THE STONES GUIDE US THROUGH THEIR PARNELL HOSPO FAVOURITES
The Stones of Ray White Parnell obviously love Parnell!
“It’s a fabulous community and it would be fair to say that one of our favourite parts of our favourite suburb is the variety on offer in the ‘hospitality department’.
We have the really upmarket restaurants like Pasture, Cibo and Antoine’s and so many international flavours such as Greek, Korean, Oriental, Mediterranean Italian, Indonesian, Spanish, Indian, Thai, Persian and so many more, way too many to mention here, but you get the idea. Options are endless!
Of course, Parnell Rd has such a lovely vibe, it has that village feel about it which is so unique and different to our neighbours Britomart, Newmarket or the City, but it’s not just the main road that holds so many great restaurants and bars. We also have a whole lot going on in the St Georges Bay Rd/Faraday St precinct. For such a long time Cibo was all on its own down there, but now you really could be in a corner of New York dining out – a fabulous energy.
We hope you enjoy what we’ve put together for you with the help of the Parnell Business Association. No doubt your taste buds will. So many delicious eats to enjoy in Parnell as the warmer weather approaches!”
– Steve & Lisa Stone
333 Parnell Rd
Because Antoine’s has been around for 40 years, it’s the stuff of legend. To get in, you ring a doorbell and you go from there. What we look forward to with Antione’s is that you know what you’re going to get, in all the good ways. The beauty of Antoine’s is that it’s like stepping back in time to ‘fine dining’ of old, the days where you went out for dinner on ‘occasion.’ Antione’s is a Parnell restaurant that you make plans to go to and enjoy every once and a while.
2-16 Watt St
The lighting, sound and atmosphere is ‘just right’ at Barulho, as are all the offerings on their Mediterranean inspired menu. You read about a restaurant in its reviews, but you never really know whether they are hyped up or not, until you check out a place for yourself. Barulho lives up to its reviews, and beyond. We dine there on a regular basis. Don’t forget right next door is Fonda, the new Auckland restaurant that’s being touted as ‘Auckland’s best Mexican on the block’!
91 St Geroges Bay Rd
Cibo is a Parnell Institution and only the best restaurants stand the test of time! As a top contender for Auckland’s friendliest restaurant, we love being greeted by the charming maître d’s Jeremy Turner and Brad Sullivan. They’ll welcome you in like an old friend, and by the end of the meal, you’ll be mates. It’s real, it’s not a show. They love what they do and each meal is amazing, but it would be remiss of us to not mention Cibo’s famous mammoth pavlovas.
237 Parnell Rd
Look, we love Blue Elephant Thai for a fuss free after work meal that we know we can rely on for being tasty, authentic, fresh, and now, award winning. Blue Thai Elephant took out the 2020 Travellers Choice Trip Adviser top spot and we think it absolutely has something to do with their Thai Prawn Cakes, the Chicken Pad Thai and the Choo Chee Salmon, some of the dishes we’d recommend for when you next swing by Parnell specifically for Thai.
119 Parnell Rd
What we love about Bandung is the thought and energy behind the delicious and authentic Indonesian food on offer. Esmeralda, Cleo, Julie & Chef Petrus want their customers to experience ‘home’ when they walk in and the cafe is inspired by their mothers’ kitchens, tiny warungs in Bali and Java. Their menu items taste so fresh, their street food snacks make you feel like you are in Indonesia while on Parnell Road.
251 Parnell Rd
Cutting to the chase, the Di Mare Seafood platter is to die for. The setting of Di Mare is also something that’s not common in Auckland and something you can only get in Parnell Village with the quaint cobbles and courtyard. Sitting down away from the hustle and bustle of a main road, wine in hand, enjoying delicious seafood? It’s hard to beat..
100 Parnell Rd
Fang makes us feel cool. What’s not cool? Their flavours. They pack a punch! If you like it hot, the Bang Bang Chicken will be right up your alley. If you like both pretty and delicious food, we absolutely recommend you try the Nori cones filled with salmon tartare, roe and avocado cream. The way Fang mixes ingredients make them so much more than the ‘lazy’ Asian fusion tagline that gets bandied about when people don’t quite know how to explain a meal that isn’t either traditional ‘Japanese or Chinese’. Also, we must mention the cocktails, the bar in Fang is a feature and it’s rude not to order at least one of their ‘own design’ delicious cocktails.
168 Parnell Rd
Gion is a special place, from the moment you walk in it’s like entering a different world! Named after an ancient district in Kyoto, Gion Japanese Restaurant makes you feel like you‘re sitting in a restaurant right out of Japan. Chef Akira Kugue is the heart of Gion and he makes dining there an incredibly authentic experience. A trained sushi chef from Kyoto, Japan, he’s especially known for his divine fresh sashimi and sushi. Chef Akira makes Japanese cuisine available for gluten free eaters, vegetarians, and is open for both Lunch (great for a business meeting) and Dinner (great for a night out to unwind and enjoy some of Auckland’s best Japanese) in Parnell.
