Carrington's is a really cool bar located in the heart of the Auckland Unitec campus. Though…read moreoriginally created for student use, Carrington's has flourished over the years and is now open to the general public too. With a full bar and pretty good range of food available, Carrington's is a great place to sit in the afternoon with friends and have a few drinks and something to eat. The chips are deliciously salty and crisp - I definitely recommend getting a bowl to share. The bar itself is pretty big, with a decent sized dance floor and plenty of seating inside, as well as a separate room which houses pool tables, and a newly renovated outdoor area. This set up of Carrington's makes it the perfect venue for 21st parties and the like; there's enough room to sit, gossip, dance, you can smoke outside, there's two bars (one in the new outdoor area), and the pool tables add a little bit of friendly competition to the party. Plus, it's hilarious watching your friends play when they're drunk! Tip: If you're a student at Unitec there are often deals on the food and drinks, so be sure to ask!

We had our wedding ceremony and reception here on March 8th 2014 and had an absolutely amazing…read moreexperience! The special events team were extremely polished in their service, presence and delivery, we loved every minute of our day with these guys! The venue is well organised to host events such as weddings or big parties and we found the food to be of outstanding quality and very reasonably priced. I recommend Carrington's Pumphouse to anyone considering having a special event 100%!!!

Ferndale House is another historic homestead in Mt Albert albeit on a smaller scale than the grand…read moreAlberton. It is set within a lovely little park and although it's on New North Road, it's a calm and peaceful place. The rooms are hired out by Auckland City Council and although it's well used regularly by many different groups, it still has a heavy sense of history and maintains its olde worlde character. I came here over a series of weeks for an acting course and even the stacks of chairs are plush and classical. Not to freak anyone out but from the moment I walked in I could feel the ghosts here and the slightly faded grandeur adds to the feeling of being in another time. There's an ancient smell of wood and previous generations, and the little servants' attic of the kitchen is like a secret hideout. I really loved spending time here and I'm sure any spirits present are friendly as there's a relaxing serene aura about the place.

The Horse and Trap has been around for as long as I can remember. As a Mt Eden local, I still…read morerecall my parents leaving my siblings and I with babysitters while they went off for a night at The Horse and Trap. Since turning eighteen I've frequented the bar on a few occasions, and to be honest I was never overly impressed by it. Offering the usual beers and wines, bar food and casual bar atmosphere, there was nothing particularly distinctive or unique about my experiences at The Horse and Trap until recently. Last Saturday my friend held her 21st party in the function room downstairs of The Horse and Trap. And, in my opinion, this area is far cooler than the main bar upstairs. The room was plenty big enough to have a decent dance floor as well as some indoor seating and tables for presents and cake, there was a full bar with subsidized drinks (including house spirits), and the outdoor area was brilliant. Lots of tables, a TV perfect for playing photo slideshows (though on other days I imagine it would be used for rugby games and such) and fairy lights and lanterns hanging overhead - the set up was perfect. If anyone is looking for a venue for their 21st, work party, or other such function definitely check out the downstairs area of The Horse and Trap! Bonus: The Horse and Trap is located down the Symonds St end of Mt Eden so is really close to town - a nice cheap taxi ride is a huge plus!

The Horse and Trap Tavern is such a great pub, I'm so glad that my friend introduced me to it. It's…read morelocated in a bizarre place off the main road (Mt Eden Rd), and easily missed if you don't look out for the sign. Nice ambience inside, which can get heavily crowded during a big sports event; you need to get in very early or you'll never get a seat. If you do manage to get a seat, definitely order some food from here. The pizzas are especially delicious, and they have different specials throughout the week; for example on Saturdays you can get a beer or wine and a pizza for $20. The bar stocks all the different varieties of Monteith's beers, which is awesome for a Monteith's lover like me. This is a good friendly place.

If you are ever invited to an event, a wedding or a corporate function at Mantells make sure you…read moreseize that invitation and enjoy one of the best function venues in Auckland. You are welcomed through the heavy, blue-black curtains into a pristine entrance and immaculate white bar. Polished floors and huge geometric spaces dominate the rest of the venue, each sectioned off as needed for your event. We made good use of the outdoor courtyard that backs onto Auckland Harbour (with it's own bar) and the wide divans beneath the marquee. Mantells is made to dazzle your guest, the sharp edges of the venue smoothed by the genuine staff service and warmed in the glow of gas fireplaces.

I went to this venue last night for an industry event and spent the whole night trying to come up…read morewith an excuse to hire it out myself; this place is amazing. From what I've heard it's usually a wedding venue, which kind of lets you know it's pretty swanky. Nestled in between the boat yards in Westhaven, Mantells on the Water is yet another reason to visit the awesomely awesome Wynyard Quarter. Looking out over Waitemata Harbour with the sun setting behind the Harbour Bridge and a drink in hand is not a bad way to spend an evening. There is a real sense of relaxed kiwi vibes combined with super stylish decor. Wooden floors, high ceilings and industrial lighting give off a New York loft feel, combine that with the large outdoor area and you've got a close to perfect venue! Yummy drinks, knowledgeable staff and reeallllyyyy tasty snacks - that's my kinda night!

Seated right away. Great selection of breakfast items. Perfect coffee to go with my Avo toast…read more Friendly staff. Baked goods were at the counter. Took an almond pastry to go!

