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!

Honestly a really mediocre bakery/cafe. I wouldn't suggest…read moreratting breakfast etc here. Takeaway food is also quite average

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

I really wish I could give this place a two and a half star rating. I don't want to give it two…read morebecause that would imply that I didn't like it, but then again, giving it three seems far to generous. The place is probably about the most average café I've ever eaten in. Everything from the service to the food to the décor was just (for want of a better word) meh. I popped in to grab a quick sandwich at lunchtime and, to their credit, the range they had was pretty vast (pitas, wraps, Vogels sandwiches and rolls) but all of the fillings were pretty samey; the choice either being ham, chicken or salad in each one. I opted for a chicken pita and it was, you guessed it, average; packed full of stuff but just a bit flavourless. I get that it's not trying to be Auckland's hippest or best eaterie. It is what it is: a cheap place to grab a quick lunch, snack and coffee. I just wish it did it with a bit more character.

Cute bakery that has made itself a destination nestled into a quiet side street. The large space…read morehas a walk-in counter, a place for seating as well as a large kitchen area. We ordered a cake for my daughter's 5th birthday the same day. Ordered at 8am, was supposed to be ready at 5pm. When I arrived they admitted they had completely forgotten about it! They charged half price and delivered to our house which was appreciated given the circumstances. Not ideal as we weren't able to enjoy the awesome look of cake for that long before doing the candles, cutting and getting to bed. The cake itself was awesome with chocolate ganache and piled high with berries on the top. Would go again as long as forgetting orders isn't a regular thing.

This quaint cafe, located in an otherwise quiet residential street of Takapuna/Belmont, is always…read morebusy and as soon as you see the cabinet it is not hard to see why. Beautifully presented and devilishly decadent cakes, pies, tarts and donuts line the shelves just waiting to be devoured. Order at the counter, grab your plastic zoo animal, which serves as your table number, and pull up a pew at the communal table. Trust me, the food tastes every bit as good as it looks!

We came here for a dessert after dinner. Had to wait 20 minutes for a table for two, which wasn't…read morebad since we left our number with them so we could wander around. I chose to have the lemon and yoghurt bombe alaska that was fantastic. The right amount of sweetness and tartness. There was a bit of confusion that kind of spoiled our experience as we also ordered the passion fruit and peach chocolate bon bon and was only told after the dish arrived that the passion fruit and peach were only available as shards, which was eight dollars more. We would have appreciated the waitress explaining that some of the chocolates came as shards and the others as bon bons, so we felt like we were tricked into ordering something. The cookie dough macaron was good but didn't remind us of cookie dough, more of a chocolate macaron. We left wanting a lot more from our experience chocolate- and pastry-wise.

The lemon yogurt bomb Alaska is the best "popsicle" ice cream bar I've had. It's not too sweet or…read moretangy and balances our dessert well. It has a crispy lemony coating over a frozen yogurt middle, finished off with stripes of meringue on the top. It all case together so well! The cookies and cream rocher was also very delicious. It was topped with edible gold, had a crunchy cookies and cream outer layer before you hit a velvety chocolate mousse later. Finally, the inside had bits of cookie. It sounds very sweet and sickly but was pleasantly well balanced. I wish they had a Milse where I'm from! Actually maybe not, or else I'd be so broke.

You can find bakeries all over the show these days. All offering differing baked goods, pastries,…read moresandwiches and the like. I have yet to find one that outshines all others on all fronts and this one is no different. Sandwiches are standard and have slightly more fillings than most other bakeries I have visited. Hot pies and pie warmer foods are ok but far from award winning. Offers your standard array of drinks but they do have a very good line up. More than most so you have a good drink selection to boot. Where this bakery shines however is in its sweet treat lineup. If you have a sweet tooth then this is the place for you. The food is always fresh and well presented. Custard pies, cheesecake slices, pancake and cream wrapped bananas, obligatory cream dounuts, frands, the list goes on. They also rotate out a few from time to time and try new flavors or recipes just to keep things fresh. I return here however over & over just for there sweet pies. Pecan Pie, Apple & Rhubarb, Apple & Blueberry just to name a few. Sooo delish and fresh. Eat them cold or take home, warm up and serve with a scoop of your fave icecream.

I hear that a person's first cronut experience stays with them for a lifetime. If so, then this…read moremodest little bakery is set to linger in my mind. Wandered in here not knowing what I wanted, not even feeling all that hungry but knowing I wouldn't have another chance to eat for many hours. But I was suddenly attentive (and salivating) on glancing down at the middle cabinet and seeing before me, CRONUTS!! I don't know if this counts as a big deal anymore, but to me it was certainly an event. I'd heard a lot about this new pastry invention, and had wondered what the hype is about... basically a croissant with cream, right? Wrong! I bit in and was transported. The texture of the pastry, almost 'teasing' in how it disappears when you bite in... the creamy, custardy filling... and most importantly, the icing on top which lent just the right 'kick' of intense sweetness to balance the pleasant mildness of the filling... it was something else! Don't know how these cronuts compare to other attempts, but in and of themselves they were delicious. Totally an event in my gastronomic existence. Their other offerings are fairly predictable, a range of pies, sandwiches, et cetera... I bought a lamb and 'something' pie, don't recall exactly; it was satisfying but not remarkable.

BEST GLUTEN FREE BREAD. EVER. Seriously. This place knows how to make normally horrid bread into…read morefluffy, soft, and scrummy bread. They have white, seeded and cheese topped bread. But watch out, it goes off the shelves before you know it because it's so popular. They bake it fresh everyday which means it's sometimes warm when you get it. And the best thing is that they have it at a really reasonable price. And also, that when I go there I can also get their gluten free brownie. Me, oh, my, it is so good. They also have lots of really good quality glutenous bread, cakes, slices and muffins. You can even pick up a coffee while you're there. It'd be a great place to go on the way to work to get your morning coffee and that day's lunch for a bargain.

If they are going to advertise a service then they should offer it. I have Ceoliacs (gluten free…read moreeating) and all I wanted was a gluten free birthday cake. Its like Take down the sign and stop telling people lies and killing their hope.

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.

I came here because it was highly recommended by a fellow Yelper, and I must say this bakery is the…read morebomb. They sell a wide variety of baked good and pre-made food. I picked a mini meat pie and a cherry tart for myself, the bf had the carrot cake and a strawberry rhubarb pie. Let me just put it out here that Kiwi pie is not something which I enjoy. But the mini beef mince pie from this place was outstanding - no gelatinous, overly salty, mushy filling here. It was a delicious ground beef with nice spices all stuffed in a flaky pie crust. I'm definitely going for the regular size pie next time I visit. The sweet desserts were really good as well, I loved my cherry tart. This area has a lot of bakeries but by the looks of it Kolhen's seems to be a favorite. I totally see why, and can't wait to go back. Note:They have many gluten free items.

On our way out to Muriwai, we completely stumbled upon Kolhen's Kitchen in a truly serendipitous…read moreway. Although the bakery is small and a bit unassuming, they sweet and savoury baked goods from wall to wall really pack a punch! One of the cutest things I saw were these baby marshmallow snowmen. I was feeling adventurous and strayed from my normal mince and cheese pie and went for the chicken, cranberry and bleu cheese pie. The flaky, butter crust encapsulated the well-seasoned and balance filling and really hit the spot for a brekky on-the-go. I also couldn't help but get an apple donut as well which had AMPLE filling and the fresh fried dough taste that is simply intoxicating. If you are in the neighborhood, check them out you won't regret it.