Family dining in Auckland

“This is one of the finest restaurants in Auckland city. I seldom write reviews about restaurants. My brother was a chef and you have to be pretty good to impress me. It is a popular Middle-Eastern and South-West Asian restaurant with authentic and traditional dishes. It is the "chef that makes the restaurant", not the other way round. The dishes were outstanding! I have just come back from Melbourne city and they blow away the competition over there. They win hands down, nobody comes even close to them. I had Tabouleh which comes from modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel. It is a staple in Lebanese cuisine and has been a part of Middle Eastern culinary traditions for centuries. Greek salad, snapper and lamb. Every dish was fantastic!”

“Hidden little gem, in a quite corner of a small shopping centre. The banjan borani was absolutely amazing, with the kebabs platter & biryani to go on the side, was a delicious meal. Service was almost non existent but the authentic chefs in the background stole the show for us.”

“This place has a very nice aura and relax feel. Meat was fresh and delicious, will definitely be back again. The skewers were yummy and large portions, enough for two!”

“Love love love the Huapai tavern! The bar staff are friendly and it feels like a home away from home, live bands on a Sunday and friendly locals make this one of the best places I have been to! Highly recommend giving the Hua a go!”

“Delightful! Memorable, and worth going back again and again! The staff here are so nice, so humane, friendly and caring. Food is absolutely remarkable; their sauces are so unique and really mouth-watering. My go-to is the wings & chips with the nice & spicy sauce (it plays so nicely with the blue cheese dip that comes with it). Top hidden jewel in NZ.”

“A great little find off the main road on Parnell. It was very quiet which was nice for us as a family of 5. Had really generous sized meals packed with lots of flavour. The drinks were nice and cold I enjoyed the passion fruit mojito. Our children loved their meals just a bit large for them. The lunch specials were delicious and very lovely service from the hosts. Reasonable pricing for quality meals.”

“I went there a Friday night and the place was quite crowded. It seem to be quite popular. I had a butter chicken, tikka chicken fries and garlic naan. It was a really good place, I really liked the environment as well as the food, which was really nice. The staff were really nice. I recommend this place.”

“After coming once before, we have come back as a family with higher expectations than the last time. We cannot express the absolute wonderful experience at Katmandu. The beautiful decor around the restaurant adds to the identity of the restaurant and the culture too. This restaurant deserves all the praise that they receive and will receive in the future. The food is quickly prepared and served with absolute excellence. I wish to thank the owner for the opportunity to experience such cuisine. To possible new customers, my family and I urge you to visit and experience Kathmandu for yourself.”

“If you are looking for a classic cafe style cafe then look no further, there was relief and excitement when the food arrived it was just so delis to taste that classic French toast again! The coffee was nice and overall excellent hospitality! Highly recommended.”

“Really lovely bakehouse. The energy there is just awesome. Buzzing with friendly people. We started conversations with people at 4 different tables. Had lots of laughs. Hubby and me never had an experience like that in cafe before. Food was really good. Priced well for the quality and size. Not fancy foods but more like home cooked foods and even do we are foodies we still enjoyed it and went back next day and grabbed sandwich and sausage roll. Sorry no photos of those as we finished it in a hurry but sandwich was packed with tasty filling and hubby said the sausage roll was the best he ever had. So there you go. If you not sure what to try definitely grab sausage roll. Coffee was excellent. Large size came in decent large mug and was hot and delicious.”

“Delicious food. Cozy cafe. Reasonable price. Highly recommended.”

“What an awesome spot! Jose’s Cantinas brings back a lot of memories of living in SoCal, where we would go to Taco Tuesday spots religiously. Really cool setup/atmosphere, super friendly staff and a fantastic range of Mexican food options. The perfect spot for a jovial weeknight. Thanks Jose, love your work! Hamish Dorrington Kakapo Business Sales”

“The waiters in this restaurant are very polite and made me feel very comfortable when dining in the store. They will ask you carefully if you need more water? Still need some service? It's been a long time since I've tasted such delicious Japanese food. The vegetable tempura is not greasy and the ingredients are chosen just right, so it tastes delicious. The most surprising thing is that I didn’t expect the portion size of KIWI DINNER to be so big, so I think the portion size for two people is just right. A Japanese restaurant that is worth visiting again.”

