corp certification too!

In More B Corp news, Pals is the first New Zealand RTD brand to gain a B Corp Certification. Pals are the ubiquitous pastel-hued cans, favoured for their all-natural, low-sugar formulations, combining spirits like vodka or gin with real fruit flavours, made in New Zealand. After three years in business, the team’s efforts to make a positive impact on their workers, community, customers, the environment and business governance have paid off. “Landing our B Corp certification is a huge milestone for Pals — especially being recognised for our sustainability efforts so early on in our business journey, says Pals Director and Co-Founder, Mat Croad. “Becoming certified was a huge undertaking for our small team and something we’re all so proud of.” Some of their efforts include the Unsung Pals initiative, which rewards local heroes doing great things in their community, achieving official carbon zero certification (endorsed by Toitū) and implementing enhanced parental policies — which offers soon-to-be Pals parents up to 80 per cent pay for 16 weeks or 13 weeks at full pay. Nice one, team Pals!

Spotlight on: Belle Chevre Creamery

David and Jennifer Rodrigue’s award-winning small-scale goat milk cheesery was founded in 2019 in Waipu. Hailing from California, the couple are long-time lovers of goat’s cheese and have a small herd of Anglo Nubian goats on their farm in One Tree Point. “We are a true farmhouse creamery,” says Jennifer, “using only milk from our own animals, which means an extremely environmentally responsible product. The only food miles involved are taking the product to local markets and retailers for sale.” Customers are also welcome to visit the farm, inspect, taste and buy cheese directly. Belle Chevre produces seven cheeses and Jennifer says they’re most proud of the Chevre and Manaia Ma cheeses, which are loved by chefs and appear on many a cheeseboard.