Good Kid friendly restaurant without a Public Holiday Surcharge in Auckland

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networkn

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#265697 5-Feb-2020 17:44

Hi.

I have the kids on my own this week and next, which has been cool, as my wife enjoys a well-deserved break away.

I was thinking it would be cool take them out tomorrow night. They are very well behaved and will eat pretty much anything (though spicy food isn't high on their list of loves...), which gives me a decent set of options. Kids are 8-10

Does anyone have a recommendation for a cool restaurant I can take them to that has decent food for adults and kids, that doesn't have a holiday surcharge (it's not a matter of affordability, more a principle thing).

Ideal if it's fairly central.

No McD's or similar, thanks :)

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#2413331 5-Feb-2020 21:12

Tianze Dumpling House in Sandringham Road, I am sure it wont have a surcharge.

Must have is the Eggplant stuffed with pork, Squid tentacle (spicy is nicer than salt and pepper IMO ), dumplings, hot and sour soup is amazing, noodles are good too, Best sweet and sour pork but the only thing I would say is avoid the fried rice.

It is cheap and good, dont look at the decor enjoy the taste of yummy Chinese food.

John

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#2413333 5-Feb-2020 21:21

SATTV:

Tianze Dumpling House in Sandringham Road, I am sure it wont have a surcharge.

Must have is the Eggplant stuffed with pork, Squid tentacle (spicy is nicer than salt and pepper IMO ), dumplings, hot and sour soup is amazing, noodles are good too, Best sweet and sour pork but the only thing I would say is avoid the fried rice.

It is cheap and good, dont look at the decor enjoy the taste of yummy Chinese food.

John

I am a fan of this place already, I haven't tried any of the dishes you mentioned except the Eggplant stuffed with Pork which is my favourite there.

Not far from there is the best-kept secret called Des Traditions. Amazing Mediterranean food.

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#2413340 5-Feb-2020 21:47

I find a good place to look is the Grabone or Treatme deals, You can take them to different place's and if turns to custard at least it has not cost a fortune.

Edit: Did not think of the public holiday thing. Still a good place to look for places though.

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#2413349 5-Feb-2020 22:16

Des Traditions looks good, close to home too.

Another one to consider is Samadi in Pt Chev, Afgani food, I have been there once and it was amazing, never had Afgani before.

Food is not spicy but has lots of flavour, the eggplant was fantastic but the lamb was standout.

https://goo.gl/maps/RXKUgZAcrcwKBJxTA

John

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#2413353 5-Feb-2020 22:23

Haha we must live pretty close to each other. :)

I'm definitely going to add Samadi to my list, looks awesome. Possibly not for tomorrow.

Quite a few places are closed tomorrow, and a lot have surcharges.

I was keen to try the new BBQ place in Grey Lynn near where I work, Smokn Coles but it has a surcharge. Kids were all excited about it.

I have a 48 hour Sous Vide Short Rib planned for the weekend though, so perhaps skip BBQ tomorrow.

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#2413356 5-Feb-2020 22:29

Ooh. Monsoon Poon! Also, Circus Circus in Mt Eden apparently no surcharge.

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#2413412 6-Feb-2020 07:52

Have you checked out first table? https://www.firsttable.co.nz/auckland/

Not a recommendation per say but half price meals for booking an opening table.

Good with kids

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#2413696 6-Feb-2020 15:53

networkn:

Hi.

I have the kids on my own this week and next, which has been cool, as my wife enjoys a well-deserved break away.

I was thinking it would be cool take them out tomorrow night. They are very well behaved and will eat pretty much anything (though spicy food isn't high on their list of loves...), which gives me a decent set of options. Kids are 8-10

Does anyone have a recommendation for a cool restaurant I can take them to that has decent food for adults and kids, that doesn't have a holiday surcharge (it's not a matter of affordability, more a principle thing).

Ideal if it's fairly central.

No McD's or similar, thanks :)

I don't live in Auckland so cannot offer any suggestions, but I agree with your stand on the surcharge. Where possible I do the same as you.

Every other business that is open on a day like today faces the same holiday pay costs, but I cannot think of any other industry that charges a surcharge Congratulations to those hospitality places that charge normal prices on days like today.

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#2413813 6-Feb-2020 19:24

Where did you end up going? :)

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#2413815 6-Feb-2020 19:26

networkn:
Ooh. Monsoon Poon! Also, Circus Circus in Mt Eden apparently no surcharge.

Can vouch for circus circus with no surcharge. My local and great coffee and friendly staff.

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#2413867 6-Feb-2020 21:06

I ended up at Monsoon Poon and everyone was glad I did. It was really excellent. No surcharge. I particularly enjoyed the shaking Beef and the Lettuce Cups. I even managed to get enough for left overs for lunch.

I have eaten at Circus Circus a few times over the years, usually brunch as dinner for them is a relatively new thing. I just felt more like that.

Thanks to @sattv I'll be trying Samdi tomorrow night.

We had a great trip today to Ngatea to PYO Blueberries, something we usually do on the way to Whangamata but we won't be getting there till after BB season. It's such good fun, though it's getting more and more expensive there now. Both kids said it was the best fun they had for quite a while and now I have enough blueberries for weeks of enjoyment.

I was really surprised how many restaurants were closed.

Re the 15% surcharge, if there was somewhere I really wanted to go, I'd pay it, but I almost always resent it.

BTW if anyone else is looking for a good kids place in Auckland, we had a great Brunch/Lunch at the Grounds in West Auckland. The food is seriously good for both adults and kids, and the playground is super. They have a studio out there and often have productions. We went out to a NZ Ambulance one that helps young kids understand how to call an ambulance. My kids already know how, but it was still a bit of fun and worth a bit of reinforcement from time to time.

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#2413868 6-Feb-2020 21:07

Yoban:
networkn:

Ooh. Monsoon Poon! Also, Circus Circus in Mt Eden apparently no surcharge.

Can vouch for circus circus with no surcharge. My local and great coffee and friendly staff.

My favourite place in Mt Eden is the Korean (?) Fried Chicken place just down a few doors or so, best Fried Chicken and Wedges in Auckland in my opinion.

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#2413870 6-Feb-2020 21:17

networkn:

Yoban:
networkn:

Ooh. Monsoon Poon! Also, Circus Circus in Mt Eden apparently no surcharge.

Can vouch for circus circus with no surcharge. My local and great coffee and friendly staff.

My favourite place in Mt Eden is the Korean (?) Fried Chicken place just down a few doors or so, best Fried Chicken and Wedges in Auckland in my opinion.

If we are talking this place

Having lived in Korea, tried the place and thought it was pretty average.

Have not found a place in NZ that does fried chicken as good as Korea

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#2413871 6-Feb-2020 21:21

Well, I don't have the advantage of having tried Fried Chicken in Korea (and it's a pretty low priority place for me to visit so I probably never will), but compared to most the fried chicken here, I thought it was very good.

Having said that, like most places around (a pet peeve of mine) consistency can be an issue. I've had two excellent visits and one that was just good.

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#2414073 7-Feb-2020 09:56

@sattv interestingly, I got an alert from google yesterday that Kabul, also in that same area and doing a similar type of good, was on my list to visit. It's highly rated as well.

It's nice that we are getting some seriously good food out in the suburbs. I'd like a couple of decent European restaurants out our way. Mostly, if you want non-asian or middle eastern food, you are limited to average quality gastro pubs.

There is a French place in Sandringham, I was excited about that, but the chef there has an obsession about trying to cram spicy into every single dish they do.

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