Number 5 Restaurant

My boyfriend brought me here for a Friday night date, aren’t I a lucky lady. But enough with the bragging, lets talk how very oh la la this place is.
We had the five course degustation menu. To start the service was impeccable, with great timing on bring out each course. I enjoyed 3.5 of the 5 courses. The first course was scallops, which were very nice but they came with an apple sorbet (which was for pallet cleaning I believe) with rosehip gelatin and grapefruit… I just think it was too many flavors and I was not a fan of the over all flow of the dish. The other total miss for me was the beef brisket, the beef was just not cooked enough to be brisket. Brisket is suppose to fall of your fork while I couldn’t even cut this piece of beef with the knife, it was tough and chewy. However the dessert was amazing. I would love to come back here and try the regular menu.
The setting is very romantic and classy, and it would be a great place to bring someone you love or love to impress.

In Auckland, Restaurants come and go but one that has shown resilience and fortitude is Number 5 City Road.
It has always been our ‘go to’ place for that special date night where we know we will be treated to the most amazing food, wonderful service and special attention.
The degustation meal last night was outstanding! Every course was beautifully presented and excellent, with taste surprises on each plate. We began with butter poached king prawns and finished with an extraordinary dessert of strawberries and cream that included tarragon jelly and squares of marshmallow .
We congratulate Martina and her team for this Auckland dinning icon.

This is an absolutely fabulous restaurant. On vacation, we did not know if we wanted another fancy meal, but we decided to treat ourselves to something nice, and we’re glad we did.
We had Laurent Perrier champagne, Quarter Acre Syrah, Mondillo Pinot Noir, and Palliser Estate Sauvignon Blanc, oysters, smoked sticky short ribs, wild mushroom tortellini, silere merino lamb, monkfish, and valrhona chocolate.
What would we order again? Everything!
This restaurant outstanding food and outstanding service to match. This was a truly fabulous dining experience.

Overall a unique dining experience. Parking is near by and not too expensive after 6pm. We only had one waiter serving us 12 all nite and the time between the meals was a tad too long but he ensured the wine flowed freely. We went for the 5 course degustiation meal. The waiter was not too knowledgable when explaining the courses once served. Highlight Of the night was when the waiter poured water in a half full glass of wine much to the annoyance of my colleague. May go there again and try out the seven course meal or the fixed menu. The meals all in all portions small but yum and lovely presentation.

I was so excited to learn that Unilocal had finally made its way to The Land of the Great White Cloud because I’ve been wanting to Unilocal about this place FOREVER!!!
Have you ever been on a trip far away and had that ONE meal that defined that whole trip? My dinner at Number 5 was THAT meal for me on my first trip to New Zealand. I was staying at The Langham Hotel which is right next door and I was immediately drawn to the cheerful. inviting red brick exterior. The interior was equally inviting and cozy with a dark main dining room bathed in gentle candle light and a smaller back room with large windows.
The wonderful, charming staff were absolutely amazing in pairing just the right wines from their discerning and meticulous wine list to complement my meal. TRULY professional and knowledgeable about wine. I started with a Rocket Salad and I do not exaggerate when I say that the robustly fresh greens tasted as if they’d just been picked. For my main I had a filet grilled up a perfect, tender, melt-​in-​your-​mouth medium rare, accented by a red wine reduction and accompanied by roasted potatoes. Like many smart establishments, their menu is limited but everything on the menu is done exceptionally well and anyone who walks through the door is bound to leave satisfied.
While there are plenty of great places to eat back home in The States, the freshness and untainted, natural quality of the food was immediately noticeable. Foreigners will find this the case in most places in New Zealand but Number 5 REALLY stood out for making my dinner an experience, from the service to the atmosphere to the amazing cuisine. I was fortunate enough to be able to return to New Zealand and to be able to enjoy another meal which was no less amazing that the first.
If you are a local, consider yourself blessed to have such an amazing place to eat whenever you want to. For foreigners Number 5 is an absolute must. If it’s good enough for Burt Bacharach, Sean Connery and Princess Anne, it’s DEFINITELY good enough for me-​and it should be for you too!
Kia Ora!