Sunday, July 20, 2014

Auckland Diner's Diary: May - July 2014

There are so many new eateries popping up in Auckland all the time that I struggle to keep track of them all. There are plenty of places that I have been meaning to visit, which I haven't got around to for years. It's funny how similar restaurants appear at the same time too: in November/December last year, it was French bistros (Frenchie and Touquet), in February this year it seemed Italian was the flavour of the month (Piccoli Piatti and Gusto at the Grand) and around April, there were a whole bunch of new cafes (Chuffed, Rosie, Clear Water PeakBlack and Gold, Welcome Eatery).

I thought I would start taking note of the new places that I discover, as well as places that close, and general items of interest. Let me know what else is happening!

Modern Asian
  • Cassia (July) - inner city modern Indian restaurant by Sid Sahrawat of Sidart
  • Le Vietnamese Kitchen (June) - restaurant across the road from Ponsonby Central which Peter Calder calls "approximately Vietnamese"
  • Viet Flames (June) - one of the few restaurants in Victoria Park Market
  • Bolaven (May) - Mount Eden cafe with Laotian influences

Eating with Values
  • Wilder and Hunt (July) - second branch of this paleo-friendly cafe opened in Ponsonby
  • Crafty Baker (June) - bakery in Glen Eden that uses free range eggs, organic milk and cream, and even churns their own butter!
  • Mondays (May) - wholefoods cafe in Kingsland with raw, vegan and gluten-free baking

Suburban Coffee Spots

Big Names at Littler Places

Revamped Gastropubs
  • The Good Home (July) - suburban gastropub in Birkenhead, formerly the Slipp Inn
  • The Cav (June) - refurbished bar in Freeman's Bay, formerly the Cavalier Tavern

Other
  • [Added 7 January 2015: Sulma BBQ (July) - Korean BBQ place opposite the city library]
  • Hog Heaven Louisiana Smokehouse (July) - New Orleans cuisine and pizza in a Newmarket bar
  • Lava Burger (July) - also jumping on the American burger bandwagon, but in Parnell
  • Poplars Forest (July) - Xinjiang cuisine in a little shop on Upper Queen St
  • Ponsonby Central has two new stalls (May): the $5 Deli and Crepes a go-go
  • [Added 15 September 2014: The Chicken Station (June) - stall in Food Alley selling chicken in many forms, from chicken and waffles, to hainanese chicken]
  • Pirates Kitchen (May) - this pirate-themed restaurant in Eden Terrace has mixed identity, with Japanese food as well as Thai and Western items, but could be fun for the kids

Coming Soon
  • Best Ugly is opening a Newmarket store for bagel lovers (due late July)
  • [Added 29 July 2014: Il Buco now has a branch in Vulcan Lane]
  • Dilecta is opening soon where Mondial used to be in Grey Lynn (due late July)
  • Grill and Shakes in Kingsland will be offering grilled meats and milkshakes, as the name suggests (due early August)
  • Open Table is a crowd-funded cafe in Ellerslie (due to open next month)
  • Scarlett Slimm's and Lucky sounds like it will be another Southern American joint (opening soon in Mount Eden)
  • Craft Cafe is hiring (opening soon in Beaumont St)
  • Woodworks is the latest project from the team behind Petit Bocal and La Boulange (due August/September in Avondale)
  • Pepitos Bar is a collaboration between Spanish Chef Serafin Bueno Sanz from Serafin and José Luis Fowler of Cook at Home Paella (Milford branch due in September; Mount Eden branch in April 2015)

Gone
  • Modern Japanese restaurant Soto (13 St Marys Bay Road, Ponsonby) closed at the end of June
  • Bump Coffee (2 Kent Street, Newmarket) also closed at the end of June

Upcoming Events

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the linkage :)

    There are so many new places to eat, it’s hard to keep up with even just the local ones. I’ve eaten at Bolaven and Mondays. I saw Hog Heaven online the other day but didn’t realise they are new. I adore New Orleans cuisine and The Koala loves pizza, so maybe that could be a great date night.

    I found the Pirates Kitchen menu very confusing. Someone has stuck it to our work fridge so I read each time I’m in the kitchen. There are so many different kinds of cuisines, it’s hard to imagine they could do them all well. I’m a little frightened of going there to be honest, even though they are just a 2 minute walk away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome. :)

      I haven't made it to Pirates Kitchen yet either, because of the same reservations you have, but I have seen some groups in there, so maybe it's not that bad. I do intend to give it a go eventually, unless I hear from someone else how it is first.

      Delete

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