Viva’s dining out editor Jesse Mulligan and deputy editor Johanna Thornton have awarded some special accolades to standout eateries.
As well as carving out an exciting list of Auckland’s Top 50 Restaurants for 2023, Viva’s dining out editor Jesse Mulligan and deputy editor Johanna Thornton have awarded some
And the special category awards go to...
Best Special-Occasion Restaurant
The level of quality is extremely high here — from the food (cutting-edge but delicious) to the service (formal but familiar) to the wine list (almost unrivaled in the city). It’s a beautiful room and everybody — staff and customers — seems so happy to be here: your walk from the front door to your table, past half a dozen servers who each greet you warmly, is a uniquely charming experience that reassures you that you’ve made the right choice. And though the price of the exquisite tasting menu has crept up over the past few years it’s an ideal restaurant to take somebody to whom you want to say “you’re worth it”. — Jesse
Address: Saint Patricks Square, Wyndham St, Auckland CBD. Contact: Thegroverestaurant.co.nz
Best Summer Restaurant
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Advertise with NZME.Milenta has our utmost respect for making Victoria Park Market cool again, and its open-air dining room surrounded by greenery and a sprawling pōhutukawa tree is the ideal spot to be this summer. The menu has had a seasonal refresh thanks to chef Al Alfante and the food is so appealing to look at it even took Viva’s resident food photographer Babiche Martens’ breath away. Particularly showstopping is the venison tataki, the edges blackened with an anchovy crumb, sliced carefully and topped with orange aji roja and black garlic aioli. Or the prawn and market fish ‘carpaccio’ with a quenelle of jalapeno, coriander and lime sorbet (that Milenta should sell in take-home tubs) and a bright green herby oil. This is warm-weather food of the highest order, and yes, it tastes amazing. — Johanna
Address: 210-218 Victoria St West, Auckland CBD. Contact: Milenta.co.nz
Best Vibe
A couple of times (and this probably says more about me than the restaurant) I have eaten elsewhere and stopped at Ooh-Fa on the way home just to wander in and soak up the joy of the room. It’s very loud — with music and conversation — but I’ve never found it to be a problem, and the staff are on such a high all the time you honestly feel like you’ve walked in on a party in your honour. Tables turn over relatively fast but if there are a few of you it’s fun to ask for a selection of pizzas which they’ll serve to you degustation style: one at a time in order of lightest to heaviest. — Jesse
Address: 357 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden. Contact: Oohfa.co.nz
Best New Restaurant
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Advertise with NZME.A key criterion for a Top 50 restaurant is how excited we are to send you there, and Helensville’s The Butcher Baker is one of those discoveries I couldn’t wait to tell people about. It’s not hard to see why chef/owner Reginaldo Richard chose this spot 40km north of Auckland for his first restaurant, having worked as head chef at Odettes and Honeybones, with its beautiful courtyard and historic brick building that once housed a butchery and a bakery. It’s where he serves seasonal plates heroing local produce, much of it cooked over fire in an ode to his Brazilian roots. Whether seated outside among the olive trees or inside the restaurant with its dramatic pitched roof and impressive woodfired oven, eating here is a revelation. — Johanna
Address: 5 Commercial Rd, Te Awaroa, Helensville. Contact: Thebutcherbaker.co.nz
Best Of New Zealand
We have plenty of restaurants that showcase New Zealand ingredients but they often involve a heavy dose of international cheffery or technique. Depot’s origins are unashamedly at the Kiwi bach — it’s a simple but ambitious experiment to bring the best of our most beloved beach cooking to a big city restaurant. Chef Al Brown has a huge heart, and his love flows through every aspect of this Auckland classic — from the raw clam and oyster bar where a shucker opens them to order, to the fish sliders which, though relatively straightforward, ushered in a whole new approach to Auckland restaurant menus just by being casual, comforting and delicious. — Jesse
Address: 86 Federal St, Auckland CBD. Contact: Depoteatery.co.nz
Best Service
The service at Cazador is so good that recently they’ve started taking some of their favourite customers on food tours of Mexico. For those of us who aren’t quite ready to take the relationship to that level, we can still appreciate the floor staff of this Dominion Road taonga. They love food (meat in particular) so much that they can’t help but make you feel excited about it too. And you don’t have to be a wine expert to love it here but, if you are, they have treats (unfiltered fino, for example) you won’t find anywhere else. Those waiters are lovely enough, but if you’re lucky you’ll get a tableside visit from one of the chefs too — it’s a family restaurant where even staff who aren’t related to the owners feel like they’ve found a home here. — Jesse