Its been a wee while since I have managed to devour the populating Auckland food scene. Looking…read morethrough my list of bookmarked eateries, Sunday called for brunch. Removing myself from the usual spots in the city we tried Crave in Morningside. Situated in a pretty quiet spot, the site itself was light and airy with tall ceilings and is a lot larger than the pictures presented. Extremely busy upon arriving, we added our names to the list, and as accurately estimated by the host the wait was only around 15mins for a table. Between the four of us eating, there were a few hits and misses. Upon being served, two of us received our meals before the other two with about a 3min wait between dishes served which is always a tad awkward watching other people eat before yours is served. Almost after always ordering the Mushroom on Toast dish today wasn't too far from the norm by choosing the Fungi from the menu. Instead of your standard toast option, it was served on a delicious kumara and feta cake, however the herb garlic cream was very lack lustre. It didn't give me that feeling that I wanted more and really missed that umph and body and was fairly under seasoned. It's a shame because the concept was there and presentation was a beaut. If I could make one recommendation, please serve it on a plate and not a bowl, it's frustrating to try scoop the last few bits with a fork and knife. The rest of the dining party were happily pleased with their tasty meals, with each dish having a modern switch up to your classic eggs bene and scrambled eggs. We agreed it would have been great to have a slice of toast or a hash served with the Cottled Egg just to tie the dish together. Otherwise overall the service was on point and friendly topping off a satisfied feeling upon leaving. Rating: Food: 7/10 Service: 8/10 Value for money: Very Good Opening Hours: Mon-Weds: 7am-5pm Thurs-Sat: 7am-late Sun: 7am-4pm 6 Morningside Dr, Morningside

The Floating Pavillion is an event space which literally floats just off the Hobson West Marina in…read morethe Viaduct - you walk along the waterfront towards Te Wero Island/the Wynyard Crossing and the pavillion is the floating grey building on the left. It's aimed at the business launch/wedding/ball crowd, so it's well kitted out to deal with a crowd of around 300. There's two levels so space for sit down dinners on the ground floor, as well as a large dance floor up top. For our inaugural UoA Architecture/Planning ball we hired out the Floating Pavillion, and can report the night went off without a hitch - food wasn't amazing, but the space was perfectly sized and well kitted out for the occasion.

This place right here it the place to have all your events, from your wedding to your engagement…read moreparty, a meeting or even a birthday party. Everything you need is there, all you have to do is call the business, arrange a tour then let them know exactly what you want. After that you can either send them pictures of your ideas or just leave it to them and their creativity. It is a great place for any events as it is located on the waterfront, guaranteeing great views and amazing pictures to upload on to instagram hash tagging aboutthatlife!

In my book not much beats a good ol' fashioned pub and the overflow onto the street of suit & ties…read morewhen we went to The Bluestone Room, would suggest the 9-5ers in town agree. The Bluestone Room is tucked down on Durham Lane (not to be confused with Durham St) and is housed in an old historical building. Look down once you're inside the door and you'll see Auckland's very first well! The Bluestone Room's got all the usual pub-ey drinks and food - Monteiths on tap, mainstream wine and the usual pub grub on the menu. The after-work atmosphere is lively but we came to The Bluestone Room for one reason and one reason only - Quiz Night. We booked a table and I'd definitely recommend you do to. Quiz night here is popular. As for the quiz itself, I'm told it's the same one they do in every pub - the 'Believe It Or Not' quiz. Personally, I thought it was pretty tricky. My two tips are to have a range of ages and different nationalities. People take quiz night here preeeetty seriously but I kind of like that - nothing like a bit of healthy competition. How did we fare? Well, not great but we didn't lose. I'll be back next with my Mum!

I came to the Bluestone Room the first time as my friend was having her 21st here. It was such an…read moreawesome little bar. It is located down a little side street off Queens Street called Durham Lane. I would have never have known this place existed! Here they quite happily hired out the venue for a private event. They had said that a few nights prior to the 21st they had a drag queen show, obviously this is quite a versatile bar that will happily play host for a number of events. The bar supplied the food for this event and man was it good! Not good for you, but very yummy! There were deep fried samosas, meatball, fried chicken nibbles, and my favourite prawn twisters. The prawn twisters were fantastic! The bar had a moderate range of spirits available (but that was on display, they may have had more elsewhere). They also had the Monteith's beer range on tap. This is a cool bar that I would like to come back to. They have a restaurant section however I never made it to that area. If you like to be adventurous and try out new places then I would recommend checking out this place as it's not in a mainstream kind of location.

One of the best creative spaces in town with over 20 different business working out of one floor in…read morethe heart of the CBD. Matt Knight to helps run the loft is the man to contact if you are looking at getting into a shared office.

If you are a small business, or a team of one and you're looking for somewhere to work, even for a…read moreshort time, check out Loft503. Had a meeting there the other day and it's a cool place! This is a great shared work space in the restored Archilles House, next to Sals Pizza - so you get an awesome work space plus great lunch options! The deal is that you can rent a desk for a set length of time, giving you and your startup business the opportunity to have office space without the risk and outlay of renting your own whole office. Includes handy and flash facilities like kitchen and meeting rooms. Plus you get to work in an environment with other like minded people!