Burn those trackpants (or, at least, store them at the back of your closet) — we’re planning on seeing out this year with a bang and a banging ensemble. The outfit recipe of a dress, showstopping shoes and sparkling accessories is simple to put together yet highly impactful, whether you go for a full-length frock or a playful mini. Either way, you’ll be making an unforgettable impression in all the right ways.
From the team behind Point Chevalier neighbourhood spot Ambler, and polished Wynyard Quarter bistro Wander, Atelier is the latest new opening to join Karangahape Road’s sought-after stable of eateries — and it’s more than holding its own with an offering of French-inspired small plates and extensive drinks list.
While Ambler is brimming with laidback charm and Wander is a bright and breezy all-day eatery, Atelier is slightly more grown-up but no less welcoming. Located next to Artspace, the generously-sized restaurant has 100 seats indoors and 20 out the front, making for a versatile space that can play host to many occasions and gathering sizes.
Owners and executive chefs Kélian Monteil and Alexis Petit (both hailing originally from France) have created an enticing menu that focuses on French techniques and dishes while celebrating New Zealand’s excellent produce. Working seasonally with independent suppliers is incredibly important to the duo, and they specifically seek out New Zealand-based makers offering French products.
Food-wise, there’s plenty of options for just a light snack with a drink, or a full spread for a feast. On the light end, find Te Matuku oysters; hummus topped with roasted hazelnuts and delicate purple kumara crisps; smoked olives, and various charcuterie board sizes. There’s a special Daily Bread sourdough loaf made exclusively for Atelier, a mixture of rye, wholemeal and baker’s flour, served with whipped kina butter.
Each dish is a joy to look at and to eat — from smoked trevally rillettes to black pudding eclairs with scallops and fennel; smoked stracciatella with slow-roasted tomatoes and eggplant, and braised beef cheek pavé that is so tender you could eat it with a spoon.
Desserts are exquisitely rendered — the lemon and Speculoos tart makes use of the beloved Biscoff-type Belgian biscuit as a base and is topped with perfectly zesty lemon curd and soft meringue, while the mille-feuille with salted butter caramel and chantilly is an absolute show-stopper.
In terms of drinks, where Atelier sets itself apart is that it offers every single one of its wines by the glass as well as by the bottle, no matter how top tier it might be. The team uses the Coravin preservation system to make this viable — using a hollow needle, the technology inserts an inert gas into the wine bottle to prevent oxidisation without having to remove the cork.
The selection is extensive and includes a wide range from organic and natural drops, to full-bodied classic wines, from both local and international makers including Australia and France. There’s also a selection of great cocktails and the team has taken advantage of the ever-innovative selection of non-alcoholic beverages to offer two zero alcohol wines, a beer, mocktails and kombucha.
The Atelier team always knew they wanted to open on Karangahape Road, and were delighted to have signed onto this spot in the old post office back in 2020. While the pandemic has made the road to opening a long and winding one, now they’re finally here we suggest you go and give them a warm welcome.
Opening hours:
Wednesday & Thursday: 4pm — late
Friday, Saturday & Sunday: 3pm — late
Closed Monday & Tuesday.
Since launching as a food stall late last year, Roti Bros has had a following of enthusiastic pie-lovers hot on its heels. Well known for its signature hybrid pastries that apply the concept of a classic Kiwi pie to soft, buttery roti paratha and South Asian and Indian flavours, Roti Bros is the brainchild of Ollie Morrison and Logan Stevens who came up with the idea during Auckland’s first lockdown.
Fast forward to now, and the pie purveyors are ticking off a major milestone with the opening of their very first standalone outpost today — a cosy, golden-lit store in downtown Auckland’s Commercial Bay. Operating initially as a six-month pop-up, it’s a full-circle moment for them as their journey originally started in the same part of town.
“Our very first stall was at the Britomart Markets in September 2020, so to be opening at Commercial Bay just over 12 months later is a great achievement for us, it feels quite surreal seeing it come to life,” said Morrison and Stevens. “We want to make the Roti Pie a common delicacy, and establishing a brick-and mortar-foothold in the city is a big step in the right direction.”
The core operational team has also grown to include Production Manager Varun Singhal, plus a few friendly faces who will be welcoming customers at the shop day-to-day.
Upon the opening of Roti Bros IRL, the offering encompasses hot, ready-to-eat pies in the Bros’ three popular, core flavours — Butter Chicken, Thai Beef and the vegan Vege Panang — plus two delicious limited-edition flavours: Chicken Madras and Red Thai Duck Curry. There are also frozen pies available to take away, and Roti Bros’ online store is still operating as usual for those outside the city.
