The Best Ponsonby Restaurants You Should Eat At
Vicki Young
Freelance Sub-Editor | Urban List NZ
With a vibrant restaurant and bar scene, you can’t beat an evening in Ponsonby. The suburb comes alive with delicious smells, clinking glasses and the hum of people dining out. We’re truly spoilt for choice when it comes to eating out in Ponsonby; from food courts to candlelit courtyards, casual eateries to date night-worthy dinners, the food scene in Ponsonby is truly world class—and all within walking distance, too.
Here are the best restaurants to eat at in Ponsonby,
Blue
Courtyard, Unit 1/1A Franklin Rd
Image credit: Blue Ponsonby | Vicki Young
From the talented hospitality crew who brought us Roses Dining Room, Blue is a light-filled cosy nook during the day that transitions into to a candlelit restaurant and wine bar at night. From ‘The Blue Plate’ breakfast staple, to house kiwi onion with crisps and roe (for an elevated chip n’ dip number) the menu here is full of big hitters no matter the time of day. Blue isn’t defined by a set cuisine but a snapshot of the season, and their ethos is firmly rooted in creating a local food economy by supporting community gardens and farmers. Natural, low-intervention and local glass pours are listed on the chalkboard, along with dessert on rotation—we’ll be back for silky chocolate cremeux dressed in olive oil and za’atar.
Bookings for dinner are recommended.
RETURN
165 Ponsonby Road
Image credit: RETURN | Supplied (Photography by Amber Soljan)
With both a refined dining approach taking deep inspiration from New Zealand, and design echoes from their first restaurant in New York, The Musket Room (which received a Michelin star months within opening in 2013, and retained through to 2020), Return is a nod to owners Matt and Barbara Lambert’s culinary journey which has come full-circle since coming back to Aotearoa. With chef Matt’s elegant yet playful approach to modern Aotearoa cuisine, the menu reflects the seasons and champions a local network of small-scale farmers, growers and producers with a dining experience taking you along the journey from land to sea (along with some incredible wine pairings to match).
Start with signature snacks like Matt’s take on ‘fish & chips,’ featuring a beer-battered cracker (reminiscent of the best, crispy, battered end-bits in you get from the local takeaway) with cured white fish and pops of vinegar alongside pickles, fresh herbs and house-made tartare, or the ultimate surf ‘n’ turf snack via a decadent deep-fried bone marrow topped with fresh kina. Continue with a culinary deep-dive across Return’s menus (choose from short or long story, as well as à la carte). There’s something magical about the dining journey; quietly confident and showcasing incredible technique throughout, with it all there to highlight the best of Aotearoa kaimoana, wild game, and fresh, seasonal veg.
Daphnes
71 Ponsonby Road
Image credit: Daphnes | Vicki Young
Head chef Stevan Bailey is now at the helm at Daphnes, bringing a wealth of experience in kitchens across Aotearoa, as well as overseas (including in Tbilisi, Georgia). If you look closely at the menu, you’ll see the nods to cuisines and cultures that have inspired him during his travels, all while staying true to the ethos of Daphnes, with charred, fresh and pickled flavours, all designed for sharing.
You'll find references from his time in the 'Paris of the East' throughout the menu, like tkemali, the quintessential plum sauce common in Georgian cuisine, served here with confit pork belly. On my last visit, he brought over a dish he’d been working on, showcasing an underrated cut of that has been thoughtfully transformed into a tender duo of skewers swimming in a spiced walnut sauce. Inspired by hearty Georgian beef kharcho (a fragrant spiced beef stew thickened with walnuts), it was a love letter to the country's multi-faceted, bolshy melting-pot of flavours.
Prego
226 Ponsonby Road
Image credit: Prego Restaurant | Instagram
Part and parcel of the Ponsonby Road fabric since 1986, Prego has been serving classic Italian fare for four decades. Start with classics like Vitello Tonnato—seared fresh tuna and roasted rose veal topped with tuna mayonnaise and pops of crispy capers and basil oil—or the classic Prego calamari. Move onto mains such as their Risotto All’Anatra, a creamy duck and mushroom risotto with aged balsamic, all the pasta, and the cult-favourite saltimbocca. Save room for dessert, because their tiramisu is easily one of the best in town.
