In this day and age of chain stores selling nothing much but top of the pops CDs and band t-shirts…read morewith singers on them who appear still to be foetal, Marbecks is welcome respite. Any music lover will adore Marbecks. You get that feeling of being in an actual place when you visit, rather than in just another cloned merchandising experience. You also get a real Alice down the rabbit hole feeling because of the wonderful range, and it's one place that actually makes me feel excited about buying music. The staff here are excellent and great at fielding all kinds of questions, and very accommodating to importing things especially for you and that kind of stuff. They also have a dangerously tempting range of books and a decent stock of vinyl, so there's a lot to keep you busy once you get there.

Although getting music in these times is a heap easier and often cheaper, I do miss the days of…read morespending hours in a CD store waiting for mum while she does the shopping. The ritual of waiting for an album release and going to buy it the day it comes out with everyone else, made it even more exciting. And I think buying a CD is a real testament to your love for a musician. Marbecks is literally the only CD store I can think of that's still in business, and it is a doozy. Hidden away in Queen St Arcade, i'm sure a lot of people still have no idea it's even there, despite it being around since 1934. But once you do discover it I challenge you to suppress the smile from your face. It is full to the brim with music of all different styles and in many different forms. Top 40 CDs, to classic and rare vinyls. The staff are extremely knowledgeable, it's clear they're massive music lovers and big fans of this dying medium. A great way to spend the day and probably the best place to do it. Give Marbecks the helping hand it needs and go have some fun there.

I love Little Bird's philosophy - raw, organic, health-giving meals - and think that Megan May is a…read moregenius but their prices for takeaway salads in Britomart are preeeeetty steep. $14.50 for cold courgette pasta w rocket & parmesan? $18 for a bird bowl salad? I don't know many people who could justify those prices for a takeaway salad! Prices aside, the food is delicious. The Britomart Store also stocks both the Little Bird products (try the macaroons - hard to believe they are healthy) and other products that fit in line with their ethos. Definitely worth checking out and if not picking up a salad, then trying one of their sweet treats.

In a world where so many people have dietary restrictions this place is a god send …read more I agree it is on the pricey side but you're going to be paying a bit more to have a piece of mind that you can eat without feeling any side effects . I went for a passion fruit cheesecake it was nice, but after sitting down at the rather small table . Notwithstanding this place is more of a eat on the run type , I wished I had gone for a chocolaty type of slice or cake . They also sell takeaway salads which seem to be a substantial amount , but I've seen the same for less at other cafes . And you can buy bottled nut milks or tonics and if you return bottle you can get a small refund/ discount on your next bottled drink . That being said this idea of cuisine is new and original and as more people feel the need to be healthier for whatever reasons they will continue to exsist .

Honestly I came here because I needed better wifi. I was having trouble with my personal hotspot on…read moreevery idevice I have, Imperial Lane's wifi wasn't working for me and vodafone was having a moment (this was pre 4G). I didn't really want to buy coffee from here, it usually isn't that good, given past experience at other Esquires but the guy at the counter looked like he knew what he was doing so I thought I would take the risk. I was pleasantly surprised. I don't really care where the beans come from and it is nice that they use fair trade beans but at the end of the day, if the coffee is bad, the coffee is bad. This short black on this particular occasion was not too bad at all. So I had a decent short black and free wifi for the hour that I spent there. The tables and soft seating is a plus, this Esquires is pretty cool, the way it is set out with large tables with plugs so you can work and charge your laptop and the upholstered chairs with high backs give you a bit of privacy, I think the layout is good. It is good to know that this is a 24 hour Esquires, if ever I needed coffee after normal trading hours then I would go back.

Fairly good coffee. I ordered the long black (like a reverse Americano; pouring a double espresso…read moreover hot water) with a blueberry muffin. It was very cakey and was sweet enough to balance the black coffee. I didn't use it but there was free wifi. My friend ordered the cereal with yogurt and was surprised by the size. It came in a bowl you normally see with Asian noodle soups!

Absolutely terrible - bland food and $6(!) for _half_ a cooked tomato as a side (that they…read moreinitially forgot). The waiter agreed it was a ripoff but still didn't do anything about it. We'll never go there again and strongly advise anyone else to give it a miss. Coffee was pretty bad as well. There's some great cafes the area but this isn't one of them - skip it and go _anywhere_ else. Note that this relates to Pandoro Willis Street on 03/05/2024 - can't imagine any of the others are any better and I won't be going to find out

Not all bread is equal and Pandoro's is definitely a slice above the rest. I came here in…read moreparticular a lot during my last year of uni for early morning poppy seed bagels and the coffee at this Pandoro is Allpress so a good way to start the day. My favourite carbohydrate offering of theirs is the sourdough seeded baguette is amazing, crusty but not too crusty and the density and flavour of the sourdough is incredible. Pandoro also make cute little dinner rolls and mini loaves, the 5 grain mini loaf is very nice, sliced you can have miniature toast! The Normandy Rye is pretty spectacular too. The guys who work here are fantastic, always really friendly. If you're in central city this is the best place to come for bread, fresh bread from the supermarket bakery is not the same, I wouldn't buy it. You're better to pay the extra and get proper bread made from real ingredients without the 'may contain traces of milk, fish and nut products'. Gross. Pandoro make wonderful breads of fantastic quality that taste great, grab yourself some dipping oils and dukkah

Nice cafe and friendly staff. I love their smoothies as they always made fresh everytime.read more

This was the perfect last dinner for my stay in Auckland. Filet was prepared perfectly. The…read morepeppercorn sauce was velvety and flavorful. The broccoli perfectly steamed. The service was impeccable.

