close button

Here are the best 50 places in Auckland to eat for under $25, presented with thanks to Tuatara.

Metro has rebranded our annual affordable eats list from “Cheap Eats” to “Metro Eats Under $25”, an admittedly less-catchy phrase than its predecessor – we tend to use “Metro Eats”, “Under $25” and “Eats under $25” interchangeably. But you get the gist.

We think about this Top 50 list differently to any other Top 50 we do. For us, this list is more about pointing people in the direction of restaurants that offer something unique – food that may be different to what they’re used to, places that do the best version of something, rather than compiling the 50 best places you can eat in Auckland.

We’ve tried to make this list useful to people in that way – an enthusiastic chart of the thriving, vibrant ecosystems of cuisines and people and restaurants to eat at, here in our home city.

Category winners

Best New

Category Winners

  • Best New
  • Best Fried Chicken
  • Best Xiaolongbao
  • Best Ramen
  • Peoples Choice
  • Best Kebab
  • Best Udon
  • Best Thai
  • Best Sichuan
  • Best Roti Canai
  • Best Char Kway Teow
  • Best Indian
  • Best Island Food
  • Best Sopes
  • Best Tempura
  • Best Food Court
  • Best Taiwanese
  • Best Indonesian
  • Best Roast Pork
Best New - Winner

Gojo Ethiopian Eatery

Gojo Ethiopian Eatery is the best place in Auckland to get Ethiopian food (well, all right, besides a couple of food trucks and pop-ups, it’s the only place to get it — but that doesn’t lessen its best-ness). Opened this year by Fetehalow Zomo and Fantaye Aga, Gojo aims to give the Ethiopian community a feeling of being back home and the rest of us a sense of traditional Ethiopian cuisine with the ingredients we have here in New Zealand. The accompaniment to the spiced stews is injera, a sour fermented fl atbread that comes to the table either individually rolled up or at the bottom of a large, metal platter which encourages sharing. All the food here is made to share, really, with the ideal meal arising fluidly when the various lentil stews and vegetable salads are in front of you. Make sure to try the kitfo, a beef tartare with spices and clarified butter.

More about Gojo Ethiopian Eatery
Best Fried Chicken - Winner

Peach's Hot Chicken

It’s hard to fully convey the joys of fried chicken in words, but for thoe who partake, it’s an uncomplicated pleasure: crispy, juicy, delicious. And, luckily for you, by the time you read this, Peach’s will have moved to its much bigger venue just down the road from its original space, five years after it opened its first brick-and-mortar. For years before that, Peach’s was on the road as a beloved food truck, slinging Nashville hot chicken at a time when no one else in Auckland was really doing it. The need for expansion was apparent right from the start with the queues, and the fact everything is made to order, producing long wait times. First-timers should stick to the OG burger, but we’re also partial to a chicken and biscuit, smothered in honey.

More about Peach's Hot Chicken
Best Xiaolongbao - Winner

Chu Long Ji

The North Shore is the home to a few good things: sandy beaches, the Devonport Library, Westfi eld Albany mall and the best xiaolongbao in Auckland. Chu Long Ji is a Chinese eatery all decked out in wood, with golden bulbous lamps dropping down from the high ceiling. You order at the counter here, calling for a range of dumplings in steamers and noodles in hot soup. (There are also larger dishes to share, like their famous crispy duck.) We recommend having a quick look at the sliding-door cabinet to the right of the counter, too, which has ready-to-snack small plates for those who can’t wait — saucy pork ribs, cold kou shui ji (slobbery chicken) and bite-sized okra.

More about Chu Long Ji
Best Ramen - Winner

Tanpopo Ramen

A classic ramen joint in the middle of downtown Auckland, Tanpopo serves as an ideal spot to slurp down a quick, delicious dinner if you have somewhere else to be shortly after. It helps that you pretty much know exactly what you’re going to get here — bowls of hot and creamy broth, spiked by garlic and best when topped with silky slices of chashu pork. Big call — huge — but we say it’s the best place in Auckland for ramen.

