Best places to eat on Auckland’s Dominion Rd: A local’s guide to top spots, from food stores to restaurants

Local expert Anna King Shahab walks us through the delights of Auckland’s Dominion Rd with her insider’s guide to the best restaurants, noodle spots, bakeries, and spots to stock up.

Good food isn’t exactly elusive on Dominion Rd. The many establishments and stiff competition mean high standards – but with so much choice, first-hand recommendations can help get you off to a good start.

I have a lifelong relationship with eating Dominion Rd, having grown up in the neighbourhood and living close by for decades – here’s my list of up-to-the-minute greatest hits.

Noodle heaven on Dominion Rd

Savour the dandan noodles that kickstarted Auckland’s love of Sichuan cuisine at Eden Noodles Cafe, where you can order them dry or soupy.

Pan Thai’s boat noodles swim in a dark herbal broth, with your choice of noodle, and offal like liver and tripe if you like it.

There’s always a queue at the door to Pho Yen but it moves fast and soon you’ll be inhaling the wonderfully aromatic 18-hour broth that’s ladled over silky rice noodles, beef and herbs to create the soup equivalent of slipping between high thread count sheets after a spa – ahh!

At Udon Works, tangles of thick, al dente udon are joined by broth made with the best kombu from Hokkaido in dishes that look as though they should cost twice as much.

Where to stock up on international supplies

Tucked in behind Wendy’s, Bulk Food Savings is a treasure trove of wholefoods, spices, baking supplies – including dozens of different flours and sugars – and hard-to-find ingredients from all over the world. There’s an especially robust section of South American foods.

Shefco slings Levantine goods: freshly baked pita, canned and dried goods, deli items like fresh baklava, falafel mix, highly addictive hummus and toum (garlic dip), and shawarma to take away or enjoy there.

Of the several Chinese grocers, I tend to find Jadan best for its dry goods, fishmonger and butchery and Yi Cart for roast meats and bakery, while at DH at the city end, you can get bargain-priced big bags of whatever produce is glutting.

Serandib stocks Sri Lankan supplies, including a great range of Ceylon tea and the fattest cashews in town.

La Voie Francaise has been nailing the city’s best baguettes for more than a decade – go early to nab hot-ticket items like the blue cheese, honey and walnut crescent, burnished, bittersweet caneles and decadent kouign amann.

Cazador delicatessen has the most goodies packed into a small space imaginable, and its pies and sandwiches are legendary.

Newcomer Koseli is filled with Nepalese groceries and the food truck out front serves momos, spicy wings and syfale (similar to samosa).

Hot pot and dumplings that won’t break the bank

Eat heartily for less at Lai Fu, where the Chinese canteen set-up allows you to load a tray with snacky morsels like dim sum and stuffed pancakes, cold sides (definitely get the boiled peanuts and load on some garlic sauce), fried rice and noodles and hot dishes. It also serves Chinese breakfast dishes earlier in the day.

Mr Hao’s bottomless dumplings deal offers the titular dumplings in myriad varieties, as well as fried rice and noodle dishes, plus for an extra $7 you can add a platter of fried chicken and bao with fillings – and cocktails ring at just $8.88 a pop.

Recent opening Khao Geng by the same owners as Kiin curbs ever-rising prices by going back to its Thai roots – a focus on curry and rice, and slightly smaller portions enabling either a smaller bill, or the option of trying a few different things.

Hot pot is fun but the often hefty bill at the end isn’t – PotXpress does away with the surprise factor with its hot pot buffet, featuring eight broth options for $29.90 at lunchtime and $32.90 at dinnertime.

Best spots for a group or a get-together

At Petaling Malaysian Restaurant, book a big table with a lazy susan and go for gold, ordering everything from laksa to char kway teow and salted egg prawns.

