Al’s Deli

Cronuts, alcoholic milkshakes, poutine — all exceptional. I went here after some knee surgery as I was feeling sorry for myself and the self indulgent things available cheered me up no end. I cannot recommend it enough if you are nearby. A cool diner for a date night too!

I have been in the hospital for a week with a severely broken arm and the requisite surgery. The hospital had to get the pain team to work with me, because of the way my case was just not healing according to the textbook. I had no appetite. I was not sleeping. And, the pain was just not subsiding.
Uncertain of how to go any further, I turned to prayer. In a my ennui and pain-​coloured haze, I looked to Menu log for Divine Scripture. Once I moved past the Old Testament and further from the equally holy, yet not capable of the miracles I require, bagels and sandwiches, God led me to the poutine and kosher pickles. In a frenzy fuelled by the Holy Spirit and pain pump, I called my husband to the true Redeemer and our last chance for Salvation.
Their delivery was fast. Knowing the condition of my body and soul, Al’s took a truly pastoral approach to my redemption and healing in this mortal realm and threw in a blessing in the form of a donut. This is what my new religion call «The Lard’s Prayer». You can practice it at any time, and it will give you strength when you need it.
The poutine was perfection. I had to call my Wisconsin-​born friend to join me in consuming the divine food from the heavens above, as the days of illness left me in a state of low appetite. The curds were pillows of cheese, melting beautifully into the fries and gravy, leaving me in comestatory ecstasy as I devoured what I could in my feeble state.
After the meal, I was able to sleep through the night. My arm feels better. And, with further help from Al’s magic poutine, I may be able to go home today.
Bless you, Al’s Deli. Your poutine should be integral to the complementary and alternative medicine offerings to encourage healing at the hospital. In the meantime, thank you for your Québécois rongoa.

I have ordered delivery many times in the past. The only negative is that delivery usually takes a very long time so you have to plan in advance.
In saying that, the food is definitely worth the wait so I’m more than happy to give it five stars. I usually order The Mount with a sesame seed bagel and added avocado. It’s hard to believe that a BLT bagel could be worth five stars but it is! The bacon is always perfectly crispy, the perfect amount of mayo, and the creaminess of the avocado. The poutine is a harmonious mass of chips, rich gravy and squeaky cheese. My only complaint is that I can’t have it wveryfay

My favourite place to eat, just love it! Definitely get the poutine. Service is so great, very friendly. I love this place.

If you want a taste of Canadian goodness, this is the place to be. Reasonable pricing, novel, and pretty good food. The smoked meat sandwich on rye is an experience you can’t pass up.
Had the ribs once, and they weren’t the best, but the portion was solid. Managed to share their Thursday night special between two.
Poutine, glorious poutine. I prefer mine with chicken gravy rather than beef, but it’s definitely a must have.
Oh also. The shakes. Try them. Mmmm

I always enjoy a visit here though I think the poutine needs a few more curds! They make their own though so I can see how it’d be difficult to load up the fries with curds like they do in Canada. Their milkshakes and sweets are divine (don’t go past the maple and bacon cronut/​moose ear thing) and my boyfriend really enjoyed his brisket sandwich.

I’ve come here a number of times with a variety of different people, and I always feel the same thing; if they tried 10% harder in all fields, this could be an incredible spot. For example, why not finish those bathroom reno’s or wash the windows more frequently? Why not douse the buffalo chicken a little bit less so that you can appreciate all the flavours? If you want to create a social media chair, invest in some signs and promotion. Why not get a graphic designer to do a beautiful job of the menu? There are all these little things that prevent the Als Deli experience, and bother me enough to not go there more frequently.
And a side note: I’m not a chef, so can’t seem to understand the need for so many different specials and directions the food seems to go in. Paleo lunchboxes next to the deep fried waffle donut with bacon? Us customers just want to understand in a second what to expect. Then we can get onboard with.

Had a very average experience here. The wait staff we’re rude– treated me and my partner like we were a hassle, the food took forever, they had run out of an item we wanted, and they forgot about our drinks. We’ve been here a few times before and every time an item we’ve wanted to order they’ve run out of it which is a little frustrating– to have it happen once is an okay thing but three times is a little inexcusable.
In saying that, the food we did get was nice and they had generous servings.

I ordered the eggs Benedict with spinach, was nice, but the eggs weren’t even runny which was a bit of a let down. However the service was good :)

A nice brunch spot with quirky retro décor. Good eggs bene, especially good on the onion bagels. Good coffee. Pancakes are nice. The avocado smash is delicious. Good service.
Would be better if they had complimentary Sunday papers and magazines. No fresh juice menu.