269 Parnell Rd
When it comes to a dining experience, we don’t think there’s anything much cooler than walking into a beautiful, ambient, sophisticated space where up near the kitchen you can see flames. The meat, fish and seafood from Gerome’s menu are cooked on the chargrill and wood-fire and sent hot, straight to your table. While the seasonal menu changes regularly, we’ve come to expect dishes such as harissa-rubbed lamb ribs, tender chicken thigh and seared kefalogravier (Greek cheese). We suggest saving room for the sweet stuff too because the loukoumades (Greece‘s take on the doughnut) are something that everyone should experience.
100 Parnell Rd – Inside The Rise
Chef Min Baek wants to introduce diners at Han to Korean deliciousness and it’s fair to say he accomplishes his mission. With welcoming, attentive staff, and a cozy interior, we are constantly surprised by the unique and delicious food creations on the menu which we have never seen before. Han is among a small few Auckland eateries offering delicious servings of modern Korean fare and side note, the Negronis are some of the best we‘ve ever had! Han is a place we take people we want to impress.
259 Parnell Rd
We are loving the new Non Solo Pizza Menu. Having had both an interior refurb and a menu update this favourite ‘Italian institution’ (having been in Parnell for 24 years) has been brought into 2020. The new menu still sits firmly in the modern Italian bracket, simple and fresh but with updated classics, new flavours, techniques and ingredients to love. Of course NSP is also known for their fabulous drinks, so it’s one of the places we go to really make a ‘long lunch’ or ‘night’ out of it.
151 Parnell Rd
Oh Calcutta have a cult following and you can count us in that group. There is no other Indian restaurant in Auckland that has the reputation of Oh Calcutta. The restaurant is always packed out, not because it’s ‘the coolest’ place to dine necessarily, but because Anand and Meena Patel consistently offer personal service of the highest standard and create mouth-watering, time-honoured family recipe dishes, made with care and humble, honest flavours inspired by memories of their childhood.
235 Parnell Rd
When the occasion calls for it, we appreciate sophisticated fine dining and for this, multi award winning Pasture is our ‘go to’. With only exclusive, thought provoking, NZ inspired dishes, Pasture is now open for 3 sittings per night (5.15pm, 7.15pm and 9pm) in their intimate dining space for 6. Boxer, the most ahead of its time, fashionable bar in Auckland, not only has a menu that will wow you when it comes to drinks, but also has on offer an ‘edible’ menu to enjoy. Pasture and Boxer exist to support each other, to create movement between the two spaces and to create a dynamic experience for those who enter the doors to drink and dine.
251 Parnell Rd
Rumi offer authentic and delicious Persian Cuisine and to be honest, we doubt there’s a better ‘Persian dining option’ in Auckland. The saying that you first eat with your eyes, holds true for Rumi. When you walk in you almost feel like you’ve stepped into a secret Aladdin’s cave from the warm clay colours that make the interior cosy, to the furnishing, pottery, bronze ornaments and dining utensils to the lovely Iranian carpets adorning the bench seats. Friendly service and family owned, dining at Rumi is not only an experience because of the nature of the food, but also the environment. It’s precious.
115 St Georges Bay Rd
Simon + Lee bring something unique to the Faraday St precinct. Modern Korean. The fried chicken has a reputation that precedes itself and the entire menus ingredients are fresh, flavoursome and authentic with a modern twist. We love Simon + Lee for a spot of lunch. The cafe is cosy but utilises all its space with a large communal table surrounded by smaller settings and bar seats. Flight espresso and Supreme filter blends are on offer for that mid-afternoon pick up. Simon + Lee knows what they’re doing, and we thank them for it.
82 Gladstone Rd
Brunch at Rosie can’t be beat. It’s a true statement, but then we realise that their lunches and dinners and cabinet treats are just as yummy as their brunches and we never know what meal we want to eat there, so we tend to have them all! Rosie truly is one of Parnell’s best and most reliable and most delicious hospitality offerings for all day dining.
196 Parnell Rd
An absolute Parnell favourite, the reincarnated ‘Woodpecker Hill’ is now called ‘The Golden Nest at Woodpecker Hill’. Mark Wallbank’s longtime chef and collaborator Che Barrington embraces the fun and fresh influence of Japanese and Korean food within The Golden Nest’s updated and extensive offering. Two menu musts are the Duck Fried Rice and the Cheeseburger Bun! Moving away from the restaurant’s previous Thai-infused American BBQ style, the new dishes available are less spicy and a little more shareable thanks to smaller, snacky-style portions.
Parnell-wide
Find your favourite beverage location or local bar in Parnell. Whether it be the perfect spot for a date night, after work cocktails, an after-hours business meeting with the goal to impress, or to relax and watch a sports game in a chilled-out environment, we’ve got you covered. Your Parnell ‘beverage options’ range from the perfectly curated chef-run cocktail venue Boxer, to your local favourite The Paddington. Whatever your mood or budget, you can keep hydrated in Parnell!