It’s been nearly six (!) months since my trip to New Zealand, and I’ve neglected an important post-travel duty: reporting back on the vegan-friendliness of my destination! Auckland was my home base on the North Island, since that’s where my friend K. was living and working at the time. Neither of us is much of a spendthrift, so we cooked and ate quite a few meals at her house, simple stuff like pasta, mostly. But Auckland proper is definitely vegan-friendly; when I was out and about, I ate perfectly well. I’ll share some of my favorites here, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention An Auckland Vegan, an Auckland-based blog where Moira highlights pretty much everything vegan you can get in Auckland. I used it as research before my trip and wrote down the addresses to have on hand, since I didn’t have a working smartphone with me in New Zealand, and free WiFi access is pretty rare. If you’re heading to Auckland, these are the places I recommend!

Little Bird

My favorite eatery, hands-down, was Little Bird. This brand includes a few brick-and-mortar locations of their Unbakery, along with products sold throughout the North Island. Little Bird offers organic, raw, and mostly gluten-free delicacies, mostly of the sweet variety. Everything is creative, fresh, and absolutely scrumptious.

For the vegan traveler, the Unbakery location at the Britomart Transport Centre is superbly convenient. Britomart is Auckland’s transit hub, where you can catch a local bus or any of the tourist lines. It also houses a railway station, and it’s just across the street from Queen’s Wharf, where you can hop a ferry to loads of locations. If you take the airport bus, you’ll get dropped off right across the street from Britomart.

I sought refuge from the rain at the Unbakery one extremely stormy morning after a failed attempt to visit Tiritiri Matangi, an open wildlife sanctuary on an island accessible only by ferry. The storms were too heavy to safely run the ferry that morning, which I only discovered after getting up early and schlepping down to the wharf from my home base in Kohimarama. Not to be discouraged, I changed my plans, bought ferry tickets to Waiheke Island instead, and made my way across the street to Little Bird to warm up and get a sweet treat while I waited for the ferry.

On that particular morning, I was the first patron, and the two women at the till were friendly and chatty. They pointed out which items in the bakery case included honey so I could avoid those. I selected a coconut berry slice and a cup of English breakfast tea for right then, and a caramel slice and a Matcha and Mint Almond Milk for later.

Although the Britomart location is meant to be take-out only (it’s a smidge of a shop!), my new bakery friends graciously let me sit inside and eat since it was pouring buckets outdoors. The tea was perfect for my cold self, and the berry slice was heavenly. I ended up drinking the Matcha-Mint milk then too, and it was by far one of the best raw nut milks I’ve ever had: incredibly smooth, which just a hint of mint. Heavenly! These snacks weren’t cheap, but I considered them wholly worth the money. And isn’t that little glass jar so sweet? I kept it and keep it my kitchen to store dried rosemary — you can see it in a photo from my VeganMoFo kitchen tour!

I went back to Little Bird the very next morning while I waited to catch a bus down to Rotorua. The weather was much nicer that day, so I got a chia pudding to go and ate it in a nearby parkLittle Bird’s chia pudding is incredible. It’s made with coconut milk and topped with coconut cream, chocolate sauce, raspberry jam, fresh pineapple, granola, and goji berries — all raw. This healthy breakfast felt tasted a decadent dessert! It was easily the best thing I ate in New Zealand. No joke! Can you see why Little Bird was my favorite place to eat in Auckland?!

Himalaya

One night, on the way back from a long day on Rangitoto and in the city, K. and I decided to forgo cooking dinner. Instead, we stopped at an Indian takeaway shop right near her place in Kohimarama. If you find yourself in the suburbs, Himalaya offers lots of options that can be made dairy-free. It’s your standard Indian fare, perhaps a bit less spicy than what you get stateside, but I thoroughly enjoyed the two curries we picked up. They’re pricy, but you’ll have leftovers!

 Revive Café

K. clued me in to Revive and took me out for lunch there right before I caught the bus back to the airport to head home. I love the concept: fresh, healthy, mostly plant-based salads and soups served a la carte. For a (low!) set price, you can choose a combination of soups and salads, usually two salads and one soup. The menu changes daily, and ingredients are clearly labeled. I wish I could remember exactly what I ate (and I wish I took photos!), but I know I had an Israeli couscous-butternut squash salad that was scrumptious. K. confessed that she ate lunch there more often than she’d like, but she couldn’t resist the low price and uber-healthy options! The lunch hour crowd proved that Revive’s mission is a welcome one, especially to folks who want something nourishing and filling on their lunch break.

La Cigale French Market

Don’t let the name fool you — La Cigale French Market is really just a farmer’s market in disguise. In a bit of a post-long-haul-flight haze on my first morning in New Zealand, I assented to a trip to the market to meet up with some of K.’s work friends. My jet lag and the walk — which was uphill, seemingly both ways — rendered me nearly delirious, but I still managed to muster up the energy to be suitably impressed at the French Market’s offerings. With dozens of stalls, both indoors and out, La Cigale has lots to offer vegans. I opted for a cold grain salad from a deli stall, and later kicked myself for not investigating further — there were chocolates, juices, raw vegan sweets, fermented foods, breads, and more! This would be a great place to stock up on snacks for your stay in Auckland. Even though I felt grungy and unfit for public viewing the whole time I was there (my luggage was delayed, so I hadn’t had a chance to shower and change clothes), I enjoyed the vibrant atmosphere and bevy of vegan options.

Other options

Needless to say, this is just a tiny sampling of the options on offer for vegans visiting Auckland. I can’t recommend An Auckland Vegan enough when planning your trip; Moira even has a Google map with all the vegan-friendly joints marked up. If you go, tell me your favorite Auckland eats — I’ll have to try them next time I’m in New Zealand!

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