What a great local find! We were taken here by some friends who work nearby, as this is one of the…read morefavorite haunts. I can see why. The four of each enjoyed our dishes: Snapper of the day, Oxtails, and Lamb shoulder (see photos). All were very reasonably priced, and very tasty. My lamb shoulder was particularly tender, and had the texture of osso bucco. The crème flan, while good, was the weak part of the meal. Wine price was very fair. Service was excellent. There is a nice rear outdoor garden patio to enjoy your meal.

One of my absolute favorite places to eat! The staff is very friendly and you'll crave the food…read morelong after you go. Has a gorgeous courtyard in the back which is equipped with a sheltered area and heaters so you can enjoy it even in the rainy weather! Awesome spot for coffee and hands down the best item on the menu is the Kumaru burger

Tapas sounded good so we checked it out and ended up getting the lamb with roasted veggies a cheese…read moreplate and some wine. All were delicious and the service was excellent. Spoke to the owners for an hour or so while we ate - one from Christchurch and the other is from Madrid. Super nice people. Everything was excellent and authentic Spanish - the cheese, olives (free), wine and bread. It's in the alley with seating outside. People from the neighborhood stopped by just to hang out. Very cool spot.

The reviews I read were right. The food and drinks were delicious at Madriz. The Sangria was a fun,…read morerefreshing choice and we enjoyed everything we ordered. The tapas plates were so nicely seasoned, perfectly cooked and fun to share. The charcuterie plate was decadent with melt in your mouth Iberico ham. The little alley the restaurant is located in makes you feel like your in a small cafe in a European location and makes for fun people watching.

Love this quiet late night winebar. Cosy, chill and with great friendly staff…read more More late night spots are what Auckland desperately needs to call itself a real city.

I had driven past The Corner Store a tonne of times and always thought it looked cute but tiny. I…read morehad NO idea there was a back bar with a roaring fire and a dimly lit outdoor courtyard. Just the other day, a friend and I were talking about the lack of cosy wine bars in Auckland. You know the kind with big, leather chairs, a roaring fire and a well-thought out wine list. Enter The Corner Store. It's more a cocktail bar than a wine bar but it ticks the roaring fire box. There's also a sneaky internal courtyard that's blissfully quiet mid-week! Hungry? Try their small but delicious tapas menu. Beautifully tender pork belly and damn near perfect fries!

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!

Wow....just unbelievably wow. If you are in Auckland, this is the restaurant to make reservations…read moreat. You will fall in love with this place and will want to come back again and again. First off, hats off to the owners for doing such an impeccable job on the decor and design. From the intricate restaurant design, the lush comfy chairs, the menu layout, the mocktails, and even the rustic bathrooms were all very impressive. Now let's get down to the food. We started off with the shumai dumplings with peanut sauce. The skin of the shumai was so soft and thin which I truly appreciate because you can taste the stuffing better. The peanut sauce was nutty and savory and extremely addicting! Next we had the salt and pepper tofu with a vinegar sauce. The flavors here were a bit flat and needed more of a peppery taste but the presentation of this dish made it worth it. The chicken satay was super tender and juicy. The creamy sauce with the savory clear vinegar sauce worked really well together. The ribs had a yummy flavor but the meat could have been a bit softer. I recommend doing a broil for the ribs at the end so the sauce gets a nice caramel. To top it off we ended the night with the mango pudding. It was a hard decision but we liked the refreshing flavors. There was a lot of stuff going on in this dessert, but was still impressed with the details in textures. We hope to be back here one day!

Very nice! I loved the interior design, the bar looks full and inviting, the tables are not too…read moreclose, great chairs at the bar where you can watch the chefs cook in real time real food, the booths look comfy for a group, nice accessories around the room, really nice clean bathrooms with awesome music in there:) Food is real, fresh and nicely cooked , great presentation to it, and very tasty. I like it how the portions are designed to share and they come out the kitchen when done without seating on a counter to wait for other meal to be ready. Nice timing in serving: extra fresh!!! We went twice and definitely would go back.

El Camino has become one of those places that cool people are starting to talk about, so in a…read morecouple of months' time it'll be obnoxious. I'm not that cool so I've never been, but I have been to Toro and I have to say I enjoyed it. As far as I can tell the two places have some familial connection but I won't let my praise for Toro spill over onto its hipster neighbour. Toro does a good balance between bar and restaurant. You know how at some bars you feel stupid sitting down to eat, and at some restaurants you feel like a lush if you just want to drink? Well Toro doesn't have either of those problems. I went for a friend's birthday and we transitioned smoothly from food to beers to mojitos over the course of the evening, and all of it seemed comfortable and relaxed. The food and mojitos were nice too, and the beers were bottled so their quality was uniform. I'd come here again.

Toro and El Camino are mates, which means that if you want El Camino food but can't squeeze you and…read moreyour group into the tiny restaurant, you can order and have your food brought up the road. Thankfully Toro makes the same delicious margaritas that El Camino is known for, so you can have the same experience without worrying about getting a table initially. You can also order food straight from Toro - their tapas are awesome. I've seen my meaty friends chow down on chorizo with mushroom and the buffalo rings, while I stuck to the seafood and enjoyed it thoroughly!