“The vision for eateries at Commercial Bay is about having unique, delicious food that you wouldn’t typically find at other malls, said the Roti Bros duo. “Being alongside the likes of Gochu, Fatimas, Ahi, Hawker & Roll (and the rest of the incredible list of food outlets) seriously spins our wheels.”
They’re also excited to be providing nearby offices with Roti Pies to enjoy for lunch — we can certainly attest to the fact that they make for a delicious midday treat any day of the week.
So, whether you’re stopping by for a hot pie or savvily stashing a frozen selection for later, we suggest you make a visit to Roti Bros the hottest ticket on your agenda.
Opening hours:
Monday to Sunday: 11am — 6pm
Roti Bros
Commercial Bay
Little Queen St lane (next to Spark)
7 Queen Street,
Auckland CBD
Now that we can mix and mingle once more, we’re after a refreshing pour at home. As luck would have it, Glenmorangie has released a new single malt Scotch whisky, right on time for summer socialising. Crafted in collaboration with top bartenders, the X by Glenmorangie spirit is sweeter and richer to taste — making it perfect for all tall, effortless sips.
Even if you haven’t tried single malt whisky before, this remixed version pairs wonderfully with all manner of mixers so you can open a new world of possibility with each gulp. To inspire new serves, Glenmorangie has released a series of refreshingly simple and complementary recipes — each require two to four ingredients, and are served over crushed ice in the style of a swizzle with no need for specialist equipment.
The curious combinations include takes on familiar classics, including a Glenmorangie X Tonic and a Glenmorangie X Cola, as well as experimental drinks for many and varied occasions. The Glenmorangie X Brunch is a bright, citrusy pairing, with agave syrup and grapefruit and orange juice, for long, leisurely weekends with family and friends. Meanwhile, the Glenmorangie X Date Night is a floral, fragrant serve, with lemon juice, elderflower cordial and a hint of sparkling soda, for a special evening.
While many of Glenmorangie’s whiskies taste exceptional when mixed, this is its first whisky to be specifically made for this intended purpose. Glenmorangie’s Highland whisky creators, known as the Distillers of Tain, are endlessly imaginative — honing and honouring their craft for more than 175 years.
Inspired by the flavour possibilities the whisky can bring when mixed, X by Glenmorangie is a spectacle of flavours — from pear, vanilla and honeysuckle to orange sherbet and chocolate fudge. Expertly crafted from a combination of whisky aged in bourbon casks, and some finished in new char oak casks, its strong profile is a secret weapon for your at-home bar set-up.
Whether you’re planning a relaxed BBQ or an all-singing karaoke night, this is the whisky to add to the mix.
Why not try: Glenmorangie X Cocktail Night with Friends Recipe
Chock-full of dark-fruit sweetness, this drink is best mixed with laughter and good company.
Ingredients
Crushed ice
50ml X by Glenmorangie
25ml lemon juice
10ml agave syrup
12.5ml blackcurrant cordial
Garnish
Lemon wheels
Blackberry
Method
1. Fill highball glass with crushed ice. Add X by Glenmorangie, lemon juice and agave syrup.
2. Stir, then top with blackcurrant cordial and garnishes.
Lauded for their efficacy, superior formulas, ease of application and innovation, these are the skincare products you need to know to help you cultivate a healthy, head-to-toe glow.
New Kid on the Block: Augustinus Bader The Serum
Backed by visionary ‘clean’ science, Augustinus Bader’s breakthrough new product — The Serum — is an illumination. Powered by TFC8 technology, it’s a fast-absorbing concentrate supporting complete complexion correction and renewal. Its natural ingredients help the skin’s most persistent challenges, from dehydration and environmental damage to the appearance of imperfections and loss of elasticity. It’s effortless and all-encompassing.
At-Home Spa: Dr. Barbara Sturm The Glow Kit
While we can’t all be a patient of Dr. Sturm’s medical aesthetics clinic in Düsseldorf, we can take home her innovative products that harness the power of the body’s own proteins to heal skin and reduce the visible signs of inflammation. The antioxidant-rich Glow Kit is a seven-step skincare routine designed to leave you with a straight-from-the-spa glow.
The Game-Changer: Guerlain Abeille Royale Advanced Youth Watery Oil
It’s not just mānuka honey that’s famed for its topical benefits. Guerlain’s glowing new product harnesses Black Bee honey from Ouessant Island in Brittany, France, along with honey from Corsica, Ikaria and Åland and an exclusive royal jelly — all with unique strengths. Aiming to accelerate skin’s natural repair mechanisms while offering weightless moisture, what’s truly amazing about this ‘watery oil’ is that it sinks seamlessly into the skin, leaving no oily residue behind.