Coloured glass lanterns and gold design accents lend charm to Mt Roskill’s Tapsi, where the generously portioned Kurdish Iraqi dishes like tender qozi lamb on jewelled rice with sides like baba ganoush are built for sharing with loved ones – save room for a kunafa dessert.

Cantonese was once the prevailing Chinese cuisine on The Dom; today Golden Garden is a last vestige of barbecued meats hanging in the kitchen, and is great for banquet-style meals.

Chinese hot pot and barbecue spots make group dining interactive and fun: Maya Hot Pot and Hot Pot Duke are two stalwarts. At Falaq in Mt Roskill, a family-sized Hyderabadi biryani and a few curries makes for a merry party indeed.

Flavour bomb

The Isaan salads at Tom Yum Eden can be relied upon for a sour-spicy punch.

Eden Noodles’ dumplings in spicy sauce surely offer the biggest flavour hit at the best price, while at Xi’an, the cucumber salad and liang pi (cold noodles) are loaded to the hilt with glorious garlic, cut through with the tang of black vinegar.

The liberal sprinkling of cumin and chilli salt over everything at Gogo Music Cafe throupled with the charcoal cooking aromas and idiosyncratic fitout (it was once a Western-themed bar) add up to joyous sensory overload.

Sweet treats and late-night bites

Famous Eddy began as a food truck parked up in a garage just off Dominion Rd and recently moved into much larger digs; its pairing of perfectly cooked pasta with juicy steak or fried chicken satisfies multiple cravings at once.

Ralph’s is the place to go for excellent smash burgers, or if Korean fried chicken in dozens of guises is what you’re after, KooKoo’s got you.

From there, wander down to Bear Gelato for dessert – home to fantastic flavours like black sesame, horchata and salted Sicilian pistachio.

HKS specialises in Hong Kong bubble waffles, and Dada in kakigōri – Japanese shaved ice with many toothsome toppings.

Dim sum but make it dinnertime? Delicious House in Mt Roskill serves classic yum cha dishes like rice rolls, pork buns and shumai any time the craving hits.

Where to go for a date night

At times you want a bit of extra effort in the service department, some nice mood lighting – an environment you want to linger longer in. Forest offers all of the above plus conversation starters and wow moments galore – Plabita Florence’s cooking is unique, with ingredients both common and novel given fascinating treatments. Take her halva sundae, which sees tahini ice cream topped with roasted sesame caramel, halva chunks, sea salt and olive oil, or her springtime drink special, a sugar snap gin fizz made by infusing Hastings Distillers gin with mashed sugar snap peas, combining it with salted and acidified sugar snap syrup, and pouring it over ice with soda and cracked fresh peas.

The cosy nooks of Cazador have cosseted friends and lovers since 1987. Arrive early to start with a vermouth in the verdant courtyard before feasting on wild foods, demolishing the city’s best chocolate mousse, and then giving in to the lure of a sticky sherry.

Parro brings a Mediterranean charm and the answer to any steak lover’s prayers with its mighty T-bone served with rich bone sauce.

Cafes and bars

These are rarer on Dominion Rd than on many of the city’s other hospo strips. For good coffee at the city end, visit Forage or Tuihana, or travel south a little where a certain section of the road is especially well caffeinated thanks to Cazador Delicatessen on one side and Gray’s on the other; the latter serves coffee in Temuka mugs, its vintage armchairs are nice and comfy, and there are shelves of crafts and vintage wares to peruse.

Churly’s chimes in with an impressive 24 beers on tap – featuring plenty of its brewery Behemoth’s creations from over the years. As the home of The Lady Butcher, meaty menu items are especially good (and ethically raised).

The Bridgman occupies a handsome corner site that’s especially handy to Eden Park, and does a proper good Sunday roast.

At The Clare Inn, settle in by the fire to enjoy heart craic in the form of a bowl of Irish stew, a pint of Guinness and live music with Gaelic flavour.

Anna King Shahab is a food and travel writer, and the founder of online food community Lazy Susan.

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