I had heard through the grapevine that this was just the best ever pizza found on the North Shore…read more So of course I pestered my partner to take us there for a takeout pizza mid week. I arrived around five thirty and the popular pizzeria had a few guests eating pasta on the front outdoor seating area. The owner who bakes all the pizza's himself is a friendly and humorous Greek man, and was only too happy to point out the fave choices of pizza for us first time visitors. The Top picks were Greco, a delicious topping of lamb, red onion, olives, peppers, tzatziki, basil and parsley (My first pick also). And the Quattro Stagioni which had Salami, Ham, Prawns and Mushroom, this was sensational (my second pick). As it was the premiere visit, we opted for the two small pizzas, costing both under 18 dollars each, and let me tell you, I thought I could have eaten a pizza to myself, however the servings were so great that I only managed about 2 pieces each. Beautiful pizza base , and the toppings are just divino divine! I will be back as soon as I can, to try more pizza flavours, and a pasta dish for sure.

Just need some good food during the interim of taking care of my mother in law in the NS hospital…read more We ordered one Divino Pizza and one Divino Pasta for three of us. The pizza and pasta are eally nice and far beyond my expectations (I preferred pasta a bit more). Got refreshed and continue facing whatever they are in the real life.

Great service wonderful food. Staff is on top of everything and super helpful Portions are…read moreperfect. Five stars all the way

Absolutely wonderful. First dinner in Auckland and it was a winner. Our server was Valentine...she…read morewas excellent. We ordered way too much food...it just looked so good. We ordered: Wood Fired King Prawn. The King Prawn arrived and it was beautiful and very large. It was served with a black peppered pancetta and a gremolata sauce of which both enhanced the grilled prawn. Not a drop was left. Mamma D's East Coast Beef Meatballs. They were big and filling. Some of the best meatballs served in restaurant. I thought they were packed a little tight. I loosely form mine when tends to ensure tenderness. The sauce was perfect and they went well the side dishes. Cacio & Pepe was served and it was the prettiest we had ever seen and probably the best we have ever had. Put it right up there with those served in Roma. Polenta - another winner and beautiful. It also went well with the meatballs. Creamy and delicious just wish we could have eaten the whole dish or had a kitchen where we were staying...that good. Baduzzi was hopping the night we were there. So glad that we had reservations...highly recommend booking.

Wow....had the gnocchi duck. It was by far the best dish I've had here in Auckland (been here about…read more10 days). The service was also amazing which I haven't seen too many places around here. Highly recommend.

This was a delicious breakfast. The whipped yoghurt was amazing. The fluffy, airy sweetness was so…read moregood and the granola was also great. Fresh and crunchy with sweet stone fruits on top. The sourdough and eggs were great as well. I personally don't like parsley garnish so I didn't enjoy that on the egg as much but everything else was fantastic. Tomatoes were really juicy. Everything just tasted super fresh and of great quality.

Excellent pizza, truly Neapolitan taste, the dough is made authentically. I was transported back to…read moreNaples. The salads are good too, the staff are very friendly. The restaurant is small but cozy. Use Google Maps for directions. Apple Maps will send you to their old address and leave you frustrated.

Great pizza and pasta place. The pasta is fresh and delicious. Very popular so recommend a…read morereservation. Very well priced as well. Dinner * Extra mozzarella pizza (Excellent) * Bolognese baked pasta (Excellent)

Everything you'd want in a small, Italian, family run restaurant. You can tell the three…read moregenerations who work here put a lot of effort into serving great quality, traditional italian food. The servings are generous and the flavours are bold and robust. Not to mention, they have a fantastic wood-fired oven that pumps out perfectly imperfect pizzas and calzones - great for takeaways! We came here for dinner recently with the extended family and it was an absolute treat. Whilst the majority of the table went for the veal, I opted for the linguine with prawns, chilli, garlic, lemon and olive oil. Such a classic combination but an absolute winner in my book. The pasta was cooked al dente and the chillii /garlic/lemon ratio was spot on. My dad raves about this place and after our most recent visit, it's not hard to see why!

