If one trend has defined 2025, it has to be pastry. Across the world, queues have been forming around the block for everything from finely laminated patisserie to thick slabs of focaccia. Here in New Zealand, we’re no different. In cities and towns up and down the country, perfectly balanced pastries, sandwiches, coffees and breakfast plates have dominated street corners and wishlists. Where once weekends were spent imbibing until the early hours, these days we’re up at dawn to grab iridescent sweet buns, glistening Kouign Amann, and breakfast sandwiches that seemingly defy gravity.

From the bottom of the South Island all the way up to Auckland, a whole host of cafes and bakeries have opened this year to fuel our carbohydrate and caffeine needs. Here, we’ve rounded up the very best to fuel you through until the new year.

Mensa

Location: Auckland

With every ending comes a beginning. In the case of Mensa, the closure of Williams in Wynyard Quarter laid the foundations for the opening of a new cafe that reimagines the classic breakfast. The harbourfront space offers some of the best views in the city, and the menu, designed by Reginaldo Richard (of Honey Bones, Williams, and Odettes fame), draws inspiration from the vibrancy of the Mediterranean, with classic dishes given a bright, contemporary spin.

Fitzroy Deli

Location: Auckland

When Scott Kennedy and Tamsyn Capper opened Dulcie in 2023, they aimed to bring a slice of Melbourne’s cafe culture to Auckland. This year, they transplanted another piece of the city’s food scene; loaded, deli-style sandwiches that are made fresh to order. That’s the bill at Fitzroy Deli, where slabs of focaccia are piled high with everything from classic mortadella with stracciatella, basil pesto, rocket and pistachios, to crispy chicken schnitzel with pickles, yuzu cabbage & dashi mayo.

Peaches

Location: Christchurch

It’s not enough to open a good cafe these days; it has to have a strong personality, too. Case in point: Peaches, which opened in Christchurch’s Linwood Village in May. Founded by Tessa Peach, owner of much-loved design store Frances Nation, Peaches is unsurprisingly anchored firmly in bold interiors. There’s the terracotta and cherry red colour palette, the cork walls, and the round tables with echoes of the 70s; it all ties together to give a firm sense of place, echoed by the exceptional food and Prima coffee.

Parable House

Location: Auckland

Parable House toes a very specific line, feeling both international and uniquely Auckland. Opened by husband-and-wife duo Danny Lee and Dianne Cho, formerly of much-loved inner city coffee shop Rumors, the cafe serves up considered coffee brews, alongside a menu full of thoughtful, enticing morning fuel. From hibiscus-poached pear with yoghurt, to a pillowy potato bun stuffed with soufflé egg, cheddar, and chive-garlic mayo, and maple-glazed chorizo, soft-boiled eggs, leeks and chilli oil on labneh, many of the dishes are already becoming breakfast classics in the city.

Catroux

Location: Auckland

Over 14 years, Catroux had cemented itself in the fabric of life in Westmere. From morning coffees to nourishing weekend breakfasts, the cafe had been a mainstay for locals and visitors. As with all good things in life, evolution brings growth, and this year saw Catroux move into a newer, larger space. The cabinet remains one of the best in the city, full of salads, proteins and sandwiches, alongside sweet treats. The new space allows the team to expand the offering on the menu, with a broader range of breakfast and lunch dishes, ushering this iconic cafe into a new era and cementing its status as an icon in a rapidly establishing culinary corner of Auckland.

Big Lizard

Location: Dunedin

Dunedin has been flexing its culinary wings this year, and Big Lizard is one of a wave of new openings in the southern city. Occupying the space that used to house Vogel Street legend Side On, Big Lizard’s checkerboard interior and luminous yellow entryway draw in hungry locals like moths to a flame. But make no mistake; this bakery is both style and substance. Mornings are dedicated to seasonal fruit pastries, classic croissants, egg and bacon sandwiches and, of course, steaming cups of coffee. At 10 am, the focus shifts to sandwiches that have already become genre-defining, running the gamut from classic fillings (pastrami-packed reubens) to the downright gluttonous (chicken schnitzel, hot honey, salami and ricotta).

Roslyn Bread Tech

Location: Dunedin

Not content with opening one of the best cafes in Dunedin this year, the team behind Big Lizard also opened Roslyn Bread Teach & O.A.A (Other Associated Activites). The bakery is responsible for some of the best loaves in the city (and supplies the bread that makes Big Lizard’s sandwiches), as well as pies that push the classic flavour boundaries (think spicy pork with braised kale and smoked gouda, and braised brisket with jalapeño and blue cheese) and baked goods that see elevated takes on classic Kiwi bakery items sitting alongside glossy, layered patisserie.

Gather Eatery

Location: Auckland

Richmond Road’s Ripe Deli has, over the last 24 years, become synonymous with a certain level of nutritious, flavour-forward, grab-and-go food that came to define casual dining in New Zealand. Incredibly, the deli’s national reputation was born from exactly that; a deli. It’s almost unheard of for a venue where no one actually sits in to gather such legions of fans, and yet, that’s the story of Ripe. So, it will come as no surprise that when the team announced they were opening a dine-in establishment in the new Smales Farm development that Aucklander’s ears pricked. Helmed by longstanding Ripe team members, General Manager Gemma Heffernan and Head Chef Patrick Schmitt, Gather Eatery brings the same ethos that turned Ripe into a household name to a larger kitchen and a menu that invites you to linger.

Odds Coffee

Location: Christchurch

Stepping inside Odds Coffee, it will come as no surprise that co-owner Gina worked as a fashion journalist until a career shift saw her move into patisserie. Alongside business partner Minho, the duo have established a primary colour-led space that feels light years away from its industrial locale. Food is largely cabinet-led; the cookies are already reaching cult status in the city, while Minho’s forward-thinking takes on iced coffees and matchas are establishing a whole new era in the city’s caffeine scene.