The 2025 Top 50 will be revealed on Wednesday, November 19, and we want you to be involved.
“You might be curious,” says food writer Kelly Gibney, “but yes, being a part of the judging team for the Viva Top 50 Restaurants is as enjoyable a task as it sounds.”
Gibney joins the judging panel this year, alongside Viva dining out editor Jesse Mulligan, with the pair spending the last few months eating their way around Auckland ready to decide this year’s Top 50.
Mulligan is the authority on Auckland’s dining scene, thanks to his weekly Viva restaurant reviews and fortnightly recommendations column, where he advises readers on everything from where to take a first date to which tasting menus are the best value.
This is the fifth year of the Viva Top 50 Restaurants and it’s better than ever.
This year’s supreme winner, top 10, special category winners and full Top 40 will be revealed on Wednesday, November 19, but the conversation starts now. We want you to have your say.
You can email us and tell us your favourite Auckland restaurants, or head to our Instagram, where you can fill in and share your Top 10 story. Tag @nzhviva and use the hashtag #vivatop50.
If you’re anything like our judges, you’ll find it hard to narrow your list down.
“The standard is higher than it’s ever been,” says Mulligan. “Restaurants have got through a tough winter and are now bringing joy to the plate with bright spring ingredients and optimism for the summer ahead.”
Gibney, a food writer, photographer and cookbook author who spent 15 years working in the hospitality industry in Auckland, Melbourne and New York, says becoming a Viva Top 50 judge has been an exciting opportunity.
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Advertise with NZME.“I’m thrilled to be a part of the Viva Top 50 Restaurants for 2025. The high level of innovation, skill and heart we saw served up nightly in Auckland is incredibly exciting to share. I hope the list motivates readers to get out and experience it for themselves.”
Last year’s Supreme Winner was Gemmayze Street, and owner/chef Samir Allen says the accolade was “a surprising yet welcome recognition of the mahi we’ve done for the past nine years”.
The team celebrated on the day of the awards announcement by going out for a staff meal, followed by a big party after their last service for the week.
He says there was an immediate effect on the business after the news came out.
“We definitely had an increase in bookings. A lot of people came in who had never tried Gemmayze Street before, along with people who had come through years ago and were keen to try us again.”
There were also lots of congratulatory messages from his hospitality peers.
“Winning was a real morale booster for the whole team.”
A year on from the win, Allen is reflective.
“It’s been a pretty hard year for everyone in hospo and everyone in general,” he says. “It’s been a crazy time ... with so many institutions closing down, but at the same time [we’re] feeling hopeful, with new blood on the horizon and a hunger for authentic experiences like Bar Magda and Sagrado Cantina. This, alongside an amazing love and passion from long-standing places like Apero.”
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Advertise with NZME.Don’t miss the Viva Top 50 2025 next week, but in the meantime, catch up on last year’s list with the stories below.
Viva’s Top 60 Auckland Restaurants For 2024. Viva’s Dining Out Editor Jesse Mulligan and Deputy Editor Johanna Thornton select this year’s top 60 Auckland restaurants.
Get to know the 2024 Supreme Winner. Why Gemmayze Street was crowned the best of the best in last year’s list.
Jesse Mulligan & Johanna Thornton’s Special Category Winners. These restaurants have a little something extra special.
16 Superlative New Zealand Restaurants For 2024, According To The Viva Team. What are the best restaurants outside Auckland?
