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    El Sizzling Chorizo

    4.0 (40 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    El Sizzling Chorizo Photos

    EL SIZZLING CHORIZO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating

    Recommended Reviews - El Sizzling Chorizo

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    Empanadas and Chorizo Sausages
    Georgie B.

    What I love about El Sizzling Chorizo is there is no other place in Auckland like it. It was a great to experience a real Argentinian meal - BBQ style! I had never tried food like this, so was really looking forward to it. My older sister and I had a late lunch here one Sunday afternoon. There was only one other small group in the restaurant - I think we had just missed the lunch rush! We shared the Empanadas ($12) with mesclun and the Chorizo sausages ($12) also served with mesclun. These two dishes are both starters; however they were nice satisfying small meals. The Empanadas had the most delicious fillings inside (juicy beef and onions) and the pastry was cooked well. However, the Chorizo sausages were the stand out dish. Perfectly cooked and served with homemade bread straight out of the oven - yummy! For drinks, they have a small wine and beer list and non-alcoholic drinks too - Antipodes water and Phoenix drinks. We love the ginger beer flavour from the Phoenix drinks range! I love that the restaurant is quite compact - if you are sitting inside, you can watch the chefs preparing the Argentinian BBQ right in front of you. It is an exciting experience and I recommend coming here! Next time, I will definitely try a main meal, possibly the 'Short Ribs' ($20) or the 'Orejano Platter' ($35) looks delicious too! If you are ever in Ponsonby Central, make sure you walk past El Sizzling Chorizo. Even if you do not go in, the smell and sights are heavenly!

    Empanadas
    Tanya Q.

    Move over Bahn Mie , I feel a new quest coming on and that is for the best empanadas Auckland has to offer ! These morsels of delight are soo good chock filled with a spiced beef filling , with spices I couldn't quite figure out . And a slightly flakey pastry delicately turned at the edges to keep all that mind blowing filling inside . My dear Argentinians what is your secret ? A side of fries , a glass of rośe and what a better time to pass an afternoon . El Sizzling Chorizo is what I think is a well kept secret , grab a booth style table and your set . Nice service and what I thought is not too expensive . I think I'll be going back to eat a steak I saw at my neighbours table .

    Parrillada
    Rebecca S.

    I'm new to the world of Argentinian BBQ and this was my first visit to El Sizzling Chorizo but I'm a big appreciator of meat so I felt like I was ready for what was to come. I went with a large group of Argentinians who all swore that El Sizzling Chorizo was the real deal when it came to Argentinian BBQ. We arrived at 8pm on a Tuesday but they were full. I hear they are always full, so be prepared to wait. It's definitely worth it though. We popped down to Bedford Soda for a drink while we waited, about 45 minutes. There wasn't much variety in the ordering as most of got the Parrillada which is a mix of the different meats, to share between two. The smells coming out of the kitchen were fantastic and it was interesting to watch the meat cooking over the coals. Parrillada is served on a wooden board with a side salad and chimichurri. There was two types of pork belly, chicken thighs, sirloin and short ribs. I was warned in the car ride that Argentinians cook meat well-done, not medium-rare as is standard in New Zealand however the meat was cooked to perfection. While it was well done, it wasn't tough or chewy at all. For $30 it was a lot of meat, too much for my partner and I to finish so we took the rest home. I will definitely be going back to El Sizzling Chorizo, it was well worth the wait. Apologies for the poor quality of the photo, I was too excited to taste it.

    GiGi D.

    I'm a "no frills" eater, if I'm going to shove meat in my face, I like it straight up! I feel as though meat that is GOOD is juicy all by itself, creating it's own sauce if you will.......... Ah ha ha ha! But seriously, it's the truth. Well El Sizzling Chorizo is quite confident that their meats do just that and I have to say, I agree! I got the juicy chicken thighs and I could have sat there sucking on those bones for hours! It's too bad this place doesn't have a "branch" in the states..... And I'm sure you all know why?

