The Feed | The New Zealand Food News You Need To Know

It's that time of the week again. Get ready to feast your eyes on all the hottest food news from around Aotearoa. We’ve got the inside scoop on all the latest and greatest openings, collabs, events, products and more so you can spend less time researching and more time munching (because priorities, people).

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Pici Wine Bar Will Turn Into Pici Raw Bar For One Night Only 

Image credit: Pici | Instagram

There's always something happening at Pici, and this time they're turning the Pici Wine Bar into a raw bar for one day only on 14 August to celebrate the launch of brand new bottles from Kenzie Wine. There will be oysters, there will be sashimi, there will be music and more, from 4.30pm until they sell out. What a way to beat the winter blues. 

Hunter's Wine Are Hosting A Free Wine Tasting At Hinemoa St Cellar

Image credit: Hunter's Wine | Supplied

Hunter's Wines are one of New Zealand's most formative wine brands, as one of the early vineyards responsible for bringing our sauvignon blanc to the world. And, for those of us who can't get enough of Marlborough's bounty, they're hosting a free wine tasting at Hinemoa St Cellar on Thursday 6 August. Expect snacks inspired by the region (hello Marlborough mussel and horseradish blinis and goat's cheese and truffle honey crostinis), alongside a guided introduction to some of the winery's favourite bottles courtesy of head winemaker James Macdonald. 

Enjoy A Slice Of The Aegean For The Night At Esther's Yia Yia's Dinner

Image credit: Esther's | Instagram

You can always rely on Auckland Restaurant Month to push the boat out and bring a whole range of special events and new concepts to the city. One that we have our eye on is the Yia Yia's dinner at Esther. Celebrating the nourishing home cooking that has come to define Greek cuisine and the matriarchs responsible for it, chef Sean Connolly has crafted a menu with a series of Yia Yias served as four family-style courses alongside matching Greek wines and genuine stories from the women in the room. And, if you can't make it to the feast, they're still serving a special Greek menu for the entire month of August. Come hungry. 

Bar Albert Is Throwing Cassia A Welcome Party 

Image credit: Cassia | Supplied 

When Cassia opens in its new location, it will sit just 39 floors under Bar Albert, with the former moving into the basement of the Voco hotel, and the latter occupying the building's rooftop. So, it only made sense for Bar Albert to throw them a bit of a welcome party, as any good neighbour should. There will be snacks from the Cassia kitchen, a glass of Louis Roederer champagne to start and a duo of specially crafted cocktails using Waiheke Distilling Co. spirits and inspired by the flavours used by Sid Sahrawat.  

Dine At This Pop-Up Burger Kitchen Inspired By Your Leftovers 

Image credit: Urban List

Ever left scrambling for dinner inspo? The legends over at Angel Bay have tapped food creator and home cook Jana MacPherson to bring to life a series of burgers inspired by the ingredients found in the average Kiwi kitchen. Their free burger bistro is popping up in a suburban home in Morningside for six nights between 30 July and 8 August, with each dish built by MacPherson around a patty or meatball and inspired by classic fridge favourites—from a half-finished miso paste to leftover mac and cheese. Spots are limited, so line up your booking here.

Bare Wine Have Officially Moved From Their Brown Street Cellar To Richmond Road

Image credit: Elsewhere | Instagram

Auckland fell in love with Bare Wine hard and fast. Their little subterranean nook hidden off a parking lot on Brown Street was a transportive cellar of good times, great food, and exceptional wine. It was the kind of place you'd come and find yourself leaving with a host of friends. Now, the team have packaged up that same spirit and transported it to Richmond Road. They may now be above ground, but the concept remains steadfast and true, with Kane from Elsewhere in the kitchen cooking his European and Japanese-inspired plates, alongside the OG Bare Wine classics (although, we have it on good authority that the accras will sadly be retired from the menu. We may have to host a funeral). 