San Ray
118 Ponsonby Road
Image credit: San Ray | Instagram
From the talented people at Cazador, San Ray draws inspiration from southern California and Mexico. Kick off your meal with lime and tequila granita-topped oysters, heritage pork coppa charcuterie from their sister restaurant Cazador, and Fiordland Wapiti tartare with Comté, washed down with a Paloma, or their chipotle-infused mezcal Bloody Maria. Here, vegetable dishes are given just as much thought as their meat protein counterparts—woodfired, grilled and charred to bring out the deeper flavours, they are then paired with bold sauces and spice mixes. For the carnivorous, San Ray's woodfired chicken is a serious labour of love. If you’re after steak, don’t go past their chargrilled bavette, served with caramelised butter and cognac jus. Finish with the coveted dark chocolate and brandy mousse—complete with layers of salted caramel, fragrant rosemary, olive oil and toasted hazelnuts.
Cocoro
Frank Parker House, 56a Brown Street
Image credit: Cocoro | Instagram
Sitting pretty just off Ponsonby road, you'll find one of Auckland's best restaurants. Cocoro means “heart and soul” in Japanese, a fitting reference to the love put into their modern Japanese degustation-style menu. Choose from à la carte or trust chef Makoto Tokuyama to take you through the restaurant's full experience. With the menu changing seasonally, expect dishes like silky, savoury seafood custard (a.k.a. kaimoana chawanmushi with Timaru scampi, blackfoot pāua, Hokkaido scallops, green-lipped mussels and fragrant yuzu), 100% farm-raised Bluefin tuna with smoked takuan (pickled daikon), hand-pulled silky Inaniwa udon with Cloudy Bay clams and shiitake, as well as Chatham Island crayfish gratin with sweet moromi miso and pops of tobiko (flying fish roe).
Beau
265 Ponsonby Road
Image credit: Beau, from the archives | Vicki Young
There’s nothing quite like sitting at a table outside Beau during golden hour with a glass of wine and snacks in hand—a refreshing Albariño with their Freaky Fried Chicken, Ashleigh Barrowman’s chilled Pinot Noir with their smoked cheddar and beef tartare, or both with the charcuterie and French cheese options too. On cooler nights, head inside into their main dining space, where you can never go wrong with the mains (big fans of the market fish) and flavoursome veg sides, with dishes like candied almonds and aji amarillo tossed through green beans, to gem salad with radicchio, pickled apple and black garlic, and crispy chickpeas and currants with roast caullini. Finish with dessert, or if you’re a bit like me, more cheese (especially a very melty slice of Époisses AOP Germain) and a sip of 2019 Churton Petit Manseng.
Hotel Ponsonby
1 Saint Marys Road, St Marys Bay
Image credit: Hotel Ponsonby | Vicki Young
Start your evening at Hotel Ponsonby with their signature Enzoni cocktail (featuring delicious frozen grapes) in the sunny courtyard, before slipping inside for dinner. Housed in the historic Ponsonby Post Office, the building has transformed into a popular gastropub, bistro and beer garden with a nostalgic British pub-feel with green vinyl tabletops and leather furnishings. Begin your meal with house rosemary focaccia and smoked kahawai rillettes, then snack on fried oyster mushrooms and lamb skewers. For hearty mains, opt for an HP cheeseburger with dry-aged beef, chicken schnitty with apple, rocket and aged cheddar, or the rump cap with smoked beef fat.
Note: At the time of writing, they’ve started offering $20 steak frites Mondays—what a way to start the week.
