Metro Top 50 Restaurants
2024 Winners

Michael Meredith’s Metita, which opened last year, is exactly the kind of restaurant one would hope to find in the largest Polynesian city in the world. The cuisine here is Pasifika, with a strong Sāmoan bent, deeply rooted in the staples of the chef’s childhood. And though this influence was subtly apparent at Meredith’s eponymous first restaurant, and then his Britomart establishment Mr Morris (also on this list), at Metita it’s the heart of the entire operation.

A recent meal at The Grove was not only one of the best we’ve ever had here, but also among one of the most memorable we’ve had in this city. And boy, is the wine list good. It’s hard not to hear the echoes of international fine-dining establishments like Vue de Monde and Noma, where Campbell was previously posted — there’s something infinitely cool about the way in which exacting technicality can be wielded over local ingredients like wapiti, creamed pāua and smoked eel. Though it all sounds very serious, the food here is never without a sense of fun: one dish, for example, involved grinding frozen pogonia flowers with a pestle at the table to create a powder for a sorbet palate cleanser.

The menu at Forest changes weekly, but whichever season you visit, the food promises to be playful, delicious and even a little oddball at times. We are utterly obsessed with their deep-fried halloumi: it arrives in a glossy pool of caramelised onion gravy and celery honey, piled with slices of green apple. Then there’s the kūmara with Marmite cream and caper peas — a fantastically plated, ultra-umami crowd-pleaser of a dish. Savoury courses are done to perfection at Forest, but the restaurant also boasts some of the most inventive desserts in the city: think giant kyoho grapes suspended in jelly; fresh black truffle grated on to olive-oil ice cream; jelly and yuzu custard dotted with a veritable posy of foraged wildflowers; or maybe an orange sticky rice dusted with rhubarb sherbet.  This is interesting, charming, deeply thought-out food, that’s perfectly in tune with every other element of the restaurant – that’s what makes Forest so singular, and so genuinely special.

Before you’ve even been handed a menu at Sake Bar Icco, you’ll sense you’re somewhere special. If you book via email, giving your name, upon arrival you’ll be addressed with the Japanese honorific ‘san’ and greeted with the warmest of smiles by co-owner Junko Matsumoto, who runs the front of house (most often solo), and her partner Ikko Yamauchi, who helms the kitchen. At your table, a handwritten name card resting on an origami swan awaits you, which you can take home as a keepsake at the end of the meal. Charmed yet? Just wait until you start eating.

The restaurant, with its three-digit name (372 is the phone code for Waiheke Island), won’t get a number wrong at any point in your visit. From a friendly greeting on arrival, to a helpful steer on the menu, to excellent drinks service from a dedicated wine waiter, it’s smooth sailing from start to end. Of course, the food isn’t shabby, either — the signature whole flounder is still firmly on the menu and as enjoyable as ever, given some life with curry butter and capers. Pleasingly, the dishes are of a generous size, making sharing easy; there was a memorable goat gnocchi we recently split between two. Between the deck that looks out on Onetangi Beach to the lovely courtyard in the back, there’s plenty of space to laze around in during long lunches here. The vibe, as one judge said, is “posh casual” — a perfect summation.

Pici has been holding court in a compact spot at the entrance to St Kevins Arcade (as well as our hearts) going on four years now. As this tiny space fills up quickly, we recommend booking ahead. Its signature dishes — pillowy soft focaccia, thick worms of the eponymous pici in cacio e pepe sauce, and a slab of cheesecake drizzled with grassy olive oil and sprinkled with crunchy finishing salt — still satisfy the lustiest of appetites. It’s probably wise, and no real imposition, to eat a salad of bitter leaves with salted ricotta and orange vinaigrette on the side, just for appearances and to ward off scurvy. This well-balanced meal, eaten in a cosy window seat, is ideal for a second date or to line the stomach before a night in town. 

Michael Meredith — Mr Morris and Metita

Cory Campbell

With chef Cory Campbell now leading the kitchen at The Grove, what began as an adventure in matching modern New Zealand food with fine-dining dégustation has not only lived up to its promise, but taken on a distinct identity — all at once disciplined, playful, creative and utterly delicious.

Poi Eruera

Slipping into Hugo’s is like slowly submerging yourself in a hot bath. It’s warm, intimate and cosy, with a sense of comfort achieved by its charming service, lead by Poi Eruera.

Andrea Martinisi

At a certain point, realising we’d been lulled into a daydream induced by The Grove, incredible food and incredible wine, guided by an incredible sommelier. We glanced around the room to assess whether everyone else, including a solo diner with headphones on, looked like they were having as wonderful a time as we were. Yup.

Simon Benoit — Cazador

Simon is a familiar face in Auckland’s hospitality industry. With a breadth of knowledge, passion and experience, Benoit exudes warmth and has an effortless knack for connecting with diners, knowing exactly what and how much to give. It’s always a pleasure to be looked after by Benoit.

Matt Venables

At Bar Magda, drinks are given almost as much attention as the food, with a whole lot of atypical yet exceptionally well-crafted cocktail concoctions (we especially like those from the Something Sour part of the menu), you're always safe with the expertise of Matt Venables behind bar.

On our review visit, I was seated next to a blind/low-vision couple who eat at the restaurant once a week, and couldn’t help but notice the way the Cazador staff attended to them. First, wait staff ran through the drink and food options without visual cues. Then the kitchen pre-sliced their dish of the usually-presented-whole braised wapiti venison, removing this obstruction to eating. The newest member of staff brought it to the couple and explained the contents and location of everything on the plate. All the while, staff made sure everything was where it was supposed to be on the table. Seeing this unobtrusive, thoughtful attention was a timely reminder for me of what a great restaurant is, what great service can do, and how much it means to the people who make these places a regular part of their lives.

Olive oil ice cream, sherry vinegar caramel, vanilla sherbet and fresh black truffle

Dry-aged duck with macadamia, prune, kombu and cacao