simple casual french foods made well. Their sandwiches run out the fastest... Lunchtime and there's…read moreonly two flavours left. Next would be their desserts and pastries, those babies fly out the door. My favourites so far are the chocolate eclairs and basically all their sandwiches lol... their ficelle are simple ingredients but the bread makes it something else. Their chicken sandwich roll has the yummiest pesto inside and the bread for this was similar to a giant soft pretzel with rock salt on top... made the sandwich THAT much better... pretty much what im saying is, their fresh baked breads/goods are AMAZING. their Baguettes sell out fast so get in quick! That chocolate eclair though.... that chocolaty mousse like texture inside and the glorious puff pastry outside.. wow. i could eat 10 of those... i mean... that's what gym is for, right? Go earlier! like, before 11am to get all the REAL goodies that sell out super fast as these guys are ALWAYS busy no matter what time it is.

These days you can buy croissants and french sticks any old where! But it's not until you devour…read moreone from a genuine French bakery that you realize how unexceptional they are. La Tropezienne is exactly the place that makes you turn your nose up at run of the mill croissants from your average local bakery. My friends and I call it "The French Bakery" simply because we are too lazy to try and pronounce the name properly. Which is a bit sad as we all took French in high school. My first memory of La Tropezienne is actually back in my French class days. As part of our learning we were to venture to Browns Bay to experience food the way the French do it. We were also supposed to be practicing the language but who cares about that when you get to ditch school for a feed!? Anway, this started my addiction and ever since I have been nurturing my weakness for the delicious (and so fatty) pain au chocolat!! To this day that's about the only french that has stuck with me... PAIN AU CHOCOLAT.. YUM!!

What makes this bakery so special for me is not just that they give a free muffin or other bakery…read moredelight away with your morning coffee ..but above all the service. Quick and done with a smile on their face. Plus the cappuccino I have is very good , the sausage rolls are tasty and as are some of the other sweet baked delights on offer. The place is clean, has a good selection, price is not bad and I saw they have a very near perfect A grade from the powers that be. Highly recommend for your morning coffee, pie, sweet indulgence and with very good service.

Friendly people, beautiful food and a great variety. The only thing missing for me is cheese n…read moreonion sandwiches.

Top Star Bakery is a pretty popular spot in Albany, especially for tradesmen on the go in the…read moremornings or for lunch - there's literally a queue out the door of this place around lunch time so its best to get in early if you can. You'll find all the usual bakery goods and they do especially good slices and sandwiches, but what they're most famous for is their country fried chicken. I heard about the chicken here before I'd ever been to Albany! Its pretty greasy but much more homestyle than fast-food joints, its a hangover fix for sure. Anyway the best thing about Top Star is the extremely super friendly little lady that is always there and will always greet you with a "hello my friend!" without fail. Its so cheap too! Its hard to buy a decent lunch for under ten bucks these days but this is one spot you really get bang for your buck.

My mission, first day in this country: Find & consume a good old fashioned, legendary, savory New…read moreZealand pie! Being from the states pie usually means sweet, and serving about 8 people, but these are not like that, they are individual servings that you eat with your hands, like a sandwich. I want to compare it to a chicken pot pie but these are not even in the same league. There were many different types to choose from, I had a hard time deciding! Chose Chicken cranberry Camembert. The pastry that surrounds the hot deductible filling was buttery, flaky, delicious (evil). And the inside, creamy thick gravy, chunks of chicken, oozy cheese and a thin layer of cranberry. So so good. Words can't describe. I tasted my friends chicken cream cheese mushroom, even richer and more delicious. My second day, got the pepper beef, yum! Wished I had catsup for that one! Tasted friends egg and bacon, omg. Why don't we have these in the states? There are multiple bakeries in all these little towns that make them. Even the gas stations have them (it's rumored that they are just as good). Tomorrow the plan is to try chicken curry pie! Can not wait. I'm guessing these things are a zillion calories (don't want to know) but so worth it, ok limiting myself to one a day. This bakery also has prepared sandwiches and sweets that look amazing. Doubt I'll try that stuff...can't take my eye off the pies.

Visited with my gf during our stay in auckland after working out at city kick boxing. cakes were…read moregreat

Pukeko are well-known for their handmade artisanal bread. They make every thing from sourdough to…read moreGerman rye fresh every day from their bakery in Brown's Bay. Personally, I'm a fan of their Kumara loaf with sunflower seeds - delicious toasted w PB - and although it has a small amount of flour in it, it's a-ok for those who are midly gluten-intolerant. This particular Pukeko store is owned independently, which means whilst they get all their bread and pastries from Pukeko, there is other goodies in store like trade aid chocolate and paleo muesli. They also have an espresso machine but it's seems to be a bit of an after thought - i'd head across the road to Paper Moon.

The place you go when you've been dumped is the Cheesecake shop. Here you can eat your sorrows away…read morewith the yummiest desserts out there. It is pure decadence and sure, you'll spend the next week in the gym but it's worth it for the beauty that will be in your mouth for those short moments. My favourite is the baked cheesecake. Man it's good. It's creamy but not too rich and the texture is great. At the other end of the scale, the Chocolate Mudcake is super rich, dark and thick. It's beautiful. I often pick them up for family birthdays as they're huge and feed a whole tribe. They are a little expensive but for an easy dessert that fills up loads of people it's totally worth it. And of course it's even better when there's left over for your breakfast the next morning. Who doesn't like dessert for breakfast!

Sweet dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree? Who knew that the Eurythmics were singing…read moreabout a cheesecake store in Auckland? I love cheesecake, the fridge variety and also the baked version, but at the Cheesecake shop you don't have to limit yourself to cheesecakes alone. The shelves are well stocked with all kinds of sweet treats, and Annie Lennox would have found plenty to sing about at this cake store. So if you're buying a cake as a gift, for the office or simply for your own indulgence, then stop at the Cheesecake Shop and spoil yourself. The cakes are yummy.

In my opinion these are the best pies around this part of Albany. There is a great selection of…read moreflavours, and the quality is high. Aside from the pies you won't find many other kiwi bakery favourites in this bakery. The selection is definitely a lot classier than a standard bakery, and you can take your treats away or stay and enjoy them in the cafe with a coffee.

This is one of the best breakfast/lunch-in-a-rush stops you'll make in the Albany area. They bake…read moreand make everything on premises and have a huge range to choose from - freshly made sandwiches and wraps, hot pies, or a million different sweet treats to. The bread is always sold out by the afternoons which surely must be a good sign. Try the vinefruit and rosemary loaf for something different but delicious, its raisin bread but with more flavour!

Yet yet another of the Hollywood bakery chain of cafes which are spread far and wide throughout the…read morecity...and country. Sure, it's nothing flash but its got a good selection of sandwiches, sweet delights such as cakes etc, pies, pastries etc to tempt a variety of taste buds of which the prices are not too bad compared to other such chain " franchised " cafes. Pretty good drink selection too of coffees , teas and the place is clean, service is quick and friendly and it is located at one of the main entrances to the mall . Not like a few of the other cafes here which are located slap bang in the middle of the main thoroughfares here, where the shoppers are passing by in very close proximity always. For all the aforementioned points I list this as my top choice of cafe here to go grab a coffee and "sweet " delight.