Best Italian Restaurants in Auckland: Trusted Experts You Can Count On

Auckland’s Italian dining runs from Neapolitan pizza fired in a wood oven to pasta rolled and cut the same morning it is served, and the best Italian restaurants in Auckland are the kitchens doing that work themselves rather than out of a packet. Whether you are booking a long lunch, a family dinner or a quiet table for two, these places cover handmade pasta, regional antipasti, Italian wine lists and pizza made to Neapolitan rules. Amano in Britomart and Farina on Ponsonby Road are two of the names below.

1Amano

Amano is an Italian restaurant and bakery spanning Britomart’s historic Altrans and Quay buildings, opposite Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour. The kitchen builds a rustic, Italian-inspired menu around seasonal, sustainable produce from New Zealand growers and farmers, and names the source beside most dishes. Doors open at 7am seven days a week, so it works for an early breakfast, a working lunch or a long dinner.

Services

• Italian lunch and dinner menu of pasta, seafood, chargrilled meat and vegetable dishes
• Breakfast served daily until 11:30am
• In-house bakery producing croissants, brioche, cannoli and other pastries
• Two and three course set menus, required for groups of 18 or more
• Italian and New Zealand wine list with cocktails, aperitivi and digestivi

Highlights

• Sited opposite the Waitemata Harbour across Britomart’s Altrans and Quay heritage buildings
• Open seven days a week from 7am until late
• Menu names the origin of each dish, from Kaipara Harbour kingfish to Auckland Islands scampi
• Bakery ordering app available for both iOS and Android

Location & Contact

Name: Amano
Address: 68 Tyler Street, Auckland CBD
Phone: 09 394 1416
Website: savor.co.nz/amano

2Farina

Farina is a Ponsonby Road pizzeria and pastificio created by Neapolitan chef Sergio Maglione, who opened it in 2014 after years at Toto. Two open kitchens turn out wood fired Napoletana pizza, pasta made on the premises and cured meats and cheeses sliced to order at the salumeria counter. Communal tables, counter seating and fast cooking times make it as workable for a lunch break as for a long dinner.

Services

• Wood fired Napoletana pizza
• Handmade pasta produced in house at the pastificio station
• Salumeria cured meats and cheeses sliced to order
• Takeout and delivery
• Chef’s menus, set menus, functions and catering

Highlights

• Certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, registration number 592
• Opened in 2014 by Sergio Maglione, who arrived from Napoli as a young pizza chef
• Two open kitchens with communal tables in the middle and dining at the kitchen counters
• Pizza making classes run in collaboration with La Pizza Hub
• Farina Wine Club and newsletter for regulars, with wine events and offers

Location & Contact

Name: Farina
Address: 244 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby, Auckland 1011
Phone: 09 390 6213
Website: farina.co.nz

3Prego

Prego opened on Ponsonby Road in October 1986 and has held the same classic Italian menu and familiar hospitality through four decades of the street changing around it. The menu is written to cover a quick, light lunch as readily as a hearty dinner, and is available all day. A heated outdoor courtyard, indoor booth seating and a banquet table for 15 give it room for a business lunch, a family meal or a birthday.

Services

• Classic Italian menu of pizza, pasta and grill dishes, available all day
• Take-out orders
• Banquet table seating 15 for group bookings and celebrations
• Gift vouchers in $20, $50 and $100 denominations

Highlights

• Trading on Ponsonby Road since October 1986
• All meats on the menu are halal
• Vegan menu available on request, and most pizza and pasta can be made gluten free
• Heated outdoor courtyard kept as a quieter dining area for meetings and work lunches

Location & Contact

Name: Prego
Address: 226 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby, Auckland
Phone: 09 376 3095
Website: prego.co.nz

4Baduzzi

Baduzzi sits on the corner of Jellicoe Street at North Wharf and was founded in 2013 by Annette and Michael Dearth, who also created The Grove. The name comes from a Sicilian polpettine recipe made by Michael’s mother, and meatballs still anchor a menu of hand rolled pasta and slow cooked seasonal sauces. Evenings are deliberately informal, with walk-ins seated as tables come free and reservations kept for lunch and larger groups.

