Mor

We are very lucky that there are people in the world who dedicate themselves to mastering things. People like the founders of Mor, Laura Metcalf and Kelsie Culpan, whose craft is very clearly viennoiserie. Their Remuera bakery-meets-cafe has just a handful of tables up front and outside, so while there’s technically space to sit, it’s best to have a back-up location to savour your goods — Mor gets very, very busy. The signs in the cabinet here read like a dream: macadamia and wattleseed kouign amann, salted chocolate sablé, whipped milk chocolate crémeux with blackberry compôte, kaffir-lime-macerated black grapes… Each pastry is ethereally layered, each biscuit wondrously snappy, and they’re often adorned with icing squiggles, seasonal fruit slices and tiny, meticulously placed blooms — harmonious, almost-too-beautiful-to-eat compositions. Almost.

While you’re in the area: Ōhinerau / Mt Hobson