Delicious, fresh oysters. Fun, fast service for take away (near or far). Lovely place that is easy…read moreto miss, so drive slow and enter carefully-they're busy! Lovely place on your way to and from the lovely beaches nearby.

A very easy to miss spot if you aren't actively looking for it while heading into or out of the…read moreTawharanui Marine Reserve for tourists. We were lucky our snorkelling instructor whispered into our ears about this place because it was so worth it. The small shop sells fresh shucked oysters out of their oyster farm. They were so fresh and tasted of that clean and pristine NZD waters. We decided on a dozen oysters as a snack for the two of us before heading into Matakana proper to find a more substantial lunch. They have bigger plates should you be more greedy. Hehe. They have more than enough different garnishes for your oysters from spicy, sweet, salty, and other. We settled into the little table underneath a few of the trees on the lot and just delighted in slurping up each oyster. The oysters were medium sized and really sweet. We really recommend stopping by here in you are in the area. It's a gem.

I moaned several times while eating spinach and goat cheese ravioli with roasted tomato sauce,…read morearugula and fresh grated Parmesan cheese. It was that good. My husband liked his cheeseburger and chips. Great service. Beautiful views.

Such a pretty tourist place cocktails were delicious the bartender did not understand the whole…read morerecycle fruit deal this restaurant is know for maybe they stop who knows very lively tho The service was supper friendly food looks delish but had res at another place. Cute place

Absolutely loved my experience. Not only was the food exceptional, but so was the staff. Everyone…read morewas so welcoming and made my family and I feel comfortable. It was a very cozy, nice vibe. If I ever come back to New Zealand, I am 110% coming back to this restaurant.

Delicious pizzas, great wings, attentive staff and a really good mix of quality beers…read more We've gone back a few times since our first visit and would recommend it to anyone looking to grab a drink and some good pub fare.

Very busy at 6.30 on a Wednesday, we tried to book but they told us they only had one table free…read moreand they kept that for walk-ins - so we moved out asses pronto and got over there to claim it! Really good choice of seafood dishes; we had the market fish (red snapper) in a ginger and garlic sauce, just delicious, melt in the mouth stuff. They were a bit short on dairy-free desserts, but we had the sticky toffee and date without the ice cream, which managed to fill in those few small holes that remained. We're booking again for the weekend! Three times we've eaten here. Definitely our favourite place in Auckland.

On our second-to-last day of roaming around Auckland and discussing the costs of owning a home in…read morehistorical or modern redeveloped areas with our New Zealand friends, Geoffrey and Margaret, they brought us to stroll around Wynyard Quarter, a waterfront area located on Auckland's Waitematā Harbor. They showed us the modern architecture, focused on sustainability, public spaces, restaurants and bars, and vibrant marina living in this redeveloped harbor area, which had quickly become a destination for tourists and locals. From the Jellicoe Harbor Breakwater built in 2020 to calm the waters for race boats and supporting yachts since Auckland's Waitematā Harbor hosted the 36th America's Cup, we could clearly see the cruise port from where we disembarked and the city center. Geoffrey and Margaret insisted on showing us the waterfront and promised to take us to a seafood restaurant. We mentioned that we love eating seafood, but were "preserving" our stomachs for casual, comfort, or unfussy food because we had been eating gourmet cuisines over the past 17 days while in Australia and during our cruise. We were thankful that they understood our request and dropped us off at our hotel to freshen up for dinner while Margaret made the reservation for an early dinner. We returned to the Wynyard Quarter's waterfront to Swashbucklers seafood restaurant, where we immediately felt comfortable with the vivaciousness of the hostess and server. We started our meal with icy-cold Peroni beers while sharing the tasty steamed mussels and garlic bread. Our server mentioned their fresh catch of the day was a snapper, which I adore, so I ordered it while my husband, Geoff, and Marg ordered the Fish & Chips, which we were told was a signature dish to Swashbucklers. All the food was flavorful and well-prepared. We were mostly impressed with the quality, quantity, and flavor of the steamed mussels. My husband gushed about the crispy, light-battered fish and the excellently textured chips. I enjoyed the tender pan-fried snapper with garlic butter, and complemented the fish with a slice of garlic bread. We'd love to return for the camaraderie, flavors, and flavors at Swashbucklers. 4.4 stars

Still great fish and chips!! Ordered the snapper, garlic butter chips, salad for $18 and a thick…read moremilkshake for $6 with no regrets. They do charge for tartar sauce and ketchup separately and fish portions seem smaller than the pre-pandemic days, but the prices didn't raise too much. Will always drop by whenever I'm on this side of NZ.

