Auckland Diner's Diary: July 2016

Cityside Eats

• Gemmayze St - Lebanese eatery at St Kevin's Arcade, where you have the option of letting the chef pick your dishes, from Samir Allen, a Kiwi chef with Lebanese heritage
• The Burger Bar K'Rd - burger joint, also at St Kevin's Arcade
• Meat Fish Wine -  restaurant with a $2 million fitout has opened at Chancery Chambers, owned by the people behind the Melbourne restaurant of the same name, with plenty of private dining areas
• Burgz - organic burger place at Elliott Stables
• Aotea House - gastropub on Aotea Square, with a NZ inspired menu, including paua
• The White Rabbit at the Park - high-end bistro by Victoria Park Market, where Matterhorn Auckland used to be
• Buoy Cafe - cafe at Westhaven Marina from industry veteran Ginette Auld, where the Sitting Duck cafe used to be
• Bonas Thai - takeaway Thai place on Customs Street, with rice porridge for breakfast and colourful desserts in addition to the usual offerings
• [Added 7 August 2016: The Corner Cafe - K'Rd cafe with $2.50 tea and coffee]
• [Added 20 August 2016: Food Truck Wynyard - second branch of The Food Truck has opened near the Fonterra Building on Fanshawe St]
• [Added 3 September 2016: Aroy Thai Eatery - Wellington Thai takeaway chain has opened their first "eatery concept" store on Commerce Street, around the corner from their closed Customs St Express store]

Food at the Fringe

• Azabu - Peruvian-Japanese Nikkei cuisine in Ponsonby in a long space styled by Izzard Design, with Roji bar tucked in the back, from co-owner and executive chef Yukio Ozeki
• Gypsy Caravan - taking over from the guest vendors at Street Food Collective in Ponsonby, head chef Reggie has been tasked with coming up with a street food inspired menu drawing on the flavours of Greece, Turkey and North Africa
• Long Shot - small all-day eatery next to older sister Longroom, where Santos used to be in Ponsonby, fitted out by Izzard Design
• Corner Burger - second branch of this burger joint has opened in Mount Eden at the site of a former petrol station
• Tsingtao Cafe 小青岛炉包铺 - Qingdao snacks in Mount Eden, where the Blue Bird Cafe used to be
• Barcelona - tapas bar in Kingsland, owned by Spaniard Jordi Donadeu
• Al's Deli - third branch of the Montreal inspired deli has opened in Kingsland
• [Added 30 November 2016: Le Garde-Manger - Ponsonby branch of this French eatery has a private room for functions]

Out and About

• True Food and Yoga - Award-winning chef Nic Watt has teamed up with wife Kelly to open a spacious wellness centre with "nutrient dense", organic, locally-sourced food (plus kombucha and craft beer on tap) as well as yoga classes and other services, where Hammerheads used to be at Okahu Bay on Tamaki Drive
• Rosebank Coffee & Kitchen - eatery with great food and an industrial aesthetic in Avondale
• Sawmill Brewery - the Leigh Sawmill Cafe (which continues to operate) shifted its brewing operations to a larger venue 10 km away by road at the beginning of year, and now it's open to the public in a collective space featuring work by Auckland artisans, with a simple menu that complements the beer
• Sticky Fingers Cafe in Albany has new owners and a new fit-out
• Come Fun Pepper Kitchen 黑椒厨房 - Asian franchise opened in July in Balmoral
• [Added 20 August 2016: Urban in East - cafe and eatery in Howick, with home made pies, eggs benes, chef's specials, sweet treats, and more]
• [Added 30 August 2016: Piknic Kitchen & Deli - cafe in Castor Bay]
• [Added 30 October 2016: The Yacht 同興旺酒家 - Chinese restaurant in Avondale with good dim sum, which used to be Wing Wah]
• [Added 4 November 2016: Post Office Public House - gastrobar at Airport Oaks with "home made food"]
• [Added 11 March 2018: Giampiero's Kitchen - Italian restaurant in Onehunga]