The Night Shift: La Prairie Skin Caviar Nighttime Oil
The Swiss know their way around high-quality products, and the luxury skincare from La Prairie is no exception. New to its lauded Skin Caviar range is the Nighttime Oil, reportedly three years in the making. Potent yet easily absorbed, the Nighttime Oil utilises La Prairie’s signature caviar-derived retinol and lipids, preserved in squalane to smooth lines, treat dehydration and impart a hefty glow.
Puffiness Be Gone: La Mer Lifting Eye Serum
From the experts at La Mer, the silky Lifting Eye Serum has a potent Stretch Matrix Complex that visibly lifts and firms eye contours. Added drops of its signature Miracle Broth sea botanical soothe and hydrate, while copper gluconate promotes collagen production and elasticity, for an all-over elevated effect.
Superior SPF
Sunscreen is a non-negotiable step in any summer beauty routine, and there are several excellent formulations depending on your desired finish. Available from Inès Store, Mara Sea Kale Sunscreen Sérum is an SPF 30 liquid that sinks into the skin with no white residue. Sothys Fluide Protector SPF 50 pledges protection against UVA, UVB and infrared radiation for the face and ‘sensitive zones’, while the tinted iteration of EltaMD’s UV Clear Broad-Spectrum doubles as light coverage and hydration with added hyaluronic acid. To give the face a subtly buildable tan, look to the Dior Bronze Beautifying Protective Creme Sublime Glow; with its SPF 30 or 50 protection, it has a milky, lightweight texture for instantly supple skin.
The Master Mask: Codage Micro-Peeling Mask
When you want that deep-clean feeling, Codage’s Micro-Peeling Mask will leave you refreshed. A surprisingly delicious blend of BHA and AHA fruit acids from blueberry, lemon and maple are infused in a creamy gel emulsion that deeply dissolves pore blockages and minimises fine lines, dark spots and blemishes. The result is a radiant, glowing complexion in minutes.
Natural Radiance: Sothys Noctuelle Renovative Night Cream
Because our cells renew best when we sleep, Sothys’ Noctuelle range has discovered highly effective active ingredients to restore your skin night after night. The Renovative Night Cream makes the most of marine collagen, an AHA complex, and organic blackcurrant buds to revive the complexion. Meanwhile, the biodegradable Renovative Micro Capsules cushion vitamin C with plant-based ingredients for a velvety-smooth formula, which reduces wrinkles and dark spots while boosting firmness and radiance, for an overall rested look.
Fantastic Firmer: Linda Meredith V-Tox
Touted as a non-invasive Botox alternative, the V-Tox cream by revered London facialist Linda Meredith may just prompt you to nod farewell to needles. Utilising botanical algae derivatives to relax the skin, this powerful anti-ageing treatment is made even more potent in professional treatments through the use of oxygen facials — available in New Zealand at Park Hyatt Auckland’s spa.
Summer suiting requires a more airy approach — linen shirts, crisp yet easy trousers and lighter tones will keep you cool even as temperatures rise. Most importantly, you’ll avoid looking slobby with shapes that are relaxed but refined. Look to local experts Working Style, Dadelszen and Workshop for sophisticated staples, as well as international Houses Saint Laurent and Burberry.
If there is one thing we have learnt these last few months, it’s that moments with friends and family are special, and should be treated as such. While many of us have missed milestones, there is no time like the present to celebrate our successes — no matter how big or small — and raise a glass to the good times. Now that we are not taking any moment for granted, why not reach past the regular rosé for a sparkling bottle of G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon Rosé?
In time for the summer holidays — and long summer days and evenings with a glass of Champagne in hand — G.H. Mumm is giving us reason enough to celebrate. The leading Champagne Maison has a legacy of bringing people together to toast to their life, their choices and their pursuit of progress, no matter how casual the occasion may seem — especially as we have come accustomed to sharing special moments in our own backyard (quite literally).
Opening a bottle of the G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon Rosé can elevate any personal event, whether it is enjoyed on its own or paired with a range of creative and modern dishes. This is an inspiring sip — as our celebration suggestions show. Best book in a long-awaited catch-up and recreate one of the below.
For when you want to be the host with the most, Mumm’s Grand Cordon Rosé is as radiant as the sunset — with glints of orange energised by a stream of fine bubbles — that is an aesthetically pleasing match for sushi and sashimi, like the colourful platters found at Ebisu. From fresh tuna and salmon to kingfish and prawns, these bracing Japanese flavours pair well with the Rosé’s invigorating initial impression on the palette.