“Very busy restaurant, we went around 7:30 and it’s nearly full house on a Wednesday night. Food was great and authentic as usual. You have a lot to choose from on their menu. Portion size is great, I won’t say it’s pricey.”

“We will definitely be back! Cold beer and delicious food. The food was so good - Chicken Teriyaki, Chicken Katsu, Fish Katsu, Vegetable Tempura. Loved that the mains came with Miso. Very reasonably priced plus BYO (which is so rare these days). The only negative was the restrooms could do with a bit of a refresh, but you go for the food, not the loos!”

“Celebrated my son’s 11th birthday there with a large group. Everyone loved their food and the staff went to so much effort to make our evening perfect. Service was 5 star and the food was delicious. Had sizzling beef sirloin, pad Thai, red duck curry, tom yum soup and satay chicken - everything was delicious! It was BYO and we took our own cake. The brought the cake out with ice cream! So lovely and so reasonable. Thank you”

“We have been to this place a couple of times now and it's been great. Really good food, lamb vindaloo hot and goat curry in the bone was very nice. Great service and good bar selection”

“Bunny chow order for a group lunch. Eight orders was easy to order and pick up on the day. Fresh soft loaf of white bread toasted with a generous filling of the curry. Happy team. Would do it again.”

“We usually come on Fridays and always have a great experience. The food is delicious every time, the service is friendly and consistent, and it’s BYO wine which makes it even better. One of our favourite local spots!”

““Located right on East coast Road, Royal Indian Cuisine is a gem! Their goat chicken is absolutely fabulous, full of flavor and perfectly cooked. The staff members are very friendly and have a great nature, making the experience even better. A must-try for anyone who loves authentic Indian food!””

“Have lived just down the road for 2 years, so thought it was time to try out the local Italian joint. Grabbed a takeaway lasagne (made in less than 10 minutes), walked home (less than 5 minutes), and chowed down. Super moist, super yum! Will def go back and get Cabonara for my wife, plus will try out their canelloni :))”

“Amazing, Have been here three times and service is always great and food is amazing. Seeing a Panigale is cool too.”

“Ordered a pizza and barata on Uber. Was blown away by the taste and then discovered a nice long black hair in the pizza. Aside from their terrible food hygiene, I couldn't fault the taste.”

“Restaurant is absolutely beautiful with a romantic feel to it. Perfect for date night. Delicious food and they come round and top up your rice! Service is very friendly. Recommend the Thai fried rice!”

“A true hidden gem! I'll be honest, at first we thought it would be a small takeaway place but were pleasantly surprised. The space is quaint and intimate. The staff were lovely and everything tasted INCREDIBLE! The Moneybags were the best we've ever had. The picky pork was also delicious and the portion sizes were great especially for the price. 10/10 will be back again.”

“I came here for dinner and the food was delicious. For my main, I had the Tom Yum Soup with prawns. The soup was so flavourful and aromatic with an appropriate level of spiciness. The service was also quite good. The restaurant is a bit small so it can get a bit crowded and loud.”

“What an amazing gem with excellent service and amazing food. The food was authentic and fresh and very well prepared and presented. There is street parking and even thought the restaurant is compact it can cater for heaps. You don’t need to book and can just walk in. Take away is also available but Its nice to sit down and soak in the vibe.”

“Nice, simple but delicious food. Possibly the best value Japanese meal in Auckland. The service was excellent, and the owner was friendly and welcoming. This will be our regular Japanese restaurant. The food was so good I forgot to take pics of the rest of the meal.”

“Okay just get two dishes. Samsun jjajjangmyun (seafood version of the black bean noodle) and chapsal tangsooyook (fried pork with sweet and sour source but the chapsal (sticky rice) version . We got the smaller size this day. These are our go to. We have tried some of the other dishes but these two are worth it!”

“Great authentic tasting Thai food. Spicier than your usual neighborhood restaurant, closer to what we've had when we visited Thailand. A bit cramped for larger groups, but for 4 or less a great spot.”