I love this new eatery and Oyster Bar! A great Kiwi theme done with style rather than tacky. Al Brown is one of our best chefs who specialises in local and wild fare, the food was divine and a great laid back yet still stylish atmosphere. We loved the menus made using old 60′s photographs & cutlery in mackerel tins. The complimentary hummus was out of this world…God knows what made it taste so good?! The share platter type menu. Although I didn’t want to share my pork dish – melt in the mouth, falling off the bone crisp pork hock with apple & horseradish Salsa Verde and the most delicious light & creamy mash, with a side of delicious asparagus tossed on the grill with black olive butter. Beautiful glistening fresh seafood from the raw bar including an array of oysters and Tuatua clams, mmm. A must for locals and visitors alike. (Sampling fresh seafood is a must in NZ – don’t let past experiences of yukky fish dishes taint the experience – we have some of the best!) No reservations allowed so we rocked up for a late lunch on a Saturday at 2pm and got a seat no problem. Service with a smile too. A new favorite!

Day – Monday

Time – 1pm

I love this place – have spent $1000′s there if not 10′s of thousands on client entertainment since it opened and will keep going back, clients love it

The good;

Freshly shucked seafood – the best – period – just go and drink the bulk wine and eat those delights and you’ll be very very happy, along with any and everything on the starters menu

Mains – Beef is excellent

Chicken Main – BEWARE – as it is young and free range it can and does come with some pink evident and blood on the bone – we questioned it and were given a fair explanation, but old habits die hard so we had a little of it but the majority went back – as I say, tasted fine but always being taught not to eat anything but well cooked we couldn’t stomach it

Hapuka Belly – if you are used to eating belly cuts or cuts that have a fairly high fat content, you won’t be too put off as has very strong, almost pungent fish flavor – people next to us raved about it, I didn’t mind it but clients smiled and had one mouthful ( Note – I’ll eat steak that is blue, lambs brain fritters, most offal so different stuff doesn’t bother me )

Deserts were good – Tamarind was great, Brie cheese rocked

So, go with confidence, but if you’re conservative on what you eat, stick to the staples

Definitely recommended though

Had high hopes after the Metro award and various good reviews. The place was packed when we arrived (8pm on a Tuesday) but we were lucky enough to get seated virtually straight away. Our seats were at the bar so not what you normally expect from a top restaurant but we went with the casual vibe. Service was nice and friendly, and seemed to cope well with a full house. The first dish I thought was great – prosciutto with figs and a blue cheese on toasted ciabatta, my wife wasn’t so impressed, largely as her bit of ciabatta was 50% charcoal. Things kind of went downhill from there though. We decided to be adventurous and ordered the Bone Marrow. It tasted nice and the combination with the parsley and shallot salad was very good…except it was insanely fatty, and so by the time we had mostly finished it we were feeling a bit gross. Next up was the lamb ribs, and unfortunately after the extreme fattiness of the Bone Marrow, it was just more fattiness and only increased the feeling of grossness. The skordalia & cumin paprika oil accompaniment was pretty innocuous and didn’t really add much. We decided to try and balance it by out by ordering a beetroot and goats cheese salad. It came with yellow beetroot, which were, to be honest, bland and tasteless, and the goats cheese and walnuts were powerless to lift the dish.

We decided on the Quince Tarte Tatin for dessert. It was an interesting variation but not as nice as a good apple one, with the quinces lacking the gooey caramely-ness that you get with apples. Different, but not as good – so what’s the point?

To cap off the disappointment we ordered a coffee which was very average.

All in all I liked the concept of casual eating with unfussy food, and judging by its popularity so do plenty of other people, but our experience was a long way from ‘best restaurant in town’ territory. Maybe we just made some bad menu choices (although that shouldn’t really be possible in a top restaurant), but we are not in a hurry to go back for another shot.

Turned up on a Thursday evening. Packed to the rafters, but the staff were onto it and took my mobile number and said I’d get a text in about an hour. Can’t blame the restaurant for being busy a good sign if anything (they don’t take reservations).

Popped across the road to Bellota for a couple of drinks, the Mojito is my current fav and the girl behind the bar did a great job of knocking up a couple of these while we waited for the text. Probably should have stayed there in hindsight.

Text arrived around an hour later and we wandered over. Service was great especially given the place was humming. But the tapa’s left a lot be be desired considering the place had just been awarded the golden gong by Metro magazine. Just goes to show it’s not what you know but who you know. Tried a multitude of dishes, Oysters OK but not Bluff, they are what they are I suppose. The little fish burgers were pretty hopeless, kind of thing you whip up for the kids. Nothing wrong with them but just not in keeping with a restaurant of this class. Can’t remember the majority of the rest, which speaks volumes I guess, OK but not memorable.

There are two dishes however I won’t forget. The first was the bone marrow. I’ve had this in the past in the form of a bread crumbed deep fat fried version and it was awful. But I figured I’d give it another go given the establishment I was in. A definite improvement this time around but after the first couple of spoon fills of well seasoned liquefied fat I can’t understand why any restaurateur would bother serving it.

