Making any list like this is fraught — What are the parameters? What are we missing? What’s become so familiar we take it for granted? — but none more so than one based around price. Of course, this list isn’t about the money (it’s the food, dummy!) but Metro Eats used to be called Cheap Eats for a reason: it’s a guide to the best things to eat in this city under an arbitrary dollar amount. First it was $20, then $25, where it ambivalently remains.
The tension here is between celebrating food that is (to a degree) economically accessible, casual and likely to be a regular part of people’s lives, while recognising that some things just can’t be made that cheaply anymore. $25 ain’t what it used to be. Inflation seems to have hit food harder than almost anything else. A sandwich on Karangahape Rd (whereMetro resides) is regularly $20. A fair reflection of the costs of the labour, ingredients, rent, overheads and everything else required for its making? Sure! Punishing when you eat more than two of them in a week? Definitely!
And that’s the rub. Food is more expensive than it has been in a long time because, in most cases, it needs to be. And yet, for many of us, $20 is a far bigger slice of our weekly budget than $16 was two years ago. Wage inflation is not (in most cases) matching price inflation. Still, among the doom and gloom of the economy, there’s abundance to celebrate here. Old favourites remain as good as ever and it’s heartening to see some of them expand their businesses into other parts of the city. And there are plenty of new places, too — recent openings, fresh discoveries and, as ever, pop-ups finding bricks-and-mortar homes — all spread far and wide across this ever-sprawling city. So get hungry, head out and explore.
Oh, and a final disclaimer: while we have endeavoured to provide accurate opening hours for these 50 eateries, in the post-Covid, staffing-shortages era, they seem to be even more of a moveable feast than usual. Check before you go.
Category winners
Category Winners
- Supreme Winner
Kiin
In its new Dominion Rd location (which just happens to be closer to the homes of the various Metro staff), Kiin Thai has dropped the ‘underground’ from its name (the kitchen being now above ground) and is better than ever. Kiin has all the delicious dishes you’d expect at a New Zealand Thai restaurant, but if you’re there with a group (or a pretty hungry duo), we highly recommend the Jumbo Kra Pao, a huge mound of rice and pork mince (also available as chicken or vegetarian, though we’ve tried neither) and two fried eggs. Add a sweet and spicy salad on the side and you’re in for an unbelievable treat.
More about KiinAUCKLAND'S TOP 50 EATS
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Cafe
- Eats under $25
- Albany3
- Avondale3
- Balmoral2
- Birkenhead1
- Blockhouse Bay1
- Britomart5
- Browns Bay1
- Burswood1
- Central city51
- Devonport2
- Eastern Beach1
- Eden Terrace9
- Ellerslie1
- Epsom1
- Freemans Bay1
- Glen Eden2
- Grafton1
- Greenlane1
- Grey Lynn9
- Henderson5
- Herne Bay2
- Highland Park1
- Hillcrest1
- Hobsonville1
- Howick1
- Karangahape Rd Precinct23
- Kingsland3
- Mangere1
- Manuwera1
- Morningside3
- Mt Albert6
- Mt Eden24
- Mt Roskill6
- Mt Wellington1
- New Lynn2
- New Windsor1
- Newmarket9
- Newton2
- North Shore8
- Northcote2
- Northcote Point1
- Onehunga5
- Ōrākei2
- Ōtara1
- Ōtāhuhu3
- Panmure3
- Parnell6
- Penrose1
- Ponsonby17
- Pt Chevalier1
- Remuera1
- Riverhead1
- Rosedale1
- Sandringham5
- St Heliers1
- Takapuna4
- Te Atatū Peninsula1
- Waiheke7
- Waterfront4
- Westhaven1
- Westmere2
- Wynyard Quarter1
- A la carte36
- Afghani1
- All-day eatery3
- Allpress coffee12
- Altezano Brothers coffee1
- Ark coffee1
- Asian Fusion2
- Atomic coffee4
- Bakery9
- Bar32
- Be Specialty coffee4
- Breakfast10
- Brew Bar4
- Burgers4
- Cabinet food56
- Cakes3
- Camper coffee1
- Casual40
- Charcuterie1
- Cheap Eats76
- Cheese2
- Chef counter dining1
- Chinese21
- Chongqing1
- Coffee Supreme10
- Cook Island1
- Courtyard1
- Degustation1
- Degustation dining6
- Deli3
- Desserts1
- Dim Sum1
- Dine-in menu39
- Dine-menu1
- Dinner5
- Eightthirty coffee5
- Espresso Workshop coffee1
- Ethiopian1
- Filipino5
- Fine dining7
- Fixed-price meals1
- Flight coffee6
- French4
- Game meat1
- Good for dogs5
- Good for kids23
- Good seating outside9
- Guilin2
- Gujarati1
- Handpicked coffee1
- Himalayan2
- Hong Kong1
- Indian9
- Indonesian2
- Italian8
- Jamaican1
- Japanese15
- Jiangsu1
- Kaimoana1
- Korean13
- Kōkako coffee6
- L'affare coffee2
- Lanzhou2
- Lebanese2
- Licensed6
- Malaysian12
- Malaysian-Indian2
- Mediterranean1
- Mexican3
- Middle Eastern2
- Nashville1
- Neighbourhood6
- Neo-bistro1
- Nikkei1
- Odettes blend1
- Open Late2
- Open Mondays19
- Opens Mondays1
- Outdoor dining17
- Ozone Coffee2
- Pacific1
- Pacific Island1
- Pastries only2
- Peoples coffee2
- Peruvian1
- Pies2
- Private dining area2
- Private room9
- Ramen6
- Raw1
- Red Rabbit coffee1
- Rich coffee1
- Rocket coffee3
- Rotating guest filter brews2
- Sandwiches5
- Sashimi1
- Set menu18
- Shaanxi1
- Shanghainese3
- Shared-plate options45
- Sichuan5
- Sicilian1
- Smart15
- Society coffee1
- South Indian1
- Spanish2
- Specialty coffee6
- Sri Lankan1
- Sunday lunch2
- Taiwanese1
- Takes large bookings13
- Takes large groups27
- Thai6
- Turkish1
- Udon1
- Under2567
- Uyghur1
- Vegan2
- Vegan friendly10
- Vegan menu available1
- Vegetarian4
- Vegetarian menu1
- Vietnamese9
- Vineyard2
- Vivace coffee1
- Wi-Fi9
- Wifi4
- Wine bar7
- Yum cha2