More about Tanpopo Ramen
Peoples Choice - Winner

Eden Noodles

The hold that Eden Noodles has over the dan-dan-eating world of Tāmaki Makaurau is hugely impressive — a feat which sees hungry diners huddling in the rain outside its original Dominion Rd spot, waiting for an elusive spot to open up inside or a takeaway box to hurry back home with. Everyone has their own idea of what to order here, a conclusion we reached after multiple trips. The sad cold noodles mixed with cucumber and spicy sauce, something we initially tried mainly for the name, is a winner for us, as are the thick noodles with crispy pork mince and pickles, served dry. Dumplings are great, wontons are great, Eden Noodles is great.

More about Eden Noodles
Best Kebab - Winner

Paasha Turkish Kitchen

Meat chargrilled on an open fi re is possibly one of life’s best culinary pleasures: a rudimentary style of cooking that actually takes extraordinary skill. At Paasha, the meats are fi rst marinated in a delicious blend of spices then served with tabouli, hummus and salad. If we’re on the go (which, just a heads-up, you probably want to be, as this small takeaway spot has very limited dinein seats), we tend to order the wrap or pita pockets instead. While there are lots of places in Tāmaki that do kebab, it’s hard to stand out in the crowd, which Paasha defi nitely does, thanks to its attention to ingredients. (All the sauces, like the hot chilli and tahini, are handmade.) Note also that this Paasha branch is owned and operated by the original Paasha owners.

More about Paasha Turkish Kitchen
Best Udon - Winner

Udon Works

The best thing about winter? Knowing it’s about to become Udon Works weather. And the best thing about summer? Ditto. Udon Works, a tiny Japanese restaurant on the Balmoral end of the Dominion Rd strip, specialises in udon, of both the warming soup and refreshing cold variety, where the hero is always the in-housemade udon. Popular varieties include the hot kake, which comes with tempura on the side, or the cold bukkake, drenched in soy or sesame sauce and with a little platter of raw seafood. You can also get donburi here, but we fi nd it pretty telling that these are squeezed in at the bottom of the menu in a smaller font — take the hint and order the udon instead. It gets very busy, so prepare to put your name down and wait for the call. 

More about Udon Works
Best Thai - Winner

Kiin Thai Underground Kitchen

If you and a friend are feeling a bit snacky, there’s no better way to spend $29.50 than on Kiin’s sharing som tum platter, which includes a papaya salad (sour, in-your-face and studded with Thai anchovies and raw crab), some chicken nibbles, sliced ham, vermicelli and a hard-boiled egg. For a fully rounded meal, we’d get a pad kra pao on the side (spicy Thai hot, please) and maybe a duck curry if we were very hungry. For dessert, the mango sticky rice here is particularly good, though pre-ordering is recommended as it sells out fast. And if you’re looking for something for the road, Kiin also sells bags of pork crackling by the counter.

More about Kiin Thai Underground Kitchen
Best Sichuan - Winner

Tianfu Noodles

“How spicy?” the server asked us once, when we ordered our meal. “Medium,” we replied. She appeared sceptical. “Medium is really spicy,” she said. “Even for me.” Cowed, we agreed to switch to mild — and, thankfully, that was the right decision. We think Tianfu’s dumplings in spicy sauce might be even better than the ones at Eden Noodles: a miraculous alchemy of bright-red chilli, vinegar, soy, pepper and whatever else is blended in there to produce the glossy sheen of deliciousness. It’s the dish we get every time here, though the bowls of noodles are also good, especially if you get the shaved variety, cooked al dente. On weekday lunchtimes it serves off ice worker regulars and gets very busy, so be warned.

More about Tianfu Noodles
Best Roti Canai - Winner

Uncle Man's

When it seems like there's nothing in life worth living for, we like to think about the roti at Uncle Man’s, which reminds us that, actually, life is full of meaning, when good food is involved. Made in-house (if you’ve never seen it, you might be able to catch them if you peek through the window — there’s a lot of skilful spinning and folding), hot roti served with dhal is our idea of heaven. If you’re in a noodle state of mind, order the mee goreng — in contention for best in Tāmaki — salty and addictive. It’s the kind of dish that seems deceptively simple but is very hard to make extremely delicious, as Uncle Man’s does. We recommend fi nishing with a sweet roti tissue or a roti kaya (with green coconut jam), if there’s any room left in the tank.