The highlight was the mussels with chorizo, garlic and tarragon absolutely sublime what a great combination of favours!

All in all, this seems to be the ‘in’ place at the moment, filled with the usual CBD crowd. Fit out is nothing special, but the atmosphere is good if not a little loud with those who can’t handle their beer/wine. We spent $180 on wine and food and were left wondering if it was money well spend.

Auckland’s best restaurant? Not by a long shot. But the owner must be laughing each time he checks his bank statement!

I love this place! For a casual pop in, delicious light eats and wine from a cup…you can’t go wrong. Has a fantastic vibe, and the interiors are warm and inviting.

The food suffers a few slips here and there – but maybe that’s understandable with how busy they always are.

The oysters are the coldest I’ve ever had, love a really cold oyster and the chardonnay dressing is fantastic!

It is worth overcoming the challenges of getting into this place to experience the food. It can look a bit chaotic from the outside but the service is fantastic and organised.

Standouts from the menu for us were the Turbot sliders, Epicurean Courgette Flowers, Snapper Wings and for something different the Fergus’ Bone Marrow.

Noisy, busy and really worth a try.

Love this place, simple but trendy. good for a quick bite to eat with friends or after office drinks. The sliders are lovely but some improvements to the fajitas are needed. will come back!

Exceptional…fantastic (slightly quirky but not at all pretentious) menu, amazing service, über cool decor…loved it! Will definitely be back, in fact it’s our wedding anniversary next week and this will be a great place to celebrate. Interesting location ( feels like you are somewhere other than Auckland)

5 of us there for lunch this Saturday — ordered the lamb ribs, beef fajitas, pork hock, clams, hapuka fish belly, and a couple of other dishes. The quality of the food is as good as the laid-back vibe. The flavours of all the dishes deserve a mention — very good. A place to eat-and-enjoy the buzz; not so much for lingering about and engaging in heavy or romantic talk.

Apparently, I’m told, lots of suits there for lunch, mid-week

This was such a great dining experience! The food was absolutely beautiful, and the staff were so amazingly friendly and down to earth. Will most definetly be back soon!! Thank you to everyone at Depot!

Stunning food, great service. Highlight of my foodie weekend in Auckland.

The decor is fun and relaxed, casual style menu that was easy to read with little embellishment. What you read was what you got. Ooodles of flavour on cool plates. Nice touch with the koha flatbread and babaganoush.

Ate the food, bought the book now home to read and cook.

After read about the new places around Skycity we decide to have a look and try for ourselfs this new and popular eatery & oyster bar. The place is medium size but generally is full so for sure you will be shoulder to shoulder with your neighbours around. Is a cool and casual place to go perfect for after office of course we try a fresh orongo bay oysters and after I get a beautiful Crisp pork hock w/ apple & horseradish salsa verde, a real good choice with a tap red wine glass. Is not a cheap place but it worth it. Really enjoyable.

Just got home from a fantastic evening at Depot with my boyfriend and his visiting French parents.

Very impressed!

Bonus that there was a very charming French waiter there, but apart from that, the food was fantastic, we didn’t have to wait long for a table, and the wait staff were attentive and friendly, making us feel immediately at home.

Tua tuas to start: ooh la la! Vinagrette was awesome. Highly recommended: turbot sliders, veal with capers and falling-apart pork hock.

Can’t wait to come back with friends, thanks for a great night.

This place was extremely busy on New Year’s Eve. I wasn’t sure what to expect because my friend planned the evening.

The menu certainly looked exciting and each dish was a pleasant surprise to me in terms of taste. However, I felt that the food was overpriced for its setting. A $22 share plate gets you 3 small pieces of whitebait fritter. For that I’d expect myself to be sitting somewhere in Viaduct, not around a tiny table where our elbows were touching each other.

Went with four friends and shared ‘one of everything’. It’s a great menu and a quality experience.

Oysters, sliders and pork-hock a real highlight.

The fit-out is pretty stunning as well.

Had great fun at Depot the other night! Gorgeous food. Lovely, friendly and helpful young Irish waitress. All the food we ordered was fresh and tasty and…. perfect! Great to see this pocket of the city coming alive with some exciting eateries.

God What a Great Place!

I must say the first time I want too impressed waiting outside for a table. It was a windy night and we weren’t even in the restaurant! But the service is great and the drinks kept coming so we were happy.

It only got better once seated, the food was just wonderful and quite different – the flavours.

Great wait staff and you even get to meet your neighbouring dinners at the shared tables.

So since going in Mid November I’ve been back 3 times…..would even consider giving up cooking so I could go every night.

I must say we went here with fairly high expectations and found ourselves underwhelmed. Perhaps a case of anticapointment but I have definitely had a much better experience at a lower overall price.

