close button

The Engine Room

Location
$$ Chef: Carl Koppenhagen
115 Queen St, Northcote Point
  • Closes 11:00pm
  • Mon
    Closed
  • Tue
    5.30pm - 11pm
  • Wed
    5.30pm - 11pm
  • Thu
    5.30pm - 11pm
  • Fri
    5.30pm - 11.30pm
  • Sat
    5.30pm - 11.30pm
  • Sun
    Closed
09 480 9502 engineroom.net.nz
Metro Favourites
Twice-baked goat’s cheese soufflé, Cremino al cioccolato
Awards
Runner-up — Best Neighbourhood Restaurant
Metro Favourites
Twice-baked goat’s cheese soufflé, Cremino al cioccolato
Awards
Runner-up — Best Neighbourhood Restaurant
$$ Chef: Carl Koppenhagen
More
Less

An elegant neigbourhood bistro with impeccable service and honest food that delivers on the details.

You may have to crane your head around to look at the menu, scrawled on massive blackboards across two walls, but if you forget your glasses, no worries — the knowledgeable staff here can run through every element, including the daily specials that never make their way to the board. This could be a truffled tagliatelle or octopus salad entrée, or maybe some slow-cooked, hearty beef cheeks on a cold winter night. If you come here often enough, though, you’ll happily find yourself familiar with those Engine Room favourites that would cause a small riot if they were ever taken off, like the steak frites or churros con chocolate, a delightful dessert — fried balls of doughy, cinnamony, sugary goodness dipped into thick chocolate.

Co-owners Natalia Schamroth and Carl Koppenhagen have poured themselves into this old post office in Northcote Point for over 15 years. It’s lovely to sink into the buttery lighting, quiet buzz and long, generous dining room that envelopes diners into its soft, homey ambience — which seems to work equally well for a casual, I-forgot-to-cook midweek dinner or a special milestone meal. The food, too, transcends those categories, with tried-and-tested bistro classics like pork schnitzel or duck confit elevated to the best versions those dishes can be. But nothing’s fussy — instead it is, perfectly, the kind of food you want to dig right into.