Al Forno is one of the best Italian restaurants in Auckland. It's authentic Italian fare is simple…read morebut delicious - and all at reasonable prices. My favourite dish is the calamari which is such a great change from the typical overcooked rubbish that is all too common in the chain pubs these days. The fresh pasta is also great and the sauces are rich and tasty. Maria, the owner I believe, is friendly and knowledgeable about the menu and the wine that goes with it. Her team are enthusiastic and attentive. Actually writing this review makes me want to return right now and get one of their perfect wood-fired pizzas. Yum!

We really enjoyed our brunch here, and I struggled to understand why it had such an overall low…read morerating on Yelp. The restaurant itself is large & welcoming, with classy decor, booth seating available & plenty of outdoor seats. The staff were friendly & attentive and the food was tasty, well-priced & arrived promptly. I always appreciate a place that adds it's own unique touch to the bog-standard Kiwi brunch menu that every cafe seems to offer: you can order truffled mushrooms with poached eggs, or cannellini beans, chorizo & chilli with poached eggs too - yum! They have a few good specials on offer - if I lived closer, I could see myself eating here regularly. It is a little odd to see a kitchen full of Asian staff serving up a predominantly Italian menu, and the food probably won't blow your mind, but it seems like a pretty good local bistro.

2 1/2 stars. Bought a coupon from groupy.co.nz for $100 to…read morespend. We arrived early on Sunday evening & noticed 3 staff members sitting at one of the tables near the entrance. Upon entering, we were greeted promptly & quickly shown to a table. I was impressed by the decor and atmosphere it created. We were given menus, informed of the specials of the day & the waiter even suggested drinks for us. We decided to order the garlic pizza bread to start, with a seafood pasta and a fillet mignon (ordered medium) for our mains. The bread came out in good time & I thought it was a nice touch that were were offered olive oil to drizzle on top. However, after that our waiter seemed to 'dissapear' & we didn't see him for the rest of our meal. I was expecting a reasonable wait for a medium fillet & 40 minutes later our mains arrived. My seafood marinara pasta was described as having a "crayfish bisque" sauce but it was very dry. The fettuccine looked to be made onsite rather than store bought but the dish was lacking in the promised seafood - 3 small shrimp, 3 scallops and 4 mussels. The shrimp and scallops were overcooked and I later found the sauce pooled in the bottom of the plate on one side. For $27 I was expecting something a lot richer and satisfying. The fillet mignon was very rare, bright red throughout. We informed our new waiter when he came back to check on us, he wanted to take it back to the kitchen but we didn't have time to wait as we had our one year old with us. He was very apologetic but we weren't offered anything else, another drink or perhaps a dessert would have helped our experience. I am confused to why we had to wait so long for a rare steak. It wouldn't of seemed so long if someone had come back to check if our drinks needed refreshing. Quite dissapointed as I have read quite a few good reviews of this place.

Is it possible to give this place 10 stars?…read more If you are EVER in New Zealand, you better come here right when you get off the plane! Amano absolutely blew us away. We started with the pappardelle with lamb ragù, and WOW. The pasta was made fresh in-house and was cooked perfectly al dente. The lamb ragù was rich, flavorful, and paired perfectly with the pasta. Every bite was incredible. We also had the burrata salad with beetroot, orange, and hazelnut, which was such a great combination of flavors and textures. Fresh, creamy, sweet, and crunchy all in one dish. And of course, we had to pair dinner with a Prophet's Rock Pinot Noir. Since we love Pinot Noir, this was the perfect pairing for the meal. Amano absolutely lived up to the hype. From the food to the overall experience, this was easily one of the highlights of our time in Auckland. 10 stars if Yelp would let me! If you're in Auckland, DO NOT MISS THIS PLACE.