Al’s Delis is one of my favourite places in Auckland! Their bagels are amazing, the milkshakes are heavenly good and ooohh their poutine… No words to describe! I love having breakfast there, specially the bacon pancakes which are the fluffier I’ve ever tried.
I truly recommend Al’s Deli.

Seriously the best find we’ve made regarding food nearby. This is somewhat unfortunate as we’ve been the the Korean BBQ directly beneath it, which is easily my most hated restaurant within a 50 km radius. Seriously. And we didn’t even see that Al’s was upstairs! ARGH!
I am mystified by the less-​than-​5-​star reviews here. We’ve been twice now and intend to return today. Our first visit consisted of the Main (the kinda brisket that melts in your mouth) and a hot dog, with fried pickle chips. If any issue could be had it’d be that it was a lot of food. Awesome food.
We went another day for The Works Bloody Caesar. Now, a Bloody Mary is a rare creature in Auckland for whatever reason. If you ask the average bartender to whip one up they’ll just look at you like you’ve got a severe social disorder. So hunting down a tasty one is rather on par with finding a unicorn, a parking space near my house, or an honest politician.
This The Works drink has me considering changing my will in favour of Al.
We also tried to wings, somewhat reluctantly given that hot wings aren’t a ‘thing’ in NZ. As far as I’ve been able to tell for 3 years. They’re always terrible. Except for Al’s! Holy wow. I can have wings again.
We’re going back today, and presumably many times to come. Looking forward to trying out the poutine.
You rule, Al. I know it’s a Canadian feel but this American is thrilled to have found you. OOh, I DO have a suggestion. Ever consider having a Reuben on the menu? I’d do unspeakable things for a proper Reuben. Cheers!

Expectations were very high and this place didn’t deliver. Guys, its tasty, but artery-​cloggingingly boring kind of tasty. Everything tastes like the beef flavouring on McDonalds fries.
I was super excited about the poutine, but they’d run out of cheese curds. The lovely waiter convinced us it’d be fine with replacement cheese. It wasn’t.
The hard shakes were also really exciting, but didn’t deliver. The alcohol didn’t manage to turn a pretty average milkshake into anything more than that. Half a cup of whipped cream on top didn’t up the stakes either.
Give it a miss and go to the fabulous Korean BBQ downstairs.

I was lured in (finally!) by a FB post with the day’s special — Al Burger and Fries for $ 10 & $ 1 Bagels — and regret not coming here sooner! I had my food to go after a veeery long day at work, and the bagels were for work the next day. YUM. That pretty much covers it — quickly made & quickly eaten, portion size was very good value for money with quality ingredients nonetheless. But they offer perogies and Ribs **drool** on occasion too! There is a limited selection of popular Canadian junk food available as well. Oh, and my bagels were amazing, cannot recommend the onion ones highly enough — FYI, they are the more doughy Canadian style bagels.

Al’s Deli represents all that is good about food. They’re aware of trends and they also respect good old fashioned comfort food. I’m constantly surprised and impressed by the new additions to the Als menu. Plus, it’s great to know I can try something new or go back to a regular favourite knowing both will be wonderful. While some of the staff aren’t so great, most of the people involved are awesome and I hope they continue to do well and become an Auckland institution

What a great piece of Canada in New Zealand! The owner is from Montréal. Though I don’t agree with their themed hockey team of choice (Hab’s), the atmosphere was great.
I had ‘Al’s Burger’. It was delicious along with the fries and slaw that came with it. There’s a TV for the hockey game. They also serve a poutine burger that looked great. Lastly, they recently acquired Canada Dry for those Kiwi ginger ale lovers out there.

