Heading into colder weather and shorter days can feel a bit gloomy at times – but there are upsides that bring us joy during these months - like delicious and comforting dishes from our city centre restaurants. Autumn sees new menus emerging from the kitchens, using seasonal ingredients and creativity to bring you incredible dining experiences.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the must try new menus in the city centre so you can start planning your next meal out.
Hello Beasty | 95-97 Customs Street
Serving up contemporary cuisine inspired by regions of Japan, Korea and China, Hello Beasty is a cult eatery with a tasty, approachable sharing menu.
This season brings delicious additions to their menu including their kingfish dish with a buttermilk and sudachi dressing, pickled daikon, radish, whipped avocado and wakame. The new menu also sees the addition of unique ingredients like the pink flamingo + phoenix mushrooms, which is paired with a coriander and kombu butter, soba noodles, pine nuts and chilli.
Dessert lovers need to try the refreshingly sweet, peach and mango dessert with coconut custard and peach sorbet. No matter what you choose on this menu, your taste buds will thank you!
See the full menu here.
MASU by Nic Watt | 90 Federal Street
With Autumn upon us, Masu's Tokusen menu has received a fresh sprinkling of exceptional seasonal flavours and ingredients showcasing the finest ingredients from New Zealand and Japan.
Designed to be shared by the table, this culinary journey starts with black beer sourdough with wagyu butter. Following this, you'll experience a taste of Lake Ohau wagyu sirloin with shallot miso, spicy sashimi, snapper ngiri and a crayfish spicy miso taco, to name a few.
See the full menu here.
Pōni | Commercial Bay
Pōni's seafood-centric food offering derives inspiration from Japanese and South-East Asian cuisines with a whimsical high-low approach to dining - a cheerful experience which sees diners sharing and conversing with a mate, or ten, over the dishes’ eclectic messy, sticky, sweet and salty flavours and presentations.
The chefs at Pōni have been working away to create delicious new menu items including their brain child - crab and scallop ravioli with porcini soil and corn beurre monte.
Also on the menu are three delightful new cocktails - we love the sound of the chottomatte, with chilli tequila, grapefruit, plum wine and shichimi. If you love spice, you can ask the bartender to turn up the heat on this one!
See the full menu here.
Esther | 4 Viaduct Harbour Avenue
QT Auckland's signature restaurant Esther brings the authentic tastes of the Mediterranean's sun-soaked shores to the Viaduct. Chef Sean Connolly's approachable and sustainable menu features local produce and daily-caught seafood, with many items served by trolley service.
At Esther, a change in season means new delights on the menu. Deliciously comforting, the mutton ragù is the perfect addition as the weather begins to cool. If you're a seafood lover, the line-caught snapper and Cloudy Bay clams in oyster soup is for you. Another must-try is Sean Connolly's signature creation, the Wairarapa crayfish raviolo with salmon and scallop mousse and a crayfish bisque.
See the full menu here.
kingi | 29 Galway Street
kingi have recently added some delectable lunch specials to their already impressive menu. On a Monday, they're serving up a main sized bowl of their signature Mill Bay green lip mussels with a side of Daily Bread sourdough for $22. Or, on a Wednesday, indulge in their Chatham Island Blue Cod wings with ranch dressing and slaw, also $22.
If you're in the mood for a midday drink, their kingi chilled red is $12, McLeod's tap beers are $10 and the Batchwell kombuchas is $7.
See the full menu here.
