How Paradise ate Sandringham

Indian restaurant Paradise is a phenomenon – three huge branches on the same small city block. Yet its biggest competitor is run by a co-founder, finds Duncan Greive, and their breakup has fuelled one of Auckland’s most intense food rivalries. “They paved a parking lot and put up a Paradise,” a Sandringham friend told me a while ago. He had introduced … Read more

Suck it up: why critics are good for restaurants

Now more than ever, says Simon Wilson, critics are good for restaurants and good for their customers too. The real problem in media coverage is the exact opposite: it’s uncritical feel-goodism and the lack of critics.  Everyone’s a critic. It’s always been true about restaurants, because we all eat so we all know what we … Read more

Chart of the week: the hospitality game

Three Figure.NZ charts offer a snapshot of the people who work in New Zealand restaurants and bars – and where. New Zealand’s growing hospitality sector has been in headlines recently both in relation to immigration policy and the rapidly changing face of the industry itself. But who is cooking and pouring and serving, and where?

Stay hungry: the insatiable appetites driving New Zealand’s restaurant and bar revolution

a special longform feature brought you by The Spinoff and DB Breweries Rose Hoare speaks to chefs, architects, critics and hospitality identities to evaluate the state of the art in eating and drinking – without once using the word ‘foodie’. Even trends are getting trendier Let’s address the elephant in the room right away: kale has peaked. … Read more