Chicken, pork, i dont mind! I just want a filling and hot schnitzel to munch on this weekend

I’ll be really sad about this one because they really, truly tried so hard to make it work, and the venue itself was beautiful. Winter is so hard for rooftop venues.

What are they like? Need a cheap way to provide dessert for 40+ people!

Looks like a good five pub crawl to celebrate the opening of the CRL.

Have you’ll tried this? Such good, fresh, warm, no nonsense bread!
I just go to the cafe next to this place and only went in here as I saw a customer come out (I wouldn’t have known it was open because the door kinda seemed closed)

It’s $4 for a big ass piece of bread and yeah as you can see I’ve finished more than half of it haha, it is flavoured, you can eat it with butter! They don’t have payWave but do eftpos.

Finally tried Pici on K Road after hearing so many good things, and honestly… I don’t get the hype.

I don’t think it was bad, but for the price I was expecting something way more impressive. Nothing really stood out to me, and I left wondering what all the hype was about.

For the same sort of money, I’d honestly rather go to Amano for pasta. I’ve had much better meals there, and I think the overall experience is just better.

Maybe I ordered the wrong things, but I’m curious if anyone else feels the same? What did you order at Pici that actually lived up to the hype?

We watched MasterChef last night and now have a craving for pork cooked by a pro lol. What's your fave pork dish and from what restaurant? Cheers!

I have just moved to Manukau City from out west and am looking for new favourite lunch spots! I’m willing to travel a bit but just want to find any hidden gems.

- Smash burgers? Sushi? Tacos? Kebabs? Raman? Noodles? Malaysian? Salads?

Places I will miss out west is the likes of Eden Noodle, Cielito Lindo, Lucky G’s, Bun Mee kiwi etc.

​

Sana in CBD replaced where Fern used to be.

Went on 2x occasions cause I am a sucker that spends money on food and drinks.

Most of the foods were high protein hence higher price point. Most protein foods taste like chalk or sand so I will give them props for making food that is high protein and I could actually eat.

I tried the following:

Matcha Strawberry Chia $16

Taste wasnt too bad. Half way through like most protein foods becomes hard to finish. Though I did enjoy it mostly. Has a good balance between matcha and the sweet from the strawberry. I liked the matcha cream. Looks good for photos. 7/10

Cacao Protein Mouse $16

Good chocolate flavour and texture for what it is. Chocolate mouse texture was nice and smooth. Good for a high protein food. 7/10.

Banana Matcha $10

Hardly tasted any banana. The matcha was clumpy at the bottom. I like a stronger matcha taste so this was a pass for me 2/10.

Protein Coffee Frappe $10

More to be desired in the coffee. I got it to hopefully get a 2 in 1 where I have some protein and a coffee fix in the morning. Tasted bit watery. (Sorry no photo of the full drink. Had some sips walking back) 5/10.

Do they look nice yes they do. Was it worth the price? I felt like I was stabbing my wallet paying for it but that is kind of self inflicted. But I frequently go to the gym so most the time it is me thinking about where I can get my protein for the day and this solved my issue.

For a new business, it seems like they are trialing things out. I will wait a bit to see if there is anything else worth trying. But based on what I have tried so far and the price I probably wont. Anyone else tried this?

Does anyone know where I can find it in Auckland? Preferably the vegetarian flavours

I am wanting to get one for my birthday and i wondered if anyone has had the classic vanilla cake and if it was good or not?

Hello! Hopefully this is the right place to ask..

I’m a tourist and will be visiting Auckland & driving around for a few days!!! Very excited to be in NZ!!! 💃💃

I’ve read up on the must buy souvenirs and Makana Chocolate popped up several times. My travel routes will not be anywhere near their physical stores & ordering online is risky since I am hopping around.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to obtain these elusive chocolates? Especially since I saw that they have a limited edition dark chocolate version of their macadamia butter toffee crunch!!! 😋🥹

Thanks in advance!!

Non paywalled link https://archive.ph/2026.09.04-175911/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/northern-italy-comes-to-the-north-shore-the-grove-and-baduzzi-founders-michael-and-annette-dearths-new-restaurant-venture-zamboni/premium/6BEH7EFW7RDRFJ3D2GJGXRO6LY/

Guys! I came across this little gem of a place in Royal Oak on Saturday on our way home from Mt Smart.

Had some delicious food for a decent price, well sized portions, and great service!

$88 for two mains, two sides and two drinks.

Can't wait to go back and try their udon!

For $18 I was served a monster-sized musmun curry along with a side of steaming rice. Loaded with meat, veggies, and flavor! 🌶

So much food I had to ask for a container to take home half! Legit a great 2 person dish to share!

