Small cafe with prepared food. Brioche in cinnamon or apple had me sold. And never to early for…read moregelato right? Good coffee (Kokako). Outside seating area. Dog friendly.

I'll let you in on a secret: top quality gelato is only a sandcastle away from lovely Browns Bay…read morebeach. Ginger snap has so many creative flavours to sample that you will be spoilt for choice! Great Kokako coffee too, served by the friendliest staff in a cool, laidback little beachside gem in Beachfront lane. If you're in for a bigger treat, try their nice sundaes or cakes. Take a seat and enjoy the ocean view or even better: bring your treats to the beach!

I had my first experience at Paper Moon just before Easter weekend and I loved it. We were a little…read moreearly for our reservation so my partner and I made the most of Mairangi Bay Beach being a stone's throw away. We had actually made the reservation while we were on the way there, and luckily we were able to secure a table. The person on the phone did ask if we were okay with being seated at the back of the restaurant, which was fine with us. As it turns out, the back of the restaurant was completely separate from the loud groups drinking at the front of the restaurant- added bonus! It wasn't particularly rowdy but it was nice to have dinner and be able to talk at a conversational volume. Our waitress was so lovely, she took great care of us and is the best waitress we've been served by in a long time (we left a tip, of course!). We were really impressed by her service, and my partner loved that she asked if we wanted a break between out entree and main (we definitely did, and had never been asked that before, at any restaurant). For our entree, we shared the tapas platter. This is seriously ideal if you're wanting to try a few things at a good price. We were treated with risotto balls (the best i've had!), deep fried camembert and other great treats- it was the perfect way to start a meal! The tapas combination changes everyday, which means you can try something a little different each time you visit. Our mains were excellent- the fish of the moment and the chicken burger. Both were excellent and perfectly cooked. Paper Moon provided one of the best meals I've had in a long time, and while it's a bit of a drive for me (living on the other side of Auckland), it's a great spot that's definitely worth the drive.

Went for breakfast and was persuaded to have the special - smashed avocado, which came accompanied…read morewith bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. I requested crispy bacon and the hollandaise on the side. When the meal came out it was clear that the smashed avocado was not he star of the meal. Two slices of toast were the central focus with eggs and bacon slapped on the plate. The avocado was more of a blended purée in a small pile to the side of the plate. The bacon was undercooked (relative to my request). When asked how I found my meal I responded "pretty average". The waitress responded with "oh well everyone is different" and walked off. When I went to pay the bill I had the same waitress so said "the thing I didn't like was that the avocado was far from the being the star of the show and was purée baby food, the eggs were barely warm and the bacon wasn't crispy". She stopped me at that point to tell me the bill was $25.90. I paid, walked out and will not go back as they clearly don't care.

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!!

Balls, balls, balls! That's been the theme of the day; with the Black Caps belting the Inidies at…read moremy home stadium - courtesy of a superb knock by Guptill!! The herbal jelly, topped with a range of strangely wonderful balls in all shapes, flavours, sizes and texturers seemed like a fitting tea break celebration!! The service is fast and friendly and the jelly, cooling and refreshing. Down with the jelly and back to the Black Caps!

Yet another Meet Fresh has opened in Auckland ,after the opening of one in Lorne St last year. I…read morerated that one highly but overtime it has not appealed due to the service standard and unable to give us the order we asked for, etc and now we seldom go. Anyway , this one nestled away on the edge of an industrial and partly residential area in Albany in north Auckland seems to have got off to a better start than the one in the city. It may be smaller but still when we went in on a Saturday afternoon nearly all tables were full, the staff were turning out the orders quickly and the tasting of was all good too. We chose the Meet Fresh Signature Herbal Jelly which we had had before in the other branch , but for some reason this tasted better. So without further ado or rambling on i can definitely say this one tops the other in all ways. And in itself the service is good and quick, the taste is great and what you get is what you asked for. But i will only give it a four until i try more of whats on offer there.

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.

My favourite place for ice cream and they did a wonderful cake for my sister. I would 100 percent…read morerecommend.

Good selection of ice cream, only open in summer, really well regarded locally. Give it a goread more

Origin Foods has a range of healthy, vegetarian based salads on offer and the selection differs on…read morea day-to-day basis so you don't get the excuse of getting bored with salads. They currently only operate in the Albany area and I happen to be lucky enough to work withing their delivery zone! The ladies usually have your lunch delivery to your office by 12pm (I usually get mine between 11-11.30am) The salads are all very fresh, tasty and packed at a very satisfying serving size (~480ml) to keep you going for the rest of the day. This week I have tried the Parsnip Cauli which has paprika roasted parsnips, kale and cauliflower cous cous, flavored with a lemon thyme dressing and The Caeser which has kale, roasted chickpeas and eggs in a cashew caesar dressing. Both I will definitely order again in the coming weeks. My favorite though has to be the Quinoa Cranberry Squash which has quinoa, salad greens, butternut pumpkin and cranberries -very tasty! I've also ordered a couple desserts with my salads and they have all ended up as a nice afternoon treat since I'm pretty full after the salad. I particularly recommend the Raw Lemon Mojo Tarts which has a fresh avocado-lemon filling with a delicious nutty tart base. They offer prices breaks/discounts, so the more you order, the cheaper it is per salad. If you are very organised and can figure out what you want, you can plan out your lunches for the next 5 weeks in advance!

Bought the kids here after the beach. Nice Parlor layout amazing array of toppings. Must try the…read morecaramel coffee next time.

Beer was decent and probably the highlight. Food was not great; three separate orders went…read moreunfinished. Service was helpful enough and we did appreciate the support for the picky 10-year old requirements.

Always great service. Polite staff. Best chips. The venue that never disappoints. Great live music…read moretoo. Indoor or outdoor options. Great beer

This is a snazzy little cafe off Albany Highway. I love the recycled decor and attention to detail…read morethat has transformed a tiny space into something fresh and airy. It's also a kid friendly, family run cafe that has a lovely homely feel to it. They specialize in frozen yogurts but also serve a nice wee selection of baked treats and decent coffee at reasonable prices.