Plan my AKL restaurants for me !
 

Hi folks,
We have a 24 hour Auckland city layover.
There are many posts here that recommend various restaurants but does anyone have a top favourite, one that just really beats the others ?
We are here for 24 hours, so help us plan our Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Desert.
It will be middle of winter when we travel, so I am thinking outside venues are not the way to go.
We are staying near Skycity without car, so restaurants anywhere within walking distance of city centre and warf area are options.
Thanks to anyone who posts a reply!

Take the ferry over to Davenport and have lunch at The Cod Piece. Delicious grilled fish, burgers, etc., and Davenport is a lovely place to visit.

Lee Ann

Hi there

What is your budget for dinner? A good restaurant that i like is "Dine" at Sky City Grand, next door to Sky City casino. Another is "White" down on the viaduct at the Hilton hotel. Both these are good, but they are not cheap.

If you like something a bit more relxed and a bit cheaper there is Soul down at the viaduct, short walk down from the casino. There is a selection of restaurants down there with varying faire, nothing particularly cheap though. Bear in mind though that you do not have to tip when you are checking out the prices.

For breakfast and lunch I would just go with a local cafe. All cafes in Auckland make a decent coffee as a rule, be guided by your concierge in this. There are dozens of cafes around the city to try out. Usual rule of thumb, if it is full of locals it will be half way decent.

Hi there

If you are after a top quality dinner then French Cafe is where you need to be. devonport for lunch would be nice for a short trip with pretty scenery. i strongly recommend you look at www.dineout.co.nz before you finally decide (and in fact maybe post a question in their forum - the foodies there generally love these questions). Im an Auckland local and have yet to find a restaurant where i disagree with the reviews in dineout. Be careful about dining at sky city - terrible reviews of that place generally.

Hi,
Thanks.
Great tips and advice.
Thanks to those who posted.
Anyone else reading, please feel free to still post. Any suggestions are most welcome.
Cheers.

I found an Indian/pan-Asian restaurant named Monsoon Poon within walking distance from Sky City. They were fully booked when I walked in but allowed a takeout-order. It was pretty good.

Here's the location link

http://www.monsoonpoon.co.nz/findus.htm

There were some Thai places on the south side of Sky City but I didn't try them.

Dine is very expensive and you definitely need a reservation. It's that sort of frou frou "fusion" cooking that I don't really care for.

If you are to go to French Cafe as noted above (Which is a great restaurant) make sure you book well in advance. This can be done online or by calling. Give at least fortnights notice of when you wish to book if not even longer as they can book up well in advance of an evening you wish to dine on.

Dineout.co.nz is a useful site but some of the reviews I have taken with a grain of salt (no pun intended) and I have wondered if sometimes the reviewers were at the same restaurants I have been to.

Hi there,
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.
All of them are great.
I always appreciate how people on this site are always so eager to help people like my self.
So thank you so much.
Any further suggestions still welcome.
Kind regards to all who have posted a reply already and anyone that choses to still post a reply.

We hiked with Aucklanders while on the Milford track. They suggested: for seafood - Harborside. Their favorite -O'Connell Street Bistro. The bistro was not open on Sundays, so we ended up at Harborside. Wonderful meal, great view, extremely inattentive service.