Northcote locals are spoilt for choice when it comes to great spots to grab a bite to eat. Northcote is a culturally rich neighbourhood with a famously diverse food scene. A plethora of quality places to dine in and around Northcote means there’s always something delicious on offer. Whether you’re after a delicious snack or meal from one of the quality eateries in the vicinity, a drink at one of the local watering holes, a satisfying local pub feed, a meal at one of the many multicultural offerings, or something a little bit fancy, this location has you sorted.
The Glasshouse Café
Handily located on Akoranga Drive in Northcote’s University district, The Glasshouse café is the perfect spot for breakfast, brunch or lunch. Open seven days, you can enjoy your meal in the soothing glass-roofed and light-filled café surrounded by greenery, or head to a table outdoors – they’re also dog friendly here. Why not grab some treats from the cabinet to take home (the cheesecakes or carrot cake are scrumptious), or even another takeaway coffee before you hit the road.
Sherry Kitchen Catering and Deli
Just over on Lake Road, Sherry Kitchen has a delicious range of quality food made with free-range ingredients available to the local community six days a week from their bustling deli. Serving both naughty treats and healthy cabinet food and salads, you can also grab your morning caffeine fix here. Additionally, the team caters for special events both large and small and has catered to some of the world’s best-known rock and pop stars, actors, and world leaders. Sherry Kitchen offers a range of take-home meals available to purchase online or in the deli to heat, eat and enjoy, with deliveries coming soon.
Rollers Bakery
Look no further than Rollers Bakery for quality baked goods, with everything baked in-house. Their mouthwatering pies are already a firm favourite with locals, thanks to their succulent flaky and buttery crusts plus filling choices that include options for plant-based lovers. Also offering breakfast sandwiches, croissants, doughnuts and speciality breads, you can wash down your choice with coffee from Kiwi icon Ozone Coffee Roasters. Comprising a few local friends who wanted to set up a bakehouse in their old local neighbourhood, the passionate team at rollers each brings almost two decades of experience in the hospitality industry. Keeping it local, the idea for Rollers was birthed over a few drinks at now next-door-neighbour, The Beer Spot.
The Beer Spot
Right next door to Rollers Bakery and just five minutes’ walk from the town centre, hugely popular The Beer Spot is the perfect place to meet friends for a drink. Their Northcote outpost is a craft beer enthusiast’s nirvana, presenting 40 taps of rotating beer flavours for you to enjoy a tasting paddle or glass on-site, with wines, ciders and non-alcoholic options also on offer. Pull up a chair in the sunny backyard, and swat up on all the choices on tap for your next selection. The Beer Spot operates as an off licence as well as a bar so you can enjoy on site, then take home your favourite hoppy brew. Keeping the endless options rolling, a different food truck is featured each week to ensure your hunger is kept at bay.
Northcote Tavern
If you’re in the mood for something historic, Northcote Tavern is just the place to come for a drink or a meal. The site of a hotel for over 160 years, ‘The Tav’ is still the spot to gather with friends. A number of different spaces are available depending on what takes your fancy, including the Highlander bar with Scottish historic trophies and weapons on display, a sports bar, the outdoor beer garden, or Point Espresso for a coffee and something sweet. A solid part of the community, Northcote Tavern is home to many events: check out their website for what’s on and other events.
Billy Café
For fresh food and delicious coffee, Billy Café is a good place to grab a relaxing brunch, lunch or coffee and cake. Enjoy the distinctive ‘Billy’ neon signage on brick which lends a New York diner-style feel, as you peruse the cabinet and decide what to eat next. This well-executed neighbourhood local is a local favourite just like its grown up neighbour, Stafford Road Wine Bar. Soak in the historic black and white photo of Northcote in times gone by, or grab a curb-side table for your meal.
Stafford Road Wine Bar
With a firm focus on a multitude of wines and tasty tapas, Stafford Rd Wine Bar is a cozy and inviting neighbourhood corner bar. Proudly part of the local landscape, the wine bar twins with Point Wines, in a symbiotic relationship with the wine shop. With a continuously revised wine list of carefully selected wines, craft beers, spirits, and a menu of flavoursome tapas and small plates to share, you’re invited to relax in a chesterfield chair and enjoy the surrounds of this charming building which dates back to 1911. If you’re after some afternoon sun, outdoor sidewalk seating provides a great opportunity to sip and chat outdoors.
Clarence Rd Eatery
After a bite before (or after) your movie? Clarence Rd Eatery is an all day café/restaurant occupying the historic building next door to the popular Bridgeway Cinema. With Italian-influenced food and a menu that changes regularly, this bright and open space is family friendly too. Why not grab something to take away with your Allpress morning coffee from the cabinet filled with tempting treats. Or if you’re after lunch or dinner, the Spanish Mibrassa char grill oven will be cranking, producing coal fired dishes including Naples-style pizzas. An approachable all-day spot to dine, neighbourhood locals flock to Clarence Rd Eatery.
The Engine Room
A favourite for a fancy dinner, and handily located right across the road from the Bridgeway Cinema, The Engine Room is an institution of the Auckland dining scene and makes a point of exceptional dining experiences for all. This owner operated neighbourhood bistro will make you feel at home immediately, thanks to its hospitable interior that’s as welcoming as its staff and its mouthwatering dishes. With a passionate belief that the best meals are about the experience, the team cooks seasonally and use local produce wherever possible, or grow ingredients themselves. If you’d like to take home their very best recipes to try out for yourself, you can even purchase The Engine Room Eatery cookbook featuring 600 pages of goodness.
Takapuna Beach Café and Store
Right on The Promenade by the waterfront, Takapuna Beach Café and Store has a breathtaking seaside vista to enjoy as you tuck into some delicious food. Providing diners with views of the beach from the sun-drenched deck or a light-filled dining room, the menu reflects the seasons. But there’s more on offer: the store stocks drool-inducing gelato made on site, takeaway coffee by Allpress Espresso, a range of takeaway sandwiches, pastries, and bread, and a handy selection of tableware and picnic items to complement your beachside picnic food choices.
Patch
Consider yourself lucky if you manage to get a table at Patch. Named after the strawberry fields that used to populate the area, Patch is a light and bright café with plenty of vibrant red accents throughout its decor including the eye-catching strawberry mural, and a summery and spacious indoor/outdoor feel. There’s a delicious all-day menu, the decadent milkshakes and smoothies deserve to be sampled, and Kokako coffee is on offer. If you want to head home with some treats for later, the cabinet’s house-baked contents will have you sorted for takeaway.
Northcote’s diverse culinary delights
In Northcote’s bustling town centre, you’ll be able to enjoy everything from traditional dumplings, to murtabak (curry-stuffed pancakes), to Korean charcoal barbeque. If you’re keen to experience more of Northcote’s diverse culinary delights, the Northcote Business Association recently partnered with well-known foodie crew Thomas and Sheena from Chasing a Plate to produce a series of YouTube videos revealing some of Northcote Town Centre’s many authentic, delicious and multicultural eateries. Watch them here – then head out and sample some for yourself!
