Saints and sinners

AN EPICURE IN AUCKLAND

Away from the sleaze and grime of Auckland’s Karangahape Road and red light zone, known by the locals as K Road, St Kevin’s Arcade offers respite for the weary traveller or local.

The arcade, named after the patron saint of Dublin, offers an old colonial shabby-chic sanctuary from the craziness of K Road. It’s one of my favourite places in Auckland, if not the world. With views over leafy but vertiginous Myers Park to the Sky Tower, it’s a great place to  browse second hand books, vinyls, bric-a-brac, vintage clothes. Get a trendy hair cut or meet a friend for brunch. Here you can fritter away a morning contemplating whether the flat white is a Kiwi or Aussie invention at Bestie, or bolster your courage with a cheeky cocktail before braving the K Road nightlife.

With amazing produce and the cultural vibrancy of Asia meeting Pacific Islands and the West, Auckland offers outstanding epicurean experiences.

Five Auckland treats

1. Coffee and cocktails with St Kevin. See above.
2. Shuck the freshest oysters at Depot (Federal St)- as featured on rapper Action Bronson’s F&ck that’s delicious show, whilst sipping Champagne.
3. Party on Ponsonby. Cocktail bars and boutique eateries galore on this bon temps strip.
4. Tasty Thai. Proximity to Asia brings a cornucopia of spicy delights to suit all budgets. Mai Thai on Victoria Street is traditional, unpretentious, inexpensive with great service and authentic food.
5. Hang out with yachts and yuppies in a waterfront bar at Viaduct Harbour. Of course being New Zealand, the more adventurous have plenty of scope to hang out of, or jump off, or plunge into- boats, buildings, bridges, lakes, etc.

Additional photography kathryn_mcc.