Private dining is the ultimate fantasy—home-style dining (if your home’s hella plush) surrounded by all your favourite people, where tastebud tantalising dishes materialise in front of you, care of a top-tier chef. If I’m dreaming don’t wake me up.
While your instinct might suggest meetings some mates in a private dining room is going to break the budget, you'll be astonished to know that the spend per head on many of these dining rooms actually isn't that much more than a meal out at a fancy restaurant.
Here are 10 of Auckland's best private dining rooms for your next shindig.
Gilt Brasserie
2 Chancery Street, Chambers, Auckland | Monday-Saturday, 8am-midnight | 26-45 people
Image credit: Gilt Brasserie | supplied
The new kid on the block, and emerging from an old law bookstore within Gilt Brasserie, The Vault seats up to 26 people or 45 for a standing cocktail event. Magicked into existence by Josh and Helen Emett and their team, book in here for a spread of sharing dishes including 1kg T-bones with bone marrow butter, impossibly beautiful Neapolitan baked Alaska and hearty scoops of chocolate mousse, matched to rare cuvées, magnums and Vault-only vintages. The best part? A martini call button mounted on the wall. I’m pretty sure you know what to do with that.
Perch
23 Galway Street, Britomart | Up to 40 guests
Image credit: Perch | website
Level up your private dining room experience by booking out the entirety of the newly reimagined Perch (in case you missed it, they've bid dumplings with our new crush: wholefood BBQ). From a lavish Turkish breakfast to cocktails and canapes or an all-out banquet, you'll have the whole venue to yourself, and what's better than that?
kingi
Within The Hotel Britomart, Tuawhiti Lane, 29 Galway Street, Auckland
Image credit: kingi | website
In 2024 Dom Pérignon released its 2015 Vintage… at kingi Private. Between the bubbles and Tom Hishon spiraling cheese into dainty florals in the ‘larder kitchen,’ the pairing was an exquisite one. Menu-wise, expect a Hishon flex and a perfect distilling of kingi’s ethos of sustainable sourced and seasonal produce, enjoyed atop a large swamp kauri slab table and underneath a striking ‘fish scale’ chandelier.
Bossi
10 Commerce Street, Auckland Central | 11-36 guests
Image credit: BOSSI | website
What I love about this private dining room is that it isn't enclosed—rather, it's floating atop BOSSI's main restaurant so even though you'll have your own space, you'll still be able to smell the stunning aromas of the food cooking, hear the gentle murmur of the kitchen in full swing, and revel in being amongst that beautiful, rich Italian hospitality. Co-create a bespoke event menu with the team then lock in a booking and get ready to feel like Italian royalty.
Otto
375 Karangahape Road, Auckland CBD | up to 50 guests
Image credit: Otto | Instagram
The only thing better than Otto’s sage butter-spiked spinach goat cheese dumplings? Enjoying them in the privacy of an elevated dining room. And I mean ‘elevated’ in aesthetics and height—Otto’s private dining rooms are the floor above the iconic eatery. In two parts—a large dining room that seats up to 50 and a smaller dining room for 28 guests—each rolling feast set menu (aforementioned dumplings included along with a devilish dessert they’re calling ‘chocolate nemesis’) adaptable to most dietaries, and a sound system for *just* the right vibes. (Psst: we’ve also got it on good authority they’ll be a couple more private dining options joining this lineup soon.)
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Bar Magda
25B Cross Street, Newton, Auckland | 15-25+ guests
Image credit: Bar Magda | supplied
For private dining with a bit of edge, head to the glowing underground bar and bistro, Bar Magda (the shimmer on the brickwork is a leftover of the space’s slightly chequered former life as a nightclub). Character is infused through their private dining menu too, which is inspired by Filipino cuisine and clocks in at $75-100pp. Think: Barry’s bay parmesan cheese spread with pimiento slathered on house made focaccia, barbecue octopus, slow cooked whole boneless lamb and chocolate marquise.
Esther
Within QT Auckland, 4 Viaduct Harbour Avenue, Westhaven, Auckland | 10 guests
Image credit: Esther | supplied
A tonic to dreary winter days, Esther’s private dining room is giving I ran away to the Belearic Islands, intentionally didn’t put my OOO on and I regret nothing. Here you’ll feast up large on sharing dishes or tasting menus of Mediterranean flavours that pop, curated by Sean Connolly and matched to drops from their house sommelier. For larger groups, ask about Esther's Limani room which is suitable for 17-60 guests.
College Hill Wine Room
2/43 College Hill, Freemans Bay, Auckland | 2-20 guests
Image credit: College Hill Wine Room | Jono Parker
If caviar bumps and flowing champagne with you and your favourite (or 19 favourites) sounds like your kind of dreamy, College Hill Wine Room’s private dining room is the spot you’ll want to head to, glass first. For the uninitiated, the College Hill Wine Room is designed for everyone from the wine curious to those whose love affair with wino is rather more vintage (sorry not sorry), complete with a subterranean wine storage vault. The menu changes seasonally and can be designed in collaboration with Executive Chef, Ryan Moore.
Tanuki’s Cave
319 Queen Street, Auckland | 18-32 guests
Image credit: Tanuki's Cave | website
A bustling Japanese restaurant with a cult-following, the only bone we had to pick with Tanuki’s Cave is that it’s hard to imagine rolling up with 20 friends and being able to snag a spot… That was until we discovered their tatami mat-lined mezzanine private dining room. Here, dishes are served banquet style with three set menus to choose from—the kitsune or fox menu ($60 per person), the tengu or legendary Shinto creature menu ($80 per person) or the vegetarian kappa or mythical river child menu ($55). Combine with a show at Basement Theatre, Q Theatre or the Classic Comedy Club for an art-infused evening.
Metita
Within The Grand by SkyCity, Level 3/90 Federal Street, Auckland Central | 8-24 guests
Image credit: Metita | supplied
A hub of Pacific cuisine in the heart of Auckland City, Michael Meredith’s Metita, is pretty damn stunning and that’s even before you get to their private dining room—a space of dark wood aesthetics, a wall of wine and a gorgeous Pasifika-inspired artwork by Amanda Stowers (Masina Creative). I always feel so relaxed and welcome at Metita, and then very, very full afterwards (ha!). Speaking of, for kai you can choose from 3-course La’ititi ($85pp), 4-course Feololo (95pp), or 6-course Tetele ($110pp) set menus with beverage option add-ons to suit your mood. Top tip: Michael Meredith’s often in on Wednesday nights.
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Main image credit: Gilt Brasserie | supplied.