Near The Engine Room

  • List
  • Map
Filters
Filters
Metro Top 50 Close
  • Restaurant Close
  • Bar Close
  • Cafe Close
  • Eats under $25 Close
  • Albany Close
    2
  • Avondale Close
    2
  • Balmoral Close
    2
  • Blockhouse Bay Close
    1
  • Britomart Close
    5
  • Burswood Close
    1
  • Central city Close
    47
  • Devonport Close
    2
  • Eastern Beach Close
    1
  • Eden Terrace Close
    9
  • Ellerslie Close
    1
  • Epsom Close
    1
  • Freemans Bay Close
    1
  • Glen Eden Close
    2
  • Grafton Close
    1
  • Greenlane Close
    1
  • Grey Lynn Close
    9
  • Henderson Close
    4
  • Herne Bay Close
    2
  • Highland Park Close
    1
  • Hillcrest Close
    1
  • Hobsonville Close
    1
  • Howick Close
    1
  • Karangahape Rd Precinct Close
    23
  • Kingsland Close
    3
  • Manuwera Close
    1
  • Morningside Close
    3
  • Mt Albert Close
    5
  • Mt Eden Close
    23
  • Mt Roskill Close
    6
  • New Lynn Close
    2
  • New Windsor Close
    1
  • Newmarket Close
    8
  • North Shore Close
    8
  • Northcote Close
    2
  • Northcote Point Close
    1
  • Onehunga Close
    4
  • Ōrākei Close
    2
  • Ōtara Close
    1
  • Ōtāhuhu Close
    2
  • Panmure Close
    3
  • Parnell Close
    6
  • Penrose Close
    1
  • Ponsonby Close
    17
  • Pt Chevalier Close
    1
  • Remuera Close
    1
  • Riverhead Close
    1
  • Rosedale Close
    1
  • Sandringham Close
    5
  • Takapuna Close
    4
  • Te Atatū Peninsula Close
    1
  • Waiheke Close
    7
  • Waterfront Close
    4
  • Westhaven Close
    1
  • Westmere Close
    2
  • Wynyard Quarter Close
    1
  • A la carte Close
    59
  • Afghani Close
    1
  • All-day eatery Close
    6
  • Allpress coffee Close
    19
  • Altezano Brothers coffee Close
    1
  • Ark coffee Close
    2
  • Asian Fusion Close
    3
  • Atomic coffee Close
    5
  • Bakery Close
    11
  • Bar Close
    58
  • Be Specialty coffee Close
    5
  • Breakfast Close
    17
  • Brew Bar Close
    7
  • Burgers Close
    5
  • Cabinet food Close
    84
  • Cakes Close
    3
  • Camper coffee Close
    1
  • Casual Close
    64
  • Charcuterie Close
    1
  • Cheap Eats Close
    84
  • Cheese Close
    2
  • Chef counter dining Close
    1
  • Chinese Close
    25
  • Coffee Supreme Close
    15
  • Cook Island Close
    1
  • Courtyard Close
    2
  • Degustation Close
    1
  • Degustation dining Close
    10
  • Deli Close
    4
  • Dine-in menu Close
    59
  • Dine-menu Close
    2
  • Dinner Close
    6
  • Eightthirty coffee Close
    9
  • Espresso Workshop coffee Close
    2
  • Filipino Close
    6
  • Fine dining Close
    10
  • Fixed-price meals Close
    2
  • Flight coffee Close
    8
  • French Close
    7
  • Game meat Close
    1
  • Good for dogs Close
    8
  • Good for kids Close
    35
  • Good seating outside Close
    17
  • Guilin Close
    3
  • Gujarati Close
    1
  • Handpicked coffee Close
    1
  • Himalayan Close
    2
  • Indian Close
    11
  • Indonesian Close
    3
  • Italian Close
    13
  • Jamaican Close
    1
  • Japanese Close
    18
  • Jiangsu Close
    1
  • Korean Close
    17
  • Kōkako coffee Close
    10
  • L'affare coffee Close
    2
  • Lanzhou Close
    3
  • Lebanese Close
    3
  • Licensed Close
    5
  • Malaysian Close
    12
  • Malaysian-Indian Close
    2
  • Mediterranean Close
    2
  • Mexican Close
    3
  • Middle Eastern Close
    3
  • Nashville Close
    1
  • Neighbourhood Close
    8
  • Neo-bistro Close
    2
  • Nikkei Close
    2
  • Odettes blend Close
    2
  • Open Late Close
    3
  • Open Mondays Close
    33
  • Opens Mondays Close
    2
  • Outdoor dining Close
    24
  • Ozone Coffee Close
    4
  • Pacific Close
    1
  • Pacific Island Close
    1
  • Pastries only Close
    4
  • Peoples coffee Close
    4
  • Peruvian Close
    2
  • Pies Close
    2
  • Private dining area Close
    3
  • Private room Close
    16
  • Ramen Close
    5
  • Raw Close
    2
  • Red Rabbit coffee Close
    2
  • Rich coffee Close
    1
  • Rocket coffee Close
    5
  • Rotating guest filter brews Close
    3
  • Sandwiches Close
    6
  • Sashimi Close
    1
  • Set menu Close
    30
  • Shaanxi Close
    2
  • Shanghainese Close
    2
  • Shared-plate options Close
    78
  • Sichuan Close
    5
  • Sicilian Close
    1
  • Smart Close
    29
  • Society coffee Close
    2
  • South Indian Close
    1
  • Spanish Close
    4
  • Specialty coffee Close
    10
  • Sri Lankan Close
    1
  • Sunday lunch Close
    3
  • Taiwanese Close
    1
  • Takes large bookings Close
    25
  • Takes large groups Close
    46
  • Thai Close
    5
  • Turkish Close
    1
  • Udon Close
    1
  • Under25 Close
    79
  • Uyghur Close
    1
  • Vegan Close
    3
  • Vegan friendly Close
    16
  • Vegan menu available Close
    2
  • Vegetarian Close
    6
  • Vegetarian menu Close
    1
  • Vietnamese Close
    9
  • Vineyard Close
    2
  • Vivace coffee Close
    1
  • Wi-Fi Close
    13
  • Wifi Close
    7
  • Wine bar Close
    14
  • Yum cha Close
    3

Duo Eatery

138 Hinemoa St, Birkenhead, North Shore

Taisumyun

30 Pearn Pl, Northcote, Northcote

The Beer Spot

54 Northcote Rd, Northcote

Baduzzi

10-26 Jellicoe St, Waterfront

Williams Eatery

g03/86 Daldy St, Wynyard Quarter

Onemata

Park Hyatt, 99 Halsey St, Central city

Homeland

11 Westhaven Dr, Central city

Captain’s Bar

Park Hyatt, 99 Halsey St, Central city

Swashbucklers

23b Westhaven Drive, Westhaven

Load More

Similar to The Engine Room

Latest issue shadow

Metro N°441 is Out Now.

It’s our annual, inflation-busting ‘Where to Eat for Less Than $25’ list (with thanks to Uber Eats) issue! PLUS the Summer Books Special and the Auckland Property Report Card (with thanks to Barfoot and Thompson). Also, Sir Bob Harvey looks into the missing treasures in our museums and talks to Jacqui Knight about monarch butterflies. AND NOT ONLY THAT: Emil Scheffmann looks into our secondary art market, Matthew Hooton and Morgan Godfery look into the new government, Jamie Wall into the tennis, Hana Pera Aoake into the Māori response to the war in Palestine and Abby Howells into being the lion in the Wizard of Oz. We also find the 10 Best Bakeries in Auckland, a great recipe for a Japanese Breakfast and the king of the supermarket pasta brands. All this and much, much more.

Buy the latest issue