More about Uncle Man's
Best Char Kway Teow - Winner

Sim's Kitchen

day on the weekend, because things sell out fast — a testament to this tiny takeaway joint’s popularity, which is itself due to just how good the food is. You’ll fi nd that Sim’s Kitchen sells a lot of Malaysian favourites, with familiar dishes and fl avours. But these are executed to be the best of their kind — like the char kway teow, a plate of smoky, charred rice noodles amped up with spice (note: ‘hot’ really does mean hot) and fl avoured through with egg and blood cockles. The nasi lemak served with a side of fried chicken is our food editor’s death-row meal — she’d like to go out eating that bright-red, life-aff irming sambal — and the Hainanese chicken, now only served on weekends, comes in at a close second. Wash it all down with a glass of teh ice (cold pulled milk tea).

More about Sim's Kitchen
Best Indian - Winner

Paradise

Paradise has reached a sort of institutional status in Auckland, and it still remains in our imaginations as the Indian restaurant — the go-to recommendation, the default thought when you’re feeling like an Indian curry. Though you hear whispers from people calling it overrated (inevitable when something becomes this popular), there’s no doubt in our minds that the food here is still banging. The buff et has closed, but there are still three Paradise enterprises to frequent — the dine-in, the takeaway and the Party House (an event venue for hire). We try to dine in when we can, as the food always tastes better made-to-order, especially the curries. The Hyderabadi biryanis are also pretty special.

More about Paradise
Best Island Food - Winner

Tanz Ktchn

Hot donuts, 10 per bag. A market plate, laden up with steak, chop suey, rice and minus. A pottle of raw fi sh. Tanz Ktchn has all of the above, served up fast and fresh from its takeaway spot in Ōtara, plus hits some night markets if you’re lucky enough to catch ’em. You’ll often see people emerging from this place with several grocery bags’ worth of food, usually full of the market plates. The hot donuts (only $5 a bag!) are the real treat, though, deep-fried and sorta sweet, sorta savoury. A gem.

More about Tanz Ktchn
Best Sopes - Winner

Cielito Lindo

Cielito Lindo is the sort of place you come to on your own to sit, think and contemplate as juices run down your fi ngers straight into your lap and sounds from the dump nearby play in the background. A nofrills takeaway spot out west, Cielito Lindo evokes all the fresh and bright fl avours of its Mexican cuisine, which you can make spicy for a small fee. The sopes here are handmade and executed to an exemplary standard: thick, with a satisfying bite, and loaded up with your meat of choice, cheese and sour cream. The fact you scoff it down as fast as you can on the picnic benches outside only adds to the experience.

More about Cielito Lindo
Best Tempura - Winner

Ten-Hana

If you’ve ever been to Japan, you will be familiar with the prevalence of tempura restaurants there — places that specialise in the crunchy and light batter, with its airy texture but with a loud, satisfying bite. It can be a difficult thing to get right, but we really enjoy the version here. The signature dish is tempura on rice, served donburi-style with prawns, chicken and vege. (You can also get prawn-specific, vege-specific etc. options.) If you’re more of a noodle person, then the tempura does come with udon as well, plus a refreshing summer variety of cold soba (the type where dipping is involved). Ten-Hana is located in Stamford Plaza, to the right of the entrance lobby where Genzui Ramen used to be.

More about Ten-Hana
Best Food Court - Winner

Queens Court

This may be considered cheating, but it turns out that we make the rules and therefore cheating isn’t really possible. Queens Court is a food court semi-hidden through a series of hallways and turns in an unassuming building opposite the Auckland Town Hall. Though the signage may not be the best, during weekday lunchtimes it always seems to be fl ooded with people, drawn by an excellent range of food stalls, from Bombay Chinese (which someone wrote in to us as their favourite place to eat in Auckland, talking about the chole bhature in particular), to Palato Pasta (where else can you find freshly extruded pasta, at this size, for $20?), to Ha Noi Corner (terrific phở) to Gui Rice Noodle. The core draw of the food court, that you can cater to as many people in your party as possible, is especially relevant when the quality of the choices is as high as it is at Queens Court.