When you want to toast to past success or new beginnings, we recommend a sublime Italian moment in time. The passion that goes into an antipasto platter like Non Solo Pizza’s are a match with Mumm for intensity — and they pair well with the Grand Cordon Rosé’s on-the-nose notes of candied berries and sweet spice, with a subtle yet luscious hint of red-berry coulis.
When marking your own milestones, bringing along only the best bubbles will do. The Grand Cordon Rosé pairs particularly well with New Zealand seafood, as sampled in Ostro’s fine platter. The assured vivacity of such a get together will match that of G.H. Mumm and its bottle of Grand Cordon Rosé — the latter of which is both energetic and elegantly structured with a long, bright finish.
To ensure you have something to toast to, we are giving away a G.H. Mumm celebration, including one bottle of Grand Cordon Rosé, two drinking flutes, two cushions, a picnic basket, a beautiful bouquet from Kensal Flowers and your choice of one of the above Savor Group meals.
This competition is now closed.
Proving the magic of an ice cream cake never diminishes, no matter what age and stage of life one might be at, Island Gelato Company’s spectacular creations make for an impressive (and delicious) sweet treat to share with loved ones.
The popular gelateria, which has four locations in Auckland including a Ponsonby road store opening imminently, is renowned for its sensational scoops that use only the best ingredients in its range of 70-plus flavours.
True to form, the gelato cakes are delightful to look at and delightful to eat, with the range encompassing mouth-watering flavours like Banoffee Pie, Espresso Martini, Summer Bombe Alaska and even a vegan Chocolate Praline Crunch.
Just in time for Christmas, Island Gelato has also created two, limited-edition festive flavours that combine intricate construction and premium ingredients with plenty of whimsy. The first, cheekily named Rum Rudolph Rum, comprises gelato layers of rum ‘n’ raisin, hazelnut and chocolate praline, with candied hazelnuts and a rum mousse centre.
Jingle Bell Rocks, on the other hand, is a very-berry medley of gelato layers that include roast cherry jam, white chocolate and coconut flavours, plus cherry and strawberry sorbet and is finished off with a white chocolate and cherry rice crispy base.
Available for pre-order from the store’s website from the 6th of December, these festive gelato beauties are to be made in limited numbers while the rest of the flavour range is ongoing. We dare say you don’t even really need a specific occasion to order one — when a cake looks (and tastes) this good, it becomes an opportunity for celebration in and of itself.
The team behind some of Auckland’s most popular eateries has delved into a delicious new venture: pizza. Named Green Door Pizza, the new opening is the brainchild of David Lee and Oliver Simon of Gochu and Good Dog Bad Dog, along with Tom Hong (co-owner of Lee’s Newmarket eatery The Candyshop) and Oliver Rennie.
The focus is on New York-style-meets Napolese pizza, with a sourdough base that results in a perfectly crisp, puffy crust. Green Door’s chef Rennie (previously a chef at Gochu) also worked at famed Melbourne restaurant Leonardo’s Pizza Palace so he certainly knows his way around a pizza oven. In keeping with every one of this team’s venues, the menu at Green Door boasts delicious ingredient combinations that don’t skimp on flavour.
You’ll find classics like a margherita and pepperoni, alongside a mushroom pizza with shallots, raclette vincotto and thyme, and a very appealing mortadella combination with fresh mozzarella, olives, roasted red peppers and guindilla chillies.
During alert level 3, Green Door Pizza was available as a pop-up pick-up joint from The Candyshop in Newmarket, serving whole pies to take home. Now, its new location is on the ground floor of Commercial Bay and the focus is on individual slices plus moreish sides, and a drinks offering encompassing natural wine and beers on tap.
New flavours appearing on the menu as the Commercial Bay location opens are a vegan ‘melanzana’ (smoked eggplant, cavolo nero, confit garlic and almond cream), a ricotta and zucchini, a fennel salami with pickled fennel, and a Hawaiian with smoked speck and pickled pineapple.
Much like Good Dog Bad Dog, Green Door Pizza centres on a beloved food group and takes it to the next level, in terms of quality, flavour and execution. Now that Commercial Bay has opened its doors again, and hospitality can trade in-person once more, we know where we’ll be for a lunchtime slice or three.
Opening hours:
Monday — Sunday: 12pm to late
Catch the light, and a little envy, with the most captivating gold jewellery of the social season. From Chopard’s Happy Diamonds centring on a yellow gold ring to Tiffany & Co’s garden party-inspired Vine earrings — layer whatever takes your fancy. Shop the new season styles below:
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