The new Auckland bars and bistros to have on your radar.
Bria
Honey Bones is now Bria, a cafe and bistro from chef Reginaldo Richard and The Butcher Baker team. But don’t worry, “Honey Bones is still here, it’s just a little bit different,” says Richard. “We’ve changed the name
but the heart is the same.”
Named after the Latin word for “glass of wine”, Bria retains Honey Bones’ breakfast menu, including the Turkish-inspired Cilbir eggs and Istanbul scramble, while adding what Richard calls a more elevated lunch and dinner. Like a “mini Butcher Baker”, Bria’s evening menu features Middle Eastern and Mediterranean share plates, with seasonal ingredients cooked over charcoal and fire.
Richard opened The Butcher Baker in Helensville in 2022, but he’s never been far from Honey Bones. He co-founded the cafe with Hugo Baird nine years ago and has remained behind the scenes in menu development since.
The evolution to Bria came after he saw an opportunity to bring the craft and produce-driven approach of The Butcher Baker closer to the city, and expand Honey Bones into an evening service.
“Bria brings the farm-to-table philosophy of The Butcher Baker to the neighbourhood while still keeping that cafe vibe,” says Richard, who has refreshed the cafe’s interior with the help of Obel Studio, and has plans to add more tables and umbrellas to the popular corner spot on Richmond Rd.
“Lunch and dinner is a bit more elevated, but sharing style for people who want to hang out and have a glass of wine in the evening.”
Richard will split his time between both venues, working towards his long-term goal of The Butcher Baker being a fully organic farm-to-table restaurant. The team have been busy planting a 1000sq m garden next to the restaurant, which will provide both kitchens with seasonal produce – “it’s full of tamarillo and yuzu right now”.
“I want to have 85 to 90% of produce come from my own farm,” he says. “It’s a much longer process, but we want to make everything in-house and not cut corners.”
Bria will also offer cakes, pastries and bread delivered from The Butcher Baker kitchen (which is much larger), plus housemade ferments, marinated olives and hummus.
To drink, there are local wines from producers including Dicey, Deep Down and Greystone, alongside international drops and a handful of classic cocktails. While Honey Bones regulars will appreciate the familiarity, Bria also gives city diners a chance to experience Reginaldo’s Helensville cooking without making the drive.
Curio
Curio Lounge is just across the road from its parent restaurant, Culprit, in Auckland central.
The team behind Culprit have turned their bar Little Culprit into Curio, a cocktail and wine bar with a collection of curiosities adorning every surface. Old framed photographs, a pinboard covered in Gremlins cards, flickering candles and vintage objects have taken over the space, landing somewhere between an antique store’s back room and a 1980s video shop. But somehow it works.
The concept comes from chef/owner Kyle Street, who has created a playful spot for cocktails, wine and good snacks.
“I’m very proud of the new vibes; it feels like I finally have it the way I always wanted it,” says Street.
Viva recommends the tuna tostadas, fried Brussels sprouts scattered with crinkle-cut chips and the duck liver parfait with buttery toasted brioche.
Culprit’s famous Kaimoana Platter is also available at Curio. The cocktails, or “elixirs”, are all unique, from The Gremlin (tequila, Suze, mandarin, thyme and soda) to The Krump (bourbon, maple syrup and Marmite). With hip hop on the speakers, low lighting and booths full, this new addition to Auckland’s bar scene is a good time.
Den Ramen
New restaurant Den Ramen in Cross St. Photo / Babiche Martens
Den Ramen has opened on Cross St, just in time for the nearby Karang-a-hape Station to spring into action, when it’s likely to become even harder to score a table at this great little hole-in-the-wall (meant in the nicest way – it’s small, dimly lit and has minimal seating).
The walk-in-only spot comes from Taku and Noriko Hida of Miso Ra food truck, Pici and Ooh-Fa co-founder Kaz Suzuki and his partner Isabel Buckley, who was skilfully working the floor when Viva visited.
Specialising in a concise menu of just four ramen styles – two shoyu, shio and vegetarian miso ramen – Den Ramen is worth the wait. If there’s no room inside, have your name scrawled on the glass door and perch outside with a cloudy plum wine and a snack (don’t miss the grilled monkfish). To drink alongside your steaming bowl of noodles, there’s Kirin on tap, sake and cocktails including a particularly good yuzu negroni.
The Halligan
Hotel Indigo’s new cocktail bar, The Halligan.
The Halligan is a new cocktail bar on the second floor of Hotel Indigo overlooking St Patrick’s Square. It does have the air of a hotel bar to it (club chairs, an elevator music soundtrack), but there’s a lot to like about a good hotel bar, including being mere minutes away from your hotel room.
