Greetings all and Happy Thanksgiving! We will be going to New Zealand for the first time and would love any restaurant or wine info you could share.
Cheers!
Marshall
Had a good time at Gilt and Kingi in Auckland — both tasty and carefully selected local wines on both lists.
Per @brodie_thomson’s recommendations, I really tried to squeeze in Hugos Bistro, but they were having their day off. He also recommended Bar Tokki, who is closely affiliated with the people behind Flor(closed, it seems). They run Everyday Wine, a local importer. Thanks to their flexibility, I got some very hard-to-come-by local wines with me home.
Christchurch I have no idea about.
For Auckland
Amano (italian)
Cassia (Indian)
Depot (Oysters and Fish)
Was there in February 2024
There is another, older thread with more recommendations. Charlie has a favorite noodle place.
Hi Marshall, I can help - but 1st give me some idea of the following;
- length of visit
- general outline of your itinerary
- Overall wine style preferences
with a bit of context I can make a few recommendations for you
Brodie
We were in NZ for 2 weeks in Jan & were stunned by the variety of fabulous wines! Do yourself a favor & take the lovely 45 min ferry ride from Auckland to Waiheke Island. Rent a car & check out the phenomenal wineries there. We visited Stonyridge & Te Motu, both excellent, & Tantalus, which didn’t impress. Be advised, the pours are tiny, but we were blown away by the quality of the reds.
We had dinner at Tony’s Steak & Seafood in Auckland, which was delicious.
As another poster said, if you share specifics about your plans, we can provide better recommendations.
Cheers!
Brodie: We have a week or so in each city. We are open to all dining styles and would like to do predominantly NZ wines.
Cheers!
Marshall
Hi Marshall, I live in Auckland so have lots of recs but have not dined in Christchurch for a couple of years so am out of date.
Auckland in no particular order
Hugo’s Bistro - in the city, great food and great service
Bar Magda - sophisticated modern Filipino food
Tokki - amazing modern Korean food, excellent quality, in Milford out of town but worth going
Cocoro - high Japanese, only place you can get Kusuda (NZ rarest PN)
Cassia. - modern Indian, wine friendly but still very tasty
Mr Morris - in the city, modern Kiwi cuisine
Onslow - ditto modern Kiwi cuisine also in the city
Paris Butter - modern french bistro of the highest quality.
Thank you so much! Lots of great information…highly appreciated. We have a reservation at the Grove. What do you think about it?
Cheers!
Marshall
For some reason I have not been to The Grove for ages and ages. It is well regarded and highly rated so should be very good.
The places I have recommended are all personal favourites who have allowed BYO for my wine group at various times. Most of them do not allow BYO - but with the right connections it can be possible.
I recommend using this guide to help you select places in Christchurch
Had dinner at Ahi in the CBD last month.
Thought it was fantastic …decent wine list, knowledgeable young somm esp NZ wines.
My wife and I spent 1 night in Christchurch before we departed to the West Coast for 11 days. So take this with a grain of salt. After a long trip from NY (Via China with an 8 hour layover) we got to our hotel right around 5pm and wanted dinner. We took a stroll and found this Indian place - To this day we still compare all other Indian Restaurants to this one, and we live in NJ with Indian restaurants on every corner! Was it that great, was it great because we were so tired/hungry, I don’t know, but I have very fond memories of the place:
It’s been nearly 6 years since I was there, but my wife and I had a lovely meal at Sidart in Auckland.
It was fine dining with a subtle Indian influence.
Just posted on another thread about our trip… in Auckland, we thought Ahi was good and Hello Beasty and Alma very good. Alma’s list is mostly Spanish. Hello Beasty had some fun things and the somm we talked to seemed knowledgable and passionate about the wines. Had an amazing McLeod’s 802 IPA at Ahi, highly recommend seeking that out if you’re into beer at all : )
In Christchurch, Fifth Street was excellent, nice list.
There are some great suggestions already here which I can echo. Worth noting that The Grove is closing at the start of March so get in while you can. I’d also add Metita to the list, it’s more Pacific cuisine but done very well.
Christchurch I haven’t been to in years but have heard good things about Inati and Gatherings. If you’re open to travelling for a meal/tasting, Black Estate is worth checking out, the chef there is absolutely fantastic.
I second the Black Estate recommendation. Additionally, their wines aren’t too shabby either.
Thank you all…leaving next month and all recommendations are still appreciated.
Thanks Josh: We have a reservation at Inati and the Grove.
Than you! Booked Ahi…
Cheers!
Marshall
1 Like
The lodge bar in Auckland has a strong selection of NZ wine. New Zealand’s only MS helps put together the list and the chef is a kiwi that used to run a Michelin star spot in New York.