Wellington Has A Hot New Sandwich Shop 

Image credit: Humphrey's Counter | Supplied

James Meek, who kept Sydneysiders well-fed with cookies over lockdown, has moved back to his native Wellington and opened Humphrey's Counter, an NYC-style sub shop that focuses on a short, pared back menu and fillings that are, well, the best thing since sliced bread. Think smoky chorizo and house baked beans, slow cooked beef and jus, tofu laab, or chicken salad, all served on either AroBake or Shelly Bay Bakery baguettes with pickles and house slaw. There's no unnecessary fluff or accoutrement here; just crisps, green salad, or cookies to round out your meal. Perfect. 

Bon Pinard Goes Italian For The Day With Unico Zelo

Image credit: Bon Pinard | Instagram

Speak to any natty wine aficionados and they’ll rhapsodise about Unico Zelo, the Adelaide Hills winery whose orange wine Esoterico is prolific on menus across both sides of the Tasman, and overseas, too. Well, they’re bringing a fair few bottles of that wine, and more, to Bon Pinard on August 9 and turning the Birkenhead wine bar into an Italian aperitivo club. Expect hot pepperoni pizzette, fried olives with pork and fennel sausage, beef carpaccio and more, all washed back with, of course, a fair few glasses of Unico Zelo, plus spritzes, negronis, and vermouth and soda. 

The Wine Room Has Relaunched Their Epic Sunday Roasts

Image credit: The Wine Room | Instagram

There are few meals in life greater than a really good Sunday roast. The Wine Room are taking this delicious punctuation to the week and dialling it up by 100, with Cloudy Bay wine matches (including bottles from as far back as 2015), and a weekly rotating menu that is guaranteed to include all the trimmings (think bubbling, golden cauliflower cheese, and perfectly cripsy potatoes). This is one of those meals where you might start around The Wine Room’s convivial long table as strangers, but by dessert you’ll be firm friends with your neighbours. As the depths of winter draw in, this is the best possible way to cap off any week.

Bargain Box Is Celebrating 10 Years Of Making Weeknight Dinners Easier

There's something pretty satisfying about opening the fridge and already knowing what's for dinner. As Bargain Box celebrates its 10th birthday, it's marking a decade of helping Kiwi households take the guesswork out of weeknights with quality ingredients, family-friendly recipes and one less supermarket trip to think about. At a time when those sneaky top-up shops and last-minute takeaways can quietly send the weekly food budget off track, having dinner sorted ahead of time feels like a smarter move than ever. Here's to 10 years of making the 6pm scramble a little less chaotic. Find out more here.

Aarth Are Opening A Deli During The Day For A Limited Time Only 

Image credit: Aarth | Supplied

Aarth has only been open for five short months, but it has already cemented itself as one of the city's restaurants to watch. Chef Vicky Shah has turned his wealth of experience at the pans into one of Auckland's most exciting Indian restaurants (and that's no small compliment in a city that has a strong Indian dining scene). Now, Shah is taking things one step further and finally utilising the outdoor space at Aarth, opening a limited-time-only deli and toastie shop during the winter months. There will be the restaurant's Toastie Takeover entry, alongside a rotating selection of flavours and potentially even a few pies, plus coffee and tea to wash it all down. They'll be open from 10am until 2pm, Fridays-Sundays until 16 August. 

Bear Gelato Are Collaborating With Dominion Road Friends On Four Unique New Gelato Flavours

Image credit: Bear Gelato | Supplied

As Aucklanders, we don’t always know how lucky we are to have Dominion Road. Stretching from the city fringe all the way out to Mount Roskill, it’s dotted with incredible eateries all the way down. One of those is Bear Gelato, easily one of the city’s best gelato shops (and this is a town where competition is high). This winter, in an effort to highlight the kitchen talent in the area, they’re pairing up with four of their neighbours at the city end of the street on special edition gelato flavours inspired by the signature dishes at those restaurants. The idea, they say, is to “discover somewhere new for dinner, then wander down the road for dessert.”

Announced today, those four collaborators will be Forest, Ralphs, Famous Eddies and Oohfa. From 7 July until 30 August, each fortnight there will be a new collab, kicking off with Forest (who are no strangers to unique ice cream) and a pairing of frozen treats—goats cheese gelato and pickled rock melon sorbet with a drizzle of fresh dill oil. It’s a good sign of what to expect from these collaborations—that is, the unexpected. We can't wait. 

Hungry for more? Check out the hottest new openings you need to know about here. 

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