Coming

• Spilt Milk - cafe with slight Vietnamese flair in Point Chevalier (opening 1 August)
• Pasture - small Parnell restaurant with food inspired by nature, where the chefs cook over fire in the open plan dining room and also serve tables (opening 5 August)
• Miann will have a second store at Britomart, including epic hot chocolates and cocoa pod plates (opening September)
• Al's Deli on O'Connell Street is moving the cafe next door and setting up a brew house (weeks away)
• Culprit - upcoming project from Kyle Street, on Wyndham Street where The Black Hoof used to be
• Ganba Burger & Sushi Bar - burgers, kebabs and sushi on Anzac Ave
• 漁 Ryo - Japanese izakaya in the Mid City complex
• Twelve - Korean restaurant near the Chancery, at the bottom of the Metropolis building
• Eiffel en Eden has hung up signs on Dominion Road in Mount Eden, where Two Fifteen (and more recently a branch of Alphonso's) used to be
• Waiwera Hotel - cocktail lounge & eatery on Drake Street, where Sprig & Fern used to be
• The Orchard Juicery & Kitchen - juices, smoothies, salads and meals at Airport Oaks
• Pirates Kitchen has closed on Symonds Street, but will apparently be opening in a new location in the near future
• Mama Flavour 媽媽味 - Chinese restaurant opening where Pirates Kitchen was
• As yet unnamed eateries
• bistro from the Wiley Boys at Wynyard Quarter, which is (according to the job ad) "part of a new movement toward a healthier lifestyle through great food, offering seasonally fresh ingredients, taking into account the many dietary choices our customers now have"
• authentic Thai restaurant from Brett McGregor
• members-only bar on Parnell Rise from the people who started Meadow and 46&York, and richlister Topher Richwhite
• venue in Remuera from Lucien Law (Ebisu, Seafarers Members’ Club and Ostro) and Patrick Keen) 

Other Food News

• Restaurant Hub - NZ restaurant online table booking site co-owned by the Restaurant Assocation of NZ and HNZ
• Matterhorn has closed its Auckland branch, but is expanding into Xian in China
• Mojo Coffee continues to grow in Auckland, with a branch in Exchange Lane last month, and in Queens Arcade in April, but has also opened two branches in Xi'an in China
• Best Ugly Bagels has opened a branch in Wellington
• [Added 20 August 2016: Wise Boys Burgers has a PledgeMe campaign to crowdfund new cooking facilities] 
• [Added 1 October 2016: Safka has moved its continental goods store on K'Rd to a larger space next door] 
• [Added 1 March 2017: The Vegan Shop has moved from K'Rd to Grey Lynn]
• [Added 1 July 2017: Hungry Elephant - organic store and real food cafe has opened in Matakana, to bring plant-based raw food to the masses]

Events

Apart from the events already listed in a previous post, here are some events coming up:

• Nothing For Dinner (Tuesday 2 August) - sold out popup by The Cult Project at Misters using rescued food, as part of Auckland Restaurant Month
• Street Eats 2016 (Saturday 6 August) - street food vendors at Shed 10 as part of Auckland Restaurant Month
• Judge Bao x Greedy Guts (Thursdays 11, 18, 25 August) - Judge Bao is popping up at Greedy Guts cafe, serving up their steamed buns including a one-off special
• The Social Kitchen™ Theatre (Friday 19 - Sunday 21 August) - masterclasses and free sessions as part of Auckland Restaurant Month
• Couscous (Saturday 27 August) - themed dinner at Le Chef
• [Added 19 August 2016: Little Latin Market (Sunday 28 August) - tamales, arepas, locro, facturas and other South American food at Besos Latinos in Elliott Stables]
• Brazilian Sunday Lunch - Feijoada & Forro (Sunday 28 August) - feijoada, music and dancing at The Muddy Farmer
• Otahuhu's Ethnic Food Festival (Saturday 15 October) - street food galore in Otahuhu
• Meatstock Auckland (25 - 26 February 2017) - music and meat festival has come across the ditch from Sydney