This Content Is Only For Subscribers
Food lovers in search of a quick bite or a special meal out in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland have a new source of inspiration, thanks to the release of the Iconic Auckland Eats 2025 list of Top 100 dishes.
Presented by Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, on behalf of Auckland Council, Iconic Auckland Eats celebrates the diversity and quality of Auckland’s food scene and its hospitality industry. Inclusion in the annual Top 100 list is driven by personal nomination stories submitted by the public about their favourite dishes. Any dish can be nominated to become an Iconic Auckland Eat, whether it’s sold from a local bakery, market stall, food truck, café or fine-dining restaurant. Nominations are reviewed by judges to determine the Top 100 list.
In 2025 Iconic Auckland Eats celebrates two milestones – its fifth anniversary and a record number of nominations. This year the public submitted 3109 nominations through the Iconic Auckland Eats website, an increase of 67 per cent from the 1857 nominations received in late 2023 for the Top 100 list announced in early 2024.
“Iconic Auckland Eats continues to grow as a celebration of Auckland’s culinary scene,” says Tātaki Auckland Unlimited director destination Annie Dundas.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited launched Iconic Auckland Eats in 2020 with the support of Restaurant Hub, New Zealand’s largest online restaurant booking network.
“Food fans active on social media love to share content about dishes they love and learn about new ones to try. Our friends in hospitality have really embraced Iconic Auckland Eats and encourage their customers to nominate dishes.
“We have very passionate people in all parts of Auckland who want to share food stories from their region. It’s been really nice to see how that’s evolved in the past five years and helped to boost the success of hospitality businesses,” Annie says.
In 2025, there are 77 dishes new to the Iconic Auckland Eats Top 100 list, with 39 businesses debuting on the list.
“It’s wonderful to see how Auckland’s dining options offer such variety – this is reflected with the new additions to this year’s list,” she says.
Of the 23 dishes returning to the Iconic Auckland Eats Top 100 list in 2025, only two have been on the list since its inception – lamingtons from Sugar at Chelsea Bay and Depot’s fish sliders.
Nominations are assessed by judges on a range of criteria: a dish that’s well-loved, representative of local culture and people, a timeless classic, and/or a ‘signature dish’. The list not only celebrates food, but also in-store experiences, people, history, heritage and culture.
This year’s judges were Annie , along with renowned food-industry figure and The Kitchen Project manager Connie Clarkson and Restaurant Hub co-owner Mark Gregory.
The Top 100 list is compiled from the judges’ recommendations and an evaluation of nominators’ stories about their favourite dishes.
In a new initiative for 2025 there are five winning dish-nomination stories, instead of one story. In previous years the winning nominator won vouchers to eat all Top 100 dishes from the year’s Iconic Auckland Eats list, but this year the five winning nominators will each receive $500 worth of vouchers to spend at their choice of Iconic Auckland Eats Top 100 list venues.
Connie says Iconic Auckland Eats shows off food offerings not just in the city centre, but in neighbourhoods across the region.
“Iconic Eats is a love letter from the food lovers of Auckland to the cooks, chefs and their whānau who step up to the plate to deliver the food that brings them joy every day. It transcends place, price, nations and neighbourhoods, complexity, simplicity and time.
“We are really lucky.”
“For me, Auckland’s restaurant scene is more than just a collection of great places to eat; it’s a dynamic expression of the city’s personality — inventive, confident, and increasingly global in outlook,” says Mark.
“The range of cuisines and styles in the Iconic Auckland Eats Top 100 list showcase the region’s cultural diversity — where local influences sit alongside East Asian, Middle Eastern, and European traditions, often blended in uniquely Aotearoa ways.”
Iconic Auckland Eats also provides an opportunity for visitors to Auckland to learn about the region by enjoying its food.
“We’ve seen Iconic Auckland Eats picked up internationally, whether it’s from journalists coming here and writing about it or travel agents popping information into itineraries. It’s nice to share the places that Aucklanders think of as great with visitors and each other,” Annie says.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited head of tourism Karen Thompson-Smith says she is thrilled with Iconic Auckland Eats’ building momentum.
“Food and beverage services are a vital part of Auckland’s vibrancy and are a major contributor to the region’s visitor economy. We know that trying local cuisine is a must-do activity for most visitors coming to New Zealand,” she says.
In the year to March 2025, food and beverage services accounted for 17.4 per cent of domestic and international visitor spending in Auckland, according to Infometrics.
