Romantic restaurant recommendations for this weekend (Auckland)

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Lizard1977

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#303842 13-Mar-2023 22:18

Even though I grew up in Auckland, I realised I have never actually taken a date to a nice/fancy/romantic restaurant in Auckland. I'm driving up there this week to visit family, and will be taking my girlfriend with me. I'd like to take her out for a romantic dinner while I'm up there, but have no idea where.

Googling brings up many suggestions but some are way too expensive (like $150pp and rising) and some are a bit *too* fancy, going by the menus. I'm reasonably open to trying new things, though my partner is probably a little more conservative with her tastes - not a fan of too much red meat, not really a seafood person - so that limits the options somewhat.

What do people recommend? Something that has a romantic ambience and good food without needing a second mortgage.

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#3049803 14-Mar-2023 06:46

I don't know if it survived the change to Movenpick Hotel in the post-MIQ era, but the Mercure in downtown used to have a restaurant on the top floor and a little bar tucked around the corner.

Looks like there's something still there. The view is worth checking out, but I can't speak for what the food will be like.

https://www.boda.restaurant/

johno1234

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#3049807 14-Mar-2023 08:02

Taco Bell!

Just kidding. What kind of food? Seafood? Steak? Ethnic etc? Any preference for neighbourhood?

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#3049811 14-Mar-2023 08:26

Midnight Express Cafe in the CBD is nice (Across from Sky Tower). Dunno if its "romantic" for you, but has a good atmosphere and fantastic food at a decent price. And if you're there at the right time, belly dancers :D

Home - Cafe Midnight Express

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networkn

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#3049817 14-Mar-2023 08:46

What's your actual budget? I can give you a recommendation of probably 30 decent restaurants, but understanding that will help narrow it down.

Apero is fantastic on K'Road. Seasonal food, not too fancy.

Do you drink alcohol? Does that feature in your budget?

Bar Magda, is something really amazing, but if your wife has very conservative tastes, that will be tough doing.

I can highly recommend One Tree Grill. Very romantic, with fantastic food, a great selection. They will take very good care of you as well.

martyyn

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#3049838 14-Mar-2023 10:08

Spent the weekend last week staying on K Road and can 100% recommend Cotto. I think we paid $200 for starters ($17), mains ($23), salads and a decent bottle of wine which I thought was exceptional value.

Great vibe, fantastic service, no rush and absolutely brilliant food.

Lizard1977

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#3049891 14-Mar-2023 10:23

Budget is a bit fluid. I'm happy to pay more for something that is pretty special, for a really memorable night. For comparison, here in Palmerston North, I went out to dinner with 5 others and we spent $600 in total for a massive amount of food shared (entree, main, dessert, cocktails) - it was amazing food, all local produce, great atmosphere and service. Being Auckland, maybe prices are a little higher, so I would probably look at around $120ish pp, maybe more if we had cocktails too.

Neither my girlfriend nor I are big on seafood - white fish is fine, prawns, calamari, but not into shellfish or salmon. I'll eat most of everything else, but my girlfriend isn't a big fan of red meat - she'll probably choose chicken as first preference.

"Romantic" is also very subjective. I'm also aware that Friday is St Patrick's Day, so it may be pretty busy in town, especially in certain bars.

Some of the places I've made notes of are: Caretaker as a cool place for a pre-dinner cocktail, or maybe Parasol - but with St Pat's Day it might be too busy; Soul Bar and Bistro, or Masu look good (though Japanese isn't either of our first choices). I took a look at Midnight Express and it looked nice - I love Turkish - but it doesn't quite have the X factor (though the belly dancers would be something a bit different). One Tree Grill looks ok, but there is a big emphasis on shellfish in the entrees, but the $125 six-course degustation menu looks interesting.

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#3049894 14-Mar-2023 10:27

Soul is also exceptional. I haven't eaten at Cotto but people I trust the opinion of, say it's excellent.

Based on your feedback, I'd likely say head to either One Tree Grill or Soul.

Out of interest, what is it you don't like about Salmon?

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Lizard1977

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#3049905 14-Mar-2023 10:47

Just not a fan of salmon. On rare occasions I can be persuaded to a smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich, but baked or grilled salmon doesn't really appeal.

That being said, I went to Yaruki in Browns Bay last year and tried a little sashimi and I was surprised how tasty it was. So maybe it's down to the way it's prepared?

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#3049963 14-Mar-2023 11:24

We've always enjoyed Cibo in lower Parnell, although looking at their menu I can see they too have a leaning towards seafood. But there's other stuff there. It is pricey though, you have to add sides to your mains, they don't come included.

Lizard1977

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#3049965 14-Mar-2023 11:25

Looks like Soul is all booked out... :(

Looking for some options on the North Shore, and Devonport is a pretty cool place. What is Nicolino like?

networkn

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#3049970 14-Mar-2023 11:34

Lizard1977:

Just not a fan of salmon. On rare occasions I can be persuaded to a smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich, but baked or grilled salmon doesn't really appeal.

That being said, I went to Yaruki in Browns Bay last year and tried a little sashimi and I was surprised how tasty it was. So maybe it's down to the way it's prepared?

In my experience, the reason most people don't like Fish or a particular type of fish, is how it's prepared, or a bad experience they have had with it.

Primarily in my experience, there are a lot of people who have eaten not fresh fish, which makes it smell and taste like fish. Fresh fish, with some exceptions, should smell like the ocean.

I am less a fan of Baked or Grilled Salmon myself, but fresh, I'd eat by the truckload. I like lightly smoked, and there are a number of cooked salmon dishes I could recommend which are exceptional.

Not that you must eat salmon or anything, but I feel fish sometimes gets an unfair rap due to peoples experience with not fresh fish.

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#3049977 14-Mar-2023 11:52

duckDecoy:

We've always enjoyed Cibo in lower Parnell, although looking at their menu I can see they too have a leaning towards seafood. But there's other stuff there. It is pricey though, you have to add sides to your mains, they don't come included.

Can also recommend Cibo. As mentioned, it's pricey, but it's very very good food.

It's good enough it could easily change your view on seafood :)

WyleECoyoteNZ

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#3050011 14-Mar-2023 12:12

How about The Sugar Club at the top of the Sky Tower?

Not a cheap option, 3 courses @ $115pp

But, you won't get views like that anywhere else

johno1234

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#3050065 14-Mar-2023 13:27

networkn:

duckDecoy:

We've always enjoyed Cibo in lower Parnell, although looking at their menu I can see they too have a leaning towards seafood. But there's other stuff there. It is pricey though, you have to add sides to your mains, they don't come included.

Can also recommend Cibo. As mentioned, it's pricey, but it's very very good food.

It's good enough it could easily change your view on seafood :)

Agreed.

One thing though: check your bill very carefully. Hardly ever had an accurate account there, the errors generally not in my favour.

Lizard1977

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#3050085 14-Mar-2023 14:22

I did look at The Sugar Club - the view from the Sky Tower would be impressive - but I wasn't enthused by the menu.

Someone at work mentioned Wildfire - a Brazillian steakhouse. It sounds like you can pay for a set menu and they just bring over food from that menu throughout the meal. It sounds quite good - anyone have any good or bad experiences there?

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