The three successful components of a Date Night: a cocktail, dinner and a movie you’ll both enjoy. Here are your essentials to having the perfect date night in Auckland this summer with a speakeasy twist.
The Cocktail
Your hardest decision here is choosing where to go – there are so many amazing bars across Auckland with more opening all the time. One of our recent favourites that transports you out of New Zealand and into the speakeasy scene of the American 1920s Prohibition era is Caretaker. Caretaker is a New York style cocktail bar in a Britomart basement on Roukai Lane. Once inside you'll find a welcoming space with comfy leather couches, two convex mirrors from the streets of Prague and low, warm lighting. Adding to the intimacy of the venue; the staff here prefer to chat with you to find out what you both like and make a bespoke cocktail from there.
Another excellent choice is The Jefferson whiskey bar on Imperial Lane, stocking the city’s best selection of top shelf drop; and in the room’s front bar is ballerina pink pop-up The Juniper Room, serving gin cocktails and champagne during summer. Upstairs in the former theatre you’ll find The Roxy, whose rooftop deck is one of the best destinations in the city.
The Dinner
Your quintessential date night must include dinner at a fabulous restaurant. If you’re on the Shore, head to El Humero on Hurstmere Road for a traditional Colombian style barbeque dinner. With an open-plan kitchen, warm vibes and unique flavours, you’re bound to have an excellent date night here. If you’re closer to the inner city, make sure you check out El Sizzling Lomito on Auckland’s Karangahape Road. This authentic Argentinian eatery is the sister restaurant of El Sizzling Chorizo in Ponsonby that will reshape everything you know about steak and paninis. Even further in to the Auckland CBD, you can’t go wrong with dinner at Al Brown’s Depot Eatery on Federal Street – tapas are the way forward for date night with sharing plates of the Turbot sliders, Mahurangi oysters and potato skins coming highly recommended.
The Movie
This is where the choice is easy. Staying in the speakeasy-era theme, the pick of the big summer releases is “Live by Night” out on January 26. Directed, written, and starring Ben Affleck, this is a Prohibition-era story set in the murky speakeasy scene of 1920s Boston and Tampa. Affleck plays Joe Coughlin who has turned his back on his strict upbringing as the son of a policeman to make his fortune in the rum-running criminal underworld – which he’s doing pretty well at, until he falls in love with the girlfriend of a powerful mob boss. Cue revenge, betrayal, romance and plenty of action; this is a storyline that will tick the boxes for both you and him.
