This was a delicious breakfast. The whipped yoghurt was amazing. The fluffy, airy sweetness was so…read moregood and the granola was also great. Fresh and crunchy with sweet stone fruits on top. The sourdough and eggs were great as well. I personally don't like parsley garnish so I didn't enjoy that on the egg as much but everything else was fantastic. Tomatoes were really juicy. Everything just tasted super fresh and of great quality.

we loved everything about this restaurant when we had dinner there. so much so that we went back…read morefor breakfast a day later! All the people there are friendly and efficient. The seating is comfortable. Go here.

Intimate setting that also serves well towards larger groups…read more There's a list of proposed wine tastings - upwards of $12 for three wines from NZ or around the world. You can choose your own tasting (or full glass or bottle) from the menu which gives you the chance to try a nice range. We selected food from the small plates menu but were unimpressed. You'd probably do better were you to order a cheese platter or to come here for after dinner drinks.

From the owner: Wine, well that's what really matters isn't it? Bored with…read morethe usual generic wine lists popping up all over town? At Wine Loft we have a vast array of wines available by the taste, glass or bottle. Many of which you will not find anywhere else. Also available is tap & bottle beer, spirits and other drinks. We pride ourselves in our platters and pizzas which are all designed for sharing. There is also a good selection of hot and cold small plates to choose from.

Farside is no more. It's not called the Pineapple Bar. Search for it, it's outstanding…read more Meow

I came to Farside one Saturday night in April with my older sister and my cousin who had just…read moreturned 18. My sister and I wanted to take our cousin somewhere nice and different for celebratory drinks. My sister suggested that we try Farside as she had been once before and had met the owner Eddy through friends. Farside is a small bar located down Parnell Road between Renkon and Burgerfuel. If you are looking at a map, it is quite hard to spot and most of the time, you will walk straight past it! We only went for drinks, but they were all delicious! Farside has an extensive cocktail list, which my cousin and I happily chose from! All the cocktails had cool names and interesting flavours, which is something you would not find in a bar/club in town! Overall, the best drinks we had were a Margarita with a salt rim and a Cosmopolitan with a sugar rim (see pictures) - both were yummy! The décor was nice and the music interesting, which we all liked. Farside plays all sorts of music, so it is great for everybody! It had a cool vibe to it all night - we even had a boogie in the corner when Queen came on! Farside also serves a range of bar snacks including cheese and cold meat platters with vegetarian options as well, which would be great to share with a group of friends - and a few of their amazing cocktails as well!

I want to give The Wine Cellar a few props from the perspective of a door bitch at gigs. We are the…read morebitches who take your money - we put silly insignias on your wrist and hand you cheap EPs. Getting a gig together at The Wine Cellar is easy - the bar staff are really friendly people who don't seem to mind when the door bitch once again forgets a pen. Rohan who runs the technical side of the shows clearly loves making people sound good and takes his work seriously enough to do an excellent job of it. It's also massively cheap to rent the place - $100 for a PA and Rohan.

The wine cellar has two sides to it - music venue and bar. These are, logically enough, divided…read moreinto two rooms. The music side has a really nice feel to it, very intimate and casual, like you're sitting in on some friends jamming in their living room rather than a band performing on stage. The bar side is neat too, still very casual and boutique without being at all snooty. Wine Cellar has an association (business or family or both, I'm not sure) with the Purangi Winery in Coromandel, so they serve an interesting selection of liquors and wines from there. They also have their own ales on tap. Be warned though - of the two I've had I think one is quite nice and one is foul, and I can never remember which one is which.

On our last day, it was just non-stop rain as we were killing some time before heading to the…read moreairport. We walked nearby our hotel to My Bar, a tiny place with more outdoor tables (although obviously not the best place to sit on a day like that). Heading inside, we were greeted with a cozy place; mood lighting, exposed brick, wood floors, and tiny table nooks along the wall. The bartender was friendly and got us some drinks. They have a full selection of hard drinks, but I was here for the beer. They have six tap handles, all from the larger breweries of the country. I chose a flight of three. We slowly sipped our drinks and listened to the rain. Prices were reasonable, it was definitely worth a few minutes for some drinks!

Great bar! Stopped here one night & sat outside. Relaxed, friendly service; beer was great. Had a…read moreramen dish from a restaurant next door. Liked it so much, went back the next night.

Just checked in the hotel and came here before it got too late. The Depot had good reviews on Yelp…read moreso I tried it. It's about 15-20 min walk from the warf. It was busy so I was seated outside. They had overhead heat lamps so I was comfortable without a jacket one (this is in June). The menu is geared for sharing dishes so ordering for one is a challenge. I had the local Lagar on tap, 1 of each of the 2 oysters offered, and the NZ green-lipped mussels with chiriso. They also gave me a complementary pita triangles with hummus. Overall, everything was delicious. I could have gone for more oysters, but didn't want to overdo it. The mussel dish had 7 good size mussels so I was satisfied without feeling stuffed. Glad I came to the Depot.

