OMG. I love this place!!! It is so cute. We came here yesterday when it was pouring down. Not that…read moremany people inside. They sell lots of different products that you would not often see in central Auckland. I think the guy serving everyone had had a rough day as he didn't seem very cheery. Service was still good though but a happy face would have made it top notch. I ordered a soy hot chocolate which was yum but I guess you can't really mess that up. He had a long black which was made very well. I ordered the curry of the day (Thai chicken) and it was ok, I have had better as the chicken was dry and the courgette flavour was strong, quite fusion. He had their big breakfast which apparently was a lot nicer than any other one he had back in Auckland. I thought they are all the same hahaha. When leaving was I tempted to try their cabinet food so I got a cheesecake brownie and a strawberry brownie to take away. LOVED IT. He usually doesn't like sweet food (like most guys) but he loved it too! Kitchen closes at 2.30pm but cabinet food goes until close. I would highly recommend this cafe and then you could stop by clevedon coast oysters before or after = perfect day

So you've gone on your country drive down south and you're feeling parched. Perhaps you are on the…read morehunt for fresh veges, fruit or a jar of jam? Well, Ciao Bella has both a nice, homey looking country cafe with an Italian twist, as well as all your farmer's market needs. They hold the Italian Country Market here every weekend, but don't hesitate to venture here another day. They also have the most amazing bathroom, covered in multi-coloured tiles. Feels like an acid trip from the 60s. Basically, it's a breath of fresh air on your journey to Clevedon or beyond.

My husband and I have eaten here twice, once for lunch and once for dinner. Lunch was a while ago…read moreand we declared then that we'd come back for dinner for a special occasion. Well, that occasion was last night and we chose it for our anniversary dinner. Throughout the dinner, both of us just kept repeating, "I'm so glad we came here." We sat in the main restaurant (there is now a pizza place area behind the main dining area). We were slightly disappointed by the lack of availability of wines by the glass, but there are a ton of great wines to choose from by the bottle. I simply chose the "house red" and my husband had a pinot noir. They were served in *real* wine glasses. Wine people, you know what I mean. Both were great and I was particularly pleased that the "house" wine was as nice in quality as it was (usually these are just throw away crap wines). We were served an amuse bouche course of tuna tartare. It was fantastic. My husband started with the oxtail consomme and I had the burrata insalata caprese. Both of us were very pleased with both items. For my main, I has asparagus risotto with chili prawns and my husband had the eye fillet. My risotto was awesome on it's own, but it was garnished with a prosciutto chip that just blew me away. My husband's steak was perfectly cooked and his parsnip puree was so smooth we just sat there wondering how it could be done. My husband (the steak guy) stated twice that this was the best steak he's had since we moved to NZ eight months ago (and we've been to a number of places with steak, including steak houses). The evening was wonderful and we would have stayed for dessert, but our newborn didn't get the message that we were having a special dinner out and got too fussy to stay. Options for dessert included tiramisu, a coffee creme brulee and a cannolo. I'm sure they were probably all really great and we'll have to give them a try the next time around. The staff were friendly and attentive. Our server was Italian and from the same town as the owner of the restaurant (in northern Italy). We enjoyed talking with him about some of our travels there and his travels in the United States. This place is amazing and is easily an excellent choice for a special night out, for groups or couples. You could also turn an otherwise ordinary evening into a special one by having your dinner here. Just to be warned, you should check out the menu before you decide - it's definitely higher-end food and what I usually refer to as "frou frou" in some of the dishes. For example, if you come looking for lasagna, there wasn't any. The pasta entrees looked familiar, but instead of the usual meat sauce one had a venison sauce. That sort of thing. That said, I would say come here anyway and give it a try and I don't think you will be disappointed.

Went to Alpino for dinner. Very friendly staff and quick service! We ordered the margarita pizza,…read moreoctopus, burrata, the 200g tenderloin, and the fish of the day (which was snapper). They were all really good! Location was quite good as well with parking a one minute walk from the restaurant. Seems like a very popular place so I would recommend getting a reservation before going. There is also an Italian gelato shop just across the street if the desserts at Alpino don't suit you. Overall, really good and highly recommend for anyone in the area!

Food was fabulous. All three of the dishes were great. One pizza, two pasta's! Well worth it. Only…read morecomplaint is the chairs are super uncomfortable making us not want to linger or have desert. We were full however... We may go back tomorrow night.

What a lovely place! Located on the corner of cavendish drive, opposite AUT south campus (AUT…read morerepresent!), Trattoria is one of Manukau city's hidden gems. We discovered it through the Auckland entertainment book for 2017. The cafe has 2 entrances is - one beside the deck and one along further by the other shops. We walked in to a lovely setup with tables, chairs and a very clean white floor. The area is well taken care of and also offers outside seating (and inside outside) for those who prefer the fresh air. Quiet music is played from the radio. Now onto the food... the coffee was EXQUISITE! I love a good mocha and mine was the perfect balance of chocolate and coffee. Mum had a latte, which she loved also. As for the meals, my eyes went straight to the blueberry pancakes (which come with cream, seasonal fruit, bacon and maple syrup). Mum had the trattoria grill (eggs, bacon, sourdough bread,spinach, mushrooms, potato balls, Italian sausage and roasted tomato). The girls that ran it were lovely too. Highly recommended!