More about Queens Court
Best Taiwanese - Winner

Hsiu Yuan Food Co

Hsiu Yuan is in a huge, almost liminal space that makes you feel like you’re back in Asia (there’s even an exposed sink at the corner of a restaurant for patrons to wash their hands at, a fairly rare sight in New Zealand). There are many things to eat at Hsiu Yuan. You can head up to the counter and pile a plate high with the options in the bain maries — marinated tea eggs, pickled vegetables, stewed meats — or you can order from the extensive menu. If you’re new to Taiwanese food, the beef noodles are an easy place to start (there’s tendon and tripe too). Hsiu Yuan also specialises in individual-sized hot pots (though you can share, of course) that come in silver cauldrons and feel especially valuable for keeping the soul and body warm during the cold months.

More about Hsiu Yuan Food Co
Best Indonesian - Winner

It's Java

It’s Java first opened as an Indonesian-inspired cafe in the Grey Lynn area off Ponsonby Rd, serving Indonesian specials alongside Western classics and regular flat whites. It must have become clear to them that what the people really wanted — and came to them for — was the Indonesian food, a rarity in Tāmaki Makaurau. So they pivoted. And they pivoted again, recently moving to Karangahape Rd and leaning fully into a fun, street-foodexperience vibe, with colourful tables and vibrant wall art. It suits the food, which is full of fl avour and can be hot as hell (especially that sambal that always gets put on the table). It’s also generous: in the way a lot of the dishes that we like are designed for sharing (such as the Javanese rijsttafel), and also in the friendly service from the staff who work here. Lunchtimes are a particularly good time to drop in for an affordable eat, as a $15 menu is available on weekdays from 12–2pm. Bargain!

More about It's Java
Best Roast Pork - Winner

Welfare BBQ Meats

There is something about eating a big plate of roast meat and rice that feels very pure: no frills, no accoutrements, just two pieces of wilted bok choy or choy sum curled up on the side of the dish, mere window dressing to the main event. That meaty purity is enhanced by the fact you can usually see the array of char siu and roast duck hanging by the glass windows, where an ageing Chinese man gloved up to the elbows wields a butcher’s knife. You can watch your lunch get chopped up in front of you, unceremoniously passed along the counter and plopped on a mountain of rice. It’s a beautiful thing to behold, and this place is among the best in Auckland to see such a sight — and the actual food ain’t so bad, either.