Address: 854 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden. Contact: Cazador.co.nz
Best Restaurant For A First Date
If you’re going to a restaurant for a first date I’d suggest you’ve overcooked things a little, but in the event that you persevere with this idea, Hotel Ponsonby is the ideal compromise. You could start with an Enzoni cocktail or two in the bar and if that goes well, consider migrating to a table for two in the more intimate dining area where Hotel Ponsonby’s small share plates are the perfect date food. Test your Hinge match’s palate by ordering the cucumber with stracciatella and dill and if they fail to recognise brilliance in simplicity then you can debrief with friends over a jug in the courtyard afterwards. — Johanna
Address: 1 Saint Marys Rd, St Marys Bay. Contact: Hotelponsonby.co.nz
Most Promising Chef
We’re loving the food coming out of Ada’s kitchen. Under head chef Kia Kanuta (previously at Pici), the menu has transitioned away from Italian (although you’ll still find the occasional Italian flourish) to kai Māori, utilising traditional ingredients and cooking them simply and beautifully. Kia’s ‘hāngī potatoes’ are tender Māori potatoes sprinkled with porcini soil (representing ash from the fire pit), nestled in a bed of salty chevre and truffle oil. Rēwana (sourdough) fry bread comes with a ramekin of just-melting duck fat for dipping and the beef short rib is incredibly tender, encased in a crispy horopito and harakeke rub. What an introduction to the food of Aotearoa for guests at The Convent Hotel. — Johanna
Address: 454 Great North Rd, Grey Lynn. Contact: Adarestaurant.co.nz
Best Restaurant To Eat Alone
For business travellers or the frequently stood up it’s good to have a couple of places in town on stand-by where you can enjoy a glass of wine and a kai without feeling like everybody in the room is staring at you. A bar is crucial, but a bit of scenery is nice too. Culprit is great for this — a big team of razor-sharp chefs creating magic in front of you, with a couple of chatty senior chefs overseeing the process. It’s in Wyndham Street, a handy location for people staying in the big hotels nearby and all the action happens up a stairway to a first-floor dining room — so you won’t feel like you’re sitting in a goldfish bowl. Honourable mentions: Pici, Onslow and Bar Celeste. — Jesse
Address: Level 1/12 Wyndham St, Auckland CBD. Contact: Culpritdiningroom.co.nz
Best Drinks List
A drinks list can tell you a lot about a restaurant. Which wines it offers by the glass, which local beers are on tap, what gems are on the cocktail menu (if there is one); these all say something about the level of care and consideration a restaurant has put into its offering. This category recognises the dedication of Sidart’s restaurant manager and sommelier Joe Costello, who’s always on the lookout for new wines to add to the restaurant’s extensive 34-page drinks list (he changes glass pours weekly), from award-winning and independent New Zealand wineries to grower Champagnes and rare international finds. As well as an inventive cocktail collection, Sidart also has great options for non-drinkers, including mocktails, the Non range and housemade sodas. — Johanna
Address: 283 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby. Contact: Sidart.co.nz
Best Restaurant For Any Occasion
A Top 10 restaurant in 2022, if we had a Top 10 this year Alma would be firmly in the running. It’s an all-rounder of a restaurant, excelling at food, drinks, service and atmosphere, and one that I’m happy to recommend for any occasion, whether it’s a work lunch or an anniversary dinner. Chef Jo Pearson’s Andalusian-inspired menu has as much to offer vegetarians as it does pescatarians and its share-style plates mean diners can try a bit of everything. Thanks to Alma’s particularly skilled servers, it’s always an elevated dining experience whether you’re stopping in for a cocktail and an anchovy tomato tostada, or working your way through the whole menu with friends. Don’t miss the dessert menu here, or if that’s not your thing Alma’s espresso martini is another excellent option. — Johanna
Address: Cnr Gore & Tyler St, Britomart. Contact: Alma.nz
Main image: Ahi’s steamed butterfish with artichoke, scampi veloute and sunflower seed gremolata. Blouse from Twenty-seven Names. Rings and bracelet from Swarovski. Photo / Babiche Martens
Find the full Top 50 Auckland Restaurants for 2023 here.