    The inside on a busy night
    Mark G.

    Wow, this was amazing food, if you have ever been to Wildfire or another Brazilian Barbecue then this is the place to go. I warn you in advance, on weekend nights there is a high wait time (1.5 hours or more) Service wasn't great, but possibly understandable given how busy it was. the location is cramped but the food makes up for it.

    Mixed platter with pork belly, beef, chicken and lamb
    Katie L.

    We had an mixed platter with pork belly, beef, chicken and lamb which was only $30! I don't usually like lamb but this was pretty nice. Beef was a bit too chewy, pork was average. Chicken was nice though, the char-grilled taste came through which was amazing. We ordered an extra bread but it looked like it was baked sometime ago - wasn't soft or chewy, just a but solid... I liked how they present all these on a wooden tray instead of a dish. It looked fancy and interesting. However there were a bit much oil on the wooden dish which I tried to avoid by using just a corner of my tray... I guess I like to have meats at a fine dining rather than place like this but my friend really enjoyed here.

    Hannah J V.

    There's something very primal about a visit to El Sizzling Chorizo. The sight of an enormous amount of meat being cooked on a custom-built grill is one thing, but the smell of all of that deliciousness is another, and something that can't be truly captured in text. A lot of people stop and stare at this place - it's really quite fascinating to see the food being stoked, flipped and cooked to perfection in front of you. What makes this Argentinian street food stall stand out from the other street-style restaurants inside Ponsonby Central is that this one does it with fire! This place is often packed, so if you're starving, don't expect to be served right away. The mains at El Sizzling Chorizo aren't cheap - you can expect to pay anywhere in the realm of $15-30 to eat - but the food you're eating is of amazing quality and cooked just right. So if you're in the mood to get your caveman on tonight, tuck into some El Sizzling Chorizo.

    Katherine L.

    Okay, firstly, do not ever bring a vegetarian to El Sizzling Chorizo. The basis to most of the food is meat. Huge amounts of meat. I am a full carnivore so this was completely fine to me. I shared a tasting platter with Tom, although there wasn't much sharing going on because he ate the majority of it. What I did have was good though. There wasn't much in the way of a side salad or sauces, but the meat was cooked perfectly and seasoned well. There always seems to be a crowd around this place, my dad raved about it recently and he doesn't usually rave, so that says something.

    Steve and Cindy Wages
    Jack S.

    Omg, the best things were not the meat - our potatoes and empanadas provided a welcome relief from the dry, overcooked and in-seasoned meats, some of which were so chewy that they had to be spit out or choked down. May have been a bad night? But not a good one for us. 2 stars for ambiance and decent service.

    No wine glass at all ... Meal was finished !! Only beer
    Enrique M.

    I'm so sorry to give this place only 3 stars, but the server totally forgot about our wine with our main entree .... Food and amount of food it's good... We had a beer before our meal and everything was okay, we ordered empanadas along with some beers , and our entree was supposed to be steak with a glass of wine because we ordered like that !! we eat the whole meal almost and nobody seemed to be around with our wine , so then we stopped this employee and asked him to take off the wine .... Because it was pointless for us to have wine without our meals ..... And he just asked us what did we wanted to do ? Pay or not drink it ??? I said politely, just take it off the bill because we didn't drink it .... And he was like lost or something but just took our wines off with we didn't drink.... Coming back? No !

    Ruskin D.

    Great location and perfect meals. The meats very perfectly cooked with a perfect blend of charcoal flavour. The only regret I have is not going there with an emptier tummy :). Friendly staff as well

    View from my barstool seat!
    Erica C.

