Jun 23, 2014 Restaurants
Level 2 Seafarers, 52 Tyler St, Britomart. Ph 302-9888, seafarers.co.nz.
Lunch & dinner 7 days. $$
It’s quite a view from up here. You look up and down the harbour, out over Auckland’s working port, and it is at once gritty and glamorous. The room was originally the breakfast room of the 1970s Auckland Sailors Home. Now, it’s stripped out and stripped back, all blasted concrete and blackened steel and minimalist chairs and dark timber. It is a beautiful space, big and bustling and it’s open from lunch until late. The food, conceived by consulting chef Josh Emett (it’s actually Cobus Klopper slinging the pans), is exactly what you want here: a big raw bar. There are freshly shucked Bluff oysters, and if you’re on the company dime, do order the $150 seafood platter — plenty of fish, and steak, including a $90 Savannah bone-in scotch fillet for two. Flavours are clean, techniques are perfect and everything is beautifully plated. Its owners (who also own Ebisu next door) call it a modern New Zealand brasserie, and that’s exactly what it is.
4 Spoons
A favourite dish: Angus short rib of beef for two.
Shared-plate options / Fixed-price meals / Free-range chicken and/or pork / Good seating outside / Takes large groups / Bar / Craft beer selection
