Auckland’s beloved Bar Magda is turning four — and, true to form, the Karangahape Road favourite is marking the occasion with a celebration that speaks to its spirit: vibrant, collaborative, and deeply rooted in cultural expression. On June 21st and 22nd, Magda will host a two-night birthday event in partnership with Askal, one of Melbourne’s most exciting new restaurants, and its culinary director, the trailblazing Filipino-Kiwi-Australian chef, John Rivera.
It’s a meaningful full-circle moment for Rivera, whose culinary journey began in Tāmaki Makaurau before taking him to some of Australia’s most acclaimed kitchens. At Askal, the award-winning chef celebrates ancestral Filipino recipes through a contemporary lens, crafting dishes that are bold, expressive, and unapologetically grounded in identity. For Bar Magda’s birthday, Rivera and Magda’s own Carlo Buenaventura — himself a boundary-pushing champion of modern Filipino cuisine — will co-create a four-course menu that honours their shared heritage while nodding to the cultural crossover between Filipino, Māori, and Pasifika food traditions.
Guests can expect a sensory deep dive — through dishes that draw on fire, fermentation, and memory, through wine pairings that champion both local and Australian makers (including the third vintage of Magda’s own ‘Fantasy’ and the eatery’s new release — ‘Heartbreaker’), and through cocktails crafted by Askal’s Ralph Libo-on and Magda’s Matt Venables, each drink telling its own story.
Working with a host of excellent partners including Ora King Salmon, Kiwifish, Bidfood, Lumina Farms, Grey Lynn Butchers, and The Produce Company, Rivera and Buenaventura are set to put their best foot forward on the food front, with an inventive spin on Kiwi classics — highlighting oysters, kumara, beef and lamb, pāua, king salmon, and more.
Additional partners, Abstract Hotel, Blanc Distribution, and Brood Fermentation, round out what is set to be an exceptional experience.
The $135pp set menu (with optional $65 wine matches) is available to parties of between two and eight, with bookings essential. From the intimacy of the subterranean dining room to the dynamic interplay of two kindred culinary voices, it’s a birthday feast not to be missed.
Book Saturday 21st June here.
Book Sunday 22nd June here.