    I'm a big fan of empanadas, so this was bookmarked immediately prior to coming to NZ. The layout of the restaurant is really awesome! They have about 15 bar stools around the cooking area and a few tables surrounding and outside. I sat down at a barstool in the corner and was helped almost immediately. I must stick out like a sore thumb because the waitress asked if I was Latina and started speaking in Spanish to me. Very friendly service! The food...oh the food my mouth is watering now!!! I ordered the empanadas and chorizo starters. Please note it's not like in America where the starters are small. One order is large enough for a meal. The chorizo can with 2 pieces, a salad and bread with dipping sauce. The chorizo was very good, not too much spice. The salad was lightly dressed with lemon, olive oil, almonds and salt/pepper, simple yet satisfyingly delicious! The bread is freshly made on the grill in front of you so it's warm and fluffy when given to you. Dip it in the sauce, I can drink that stuff! The empanadas come 2 to an order and a salad. Yes I ate the salad on the second plate too. The empanadas are extremely delicious, the best I've ever had! The meat filling is tasty and you can taste the quality. I dipped it in the sauce from the chorizo plate and it kicked it up a notch. Definitely recommend getting a side of that! Highly recommend this place!

    Buenos Arial View
    Hiran T.

    Argentinians know their meat. From great steaks to lamb, chicken, chorizo and even pork belly, El Sizzling Chorizo in the heart of Ponsonby Central proves its authenticity with its menu. The smoky interior masks the hardworking, sweaty kitchen staff and a weathered barbecue grill from which prime cuts are tossed onto a sideboard and sprayed with salt water or lemon juice before being served. Their empanadas are crisp pastry shells filled with succulent minced meat and onion. Their platters, such as the Orejana combo ($37, worth it) save you having to choose between the range of grilled cuts. Sides of mustard aioli fries and vinegretted salad offer light relief from the carnivorous paradise. Should you be unlucky enough to be vegetarian, they do have one or two non-meat options, but this probably isn't the place for you. Buen Appetito!

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    10 years ago

    Nothing beats charcoal BBQ'd meat! Short Rib was good, Chorizo was a nice appetiser and the Salsa Verde is awesome!

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    Review Highlights - El Sizzling Chorizo

    Next time, I will definitely try a main meal, possibly the 'Short Ribs' ($20) or the 'Orejano Platter' ($35) looks delicious

    Mentioned in 4 reviews

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    Conch Kitchen & Bar - Wood fired oven

    Conch Kitchen & Bar

    4.2(12 reviews)
    0.1 kmPonsonby
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    What an absolute winner! Hidden from the street, the courtyard out the back of Conch is one of my…read morenew favourite spaces in Auckland. It's got a wonderful Latin American vibe, with a patterned brick floor, colourful banquettes & seats and - as is to be expected in a record store come café - delightful beats. The menu's pretty exciting too - think soft arepas , fresh & flavoursome tacos, quinoa cazuelas. I'd never had arepas before so I opted for them - 1 vegetarian, 1 pulled pork. As the waitress explained, Arepas are Venezuelan cornbread served lightly grilled, cut in half and filled with delicious goodies - sort of like a South American slider of sorts. It's hard to pick my favourite. The vegetarian one was filled with black beans, guac, a crunchy slaw and cilantro and the pulled pork was juicy as with some sort creamy dressing (mayo?) and pickles. They could of done with a touch more salt and more hot sauce (they did come with one but it wasn't spicy enough for me) but that's being fussy! I'm really looking back to heading back from brunch - they're open from 9am in the weekend! Ideal for summer.

    Conch. Nowadays more a restaurant/bar/cafe than the record store/cafe it used be but nevertheless…read morean excellent joint with great staff, service and excellent food. Always good vibes at Conch, great ambience, and people with appreciation for non-commercial music will enjoy the tunes they play. Decor is fantastic and original -- All the walls you see, the furniture, every thing is handmade, realised through one man's vision. The coffee is excellent, there's also a good selection of alcoholic bevs. Food is outstanding. The tacos and arepas are delicious, quality.

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    Conch Kitchen & Bar - Courtyard Seats

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    El Sizzling Chorizo - argentine - Updated May 2026

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