Metro Top 50 Cafes

Tāmaki Makaurau

“Coffee and community” — that’s how one of this year’s People’s Choice nominators summed up Lil Cuzzies, the runaway winner of the award and a beloved Mt Roskill spot that locals have quietly treasured. Cradled just inside the entrance of The Y Cameron Pool and Leisure Centre, it’s a compact, welcoming cafe serving dependable espresso and hearty bites to eat with a familiar, friendly energy. Apart from the occasional granola bowl or decked-out waffle dish, most of the food here will be found in the cabinet, whether it’s a no-frills toastie or one of their many homey sweets and slices. Its location makes it a natural gathering place for parents corralling kids pre- or post-swim class or locals padding in with slides and damp hair post-laps, but anyone can go to this friendly neighbourhood cornerstone.

Blue Rose’s playful blue exterior, friendly staff and interior brimming with personal mementos combine to confer it with all the warmth of a community hub. At the same time, it’s the kind of place you’d happily cross the city for. This is very much a destination cafe disguised as a neighbourhood spot. The menu offers brunch classics like pancakes and eggs Benedict alongside celebrations of Auckland’s Polynesian identity — mussel fritters, lu‘au and a dependably good ika mata. But what really draws the crowds are the legendary pies, which act as vessels for an ingenious range of fillings — palusami, hāngī, boil-up and so on — that you’d struggle to find anywhere else in the world. Maybe it’s surprising that this kind of cafe offering, which reflects our unique melting pot of indigenous and Polynesian food traditions, is so rare in Tāmaki Makaurau, but we’re just glad someone’s doing it — and with so much flair.

(See above; this wonderful spot is also our Supreme Winner)

We think Hare and the Turtle makes the best sandwiches in this city (an opinion also enshrined in our latest Best of Auckland list). It’s a bold claim, but order literally any of their sandwiches and you’ll understand why. Every single one is a masterclass in the art of sandwich making — perfecting the necessary balance of salty, savoury and acidic notes, all wrapped up in a symphony of textures. When in doubt, order the V.B.: a fried egg, melted American cheese and a hashbrown flanked by an extraordinary soft bun and swept with just enough barbecue sauce. In the cabinet are cinnamon buns and doughnuts in an ever-changing rotation of whimsical flavours — Jelly Tip, Raro, lemon meringue. Coffee is unfaltering, too. As is evidenced by the weekend crowds, it’s clear none of this is a secret to those in the neighbourhood.

Rumours is a visually uncomplicated space — industrial-looking greys and metals and bare-bone neutrals. At the front counter, a few bar stools and (if you’re in luck) a couple of fresh pastries await, while a smattering of boxy seating — more perches than chairs — populate the space in front of the generously sized front window. There’s a couple of indoor plants and a few blooms artfully dotted around, but that’s about it. You get the sense that the entire set-up is designed to let the coffee take centre stage, whether that coffee is their signature pour-over, an espresso-based brew or their other specialty: iced white with demerara syrup. There’s a simple loveliness to it all that reminds you that the central city is, despite everyone’s constant gripes about orange cones and parking, actually very cool.

Slightly hidden among a cluster of shops on Parnell Rise, Young Dandy, which opened this year, is, from the outside at least, a quiet, unassuming cafe. Inside, you’ll notice a lot of coffee love, with a shifting line-up of specialty blends, single-origin espresso and Chemex filter options — it’s little surprise that owner-operator James Prendergast previously managed Ozone Coffee’s Grey Lynn site. For something quick but delicious, head to the cabinet for a sausage roll, a croissant or the spectacular spiced egg bap. The main menu is concise but refreshing, with familiar cafe breakfast fare — granola, porridge, eggs on toast — alongside dishes that push breakfast boundaries, like toasted sourdough heaped with a cloud-like swoosh of fermented tofu, chilli-and-macadamia cream and vadouvan-spiced mushrooms, or perhaps the caldereta fish toast, decked out with marinated tomatoes, caramelised onion and herby green mayo. A visit here will leave you feeling nourished, caffeinated and potentially a little more sophisticated.

This sunlit corner cafe in Westmere ticks all the boxes. Fabulous coffee, a swish fit-out, crave-worthy food, relaxed yet attentive staff, sea views, and stacks of New Yorkers to pore over while you sip. For those in a hurry, or en route to a local beach, the cabinet will be appealing — with eye-catching salads and colourfully filled sandwiches. The menu has a familiar feel, but in a slightly off-beat way that we really like. Case in point: the bharta eggs — a crowd favourite — arrive with two poached eggs in eggplant purée and drizzled with chilli butter. Or there’s the coconutty hotcakes, served with or without bacon, which will delight those with sweet tooths.

We were thrilled earlier this year to hear that Dariush Lolaiy and Rebecca Smidt of Cazador would be taking over the Orphans Kitchen space on Ponsonby Rd. Now transformed into San Ray, the airy, sun-drenched, all-day spot pays homage to its predecessors with a breakfast line-up of crumpets, porridge and toast piled with toppings like spinach and silverbeet or salmon gravadlax — which will be familiar to Orphans Kitchen fans. At lunchtime, the menu shifts to vibrant Cal-Mex food, with some twists: oysters heaped with tequila-and-lime granita, a punchy tortilla soup, and the half wood-fired chicken with radicchio and tomato that we had a lot of good things to say about in our Restaurant of the Year issue. Sip on coffee, cold-pressed juices or lesser-known beverages like masala chai or michelada, available all day. Everything we’ve eaten at San Ray is full of interesting, surprising flavours, without ever being palate-cluttering. Service is, as you would expect, impeccably attentive and knowledgeable, true to Cazador’s reputation and long history of hospitality.