Jesse Mulligan Restaurant Recommendations: Restaurants With The Best Views In Auckland

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By Jesse Mulligan

Monday Sep. 01, 2025

Viva

The view from Queens Rooftop bar takes in 270 degrees of Auckland. Photo / Jake Dennis

In this fortnightly series, Viva’s resident dining-out editor shares advice on where and what to eat.

Do you have any restaurant-related questions or dining-out dilemmas? Jesse Mulligan is here to help.

Email Jesse at Viva@nzherald.co.nz and tell him what you need. Where and what do you like to

Here are some questions he’s been asked lately and his answers.

Dear Jesse,

I have a friend up from Whanganui in a couple of weeks and I’d like to take them somewhere impressive. Perhaps Sugar Club up the Sky Tower? I was thinking about Queen’s Rooftop, but reading between the lines of your review I wondered if the food is up to much?

Thank you

Amanda

Hi Amanda

I have had some great times up at the Sugar Club, but am sorry to report that it is closed, presumably permanently. I haven’t had any official confirmation of this, but the website and Facebook page have been deactivated, and last time we checked in, the word they were using was “hiatus”.

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If your friend has never been up the Sky Tower, its Orbit 360 restaurant would be just fine. It’s $109 for a three-course menu, that view is a pretty good deal, I think, and the general standard at Sky City’s non-marquee restaurants is solid.

As to Queen’s Rooftop, I give it my full-throated endorsement. I was up there recently and it was humming, but the staff were doing a great job of keeping everybody happy. I was just doing drinks and chips (actually one of the great bowls of chips of my life – dusted in curry salt and served with mayo) but the menu looked good and I think your friend will appreciate the kitchen centrepiece: an iced-up raw bar with caviar, shellfish and various condiments on ice (you could order the seafood tower if you felt like pushing the fishing boat out).

Of course, 21 floors up isn’t quite as impressive as 52, but there is something nice about being close enough to the ground to see the ferries come in and Michael Parakowhai’s Lighthouse glowing in the dusk.

Depot Eatery & Oyster Bar. Photo / Babiche Martens

Dear Jesse

My husband catches a lot of kahawai and I end up pan-frying most of it. I wondered if any Auckland restaurants serve this fish – to perhaps give me some inspiration!

Kelly

Hi Kelly, thanks for the message!

Fishers who know what they’re talking about will tell you kahawai is one of the best-eating fish. I would take kahawai sashimi over snapper, and though some people find the blood off-putting, I think it is fantastic in the pan, as you’re doing it.

I’d never thought of putting it in a curry until I had it at Al Brown’s Depot, where it is grilled and then served in a light but spicy gravy of ginger and coconut. Since then I’ve been doing it that way at home too (this isn’t a recipe column but … fry some mustard and cumin seeds in ghee, add onion, then ginger, garlic, chili, turmeric, salt and a little tomato; throw in some curry leaves if you have them and a can of coconut milk, then simmer it until thick before dropping your fillets in!).

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Beyond that, I’ve eaten this beautiful species at Nanam (spring rolls), Culprit (smoked on toast), Hugo’s (in a croquette), Ostro (omelette!) and Kingi (dry aged, I think), but these places are now either closed, closing or have moved their menu on. Chefs! If you’re doing kahawai and you want to tell the world about it, let me know!

First Mates, Last Laugh is in Auckland's Westhaven Marina. Photo / Babiche Martens

Hi Jesse

We would appreciate some help finding a great restaurant for our annual work Christmas lunch (there are around 20 of us) within or fairly close to the CBD. We all like great food – but don’t want anywhere too stuffy. Being daytime, a spot with an outside setting, or near the water would be great. Any thoughts?

PS: Non Solo Pizza is a favourite and would have been perfect, but we are looking to do something different from our usual.

Cheers

Justin

Thanks for trusting me with your Christmas party, Justin!

I wonder if you’ve thought of First Mates, Last Laugh? It’s a really fantastic restaurant run by Auckland icon Judith Tabron, and it is right next to the water with plenty of parking (though it sounds like you may not want to be driving). In summer they have an ice cream bar, so you could finish your meal with a stroll around the waterfront and a dessert to go. Take a look at the menu and see if it looks like you.

With meals like this, where you don’t want anything to go wrong, I tend to choose based on operators as much as the restaurants themselves. You’ve already discovered Savor Group (the people behind NSP), so you should feel comfortable booking in at one of their other restaurants. How about Azabu Mission Bay, or Bivacco? While we’re in the Viaduct, do consider Soul Bar, which is legendary for a reason. And one extra thought – Gareth Stewart’s Advieh in the new (well, not very new now) Intercontinental; he is doing some of my favourite food in Auckland and they’re so big and slick that they won’t even blink when you tell them you’re booking in for 20.

Good luck and Merry Christmas!