It was a special occasion and I've decided to visit my old time favorite CAC. Great parking space,…read morequiet upstairs, lovely atmosphere... Exactly what I needed on the night. Grilled beef steak (19) is my favourite but I've kindly let my friends choose dishes this time. Squid & Couscous ($19) tasted succulent and fresh as always. I love this dish too! It's somewhat very refreshing and tastes healthy. We've tried the Prawn ($19.9) for the first time but I wasn't impressed. The sauce was too overwhelming the taste of prawn. Display was a bit awful too. Not a dish I wanted to try again! My friends have a love for eggplants but all we could taste for this Baked Eggplants ($14) was pesto. We also ordered Risotto balls ($8) but nothing was special about it. I didn't really enjoy the creamy cheesy dip. Maybe because I'm not a cheese lover. Their dish seems a bit expensive to be a tapas but I do want to defend them - the amount is huge. And you wouldn't regret ordering it at its price (if you order right things I mean).

Came here for a Mother's day dinner. The restaurant is big, apparently it use to be an ammunition…read morestorage facility. So not a good choice if you want something cozy, but if you want quiet and intimate this is the spot. The menu is tapas but I think the term "tapas" is often missed used. I would say too big for tapas, but they were perfect for sharing. Between the 6 of us we have a good spread, and everything was delicious. My favorite were the risotto balls, the crispy duck and the squid. Also the lemon cheesecake was loved by the table, although I did not try it. I would say this is a great place to celebrate ocassions or meet up with a group of people.

Wow - amazing fine dining in Ellerslie. No need to go all the way into the CBD! Very, very,…read moreimpressed indeed. We particularly liked the smaller portions - which meant we could sample a wider variety of offerings - rather than being too full after larger servings. And a nice atmosphere too - especially if you get in quick (or book) one of the 1/2 round upholstered alcoves.

Bonita is a cute little bar that has existed in Ponsonby for decades. With a very relaxed…read moreatmosphere and a deck out the bar, it is the perfect place for after work drinks. Bonita rewards its regular patrons by having loyalty nights on Wednesdays, and also hosts live music on Thursday nights. I recently met friends for a catch up and, due to having a big night the previous night didn't want anything alcoholic. Though the mocktail I ended up having was yum and only cost me $5, I was a little disappointed at their lack of juice and ingredients options. Further, we were a bit unimpressed with the bathroom situation - there is no lock on the door, so make sure you have someone standing guard! Despite these slight shortfalls, in all my Bonita experience was pretty good and I was impressed by how attentive the staff were. As soon as we'd finished our drinks they were at the table asking if we wanted another.

Great, GREAT place to have tapas Spanish cuisine! This restaurant is nice and quaint, very Spanish…read moreflavour with styling and great food! Our start to dinner was a bit bumpy with a dire alarm evacuating two buildings... but quickly resumed service upon coming back in (about 25 min outside waiting for fire dept to clear call)! We ordered several tapas to share for four of us, which was plenty! The ceviche taste very fresh and the mixture of all the juices and citrus explodes in your mouth! The calamari was freshly fried, not rubbery at all and was light to the taste. A perfect blend of fried, yet light and not oily. All of the food paired great with red wines we ordered. The chorizo taste amazing with the meat being juicy and seasoned just right! We were not disappointed with anything in the menu. Ambiance was great and service was great!

We were wondering up and down K rd. looking for something a bit different. Dropped into Carmen…read moreJones and were very pleasantly surprised. Happy hour had 500ml draughts at $10. We started off with the Chorizo and fried bread. A simple, but very tasty bit. Continued with more small plates. Had the Bombas- crunchy potato with meat and a great horseradish sauce. Had the hummus for Syria -a great blend of hummus, fried lamb and fresh salsa. The last item was a Spanish fried cheese on bruscheta. A fantastic place to eat al fresco right on the sidewalk!

Great place for gathering! Every thing you have is the most…read moreamazing taste. I love this place so much Superb Thanks Maggie!

Tatsumi is a modern and chic Japanese restaurant found in the heart of Newmarket. I would have to…read moresay its one of the nicer Japanese restaurants in the Auckland precinct with a modern, upmarket interior. Ordering tapas style as per usual we were surprised to an amuse bouche before our meal was served; A small selection of Japanese bites that were all full of flavour. The sushi was rolled beautifully, maybe not as creatively displayed as other Japanese restaurants, but extremely fresh, which is what you are always looking for in sushi. I'm a sucker for soft shell crab, we agreed the tempura was perfectly balanced, with a light and crispy texture - also on the veges too. We love sashimi, but we love salmon more, I would recommend ordering it as its cut to perfection and again very fresh. At the end of the meal we were served a complimentary dessert - mango pudding. Not my cup of tea personally but im not a fan of Asian desserts to be fair. Overall the service was friendly and they go out of their way with personal touches that are unexpected. Rating Food: 9/10 Service: 9/10 Value for Money: Very Good 73 Davis Crescent, Newmarket Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 1130am-230pm, 6pm-10pm