Jun 25, 2013 Restaurants
Depot Eatery, Auckland" src="https://www.metromag.co.nz/images/uploads/0bd7c20a-df09-44a2-8dcc-c77fe9a7e317-MT0513Roty-MetroDepot-DSC_0153.png" width="800" height="568" />SkyCity, 86 Federal St, CBD. Ph 363-7048, eatatdepot.co.nz.Breakfast, lunch and dinner, 7 days.
Best Casual Bistro * Top Ten Restaurant 2013 * Highly Commended: Best Short Drinks List
Depot is usually very busy, often ridiculously so, but the staff — including manager Joe Williams (left), chef Kyle Street (centre) and assistant manager Warren Ford — are trained to cope (and now you can get a text when a table is free). It’s lovely, because of the retro décor and because the room is beautifully proportioned. And that expression on the faces of the customers — it’s barely suppressed excitement. They shuck their oysters in front of you — it was Depot that made this fashionable in Auckland restaurants. Sliders — another revelation now widespread. Sauvignon blanc and pinot noir on tap, served with tumblers — also a Depot innovation picked up elsewhere. It’s cosmopolitan, yes, but the food is both superbly cooked and specifically local: Depot celebrates our bounty. You can’t book, and it’s way too popular, but that’s hardly their fault. This place, created by celebrity chef Al Brown, was the best little eatery in the country when it opened in 2011, and it’s still setting the standard. $$$
5 Spoons
A favourite dish: Freshly shucked oysters!
Shared-plate options / Free-range chicken and/or pork / Craft beer selection / No bookings