Great food and wonderful people staffing this place. A bit loud but not unbearable. Knowledgeable…read morestaff who helped us close a great meal

For a long time I would always walk past this restaurant and look inside of it and think to myself…read more; I'd really like to eat in there one day. I walked past it for two years never really taking action towards my thoughts. It was always just something I'd say I would get around to doing. I finally got the chance to eat there tonight and it was just superb! Before I could even notice the food around me I was drawn in by the perfect temperature of the place, it was cozy like a little cottage. It was a well lit restaurant which made me feel in a comfortable space. I sat down and ordered a pizza right away! I ordered their special pizza (I think it was called The Special Italian Job" or something similar, it consisted of prawns, mushrooms, olives and covered with a nice and creamy cheesy topping) which I thought would be a new thing to try. Although the food did take a while to arrive to my table (there were many people there) , the great pizza totally made up for it! It had a crunchy base, with the toppings at a perfect temperature and ready to eat! Along with the side salad and rocket that I could layer on top of it. The waiter and waitress were very nice and did wonderful job at serving us. Tony* I think his name was, did a great job making the dishes and it made my evening a whole lot better! Thanks again, The Italian Job and i'll definitely be coming back again soon!

Best pizza I have had for a while ( the Della Casa ), friendly owner and staff.read more

Food was very very good. Service was absolutely terrible. Super slow, no conversation and no…read morefollow up. We asked for dessert and coffee and they said we had to leave because the next table was coming. 20 min later still no one had arrived and we left upset. Horribly managed.

I went pass Blitza some time ago and this place was full on a weekday. So I thought, boy I gotta…read moretry this place next time. Me and my dining companion was in North Shore desperately wanting a nice pizza and pasta and I magically remembered this place. The interior and restaurant itself is not a fancy-ass place compared to other new eateries but the place was definitely neat and cozy. We ordered a Mexican pizza ($23.5) and a Chicken fettuccine ($25.5) which I thought were a bit expensive. We waited and waited for them to come out but no news. Finally when our cokes were fully diluted with ice, they came. I didn't understand why it was so slow as the place wasn't full that day. However, the frustration soon disappeared with first bite of the pasta. Fettuccine was cooked to the perfect al dente with huge strips of chicken and mushrooms in creamy neapolitan sauce. It was the most amazing pasta that I have ever tried. Pizza was slightly disappointing as it was rather a Meatlover than Mexican - ham, salami, pepperoni, bacon, chilli and tomato. I felt there was way too much meat and not enough Mexican feature to it. The restaurant was quickly filled with people so we felt great about booking our table. I asked the waitress about another nice pasta and she said that they do an excellent cannelloni - I will soon return for this!

Excellent food, a good selection, and great service. The atmosphere evokes Mediterranean ambiance,…read moremaking dining in feel inviting.

When date night comes around, but the weather is too cold I look towards our local area for good…read morefood ! We decided to try this lovely place, i don't think this place has been here long but it seems really busy in terms of takeout. I guess everyone loves a good kebab !! But let's talk about the food, which is what we're here for !! Two things we got, the chicken shish (large) and a little share platter (chicken and beef)- I'm horrible with name so you're going to have to go by my description and photo ! Lols So firstly the chicken shish, the large platter comes with the chicken, rice, hummus, yoghurt with an olive on top. Flavor I will have to say 3/5 it was nice but I felt that it was lacking that kick or punch. Whilst I don't know how real Turkish food taste... I feel like they like their flavors so I feel like the chicken should have a bit more kick in them. The rice was light and fluffy!! The hummus was really nice to have with the chicken and the little green thing on the side (again I AM SORRY !! I am horrible with names!!). Next the platter! It comes with beef and chicken shavings (well that's what I call them cause they gotta shave the meat whilst it goes around and around and around ) The platter comes with Turkish bread, olives, humus and yoghurt like dip and salad. I may have forgotten a few things but that's what's the picture is for !! Lols, overall the platter was like an average platter you would get (i.e. Cheese platter) Overall the place isn't too bad for a kebab stop or for a little Shish or even dessert ! Even though I haven't tried it lols. But with the total bill being nearly 50$ it's a little disappointing! But hey that's my say, I still think y'all should give it a try !! Peace !!