My friends and I went there for my last day in Auckland. We went around lunch time and we were able…read moreto get seated very quick. The ambiance was still so chill and not as packed because it was early afternoon, which was nice. The staff again were super friendly and answered any questions we had. Sadly, we didn't get the fish sliders because they were sold out! But we did get some of the same dishes I had ordered before but got oysters as well. The oysters were fresh and tasty, especially with their vinegar sauce. My friends also loved the charred eggplant and a couple of them don't really eat eggplant. The crispy potatoes were so good! The truffle wasn't too overpowering and they were perfectly crisp. The steak was super tender and juicy and the wedge salad helps cut the fat and compliments the steak as well. Can't wait to come back to Depot. Already miss it so much!

If you love wine, please come here! This place is not only adorable, but the wines and appetizers…read moreare amazing!!! I decided to come here for wine and a cheese platter before going elsewhere to dinner. The best decision I made throughout my trip! I decided to try local NZ wines but they have an impressive French wine selection. Let me save you some time.... JUST COME AND ENJOY YOURSELF! The cutest staff, great location and amazing food and wine. Definitely gonna try and squeeze another visit in before going :)

We got a Grab One voucher for a three course meal for two and decided to try Touquet on a quiet…read moreweekday. Really liked the clean and casual decor. There was only one other party there and we got some little quinoa salad appetizers care of the chef which were fresh and light. The pulled oxtail was big and impressive for a starter, and quite tender and juicy. The ricotta and spinach ravioli was much smaller and the purees were light and dampened the strongish ricotta flavor to make the whole dish more subtle. I personally would've preferred something a bit tangy to counter the ricotta, rather just make it less ricotta-y. For mains, the Akaroa king salmon was seasoned and cooked PERFECTLY (crispy skin but still deep pink and juicy on the inside and the whole thing flaked apart)... I love the taste and texture of salmon and the chef really brought out the best of the fish. The large amount of lemon potato that came with it looked like a sauce or soup, but had the texture of thick potato puree and tasted pretty creamy. I liked it, but it was heavy because of the cream and felt like a lot more than an equivalent amount of mashed potatoes (good if you're hungry, but didn't make the dish feel very balanced). The Hawkes Bay lamb scotch fillet was cooked not quite consistently, as a few pieces were medium and some were medium-well. We prefer medium-rare. The stack of cooked veggies that came with it was juicy and flavorful, though. For desserts, the crème brulee was PERFECT and using manuka honey instead of sugar meant it was less sweet, which we preferred. The jasmine infused pineapple with coconut three ways was really nice to eat slowly and enjoy all the different flavors and textures... I quite liked the chewy coconut biscuits, especially when soaked in the juice at the bottom. Overall, really enjoyed our dining experience there. The waitress and chef were really nice to have a chat with on the quiet evening. The dishes were really well priced for the quality, even without a voucher. We'll definitely head back at some point. I want to give them a 4.5, but will round up in this case.

Genuinely, one of the greatest , and maybe most understated, gems in Newmarket. Be transported away…read morefrom the bustle of traffic and pedestrians, behind the fountains and summer cicadas and small knolls of Lumsden Green, and enjoy a sample of the Mediterranean under a flock of bright red parasols. Above the reasonable prices, the great food and the wine selection, the service is impeccable- testament to why Safran has been here for over 20 years. Staff comfortably approach you before you enter, without looking like the starving hyena that is often encountered walking past a restaurant. Even though I had only stopped in for a summery Pinot Gris this time around, I had a tall glass of ice water almost before I sat down with the wine, followed by a smile, not long after. A positively enjoyable restaurant for their lunch time specials, a hot date or a small group of friends for dinner.

When I worked in Newmarket we came to Safran at least every 2 weeks, there were many other…read morerestaurants/cafes in the area which we also tried, however we always preferred Safran. When we first started going they had a $10 menu, then it was $12 and now its $14, oh inflation and rising prices. Anyway the lunch meals were always good and tasty, I think over the time I tried every lunch meal and they were all good and they had around 12 or so lunch specials. Probably the most popular one would be the Safran sandwich which is like a gourmet sandwich and very good. The food has a Spanish/Mediterranean influence. The service was always very good, somehow much better than all the other nearby places.

A great Italian restaurant. Rich selection of wines. Varied menu. I had Hāpuku which is a fish. It…read morewas a daily special. Fish was on a bed of risotto. Meat was delicious. Well presented. All was good. Staff very professional. Ambience romantic.

We were in Auckland for a few days and stumbled across this quaint, family-owned restaurant for…read moredinner. The owners were there and seated us right away. As a group of 5, we were having trouble finding a place to eat, but we were lucky there was a table open in this small, cute restaurant. We then proceeded to have the best meal we experienced during our 2-week trip in NZ! Tye was our server and he definitely enhanced the experience. Most of us were indecisive, but he was able to give great food recommendations. We were all very happy with everything we ordered. We tried to eat there again before we left, but they were closed the last day we were in town. Vivace is a must-try if you are looking for delicious Italian food and good service.