PARNELL—PLATING THE OBVIOUS
Your no-fuss reminder that the best place to plate up in Auckland is Parnell.
Look, we know there are many options to choose from when it comes to eating out and choosing what’s on your plate here in Auckland. So, we are here to remind you to, quite simply, plate the obvious in Parnell!
If you’re on the hunt for Auckland restaurants to fall in love with, look no further than Parnell with its award-winning fine dining restaurants, bistros and a diverse range of dine in or take away offerings.
All you need to do is show up to Parnell, and we’ll make deciding what to eat a whole lot easier. How? We’ve asked our local chefs from all of your favourite hospitality hot spots what their most enjoyable dish is to prepare for you, and why. Once you pick where you want to dine in Parnell, the rest is taken care of. You could order with your eyes closed, knowing you’ll get something delicious. After all, the chef knows best!
The chefs have prepared their dishes, we’ve curated the best food that Parnell has to offer—all you have to do is choose from the mouth-watering options found here and plate the obvious in Parnell!
Charcoal grilled rib eye of beef
Gerome Chef Dias Oswin starts this dish by rubbing his meticulously selected Hawke’s Bay grass-fed pure NZ rib eye of beef on the bone with extra virgin Kalamata olive oil and his unique blend of spices, complemented with the distinct flavour of fragrant Greek mountain oregano. He then grills it on real charcoal fire to perfection and serves it with potato skordalia and confit cherry tomatoes. Kali orexi!
Market Fish Crudo
Cornelia is known for being an Italian-inspired eatery, however their menu takes inspiration from many places and experiences. Fabio Buonomo’s favourite dish to prepare is their Market Fish Crudo, because he loves working with fresh quality seafood and using different culinary techniques. Paired with an Italian white wine, it’s a perfect dish to enjoy heading into summer. Buon appetito!
Spanner crab lasagne
The Spanner Crab Lasagne is one of the wildest culinary/luxury creations in the Parnell 149 menu, with layers of fresh lasagne sheets interspersed with Crab, Grana Padano cheese, Swiss chard and lemon Beurre blanc. Lasagne may seem easy enough to find, but this one is a delectable delicacy .
Handmade sorrel trofie pasta
Head chef and owner Ed Verner choses the handmade sorrel trofie pasta because the Alpha team all enjoy making and preparing this dish. It’s often a time they can relax, zone out, making this particular dish almost like a form of meditation.
Paella
Nico Mendez loves the ‘world-famous in Auckland’ Barulho Paella as much as his customers. It’s a constant favourite to not only make, but to serve for enjoyment to them. With clams, prawns, scallops, chorizo, wood roast market fish, it really can’t be beat. It’s an obvious choice that Nico loves to plate up.
Grilled spiced lamb ribs
The grilled spiced lamb ribs are a favourite of chefs Lea Suliyah and Yasni Mase, and of their customers. The smell of the lamb ribs cooking as the chefs toss them in Kecap Manis (a sweet soy) is mouth watering! It travels all the way through to the streets of Parnell. The lamb ribs come with a dipping sauce made of sweet soy and fresh chillies.
Garlic Prawns
The La Porchetta chefs enjoy making this dish because of the rich textures and flavours. Tossed with Olive Oil, garlic and cream topped with garlic and parmesan, cooking this combination makes their mouths water! It’s just as delightful to eat.
Bastard Burger, Kumara Fries and Chocolate Thickshake
The Bastard comes with NZ beef, smashed juicy, cheddar, tasty bacon, avocado, mango and grated beetroot. The Kumara fries can’t be beaten and are golden sweet potato, grown in Pukekohe, and thick cut to perfection, served with their addictive BurgerFuel Aioli, especially when finished off with our creamy, thicker than thick BurgerFuel chocolate shake. All together this meal defines BurgerFuel quality, and when enjoyed sitting out front at BurgerFuel Parnell, rain or shine, watching the world go by, you’ll know there is no other burger experience like it!
Teriyaki Chicken Donburi
Teriyaki Chicken Donburi is one of the main dishes that highlights the strength of &Sushi’s in-house teriyaki sauce. In particular, it blends well with grilled chicken and reveals the original taste of the sauce. As a chef, Seonmi Jo feels proud preparing this meal, choosing to plate it up for this reason.
Blue abalone nigire
Why did Ed Verner choose to plate this dish? Because of its dynamic nature. Slicing this is technical, and the dishes he enjoys making at Pasture tend to be the most difficult to do! With the char from the fire smoking the spinach, this dish is unique and a signature of Pasture.
Coppa, Mozzarella & Roasted Capsicum in Potato Bun
This sandwich highlights some of the best New Zealand Producers. The Coppa is from Poaka’s free range heritage pigs that are finished fed with acorns and chestnuts for outstanding flavour. The mozzarella is from award winning cheese producers, Massimos, and the potato bun is from one of Auckland’s top bakeries, Daily Bread.
Noah layered cake
The contrasting texture of the almond sponge, praline malt flakes and the light chocolate mousse is just decadent, with cassis blackcurrent coulis sitting right in between the layers. Although is it time consuming for Sonia Haumonte to prepare and assemble the different layers, the final result is worth it.
Braised beef and GuinNess Pie
The Paddington hand-makes all of their pies—the whole team can use their imagination to create a great tasting meal. But the Braised Beef and Guinness Pie, also known as the “B&G”, is simply the best! Head Chef Neilson Toma loves that their customers come in specifically for their pies after hearing how delicious they are. It’s a simple meal to plate up, but it can’t be beat.
Fruitful Nutella
The Fruitful Nutella waffle is the perfect combination of fruity and chocolaty. It delights their guests, and they don’t need to feel guilty! It’s a dish that makes people smile—and chef John Chong loves that.
Sheikh kebabs
Nihal Goel’s favourite dish to prepare and plate is juicy sheikh kebabs on pita straight from oven, served with hummus and a yummy salad. These sheikh kebabs are specially made from scratch, with secret spices to give the dish a juicy and tantalising flavour.
Pepperoni Pizza
Sal’s Famous Pepperoni Pizza is the crème de la crème of New York pizzas. Their imported authentic New York pepperoni and Wisconsin mozzarella cheese sits atop their signature legendary sauce base. The Pepperoni Pizza is Sal’s most popular and adored product and always brings a smile to customers’ faces. It’s a pleasure for Parminderjeet Singh to make this delicious pizza and see the enjoyment customers get from each slice and every bite.
Bulgogi Pasta
Chef Andrew Jung learned to make traditional Korean Bulgogi sauce from his mother, typically used for soaking thinly-sliced beef brisket. He wondered what would happen if he mixed this sauce with a traditional European food, like pasta. The meal was a success, fusing two different cultures into a single harmonious dish!
Gion sashimi
Gion sashimi is made using traditional Japanese techniques and Snapper fish as decoration. In Japan, it is popular as an auspicious luxury fish, and is presented at weddings and celebrations, as it is a vivid arrangement. For the selection of fresh sashimi, Akira Kugue goes to the seafood market in the morning and selects the freshest fish in season. The dish also offers local scampi, Hokkaido scallops, and octopus wasabi, so you can enjoy Japanese traditions with your eyes.
The Grand Tour Of Asia
The chefs at Java Room love plating this meal. This is because all the elements are from different countries—it’s like traveling on a plate! Guests enjoy the diversity of the dish just as much as the chefs enjoy plating it up.