Auckland Diner's Diary: July 2017

City Openings

• Lorne St. Larder - cafe on Lorne St, little bro to the Teed St. Larder
• Madriz - pintxos and slow cooked lamb are on the menu of this Madrid tapas bar
• Feriza's Kitchen, Gozleme & Bar - Ottoman dining including Turkish gözleme flatbread at Wynyard Quarter where Kindred used to be, a gift from restaurateur Alex Isik to elder sister Feriza
• Eggloo - egg waffle ice cream cones at the Atrium on Elliott car park
• [Added 3 August 2017: Ha! Poke - Hawaiian raw fish salad at the University of Auckland, from chef Mike Shand, with help from the people behind Mexicali Fresh and Burger Wisconsin]
• [Added 10 August 2017: Legitties - little bar at St Kevins Arcade]
• [Added 19 August 2017: Catch 22 Cafe - coffee, breakfast and bites 7 days a week, and a meeting space with AV facilities at Victoria Park Village, from Xenia Group]
• [Added 19 August 2017: Vis-a-vis - wine bar at Victoria Park Village, also from Xenia Group]
• [Added 9 September 2017: 凯悦 Kaiyue Restaurant - Chinese restaurant overlooking the Countdown carpark downtown]
• [Added 21 October 2017: Zhou's Alley Restaurant 周家胡同 米线拉面 - Victoria St W branch of basement restaurant in Durham Lane E selling Chinese noodle soups, spicy pots and fried chicken]
• [Added 23 October 2017: Krung Thep Thai Street Food - Viaduct branch of the K'Rd Thai eatery has opened on Customs St W]

Fringe Flavours

• Rabbit Cafe - vegetarian cafe in Newton, nestled amongst apartment and office blocks
• Ain't No Taco - playful tacos in Eden Terrace, with 60-odd hot sauces to choose from, from the people behind Burger Geek 
• Florette - cafe in Mount Eden, where Bluebird used to be
• [Added 5 August 2017: Edinburgh Castle - historic pub and hotel in Eden Terrace has launched a dim sum buffet (available on occasion), made by a dim sum chef with 20 years' experience]
• [Added 9 September 2017: 蜀味坊 Chongqing Noodles - Chongqing hot noodles in Newmarket]
• [Added 1 October 2017: Coffee and Tea Lovers Mount Eden - fifth branch of the cafe and retail shop has opened on Dominion Road]

Suburban Eats

• Happy Boy - family-friendly futuristic burger bar in Royal Oak, with Asian-inspired food, neon lights, and eco creds, from the team who brought us Kiss Kiss
• Jess' Underground Kitchen - Jess Daniell's second outpost offering healthy home-cooked meals for time-poor people has opened in Remuera, with cabinet food, pre-ordered fresh meals, salads, and treats
• Better Burger - fourth branch of the burger joint has opened in Sylvia Park, the first outside the downtown area
• [Added 3 September 2017: The Lincoln Family Restaurant - former Denny's franchise has now been rebranded in Henderson]
• [Added 23 October 2017: 9 Bowls Cafe - poke bowls in East Tamaki]
• [Added 5 December 2017: Delhi Heart - Indian chaat and more in Henderson]
• [Added 6 December 2017: Western Noodles 大西北 - Chinese noodles and more in Balmoral]
• [Added 27 December 2017: Rack n Roll Ribs - second location of the ribs, chicken and burger seller opened in Mount Wellington]
• [Added 11 March 2018: Daamso 담소  - authentic Korean cuisine in East Tamaki]

New Up North

• [Added 4 August 2017:Together Bespoke Wholefood - event caterers Phoebe Carr and Emily Read have turned extra space in their commercial kitchen into a slick little pitstop, with cabinet food, superfood smoothies and more in Rothesay Bay]
• [Added 4 August 2017:Bondie Designer Cupcakes - after outgrowing her Takapuna pop-up, Chanelle Bond (a.k.a. Bondie) has opened a Rosedale cupcake kitchen than also serves freakshakes]
• [Added 4 November 2017: The Palms - Mediterranean restaurant in Whangaparaoa owned by Mehmet Ceran, with local artesian water on tap]
• [Added 2 April 2018: The Living Room - Devonport organic cafe and store specialising in organic and health products, fresh juices, smoothies and food, including gluten free, sugar free, vegan and raw options]

