The last time we went to The Engine Room, we sat between a corner table where a young couple quietly rocked their sleeping baby’s capsule, and a mother and father with their two teenage daughters. Both tables seemed perfectly at home, and if you looked towards the young family and then towards the older one, you could see the perfect embodiment of a neighbourhood restaurant. It’s where you go when your baby is old enough to sit quietly enough in a restaurant and you just need to get out of the house and do something nice for yourself; and it’s where you take your teenagers for a night out, a place you’ve been taking them a couple of times a year for most of their lives. You might go to splash out on a celebratory dinner, or pop in for a quick bite if there’s nothing appealing in the refrigerator. 

It makes sense then that The Engine Room — owned and operated by Natalia Schamroth and Carl Koppenhagen for more than 18 years — is one of the most consistent restaurants on this list. The menu — a blend of classic bistro dishes with a dash of fusion (including influences from Thai and Middle Eastern cuisines) — remains relatively unchanged. The steak frites and the signature goats’ cheese soufflé (ordered by every member of the family with teenagers) can’t possibly be removed. These reliable favourites are accompanied by an ever-changing roster of specials that offer a more seasonal approach. And with the exceptional service led by Schamroth, in a beautifully renovated heritage building (an extension and refurbishment was designed by Fearon Hay Architects), The Engine Room is simply one of the most pleasant places in Auckland to spend an evening, no matter what you order.