Chowon officially marks my 3rd Christmas in a row, eating out at a Korean restaurant. It was…read moreunintentional, I swear. When I spent my Christmas week in Auckland, I didn't realize most businesses would be closed (especially the day before Christmas). I went to Auckland with the mindset of having New Zealand cuisine (whatever that is). After circling around CBD on Christmas for what seemed like hours, trying to resist Korean and halal food, my mother and I finally kept heading south to see if there was anything mildly interesting--but ended up giving in when we saw the amazing $20 AYCE Korean barbecue deal. It seemed too good to be true, but it was. For the price of $20 NZD, it is a complete bargain from where I come from (where you pay upwards of at least $30 USD with limited options). This place is small and quaint and resembles a cheap Asian restaurant--doable if you don't care for decor. It is all self-service and DIY. The selection is great--they have such a great variety of different meats, like pork loin, pork belly, lamb, kalbi, to name a few. No complains since they had all the kbbq essentials. I also loved that they offered a few Korean staple dishes, such as kimchi and japchae, and they even had greenshell mussels (though quite limited), which everyone fought their way through for. All was going well and it was becoming a good experience for a dinner we did not anticipate at all. My mother is traditionally Chinese, so she likes steamed veggies. Because the grills had to have foil sheet changed, my mother put a new sheet over and thought she could try cooking a lettuce leaf with a small amount of water. An older Korean man (whom I assume is the owner) saw this and started going berserk on us and pulled a staff member in, yelling in Korean. Of course, this caused most of the restaurant to turn heads on us but we had no idea what he was so angry about. The staff member kindly told us that we shouldn't cook the veggies on the grill, as the water might leak through a hole in the foil sheet and damage the grill, but I'm pretty sure the oil the meats excrete may do much more harm. Other than that scenario, I had no problems because I was very full at the end. I will say that the meat batches were inconsistent--they would bring out frozen meat and fresh meat interchangeably.

Loved it!!! Had our first meal at Depot after arriving in…read moreAuckland, New zealand. The food was absolutely delicious. Every bite is unexpectedly delicious. We had falafels and the roasted eggplant. The sauces are amazing. We ended up ordering more of the same dishes as they were so good. We are going back for dinner tonight with friends as we have to try more of their dishes. The service was warm and friendly. The atmosphere was relaxed and dining al fresco was great at lunch time.

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!

This is the first time went to this place. First off there is literally nothing to write about the…read moredecor. It is boring. The menu is bizarre, on one hand you have flatbreads with meats of various kinds. I had a meatball flatbread sandwich. It was a slightly spicy, super juicy quite yummy three napkin mess. The other thing that is the gimmick of this place was the gourmet milkshakes. I was skeptical that this would be good, it was awesome! So awesome I had another one to takeaway. I got a chocolate cake milkshake and it tasted just like a liquid chocolate cake. My takeaway one was an Oreo milkshake. That one was a bloody winner. The problem I have is that they are $7.90 each. I'm afraid but that is quite a cost especially for the size of the milkshake. Truth is I don't know when I will go back, but I might consider if I'm bored of drinking NZ natural milkshakes which to be honest are bigger & compared to the ones I had, more chocolatey. Sandwich yummy, but messy. Milkshake, delicious just small & costly.

Full disclosure, a good friend partly owns Grill and Shakes, however we agreed that I would write…read morean unbiased review and if he didn't like it I wouldn't post it, but I wouldn't change it. So with that out of the way, we went to a menu sampling evening on one of the coldest nights in the 2014 Winter. Grill and Shakes has an attractive front of shop, with slightly rustic decor, Auckland's Kingsland is not known for its modern appearance so in a way, it adds to the feeling you've walked in for dinner to someone's home. That feeling is slightly marred by the massive grill you can see as you walk up the stairs (if you're dining in) but at the same time its fun to pause on the stairs and watch a meal being made. Speaking of meals, we had both chicken and beef which were well cooked, came with delicious seasoning and arrived to our table with sauces that almost overwhelmed the palette if you had dipped too much. Honestly, it was sometimes hard to choose between the seasoning on the meat and the rich flavourful sauces that came with it. The cheese filled pastries were freaking amazing, and on a cold winter night I could have eaten those snacks for the rest of the evening, but it was not to be, we were asked to try the milkshakes ... we had the grill, but it was time for the shakes. We tasted five flavours of the eventual sixty nine. Some were not to my taste, but my wife tells me they were delicious. The three that I did enjoy were well made, blended nicely and left me with a smile and a predatory look at the other tables to see if people had drank all of theirs. Grill and Shakes has a natural element to it, the soft drinks are not the normal commercial stuff, their ingredients are specially sourced and the flatbread dough is made and baked right there, every day. I can honestly, hand on heart, say that I will be back for the food and I fully intend to work my way through the 69 flavours of shakes in the next year or so. Without opening myself up to claims of favouritism, I think I might have found a new favourite place to eat. Highly recommended.

