The Best Restaurant Meals & Road Snacks The Viva Team Has Eaten This Summer
Before the rain, we ate. Summer (so far) was for sausage rolls in the car, fish and chips at a wharf and a very fancy 4pm “lunch”.
The Gardener, $30, from The Shack, Raglan
It was a ridiculously good looking breakfast consumed in the final hour of a ridiculously sunny December week in Raglan. Fuel for the road and fuel for the soul. I would probably eat carpet if it was wrapped around asparagus, but honestly, the real joy was the less obvious – like the pickled fennel hiding under the salad and the touch of chilli in the parsley salsa. I felt healthier just downloading the photograph off my phone. — Kim Knight
19 Bow St, Raglan
Cream doughnut, $3, from Pigeon Bakery, Sandringham
In early January, when much of Auckland hospo goes on holiday, Sandringham is reliably open for business. We consume Paradise takeaways on a regular basis, but never order the pakora because deep-fried just doesn’t travel. What a joy to sit inside the air conditioned restaurant on New Year’s Day and order a large lunchtime bowl of battered onions. For dessert, we decamped across the road. Old school cream doughnuts (with an old school price tag to match) direct from the Pigeon Bakery chiller. — KK
582 Sandringham Rd, Sandringham, Auckland
Corn and parmesan croissant, $9, and iced coffee, $6.50, from Mibo
Mibo, the micro-bakery best known for its excellent patisserie, has a summery offering that might be the greatest way to eat fresh corn (beyond a simple barbecue grilling). Those sweet, sunny kernels pop pleasantly amidst a blend of cream cheese and parmesan. This serving made for a satisfying lunch – the ice-cold coffee helped to cut through the rich filling. — Madeleine Crutchley
G11/30 Enfield St, Mount Eden, Auckland
Chicken & Bacon Toastie, $19, from Toast, Mangawhai
After an action-packed beach day in Mangawhai, I found myself famished but fussy. Or as my partner probably more accurately described it, “absolutely bloody feral”. I stumbled upon Toast, a brightly adorned New York-style nook on Wood St, and clicked the first toastie on the self-service screen that appealed – McClure’s chicken & bacon that, when it arrived at the table, cured my hanger on first glance. The Daily Bread sourdough sandwich with a cheese topping was stuffed with shredded chicken, crispy bacon, burger sauce, pesto and pickles. It was a massive portion but it also treated my tastebuds. I basked in the afternoon summer sun and my partner breathed a sigh of relief that my demonic state was subdued until dinnertime. — Jennifer Mortimer
7 Wood St, Mangawhai Heads
Tartare of wild wapiti venison with potato skin cracker, $32, at Bar Magda
The descent down a dimly lit staircase does not scream summer dining, but Bar Magda is deliciously cool – even before you order from the “something cold” section of the menu. A hefty serve of venison tartare was particularly brilliantly balanced with fruit gel and soft sweeps of caramelised yoghurt, but don’t sleep on the suglaw – a coarse ground pork (including pig’s ear), raw tuna and macapuno (a jelly fleshed coconut usually reserved for desserts) rendition of a Filipino classic. Just when you thought you’d had every iteration of raw food under the Auckland sun, along comes Bar Magda. — KK
25b Cross St, central Auckland
Sausage roll, $6, from Pie Rolla’s
Pie Rolla’s first flooded our Instagram feed with their blue and white pie boy branding and ability to sell out of the humble Kiwi pie day after day. While their pies are packed full of flavour and artisan masterpieces in their own right, they aren’t always roadie-ready – the beef brisket in my lap was testament to that fact. But their recently released sausage rolls are not only driver-friendly, they are also perfection in pastry form. The filling is herbaceous, moist and elevated with fennel, while still ticking all the boxes of a classic and perfect sausage roll. — JM
469 Karangahape Rd, central Auckland
Burrattina, strawberry, radicchio and pistachio, $31, at Amano
It turns out, finding a nice spot for a long lunch and a gossip on New Year’s Day is quite tricky. Thankfully, Amano is one of the most reliable restaurants in the city – both for its availability and its menu. Their dairy section is always a highlight (even for those of us who are lactose-challenged) and this plate of creamy cheese, sweet berries, bitter leaves and a bit of nutty texture was a standout. — Bridget Jones
66-68 Tyler St, Britomart Place
Fish and chips, $58.50, from Raglan Fish
I know this photograph looks like a takeaway order for 17 people. In my defence, I had no idea the portions at Raglan Fish would be so colossal. The 400g scoop facts are on the menu board, but my holiday brain just didn’t compute that almost half a kilo of chips between two people would be a lot of spud. We’d also ordered gurnard and trevally and received an ocean of succulent fish coated in very crispy batter. We ate it wharf side, as happy as the circling seagulls. — KK
92 Wallis St, Raglan
Zucchini pizza, $33, from Ooh-Fa
Bougie pizza, anyone? Scouring for a cute place to host three girlfriends for a long-winded catch-up, we booked Ooh-Fa. I was hesitant at first. I love pizza. But pizza is just pizza, isn’t it? We came a bit early and sat at the bar with a gorgeous chilled red, and for some reason, I remembered London. My friend correctly said it passed the vibe check: it’s a tight, cosy and lively space; the lighting is dim, the waiters are impeccable. Taken to our table by the window – excellent for us people-watchers – we started with marinated olives ($8) and a plate of wood-fired carrots sitting on a bed of whipped ricotta and pistachios ($22). I highly recommend the latter because I can still feel it on my tongue. Next came the pizzas: the zucchini one and the spicy Italian sausage one. They were smaller than expected, but they punched with quality and flavour, and suddenly the higher price point made sense. This might be the coolest and tastiest pizza joint in Auckland. — Varsha Anjali
357 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden, Auckland
Raw fish on toast, $27, from Duo
Raw fish in one form or another is a staple on Auckland menus, but maybe less so for breakfast. And yet, almost every weekend, this is one dish I dream about starting my day with. It’s so simple that it can’t help but be delicious: fresh market fish sliced and diced and mixed with a zingy horseradish mayo, piled high, high, high on sourdough that is perfectly chewy-not-jaw-breaking toasty. Well worth a trip across the bridge for. — BJ
138 Hinemoa St, Birkenhead, Auckland
Last lunch of ‘25, $85, at Apero Food & Wine
At a certain point, staying awake post-midnight loses its appeal. Enter the genius that was Apero’s “last lunch”. Two New Year’s Eve sittings (1pm and 4pm) that began with oysters and fancy sausage rolls and finished with apricot-stuffed choux balls. We perched in the window and watched K Rd get ever sillier while eating the most beautifully cooked quail, the most beautifully not-cooked snapper and, somewhere in the middle, a crayfish fettucine that induced a full body swoon. Terrific food, sparkling service, lovely drink matches and home by 8pm. Best New Year’s Eve ever. — KK
280 Karangahape Rd, Auckland central
The red sauce, $12, from Tacoteca
Umbrellas were soaked and coats were dripping, but the Tacoteca courtyard is newly under cover and the charcoal-oil infused guacamole is still the best in town. We ordered the full spectrum of $7 Taco Tuesday – lamb, prawn, beef tongue, mushroom, cabbage, fish – but my main take home from this team lunch was an actual take home. The housemade red sauce (keep it in the fridge and consume within the week) has a little chilli, a lot of garlic and the kind of zippy freshness that turns avocado toast or scrambled eggs into a decent reason to get out of bed (close your eyes and pretend it has stopped raining). — KK
City Works Depot 1/90 Wellesley St West, central Auckland
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