Has been very very good and average on different visits. Has nice breakfasts. Have tried the pasta…read morewhich could have done with a little more sauce and burgers and they catered for a large group really well. Perhaps just a bit more consistency would raise the standard. Have noticed that it doesn't appear to be as patronised as it used to be so wonder why. Would definitely give it another go. Could really do with some more mediterranean flavours in South Auckland.

Wow....had the gnocchi duck. It was by far the best dish I've had here in Auckland (been here about…read more10 days). The service was also amazing which I haven't seen too many places around here. Highly recommend.

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.

This place is outstanding. Friendly staff and delicious food. I had a pizza followed by Summer…read moreBerry Crème Bruleé.

We were the first of our group to arrive. Whilst waiting could not help hearing that most of the…read moreothers diners were chatting away in Italian. To me this was a good sign that we had made the choice to come here although it took about an hour to drive here. I had the Porcini, the others had Carne, Calzone Quattro Formaggi, Vespucci, and finally the Veggie. All diners in our agreed how much they enjoyed their pizza. Myself and another had to take the remainder home as we were too full to finish. During our meal there was a constant stream of people collecting their takeaways. I noticed that most people had 5 or 6 pizzas. Most of the customers must have been regulars as the staff seemed familiar with them. The decor and atmosphere was pretty basic, but who cares with lovely pizza and pasta in front of you.

The TIRAMISU... not the usual cliche. So so good. The…read moredough. Sheesh. Yum. The buffalo mozzarella. I'm not kidding. Delicious Covered in prosciutto. Not at all heavy post meal on the body. Make the effort to go...

omg I LOOOOVE this place. I am a big fan of pasta (and carbs in general) and after complaining to…read moremy boyfriend about how much I miss Italy, I was sooo happy to find Pasta & Cuore. I walk by here all the time on my way to Rad coffee, and I'd really been wanting to go in. The restaurant is TINY, and reservations are required, but it's so worth it. I came here with a group of friends and we wined and dined for a good two hours. I ordered the gnocchi with vegetables and it was fluffly, light, and freaking delicious. The portions are small but enough to fit dessert after and an appetizer first. The selection of Italian wines is fantastic, I was so excited to try as many as I could. I'm pretty sure I spent more money on wine than on food that night. My boyfriend ordered dessert after dinner and was happy about that. They have a tiramisu which I would die for if it was vegan. I would definitely recommend this place for a relaxed dinner with friends if you love pasta, wine and Italy!

Found this place on trip advisor and was excited to have handmade, fresh pasta. Unfortunately, we…read moreunderestimated how tiny and popular this place is because we showed up only to be told that we needed a reservation. Sadly for us, they were totally booked up that night. We were about to turn away when my cousin thought to ask about takeout. I'm kind of surprised the server didn't ask us if we wanted to do that and was ready to let us walk out. We ordered 3 pasta dishes, a side of meatballs, and 3 pieces of tigella bread. That came out to about $70 USD. I might be a little off because I'm not sure about the conversion. Price wise, I'm not entirely convinced it was worth it. $70 for 3 people is expensive, but at the same time, FRESH, HANDMADE pasta! The food was good. No doubt about that. I'm glad we got a mix of flavors to share though, because it was one of those meals where you can only eat so much before your mouth starts to reject it. I LOVE cheese, but the tortellini with cream and parmigiano reggiano started feeling very heavy. It went perfectly in between bites of the tagliatelle with Bolognese though. The spaghetti alla chittara with gorgonzola and walnuts was my least favorite, but it was my cousin's favorite. Just a matter of preference. I was still willing to eat it though. The meatballs were so good. Perfectly seasoned and paired with the sauce. I was disappointed to see an order only had 4 pieces, but I don't know how much it cost. The bread was also delicious. The texture reminded me of a waffle, not quite crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. One order is only one disk-shaped pieced about the size of your hand. If I could, would I come again? I'm very tempted by the other items in their menu. As a person on vacation with little thought to budget, I absolutely would come again. If I was a local and had to watch my wallet, this place would be a treat, not something I could have often.

I had heard through the grapevine that this was just the best ever pizza found on the North Shore…read more So of course I pestered my partner to take us there for a takeout pizza mid week. I arrived around five thirty and the popular pizzeria had a few guests eating pasta on the front outdoor seating area. The owner who bakes all the pizza's himself is a friendly and humorous Greek man, and was only too happy to point out the fave choices of pizza for us first time visitors. The Top picks were Greco, a delicious topping of lamb, red onion, olives, peppers, tzatziki, basil and parsley (My first pick also). And the Quattro Stagioni which had Salami, Ham, Prawns and Mushroom, this was sensational (my second pick). As it was the premiere visit, we opted for the two small pizzas, costing both under 18 dollars each, and let me tell you, I thought I could have eaten a pizza to myself, however the servings were so great that I only managed about 2 pieces each. Beautiful pizza base , and the toppings are just divino divine! I will be back as soon as I can, to try more pizza flavours, and a pasta dish for sure.

Just need some good food during the interim of taking care of my mother in law in the NS hospital…read more We ordered one Divino Pizza and one Divino Pasta for three of us. The pizza and pasta are eally nice and far beyond my expectations (I preferred pasta a bit more). Got refreshed and continue facing whatever they are in the real life.