More about Welfare BBQ Meats

AUCKLAND'S TOP 50 EATS

  • List
  • Map
Filters
Filters
Metro Top 50 Close
  • Restaurant Close
  • Bar Close
  • Cafe Close
  • Eats under $25 Close
  • 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
    22
  • 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
    35
  • Afghani Close
    1
  • All-day eatery Close
    3
  • Allpress coffee Close
    12
  • Altezano Brothers coffee Close
    1
  • Ark coffee Close
    1
  • Asian Fusion Close
    1
  • Atomic coffee Close
    4
  • Bakery Close
    8
  • Bar Close
    31
  • Be Specialty coffee Close
    4
  • Breakfast Close
    9
  • Brew Bar Close
    4
  • Burgers Close
    4
  • Cabinet food Close
    56
  • Cakes Close
    3
  • Camper coffee Close
    1
  • Casual Close
    38
  • Charcuterie Close
    1
  • Cheap Eats Close
    71
  • Cheese Close
    2
  • Chef counter dining Close
    1
  • Chinese Close
    21
  • Coffee Supreme Close
    10
  • Cook Island Close
    1
  • Courtyard Close
    1
  • Degustation Close
    1
  • Degustation dining Close
    6
  • Deli Close
    3
  • Dine-in menu Close
    39
  • Dine-menu Close
    1
  • Dinner Close
    5
  • Eightthirty coffee Close
    5
  • Espresso Workshop coffee Close
    1
  • Filipino Close
    3
  • Fine dining Close
    7
  • Fixed-price meals Close
    1
  • Flight coffee Close
    6
  • French Close
    4
  • Game meat Close
    1
  • Good for dogs Close
    5
  • Good for kids Close
    22
  • Good seating outside Close
    9
  • Guilin Close
    2
  • Gujarati Close
    1
  • Handpicked coffee Close
    1
  • Himalayan Close
    2
  • Indian Close
    8
  • Indonesian Close
    2
  • Italian Close
    8
  • Jamaican Close
    1
  • Japanese Close
    13
  • Jiangsu Close
    1
  • Korean Close
    11
  • Kōkako coffee Close
    6
  • L'affare coffee Close
    2
  • Lanzhou Close
    1
  • Lebanese Close
    2
  • Licensed Close
    3
  • Malaysian Close
    10
  • Malaysian-Indian Close
    2
  • Mediterranean Close
    1
  • Mexican Close
    2
  • Middle Eastern Close
    2
  • Nashville Close
    1
  • Neighbourhood Close
    6
  • Neo-bistro Close
    1
  • Nikkei Close
    1
  • Odettes blend Close
    1
  • Open Late Close
    2
  • Open Mondays Close
    17
  • Opens Mondays Close
    1
  • Outdoor dining Close
    17
  • Ozone Coffee Close
    2
  • Pacific Close
    1
  • Pacific Island Close
    1
  • Pastries only Close
    2
  • Peoples coffee Close
    2
  • Peruvian Close
    1
  • Pies Close
    2
  • Private dining area Close
    2
  • Private room Close
    9
  • Ramen Close
    4
  • Raw Close
    1
  • Red Rabbit coffee Close
    1
  • Rich coffee Close
    1
  • Rocket coffee Close
    3
  • Rotating guest filter brews Close
    2
  • Sandwiches Close
    5
  • Sashimi Close
    1
  • Set menu Close
    18
  • Shaanxi Close
    1
  • Shanghainese Close
    2
  • Shared-plate options Close
    45
  • Sichuan Close
    5
  • Sicilian Close
    1
  • Smart Close
    15
  • Society coffee Close
    1
  • South Indian Close
    1
  • Spanish Close
    2
  • Specialty coffee Close
    6
  • Sri Lankan Close
    1
  • Sunday lunch Close
    2
  • Taiwanese Close
    1
  • Takes large bookings Close
    13
  • Takes large groups Close
    27
  • Thai Close
    4
  • Turkish Close
    1
  • Udon Close
    1
  • Under25 Close
    67
  • Uyghur Close
    1
  • Vegan Close
    2
  • Vegan friendly Close
    10
  • Vegan menu available Close
    1
  • Vegetarian Close
    4
  • Vegetarian menu Close
    1
  • Vietnamese Close
    6
  • Vineyard Close
    2
  • Vivace coffee Close
    1
  • Wi-Fi Close
    9
  • Wifi Close
    4
  • Wine bar Close
    7
  • Yum cha Close
    2

605

605 New North Rd, Morningside

Mr Morris

Cnr of Galway and Commerce Sts, Britomart

Cocoro

56A Brown St, Ponsonby

Copia

236 Ōrākei Rd, Ōrākei

Cotto

375 Karangahape Rd, Karangahape Rd Precinct

Depot

86 Federal St, Central city

Esther

4 Viaduct Harbour Ave, Waterfront

Gemmayze St

Shop 15/16, St Kevins Arcade, 183 Karangahape Rd, Karangahape Rd Precinct

Gochu

Commercial Bay,7 Queen St, Central city

Load More
Latest issue shadow

Metro N°440 is out now!

With progressive councillors starting to score some wins under what was anticipated to be a reactionary major, Hayden Donnell asks: Has Wayne Brown gone woke?
Plus: we go out and investigate Auckland’s nightlife (or in some cases, the lack thereof), with best bars (with thanks to Campari); going-out diaries from Chlöe Swarbrick, BBYFACEKILLA.mp3, Poppa.Jax & more; a look into Auckland’s drugs by Don Roew (who’s holding and how much they paid for it); we go on the campaign trail with Willie Jackson, talk to gallerist Michael Lett, drink martinis and alternative wines, start seeing a therapist, visit Imogen Taylor’s studio, look into Takutai Tarsh Kemp’s wardrobe. And more!

Buy the latest issue