Riverhead Central

New dining precinct in Riverhead from hospo vetarans Dan and Ange Housley (Bellota, Merchant of Venice):

• Harvest Cafe - cafe using local produce where possible
• The Chippy - fish and chips, as well as cauliflower pakoras and salads

Coming

• Riverhead Central will also be home to
• Forester - restaurant with a giant handcrafted oven for Roman-style wood-fired pizza, and bistro food from executive chef Campbell White (opening August)
• gourmet deli products, visiting guest chefs and international wine and whiskey evenings
• a Chinese takeaway, liquor store and convenience store
• Source Cafe is opening a second branch at Westgate shopping complex (August)
• Better Burger is opening its fifth branch in Mount Eden
• Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart - Japanese-style creamy tarts with three different kinds of cheese is coming central Auckland, presumably from entrepreneur Tatt Ghee Saw, whose Malaysia-based parent company ST group is also responsible for the PappaRich and Gong Cha businesses in New Zealand and Australia
• [Added 19 August 2017: Vesper Bar - bar at Victoria Park Village, from Xenia Group]

Closing

• Morita has closed while they search for a new place and will be back in late 2018
• Sprout Cafe is having its last trading day on Sunday 6 August in Mount Albert, but promises to open soon in a new location
• Mexicali has closed its Newmarket branch on Nuffield Street after 11 years due to redevelopment
• [Added 4 October 2017: Molten restaurant in Mount Eden is gone]

Other

• Sunfed's meat-free chicken is now available at supermarkets in the frozen section
• Foodstuffs North Island has started offering online shopping starting with New World Mount Roskill, despite challenges with their franchise model
• My Food Bag now offers heat & eat meals, currently in a trial phase
• Eat My Lunch is launching Eat My Dinner from September, also helping hungry Kiwi kids
• Mama's Kitchen is offering deliveries of home-cooked Malaysian food

Events

• Auckland Restaurant Month (month of August) - annual celebration of Auckland's dining scene, with events like Eat Albert Street (Thursday 10 August)
• Jeremy Rameka of Pacifica @ Meredith's (Saturday 5 August) - Māori and Pasifika influenced pop-up six-course dinner at Merediths, part of the restaurant’s 10th birthday celebrations
• Old M8 (Sunday 6 August) - typically discarded food is reused instead of binned at this Ponsonby pop up dinner from Orphans Kitchen bar manager Vanessa Pritchard, sous-chef Luca Caviola and head chef Conor Wiremu Mertens
• [Added 5 August 2017: Stone Soup Sunday Session (Sunday 6 August) - market style street food to fundraise for independent food journalism]
• Shepherd Trolley Takeover (Tuesday 8 August) - Shepherd Elliot of Wellington restaurant Shepherd takes over Culprit's trolley service
• SkyCity Variety of Chefs (Thursday 17 August) - hawker style fine dining fundraiser with food from Nic Watt (Masu) and Melbourne’s Jarrod Di Blasi (Ezard)
• Plant Culture Pop-Up (17-20 August) - four-course set menu all made with hemp seed for four nights only in Kingsland
• Wine & Food Celebration (19-21 August) - cooking classes, demos and wine tastings from the NZ School of Food and Wine
• [Added 28 August 2017: Greens & Tea (28-30 August) - modern Chinese vegan popup from Judge Bao and Silk Tea]
• [Added 28 August 2017: Urban Street Fest - Henderson (31 August) - street food out West
• [Added 28 August 2017: The Roaming Kitchen - Orakei (1 September) - street food on a smaller scale]
• [Added 28 August 2017: BCD - Beer, Chicken Donut (8-17 September) - deep fried chicken and donuts in a collaboration between Judge Bao and The Pie Piper]
• Sidart North to South (Thursday 14 September) - Sidart celebrates its 8th birthday with a special collaboration between Chef Giulio Sturla of Roots and Chef Sid Sahrawat of Sidart, using foraged ingredients
• Otahuhu Food Festival 2017 (Saturday 30 September) - annual event in Otahuhu with over 100 food stalls
• Festival Italiano Day (Sunday 1 October) - free community street party in Newmarket, as part of the Italian festival month organised by Dante Alighieri Italian Society of Auckland