Iconic Auckland restaurant to close: Harbourside Ocean Bar Grill ‘no longer commercially viable’

An iconic Auckland waterfront restaurant has been forced to close, with owners blaming “lower sales and ever-increasing costs”.

Harbourside Ocean Bar Grill, which opened in Auckland CBD in 1988, will permanently close on June 13.

The announcement was made today, with owners Good Group Hospitality, saying increased cost was the cause.

“Harbourside traded well prior to Covid. However, since Covid, lower sales and ever-increasing costs has meant operating the restaurant is no longer commercially viable so the decision was made not to renew the lease and close the business,“ the statement read.

“The lease on our sister restaurant Botswana Butchery Auckland on the ground floor below in the Ferry Building has however been renewed.

The restaurant served premium seafood. Photograph by Fiona Goodall / Getty Images.

“This was a very difficult decision,” Good Group Hospitality said.

“Harbourside is an iconic restaurant with enormous history, and we are incredibly proud of what it has represented to Auckland over nearly four decades.”

This decision does not affect any other Good Group Hospitality outlets in Auckland and Queenstown.

Good Group Hospitality acquired the restaurant in 2013.

The move is another blow to the city as it has lost a number of hospitality venues crippled by Covid.

Iconic Karangahape Road cafe and bar Verona was placed in liquidation last month after 34 years in business.

Auckland’s Mission Bay also lost its iconic Belgian bar and eatery with De Fontein closing last month.

Hospitality closures have been on the rise across the country, with 2564 businesses shutting in the 12 months to August 2025, according to data released by Cetrix last year.

Closures were up 19% on a year earlier.