Although it's not something that springs to mind when the usual 'what do you fancy for dinner'…read morequestion arises, I love Turkish food. This is a popular place on the Northern end of Ponsonby road and it's usual to see it buzzing. The menu is full of mouth watering temptation and I struggled to narrow down my choice but ended up with a HUGE portion of Moussaka - there was no need to have a starter! I wasn't brave enough to try one of the platters available, but know already that when I return in future I won't have to read the menu further than checking they are still available.

Went there for lunch and had a good experience. Staff were attentive and friendly, menu had a good…read morevariety of food for the '$12 Ponsonby lunch' standard that seems to be the rage with the other local restaurants. I had the donner kebab and it was well presented and tasty. Would definitely return :)

We came in and they sold us old, cold, mold. Not very tasty in my experience. Wouldn't come back if…read moreyou paid me

Such friendly service at this chicken house. You might worry that fried chicken sitting under…read morewarming lights might not be fresh and wonder how long they've been sitting....but we dined at 8 pm on a Monday evening, well after any dinner rush, and the chicken was delicious. Maybe the dinner rush is late here, because the place filled with customers after we sat down. Perhaps seeing us scarf down our food enticed others to come in! In any event, we bought a five pack of chicken for $16 NZ, which seemed like a fair deal. The chicken skin has a good, unique flavor, different for our American taste buds. It was a welcome surprise. Plus, this establishment is halal, so you can have comfort that your meats are prepared with care. Definitely worth more visits from Yelpers!

I had passed this burger joint a few times walking along Queen Street and one night, tired and…read morehungry, I grabbed one to go. The place is bright and colorful, simple menu and what looked like good sandwiches. They also had drinks to go and fountain sodas. Unlike most restaurants in NZ, there wasn't water on the counter so I bought a bottle; they didn't tell me you could get it for free behind the counter. I ordered what sounded like a simple burger and some fries. I loved the packaging; cardboard wrapper that opened to hold it together. The beef quality was just okay; there was way too much sauce and mayo. The fries were too salty so I couldn't finish them. I had much better burgers later on my trip, this one isn't really worth the visit.

The one I ate at was good so here I am at a different location. Great that I can mix and match…read moreingredients to customize my burger. Jalepeño cheddar burger. Service is great. Ambience like a small burger shop. Music not too loud. If they had locations in the USA I would eat there.

We had a good experience with the food we ordered at their downtown location. It is famous for…read moreAuthentic Hyderabadi Biryani and Halal Foods. Our food was prepared fresh and had a great taste. Portion sizes were very reasonable. This is not a dine in place, just a take out. Here is the website of this place: http://www.akbardarbar.co.nz/

It has a variety of Turkish cuisine. A small shop. Run by a few very friendly Turkish lads. It's…read moredishes are Halal. They serve large portions. Mostly for takeaways. There are a few tables if you want to dine in. I recommend the chicken on rice or the lamb on rice. Large serving of salad. The dressings are delicious. Must try the humus. I am not a regular customer but I have not been disappointed yet.

Hands down one of my favourite takeaways! So so so tasty, and healthy too! They are nice and quick…read morewhich makes it the perfect option when you're feeling hungry and lazy! The meat is soooo good and then you can create your own rice plate or kebab with their choices of salads and sauces. Amazing. They also have little appetizers and sides , like falafels, pita and hummus and wedges! Delicious every time.