But hotel general manager Matt Simister says, “The Halligan has always been envisioned as much more than a hotel bar. We wanted to create somewhere that Aucklanders would genuinely choose to meet for an after-work drink, celebrate a special occasion or simply enjoy a great cocktail and a glass of wine.”
The cocktail menu features twists on classics, but you can also order a margarita or a martini to your liking. The drinks programme is led by bar manager Dylan Hawkins, whose CV includes overseeing Kemuri Hi-Fi’s opening, and food and beverage manager Joey Hickman, who brings experience from Pasture, Bossi, Ace Hotel New York and Hawksmoor London.
The Halligan’s food menu benefits from sharing a kitchen with Bistro Saine downstairs, with executive chef Yutak Son crafting the small plates offering.
Matchbox
Matchbox in Ponsonby. Photo / Babiche Martens
Continuing the theme of reinventing well-known hospitality addresses, Matchbox has opened in the former Deadshot space on Ponsonby Rd. The new late-night bar comes from Kamal Haggerty and Milenta co-owner and head chef Alejandro Vasquez, serving cocktails, tacos and snacks until 2am.
Why does Auckland need a Matchbox?
“It’s inspired by a personal need and what I see as an evolution in drinking culture – moving away from ‘hard and fast’ drinking toward spending meaningful, valuable time with friends over high-quality offerings,” says Haggerty.
Rather than stripping the venue back and starting again, the team have retained much of the original fit-out.
“Not everything needs to be wasted. Honestly, even if I wanted to build it this way from scratch, a brand-new space would look too manufactured. What we are doing isn’t entirely new, and this design respects both the history and the future of the space. We have recycled banquettes in the front yard and hustled the rest of the fit-out together using excess materials from friends.”
The drinks list draws on the team’s travels and the changing seasons, and the menu will rotate depending on what’s been batched that week, or day. What’s the ideal drink and snack combo?
“The Cafe Blanc cocktail is a great representation of our effort to create a full cycle: we make a hydrosol with rare coffee and use the coffee pulp, usually discarded, as a tea to infuse and coat the rice paper. Pair that with our pork belly taco, and you are experiencing the true essence of Matchbox.”
More new openings at a glance …
Aka, the new rooftop bar and restaurant on top of the Radisson Red hotel.
Aka Rooftop is a huge new rooftop bar located 15 floors above Lorne St at the top of the Radisson Hotel. It serves a “pan Asian” menu (bao buns, sashimi, dim sum) and inventive cocktails, with views across the city. 33 Lorne St, central city. Akarooftop.co.nz
La Buvette is a new cafe and wine bar from the Bare Wine team on Richmond Rd in Grey Lynn. While the closure of Bare Wine because of a licensing issue was a blow to Auckland’s hospo scene, this new spot serves coffee and pastries by day and cheese plates, beef tartare and baked scallops by night. As the nighttime offering evolves, diners can expect a top-notch edit of local and international wines. 104 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn. Barewine.co.nz
Salad superstars Bowler, creators of salads you actually want to eat, have a new spot in Takapuna’s Hurstmere Rd and are looking to open a second in the city to complement the Wynyard Quarter location. Unit 12/40 Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna. Bowlerbowler.com
Another Takapuna opening, Goldie’s Bar & Yard specialises in Southern American food (wings, ribs, mac ‘n’ cheese), live music and line dancing. 138 Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna. Stargroup.nz/venues/goldies-bar-and-yard
Gui is a Korean barbecue restaurant in Newmarket from the Olle team, with quality cuts cooked over charcoal, sizzling skillets and highball cocktails. 49 Nuffied St, Newmarket.Instagram.com/gui.newmarket
Coming soon …
The Cassia team are hard at work on the fitout of their new modern Indian restaurant at 58 Albert St, due to open later this year. In the meantime, you can find them at Ozone in Grey Lynn for a temporary residency, serving dinner from Wednesday to Sunday.
From the team behind fine dining restaurant The Grove (which closed in 2025), Italian-American eatery Perfetto is due to open at Smales Farm on the North Shore later this year.
Faradays luxury department store is due to open at 131 Queen St in September with an all-day restaurant on level one overlooking Vulcan Lane. Led by some hospitality heavyweights, this is one to keep an eye on.
Yola is a new restaurant taking shape in Ponsonby Central from the team behind The Lebanese Grocer. Described as a sister restaurant to their Pitt St eatery, which specialises in shawarmas and a deli section of take-home goodies like hummus and tabouli, Yola will bring Lebanese flavours, and drinks, to Ponsonby. You can watch the renovation and build progressing on their Instagram page.
More Auckland food & drink