Juno - Ponsonby
20 Williamson Avenue, Grey Lynn
Image credit: Juno - Ponsonby | Vicki Young
When John and Jamie closed Omni on Dominion Road, Tāmaki Makaurau lost a great dining institution (those pillow-soft sandos and grilled chicken hearts will live rent free in my early Auckland memories). Ponsonby is so lucky to have them now as Juno—a sleek all-day spot with standout toppings on toast by day, and more recently, snacks and wine by night. Start with a mini martini (like a cocktail entree), adorned with an emerald green olive, then follow with a very flavoursome ‘nduja XO steak tartare with perfectly fried potato crisps, and raw snapper folded over rectangles of potato hash with espelette pepper. Both their daytime sandos (and fried chicken burger by night) are a must-eat, alongside a crisp white wine by the glass, or their signature blue curaçao cocktail (complete with an orange-shaped jelly garnish).
Farina
244 Ponsonby Road
Image credit: Farina | Instagram
Opened in 2014, Farina is a Ponsonby Road institution. Chef-owner Sergio Maglione arrived in Aotearoa as a young chef over 25 years ago, passionate about showcasing Italian street food, handmade pasta, and Neapolitan wood-fired pizza. Start with their seafood bar options like oysters freshly shucked or fried, then move onto the house tartare and octopus salad, or the mozzarella bar, and nibble on salty pops of ascolane (beef-stuffed crumbed olives—we could eat these by the dozen) and pane e antipasti, before moving onto the hard decision of choosing mains. A pizza fresh out of the oven with a blistered crust and bubbling interior is a must—our favourites are the classic Margherita and smoky Salsiccia (with bits of pork and fennel sausage and smoked mozzarella)—as well as other Italian classics like Linguine alla Vongole.
Khu Khu
171A Ponsonby Road
Image credit: Khu Khu | Instagram
Khu Khu owner Michael Khuwattenasenee is no stranger to hospitality. He opened the first outpost in 2019, before expanding to Milford and the CBD. Khu Khu focuses on Thai-inspired, vegan dishes that don’t sacrifice on flavour. Take, for example, the drunken noodles with vegan 'duck' fired up in the wok with bouncy noodles and veg. It's the kind of dish you'd order again and again. Snack on panko-fried eggplant with black pepper sauce or satay tofu in fluffy steamed bao and a refreshing papaya salad with your Khusmopolitan, too.
Special mention: Elsewhere at Bare Wine
3C/49 Brown Street
Image credit: Elsewhere at Bare Wine | Supplied (Photography by Jerome Warburton @jeromewarbuton)
From the team behind Someplace Somewhere who have run sell-out kitchen pop-ups across Tāmaki Makaurau, Elsewhere has opened as a kitchen takeover at everyone's favourite subterranean wine bar, Bare Wine.
Seamlessly weaving in with Bare Wine’s regular mennu of cheese and charcuterie picks with sourdough, crispy accras and garlicky escargot, Elsewhere’s selection of cold and hot dishes are an alchemical combination of European flavours and Japanese techniques. Current favourites include the chicken pâté with pink pepper, Spanish butter beans, and porchetta with remoulade. Chat to the team about what you like to drink and leave yourself in their very capable hands—there are over 350 bottles from Aotearoa and beyond at the shop.
Jump on Bare Wine’s socials to keep up to date with what’s cooking (and pouring) before they finish up their Brown Street shop mid July and move around the corner to their new space La Buvette by Bare Wine on Richmond Road.
Special mention: Ponsonby Food Courts
Ponsonby International Food Court, 106 Ponsonby Road and Ponsonby Central, 136/146 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby
A special mention—a collection of restaurants, all under one large roof (well two, to be exact). From heaping Turkish salads to Japanese fusion noodles and Filipino chicken inasal, each vendor has a unique sense of personality. It's the perfect venue for a group catch up, a cheap and cheerful weeknight dinner or a vibrant start to your night out.
See More on Ponsonby International Food Court
Hungry for more? Check out:
- The Latest Food News in Aotearoa
- New Restaurant Openings in Tāmaki Makaurau You Should Visit
- More About Blue’s Daytime Offerings
Main Image Credit: RETURN | Supplied (Photography by Babiche Martens)
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