In July 2021, Metro magazine released its Top 50 list of Auckland's best restaurants featuring many city centre eateries. Check out what they're offering as part of Restaurant Month this August.
Baduzzi | $89 for a three course modern Italian lunch or dinner + wine matches
The Sicilian word for 'meatballs,' Baduzzi is one of the best Italian restaurants Auckland has to offer. Casual and affordable, but with an air of sophistication and New-York Italian, the menu features meatball dishes including sandwiches or pasta, as well as plenty of other non-meatball offerings. Their Restaurant Month menu includes entrees like Bostock squash ravioli with burnt butter and sage, mains like Bostock organic chicken alla cacciatora with roasted potatoes and seasonal greens and Bostock organic apple strudel for dessert, matched with three glasses of wine.
Cafe Hanoi | $55 for a three course sharing lunch or dinner
Set in the heart of Britomart, Cafe Hanoi is a modern Vietnamese restaurant inspired by the flavours and faded elegance of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Dishes are characterized by a unique combination of ingredients and cooking techniques that come together to create an exciting dining experience. Their Restaurant Month offering includes rice paper rolls with cured salmon, pork & shrimp netted spring rolls, spicy duck salad, chargrilled wagyu bavette with fish sauce caramel, & a Café Hanoi French patisserie plate to finish.
Cassia | $90 for a 5 course tasting dinner
Cassia serves up Indian cuisine with a modern twist, and is the award-winning restaurant from famed chef Sid Sahrawat. The restaurant is tucked away in the urban surrounds of Fort Lane and stepping off the street and down the stairs the setting is warm and inviting. Restaurant Month is the perfect time to come and see for yourself what true flavour and authentic cuisine really means. Cassia's special five course degustation menu will for sure delight your tastebuds and have you returning again soon.
Esther | $55 for a three course Mediterranean sharing dinner
QT Auckland's signature restaurant Esther brings the authentic tastes of the Mediterranean's sun-soaked shores to the Viaduct. This Restaurant Month enjoy a three course Mediterranean sharing dinner including puff bread, taramasalata, Sean’s steak tartare & shoe string fries, orgy of mushrooms with ricotta gnocchi, coastal spring lamb shoulder, petite green leaves, and an apple tart with vanilla bean ice cream.
Euro Bar & Restaurant | $55 for a three course French sharing lunch or dinner
With a mouthwatering menu from executive chef Gareth Stewart, stunning waterfront views and fresh decor, it's hard not to love Euro, and you'll love it even more during Restaurant Month with a three course French sharing menu including escabeche; salt & pepper crispy pigs' ears; and steak frites.
Gochu | $60 for a six course Korean sharing lunch or dinner
Known for its fresh, flavour-filled Korean cuisine, modern wines, cocktails and good times, Gochu draws on authentic Korean cuisines and flavours to bring you a new, New Zealand Korean experience like no other. Their Restaurant Month menu will certainly keep your belly happy with a six course Korean sharing menu including fried chicken sliders; cured kingfish with apple & anchovy consommé; crispy eggplant with doenjang glaze; charred chicken with gochujang; pork loin with pickled cabbage; and an ice cream sandwich with caramelised apple & rice cake.
Hello Beasty | $55 for a 5 course contemporary New Zealand fusion lunch or dinner
Serving up contemporary cuisine inspired by regions of Japan, Korea and China, Hello Beasty is a cult eatery on Auckland's waterfront. Hello Beasty’s kitchen offers a tasty and approachable sharing menu, providing an experience that delivers clean, bold flavour profiles. Their Restaurant Month menu is no exception, with five courses including Sichuan tuna tartare; Korean fried cauliflower & gochujang glaze; steamed nikuman sticky pork hock buns; Korean spiced BBQ chicken; and Beasty soft serve.
Huami | $68 for a three course Chinese dinner
Huami is a contemporary, yet authentic Chinese restaurant on Federal Street. This Restaurant Month try the likes of tabasco prawns; fresh mushroom & spinach dumplings; fruit wood-roasted Peking duck; stir-fried lamb fillet; and Yangzhou fried rice. Sounds pretty good right?
Hugo's Bistro | $60 for a three course lunch or dinner
This all-day bistro brings sophisticated European vibes to the heart of the city. Come and check it out for yourself during Restaurant Month and try their three course special menu which includes grilled flatbread; whipped hapuka roe; red deer with celeriac, spinach & black pepper sauce; and olive oil & sea salt semifreddo for dessert.
Masu | $75 for a four course Japanese dinner
Japanese food is celebrated on Federal Street at Masu, a Japanese robata restaurant and bar run by New Zealand chef Nic Watt. Robata is contemporary Japanese cuisine cooked over a charcoal grill where theatre and ambience are as much a part of the process as the eating. Diners can view the chefs at the robata cooking hearth, creating food-laden skewers and slowly rotating them over hot coals. Head here this Restaurant Month for an immersive dining experience including 3 piece sashimi selection, sashimi chirashi nori taco, black crumbed wagyu tsukune & yasai salad, cedar baked king salmon teriyaki with blackened chilli & pickled cucumber, and black sesame cream éclair with wakamomo sorbet.
Mr. Morris
Mr Morris | $75 for a three course lunch or dinner
Nestled in the old Cafe Hanoi site in Auckland’s Britomart precinct, Mr. Morris is a warm, welcoming restaurant whose name pays homage to a close family member who passed away last year. Enjoy a three course menu by Mr Morris showcasing the Pacific and New Zealand experience through ethical and seasonal produce this Restaurant Month which includes an entrée, main and dessert.
The Grove | $75 for The Grove's two course Sunday roast lunch
Marrying exquisite modern New Zealand cuisine with a relaxed and sophisticated atmosphere. The Grove is Auckland fine dining at its best. Don't miss out on The Grove Sunday Roast this Restaurant Month including duck leg terrine with golden raisins & pistachio, roast beef sirloin with horseradish, parsnip puree & bone marrow gravy, and 76% Equateur chocolate tart with coffee & crème fraiche for dessert.
The Lodge Bar & Dining | $60 for a three course New Zealand-inspired lunch or dinner
Building on the ethos of sourcing only the finest materials, The Lodge Bar presents a carefully curated offering of New Zealand’s finest wines and intricately prepared food. Their Restaurant Month menu includes The Lodge Bar salad with ricotta & toasted seeds, True Origin lamb shoulder ragu with rigatoni & parmesan, and pavlova with citrus & whipped cream.