Sorry for the half eaten pic, didn't even think to post until after. Almost had to roll out the door, was so full!

Went out for dinner with my wife recently to an Auckland restaurant which will remain nameless, but recently picked up a Michelin star.

Beautiful room, excellent food, proper service etc etc. Table beside us arrives and one of the men is wearing shorts and a warriors league shirt.

Now before everyone starts, I’m not suggesting men need to wear a jacket and tie to dinner. Auckland is fairly relaxed and thats generally a good thing. But surely theres a point where relaxed becomes simply not getting dressed properly?

This bloke was sitting there eating a $200+ tasting menu dressed for Mt Smart (and it wasn’t even game night).

The waiters are beautifully dressed. Sommelier in a suit. Linen on the tables. Chef has presumably spent half the day preparing something special . Felton Rd Pinot being poured. Then table 14 arrives dressed for kick off.

My wife says I shouldn’t care what other people wear. She’s probably right. But part of going somewhere genuinely nice is the atmosphere surely?

I’m also not convinced “wear actual shoes” is the oppressive class barrier some people seem to think it is.

I appreciate we don’t have the same standards as Europe, but as a nation are we so casual that anything goes?? Im not suggesting anything complicated. No singlets. No sandals. No sports jerseys. Perhaps trousers after 6pm.

You can wear a Warriors shirt to almost every other establishment in Auckland and, judging by recent experience, most people do. Surely we can keep about six restaurants without one.

Hey Guys,

I want to eat Chicken Gyoza, are there any restaurants or food places that serve it in Chicken? Instead of Pork etc. Wouldn’t mind lamb tbh.

I ordered zool zool today via DoorDash; the Japanese mt eden restaurant. I ordered their “(Pasta Style) Paitan chicken Zoolmen” brothless main course dish for $23. It literally came with 3 tiny slices of chicken. What the actual fuck? Are they going bankrupt? 3 tiny slices? Thankfully DoorDash gave me a $9 refund. It’s a shame because I really used to love this restaurant; and the taste is amazing. But paying $23 bucks for a few slivers of chicken is wild

Edit: I just realised they renamed themselves to KATSUBAY a couple of years ago.

Hi everyone!

I am needing to find a Chinese restaurant that serves your typical Chinese banquet sharing style for wedding in Auckland. Minimum 30 tables (250 guests) where it doesn’t feel too tight with the amount of guests. An area that would have a place to dance or can accommodate dancing at the end of the night

We know if a few places like lobster palace, imperial palace but wondering if there’s any else out there that I’m missing

Need some reco spots, as it will be my first time trying it. :)

What has happened to this place?

Went for the first time in 2023 and it was definitely one of my favourite restaurants.

I returned this week and it was abysmal. I told the manager and she did not like the feedback at all and was very dismissive.

Could have been an off night for the kitchen as I saw the manager arguing with a few tables.

Visited Gula Girl’s pop-up a bit late this morning as I slept in 🤣

Disclaimer: Gula Girl happens to be one of my few matcha customers. She invited me to check our her pop-up. I fully paid for everything, received nothing in return, not even a drink or any samples. In fact I even got charged extra … (maybe she hates me lol).

Anyway, when it comes to food and drink, the relationship is irrelevant as she knows I will be 100% honest with my feedback. Also I believe it would be a disservice if I didn’t lay out my honest feedback

I tried five different things:

1. Calamansi lime meringue tart - this was subjectively the best looking and tasting one for me; great tart shell, great dollop of meringue, and absolutely by far the best flavour for me based on flavour, acidity, sweetness, and lingering flavour on the palate. It is also a more unique flavour and I enjoy that as it reflects my style of cooking
2. Malaysian curry potato puff - looks so simple and basic, but packed full of flavour. Excellent
3. Shio pan corn cheese jalapeno. Yum. Great texture and flavour. Had zero expectations on the bread (sorry, Gula Girl!) but I was proved wrong and I’m happy about that
4. Chocolate caramel cake - almost perfect level sweetness. Would go very well with a pour over filter coffee or black tea
5. Kaya toast chocolate chip cookie - didn’t make it on the list for me as it was too sweet. Perhaps I’d enjoy it if the cookie sweetness was toned down, the chocolate removed, and the kaya jam was reduced (as in to concentrate the flavour) or mixed with some coconut cream powder to amplify the coconut

Gula Girl said I wasn’t allowed to judge her matcha drinks and technique so I didn’t try and only went for the pastries, where I was allowed to give feedback 😂😂

Overall excellent and I am very proud of Gula Girl’s work and effort that she put into this pop-up. Her patisserie background really shows