Didn't have many expectations going in since it seemed like a regular fish & chip spot. What…read moreattracted us was the family friendly ambiance and the affordable prices! There's ample seating and a fish & chip meal is only $6! I got the Snapper burger meal ($10) and the buns taste super fresh and warm, not stale. The sandwich was super filling. Everything here comes in generous portions and you will not leave hungry! Would recommend if you're in the area checking out cathedral cove :)

This is one of those places where you pay for the ambience, and not for food…read more Located in the heart of Auckland downtown, the scenery was beautiful. It's right by the water with view of different boats and little bit of nightlife surrounding. The place was very busy, but we were able to get seated right away outside and thankfully, they did have the heated lamp for us. We have shared the seafood platter, which came with variety of oysters, clams, shrimp, and sashimi. Honestly, the quality of any of these were not up to par. Especially for the price that you're paying here you should probably be better getting some steak. I didn't think the seafood was fresh. The service was ok, nothing really stood out.

Oyster and Chop is a schmancy seafood restaurant at Viaduct Harbour, and was on a list of places to…read morevisit/eat at in Auckland. It is charming on the inside, with a lot of sea inspired decor offset by modern trappings. I pondered the menu and decided to go with an oyster shot and pork belly as an entree. The attentive waitress put in my order and shortly thereafter brought out my oyster shot. It was AMAZING! The pork belly, not so much. It was ok, but that's what I get for ordering a land animal at a seafood restaurant. Overall, excellent visit!

Locavor dream!! Incredible food, service, and wine! Located on the waterfront across the road is…read morethe harbor... Even if you sit inside, there are wide open windows and plenty of outdoor seating as well. The lamb is melt in your mouth delicious... And all of the sauces that go with it. The whipped goat cheese is so yummy! And the potato... Incredible! Every bite was a fantastic combination of flavor. Eat here!! You will not regret it!

Excellent sea side restaurant. Highly recommend. Say hi to the host and owner Nick, who also does…read morean exceptional job skippering a dive boat one day a week at the Dive Tutukaka operation next door.

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!

Amazing customer service and fish and chips! will definitely recommend and order from here again :)read more

Wheels crunching up the gravel, the Tasting Shed looked sophisticated in black. Dining tables that…read morespilled out into the outdoor area are wrapped by the wind + rain proof outdoor gazebo. Everything about it oozed warm comfort and rustic charm. You wouldn't hear the quiet clinking of cutlery on plates and humble conversation here. It was a strict "no-tablecloths" restaurant. And these beautiful wooden tables probably take 5 times more work to maintain. My after-work brain probably took more time than necessary to figure out what the bobbles meant on the Savory to Sweet scale on the menu. With 25 items on the menu (including dessert), it was difficult to nail down what to order. We were advised to order 4 to 5 dishes because they were all entree sizes. Watermelon - smoked olive, goats cheese, baby ganoush This was one surprising combination. I've always been one to systematically eat my way through my plate because I didn't like mixing things together. Give me a fruit and cheese platter, I'd eat each individually. But this is something you'd want to pile a bit of each onto your fork. The watermelon and goats cheese blend beautifully into a creamy smoothie in your mouth. Rich and cooling at the same time - it's a weird sensation. Venison - carpaccio, mushrooms, beets, juniper, walnuts This is a great well-thought out dish with plenty to leave you taste testing, tilting your head and thinking. It was called the Venison dish, and with so much going on, the venison was the solid foundation to bring out the flavours of each ingredient. The sweet tang and slick texture of the mushrooms was paired with the crunch of the walnut and hokey-pokey chunks. We had fun melting the walnut powder on our tongues and poking at the different elements on the dish. The hokey pokey was not your average golden syrup variety but was made with beetroot juice - so even with this explosion of textures, everything blends together. After a mini degustation, one shared sweet dessert was enough! The rosewater was not an understatement - the scent was clear, and sweet, followed by an even sweeter strawberry parfait. It had a subtle summer breeze to this dish and the strawberry parfait an excellent substitute for your average ice cream. The saffron leaves a distinct after taste and cures the dish from being too sweet. With the popularity of restaurants that let you put elbows on tables, tablecloths are stripped away to make way for our laid-back Kiwi culture. If you're looking for a sweet candle-lit dinner, there's other fine-dining restaurants in Auckland CBD. But I'm loving this fusion of casual and fine at The Tasting Shed. The service doesn't make you feel like you're a VIP but more like your host that invited you to their house for dinner. So if you're looking for an excuse out of the city, make this your first stop!

Great tasting summer brunch/lunch place. Beautifully decorated with soft lighting and wooden…read morefurniture. Option to eat indoors or outdoors. Kitchen closed at 1500 to 1700 for dinner prep although small plates are served during that time. European cuisine with heavy Asian influence, think daikon, kimchi, even asam laksa (the Asian snob in me couldn't bring myself to order this). We had the market ceviche (good but we prefer this with a bit more punch), kimchi Mac & cheese (odd pairing which I enjoyed) and the Lamb Shoulder (fantastic!)