If you like a quality steak then this is the place to go. No…read morefrills just good food. The steaks come out on a sizzling platter so be aware. One thing to keep in mind because of that it's cooked a bit less than how it's ordered. My suggestion would be if you like your steak medium rare order it medium.

If you can make junk food taste good and a bit healthier. Then you have found a good niche market…read more Of course a good location wouldn't hurt either. Dogmatic advertises all natural lean meats. To me if you are making a burger or sausage with lean meats only. Then it has to be cooked properly or risk it being a dry piece of cardboard or a stick of cardboard. I sampled the Slaw dog. First thing I noticed was that the dog didn't have a snap to it. Upon close inspection, but don't quote me on this. I found that the dog or sausage which ever name you wanna call it is skinless. I m not a big fan of skinless sausages. Because once it's skinless it's no longer a sausage. More like a stick of burger pattie. But once I got over my sausage skin OCD. The flavour of the dog won me over. The slaw is creamy and not wet. The cheese was melted completely. The bun was definitely toasted, nice and warm on the inside even with the cold slaw. The dog itself is seasoned well, the meat is somewhat on the dry side. But that's expected of a lean meat sausage. Overall, the central location of this little shop has great potential of making it big. And they serve decent dogs. It might not be popular with everyone because it's not the Wendy's dog that they know. But you just can't beat a great hotdog for when you have an itch in your stomach that you can't scratch. The only criticism that I have is that it is slightly overpriced for what it is, even if it is gourmet.

Aside from hotdiggidydogs, Dogmatic offers fresh in-house baked pastries, along with freshly brewed…read morecoffee. They are fabulous! The blueberry muffin I had was beyond perfection. I don't know how they did it, but the top had a nice caramel brown color to it, with a gentle top crunch. On the inside were warm, semi-soft, fresh blueberries. To compliment my pastry I had a cappuccino, no sugar, which again I don't know how it was done tasted sweet and delicious. I was on a mission for a sweet pastry and coffee and got exactly what I was looking for here for only $8. There was a gentleman who actually sat down to have one of their hot dogs for breakfast. Hmm if that ain't a sign, I don't know what is. I am returning for lunch just to find out!

Shaky Isles is probably 1 of the more recommended places we heard about it in Auckland, and after…read moreeating breakfast there, we could see why it's so popular. The interior has a modern warehouse vibe with cool bits of artwork and greenery spread throughout. As normal for Auckland, you order/pay at the counter whenever you're ready, and your food/drinks are brought to your table. Water and utensils are help yourself as well. Between the 4 of us we had 3 long blacks and 1 pour over coffee to start off. The coffee was quite strong here, but that jolt of energy is exactly what you need in the morning. For food we tried their lamb kumara meat pie, bacon/egg breakfast meat pie, and their breakfast croissant sandwich. The meat pies' homemade flaky crust was the best part of breakfast, and the croissant sandwich was delicious as expected. Shaky Isles was just as good as people recommended it to be! It's a cute cafe with lots of variety and personality. Solid spot to start your day off right at an affordable price! We'll be back again soon!

On campus. Great food and value. My husband had a mushroom omelet and I had an orange and almond…read moremuffin. Great coffees too. No restroom on site but student center next door has one.

A stoner geek paradise. The buzzing chatter of Queen Street fades behind you as walk down the…read morestairs, and you might feel as though you have just walked down into your nerdy neighbors basement. Ardent gamers in their zone, giant screens in their faces, headphone volume on max, large coke positioned conveniently by the mouse pad, the real world a bygone memory as they hack and slash there way through the levels. Not the most competitive hourly Internet rate at $3 per hour, but they offer rather generous member deals. I paid $10 for 5 hours (where I could come and go as I please) which I thought was okay because they have a super central location and big comfortable seats. Seriously, I am not kidding about these seats, they are large and they are leather, and they have sweet sweet reclining action - they only problem is you do not want to rest your head back and absorb the head sweat from the last customer.

BEWARE!! would put a minus 5 stars if I could! Don't go here for repairs. Misleading, poor…read morecommunication and empty words. Horrible experience.

Coffee Club Customs Street is a nice little, corner cafe, perfect for brekkie. When the weather is…read morenice, there is a nice breeze that naturally flows through the cafe and the big open windows let in a lot of warm sunlight. Like many other cafes in Auckland, you order at the counter, pay, and are given a number to bring to your table where they bring you your food when it's ready. We tried their breakfast smoothie bowl cause we were looking to eat something a little lighter and healthier. This was a tropical mango coconut base topped with toasted muesli, bananas, sliced almonds, coconut chips, pumpkin seeds, and fresh cubed mangos. My only "complaint" was that I wish the smoothie base was a little thicker for a better texture when eating it. But by all means it was fresh, not too sweet, healthy, and great for breakfast. I would highly recommend this cute, affordable cafe to others!

This coffee shop was okay. We stopped in for a beer and dessert…read more We tried the blueberry tart which was decent but nothing to get excited about. And for what it was, the price for it was high. The wifi is free, with a code, but after a while it kicked me off. I'm not sure if there is a time restriction or if their wifi was unsteady. It's a decent place to people watch and in a great location.