I found the Kiwianaesque decor at odd with the restaurant price level. Its all very well sitting at rough tables drinking wine from picnic tumblers, but you can have a similar experience at the Loaded Hog.

There were definitely some very good dishes. Recommend the lamb ribs, sashimi and baked fish. There were also some pretty ordinary ones. Whitebait fritters that consisted more of flour and egg than whitebait. Snapper with coleslaw in rolls – snapper had saggy batter al-la cheapo F+C shop.

Have had better value for money elsewhere and even though it wasn’t bad, I wont be in a hurry to back.

Walked in off the street prior to RWC final for an early dinner en route to the game. Staff were very welcoming and managed to squeeze us in right at the kitchen bench where we had a fantastic meal. Service was excellent, Al Brown was around chatting to diners – seems like a nice man.

Good food, great ambiance and will definitely be back

Loved the setting! Loved the food! Staff very friendly.
Chair/ stools gave me backache and was a Little pricey but that would be the only negative comments. Had the fishcakes, tortilla, pork and brisket. All fab! The sugar pie was yummy but the RHUBARB and ginger pie was the best! Will be back.

I was really disappointed especially after the rave reviews. The food was bland and expensive. $6 for two small pieces of iceberg lettuce with some dressing drizzled over the top. The mayonnaise with the whitebait fritter tasted like the stuff out of a large plastic bottle. Very protein heavy meals and I wanted veges as well (other than coldish potato skins. The felafel’s were very nice but the accompanying harissa sauce was bland. I ordered the gingerbread for dessert and they brought me the sugar pie. I told the waitperson I had the wrong dessert she had to get someone to check for me. He rolled his eyes and came back and got the dessert, took it to the checkout where the staff looked at it before coming back to me and apologising. When I did get the gingerbread – it was burnt. I won’t be back.

AMAZING!!!
superb food and fantastic service, will defiantly be back again. such attention to detail, very attentive and helpful staff, love how you can watch them cook and prepare seafood.

5 stars all the way!!!!

Have been 3 times in a week. Absolutely love the place. The food in amazing, simple but very delicious. The service is great and I love the wine in the water glasses. Old school without being tacky. Best food and service I’ve come across in Auckland in a really long time

The service was good for a busy Wednesday night and the pacific oysters were the best I’ve tasted. Things were looking up. Unfortunately the rest of the food was disappointing: The falafels and kahawai cakes were ok but crumbly, the mini burgers and snapper tortillas were largely tasteless. The brisket was nice but there were hardly any red beans and only a teaspoon of rice. The skirt steak was small and tough, the pork hock was mostly bone and crackling, and the carrot and beetroot salad was tiny and over-cooked. Overall the food was largely tasteless, overpriced and over-complicated.

They serve wine in water glasses but we insisted on wine glasses instead.

If you like oysters I would recommend an oyster plate and a glass of wine (in a wine glass), then move on.

We went there on a Friday. We arrived and were told there would be a 25 min wait, for a table for the 2 of us, and we could wait outside. It was cold and wet outside so we ended up waiting in the Grand Hotel. Not taking bookings is a pain.

The food was o.k but I wouldn’t rave about it. We had a platter of different meats that was good. My wife’s small fish burgers were a bit bland. The pork hock is a fatty cut of meat but didn’t have anything on the plate to to cut through the fat taste. The oysters were great as they were freshly shucked.

It’s a noisy place and the bar stools aren’t that comfortable. Not a great place for a romantic lunch.

Wow,what a great place.Popped in for breakfast and wished we’d stayed for lunch.Best coffee ive had in a long time and the bacon butty has me hooked.Super friendly staff,fantastic service,fresh tasty food.Cant wait to go back

Just popped in to have a quick cup of coffee with a friend this morning. We walked in and were a little unsure of whether we needed to order at the bar or sit down and order with a waitress and as there was nobody at the front desk, we decided to ask the barista who was busy behind the bar. We stood for a couple of minutes unnoticed before I interrupted the barista and asked him how to order for a “drink in” coffee.
After seating ourselves and waiting a further couple of minutes, I called the waitress as she walked past our table. So a little slow on the uptake with the service part of things.
BUT, Once our coffee arrived, all was plain sailing. The very friendly manager came over and poured some water for us. I must say, this is the BEST cup of coffee I’ve found in Auckland to date. I look forward to trying their food soon…

3 varieties of oysters shucked to order – what a start! Loved the vinegrette

Enjoyed several small plates, kahawai fish cakes, kingfish shashimi and snapper tacos all delicious and great to share.

On waitresses recommendation we tried the pork hock next – a huge plate of meat served with the bone, tender, tasty and certainly slowed us up a bit!

Great to watch the chefs cook meals in the wood fired oven – and although we didn’t order it the Hapuka belly looks amazing – next time.

We managed to find space for the sugar pie to finish – mmmmm to die for!

Service was great, food came quickly and all washed down with a tap savingnon.

An amazing experience. Well be back.