"Ivy Cottage and the Enchanted Garden" is exactly that!…read more This is certainly a remote, isolated location for townies, however local for Northshore folk. Never spent anytime in Greenhithe, it's a 30 min drive from Central city, traffic dependant. On arrival, you need to park on the road outside, past the venue due to yellow lines. When entering, you are lead down a fairy path to a small cottage to meet and greet everyone (including the fairies), before the festivities begin. The children have the option of changing into a fairy costume or pirates outfit, if desired. The fairies then take the children around the enchanted forest, looking at all the magical places. The birthday celebrations take place inside the cottage, that is heavily themed as a grotto or fairies den: beautifully captivating. The storytelling continues with biscuit decorating session in the fairy craft room and the children are given a small drawstring bag of fairy dust to take home. This is the only fairy garden in Auckland, definitely a special place to celebrate birthdays and other noteworthy events! Cute!!

I attended a work Christmas lunch here on 28 Nov. We had about 50 people attending a buffet style…read morelunch that cost about $58 per person but they have options depending on your budget. The range of food offered for the menu was wide and varied and pretty good for the price. The buffet included 3 roast meats, two hot dishes, seafood dishes, hot vegetables, salads, and desserts. There was certainly plenty of food for everyone and no complaints at all about quality. They perhaps struggled to keep up with demand occasionally but the food did keep coming. The venue is pretty cool. It operates as a restaurant and an event venue in an old refurbished dairy factory. I didn't see it all but I believe they have a few separate function rooms for different size groups and occasions. They also have some fairly large outdoor areas. We were in the Game Keepers restaurant which had a dining room and bar inside with the food presented on the covered patio outside. There is also a garden area outside. The dining room seating was a little crowded leaving some people to prefer taking their meal outside to an unset table. A little disappointing since We paid a $500 venue fee. This did give us exclusive use of the area though. They also charge a %2 credit card surcharge. I'm not a fan of this practice and I don't believe it's widespread in the catering industry. There are arguments for and against this but each individual will decide whether it's acceptable. It should be noted though that they generously agreed to invoice us and let us pay in a few days - this was a kind gesture that many wouldn't offer.

An outstanding function spot, this beautiful establishment, sits at the end of Queen Street in…read moreNorthcote point. The views are so stunning and as the sun sets it becomes a dream come true. The huge chandelier lights up the room, and as the floor is built in tiers, you look out on our beautiful city, and your heart beats away to a happy tune. I was excited to attend a recent charity event called TASTE that had Peter Gordon as a guest speaker. The guest list was down at around two hundred plus guests, and the staff and surroundings catered for us all to perfection. The main bar situated at the entrance was large enough to hold the guests happily, along with a few extra bars dotted around the different floors. The food served for this event was simply buffet champagne ham, and some artisan breads, which I thought was very tasty. The lavish decor, makes The Wharf a fabulous location for weddings, birthdays and big corporate events. The bathrooms located down the spiral stairs under the main area, are gorgeous. I was very pleased with the staff working at the Wharf, very warm and bubbly. I hope to be back for another event soon, as my night was really enjoyable.

Alberton was definitely in the running when I was choosing a wedding venue as it is just so…read morebeautiful. It's one of those places that is constantly used for fashion, film and even music video shoots because its historic character is so well preserved. It is grand, old and beautiful but there are some rules and regulations that apply to keeping it that way so keep that in mind if you are thinking of using it for an event. The great thing is that it's open to the public so all you have to do is wander on in and explore all its nooks and crannies at your leisure. You will have to pay for the pleasure but that's as it should be in order to keep preserve places like this for future generations. The grounds are stunning as well and a visit here can take you back in time for some romantic day-dreaming. Great for kids too - history is so much more interesting when it's tangible.

Auckland's got a bad track record of hanging on to our historic buildings. Noteworthy architecture?…read moreImportant cultural heritage? Nah, let's tear it down and put up a featureless grey box full of leaky apartments. Sigh. At least we've got it right here though. Alberton House is from the mid 1800s, and it's a pretty neat place. It's a good venue for events (I was here for a wedding), but even without that it's cool just to have a wander around looking at the building itself, with its rabbit-warren servants' quarters and wooden everything. Also if you go upstairs (I say stairs, it's more like a ladder built for elves), they've got a few rooms set up with period furniture, and some of the creepiest dolls I've seen in a long time. This place is worth a visit, especially if the weather is good.

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%!!!

Pleasant atmosphere. The bread was excellent…read more The service was quite slow. The food was very expensive but very tasty and good.

Loved the family-owned aspect of this place. We tasted some wine with Tyler and he was nice to talk…read moreto and informative. The Two Daughters Rosé was absolutely delicious and I don't typically love rosé. We ate at the bistro as well. The food was okay but it wasn't that great in my opinion. Overall, it was a nice time but we didn't stay longer than just a quick tasting and a lunch.

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!

I love the Corban's Art centre. Has consistently great exhibitions which showcase local and…read morenational artists, workshops in which you can chat to local artists and a fantastic gift shop which is always my first stop if I want to buy a gift with an Aotearoa flavour. Also runs community art workshops and has a lovely coffee shop. Love it!

I have just discovered my favourite art gallery in Auckland!!! Yay!!!!…read more I had heard about this place in the past, even considered applying for a job in their shop at one stage, but because I don't go out to Henderson all that much it just had never happened, so earlier this week I made a lunch date with my husband at the Corban Arts Estate Cafe (also a winner on my list of Auckland's finest haunts, please refer to separate review to find out why...). After our yummy lunch he headed back to work and I went of gallery viewing... The gallery has three separate rooms but all under the same roof, as you enter the front building. The gallery space is not ample, but laid out professionally and aesthetically. There was three shows exhibiting whilst I was visiting, my personal favourite was by the artist Sopolemalama Filipe Tohi, a name that may be challenging to pronounce but worth remember, this artist is a very skilled craftsman. His work revolved around La Lava, "the Tongan art of lashing or binding". He demonstrated his art through several mediums, from weaving intricate and time consuming wool pieces displayed on the wall, to building large and small geometric designs with timber. They created wonderful patterns for eye and mind to appreciate. I also liked the lightings relationship with the art, creating shadows of the designs playfully across the wall. Plus, the framing was matched beautifully, unique double edges that brought the work forward bringing extra life to the forms. Last, but not least was a really great shop were the artists (in residence) sold their mix of talents - from pottery, paintings, upcycled crafts, jewellery, cards and much more. And at affordable prices! If you haven't been to Corbans before then it is time to go; if you have been there before then go again.

Despite my distaste at their $5 parking fee (ended up parking on the road instead), I enjoyed…read moreattending a Breakers game here last night. The staff were super friendly and helpful, and although the place is a bit rough around the edges, it's still a good venue for this kind of affair. Loads of room, good seating arrangements that aren't too far from the court despite being in what my Dad calls 'the nosebleed section', an unusual but workable system for the café, and generally good vibes, it's got a lot going for it!