It’s easy to get Al’s Deli confused with Al Brown’s Federal Delicatessen, especially with the association with bagels. But Al’s Deli is a completely different eatery owned by Canadian chef Aleks Lazic. Tucked quietly on City Road just off the slope of Queen Street, Al’s Deli is a perfect hangout spot to grab a bite for breakfast or a catchup in town. It’s a mix between an American style retro diner and a café, complete with mismatched retro style chairs and barstools looking out towards the city.
Although famous for their Montréal style bagels, I would still vouch for the Ugly Bagel for the chewier and moist consistency rather than the dense ones here.
There were mainly 3 things I went there to try:
1. Poutine — world famous in Canada, originating in Quebec. French fries topped with gravy and cheese curds.
2. Juicy ribs. That is all.
3. Apple pie fries — the novelty here wins my heart.
You are spoilt for choice from the menu so if you’re a food fattie like me, try the Mixed Grill option — that gives you a taste of the famous ribs, sirloin for the meat lovers and crispy chicken with «secret spice». Surprisingly it was the sausages and crispy chicken that made me come back for seconds. The sirloin and the ribs are replaceable at home or at other eateries.
The portions we ordered were huge but I was recommended to try the buffalo wings. And boy was I glad! Opting for the Sweet and Sour option, next time I’d be braver to try Franks Hot Sauce or the bloody Mary option. They’re everything you would want in buffalo wings, not overdone in the fryer but soaked in juicy sauce.
Over to the poutine — I was so keen to try it — I’ve never had it before and touted as Canada’s national dish, I had to give it a fair go. The fries were soaked in gravy so much that it was soggy. Some say that’s the authentic way, others say the french fries should be crispy on the outside. I personally didn’t mind it being saturated in gravy, but you can’t go bare hands eating this with hot gravy! While the concept of eating fat-​on-​fat may seem to put off healthy addicts, you just can’t go to a Canadian restaurant without trying this.
As soon as I went into Al’s Deli, I had to be sure they still had apple pie fries available. Word is that they always sell out before closing. Lucky they made a fresh batch just for us! If the words apple pie fries hadn’t sunk in, it should have now. These are literally fries filled with hot apple pie goodness in the middle. To top the novelty off, you dunk them into salted caramel sauce. So amazing, I would order this again next time I go back, regardless of how full I am.
Al’s Deli is comfortable, the atmosphere buzzing and the staff were very friendly and genuine, always up for a good laugh. Whilst the food is somewhat average compared to the hype, I would come here to try the poutine, buffalo wings and apple pie fries. It is comfort food and you’ll walk out feeling satisfied and laden with good food.

I like the concept of this place, especially the logo design! It portrays its style VERY well. seriously, touché.
ANYWAYS, we ordered a lot between 4 girls, where do i even start? well first of all we shared everything (so we could have a taste of everything haha those are our rules), we ordered full rack of ribs, poutine, buffalo chicken wings, Al’s burger, chicken salad, broccoli/​kale, 2 root beer floats, 1 peanut butter chocolate shake, 1 coke (and later another two girls joined us but only one ate so we ordered an additional hotdog, root beer and apple pies fries) and omg our table looked ridiculously small with all this food.
BEST DISH: to be honest, nothing really STOOD out to us. as the Sals pizza buffalo wings are nicer with their blue cheese sauce mmmmmmmm soo good. The poutine was very tasty but gravy makes everything taste good (just like how kewpie sauce does too). The ribs were a little dry but still tasty, a little hit of sour too which was interesting. SOOOOO I’m going to say it’s the brioche burger because i could keep eating that bun… i don’t know why… but so crispy and buttery… that patty just complimented it haha.
WORST (or better put most hyped) DISH: Apple pie fries… Yo, where the apples at? the pastry was overpowering the apples, as was the sauce. I like how they challenged the traditional apple pie and tried to give it a new modern hipster twist but nah i’m ok, i’ll stick to the traditional one haha (i’m sorry i cheated on the original… never again)
CONCLUSION: ordered way too much. waddled out with food babies. love the design and concept. love the way they think and presented a modern hipster twist on some traditional dishes but they also stayed classic with their root beer floats and poutine. Would i go again? i ate faster than i found a parking so not very likely… or maybe that shows i should eat slower…

Al’s Deli is a Canadian institution relatively new to the Auckland dining scene. They stock a range of Canadian beer which is nearly impossible to find anywhere else in this country! Canadian classics such as poutine, the Caesar cocktail and homemade cheesecake feature on their menu & you can’t go past trying their signature apple pie fries!
They in fact are so dedicated to giving New Zealander’s a real Canadian experience that they make their own bagels, brioche for their burger buns, bacon, smoked salmon, smoked brisket, their own sourdough rye bread, sausages, desserts and cheese!
Fancy a Dr Pepper or A&W Root Beer with your lunch? How about a naughty but nice ‘hard’ shake? They even have a burger called the Holy Tabarnak which only a real Canadian would understand ;)

I am not sure how long this place has been around, but it is a pretty cool place. It doesn’t have an ambiance per say, but it does have a decent bagel. Oh & try the poutine. Quite alright. Not quite as good as the al brown poutine, but still fries, gravy and cheese curd is a yummy thing. To add a little more realism to this maple flavoured experience my waitress had a thick Canadian accent.
Oh and I had the BLT. It really championed their maple smoked bacon. There is something called a moose ear!!! I don’t know what that is about but I might have to indulge myself. Anyway I hope this place does well. The Canadian exchange students seem to dig this little slice of Canada.