Services

• Polpette, the house meatballs, made in the spirit of New York and Sicily
• Pasta hand rolled fresh each day with slow cooked sauces
• All day dining from 11:30am, seven days a week
• Large party bookings for groups of eight or more
• Gift vouchers

Highlights

• Founded in 2013 by Annette and Michael Dearth, also the creators of The Grove
• Named after a Sicilian polpettine recipe passed down through the Dearth family
• Wine list drawn from around the world with a particular focus on Italian bottles
• Walk-ins always welcome, with evening reservations held for groups of eight or more

Location & Contact

Name: Baduzzi
Address: Unit 2, 10-26 Jellicoe Street corner, North Wharf, Auckland
Phone: 09 309 9339
Website: baduzzi.co.nz

5Pasta & Cuore

Pasta & Cuore is a restaurant and pastificio on Mt Eden Road where chef Stefania Ugolini cooks from the Bologna traditions she learned from her grandmother and mother. Fresh pasta is made in the room while your meal is prepared, and the same pasta and sauces are sold by the serving to cook at home. Individual tables, shared tables and a courtyard garden suit a relaxed lunch or an early dinner.

Services

• Sit down lunch and early dinner service
• Handmade fresh pasta produced on the premises
• Servings of fresh pasta and sauces sold to cook at home
• Take home meals of freshly cooked pasta, with desserts available
• Pasta workshops covering basic shapes and filled shapes

Highlights

• Chef Stefania Ugolini trained in Bologna and cooks from her grandmother’s recipe notebooks
• Locally sourced organic produce used wherever possible, with free range meat and eggs
• Speciality ingredients imported from Italy, including Prosciutto di Parma
• Courtyard garden and shared tables alongside individual seating

Location & Contact

Name: Pasta & Cuore
Address: 409 Mt Eden Road, Mt Eden, Auckland 1024
Phone: 09 630 9130
Website: pastaecuore.co.nz

Italian Restaurants in Auckland at a Glance

How to Choose the Right Italian Restaurant in Auckland

• Decide what you actually want from the meal. A pizzeria working to Neapolitan rules, a pastificio making its own noodles and a full service restaurant with a long wine list are three different nights out.
• Check whether the pasta or pizza dough is made on site. Restaurants that mill, roll or extrude in house usually say so, and it is the clearest signal of a kitchen that cooks rather than assembles.
• Look at the booking policy before you plan the evening. Some Auckland Italian rooms take reservations at any hour, others hold evening tables for walk-ins or for groups above a set size.
• Match the room to the occasion. A heated courtyard, a banquet table for 15 or a set menu for a large group will matter more than the menu itself for a birthday or a work lunch.
• Ask about dietary requirements when you book, not when you sit down. Halal meat, vegan menus and gluten free pasta or pizza are offered at some Auckland restaurants and not at others, and the kitchen needs the notice.

Frequently Asked Questions About Auckland Italian Restaurants

What should I expect to pay for a meal at an Italian restaurant in Auckland?

It depends heavily on the format. At the upper end of the city centre, a pasta main at Amano runs from around $37 to $48 and a three course set menu is $95, while a pizzeria or a pastificio lunch will be a good deal less. Public holiday surcharges of 15 percent are common across Auckland hospitality, so check when you book.

Do Auckland Italian restaurants take bookings?

Most do, but the rules vary by venue and by time of day. Baduzzi takes reservations for lunch and up to 6pm, then holds the evening for walk-ins except for groups of eight or more. Prego accepts limited bookings for Monday to Thursday lunch and books its large banquet table. If a specific time matters, phone the restaurant rather than relying on an online widget.

Where do I find genuine Neapolitan pizza in Auckland?

Look for certification from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the Naples-based body that sets the ingredients, dough and oven standards for true Neapolitan pizza. Farina on Ponsonby Road holds that certification under registration number 592 and cooks its pizza in a wood fired oven.

Can I get gluten free pasta or pizza in Auckland?

Some restaurants can accommodate it and some cannot, so ask before you book. Prego, for example, states that most of its pizza and pasta items can be made gluten free. New Zealand food businesses are required to be able to tell you what allergens are in the food they serve, and the Ministry for Primary Industries publishes guidance on food allergies and intolerances including how kitchens manage cross-contact.

What is a pastificio?

A pastificio is a pasta workshop or pasta maker. In an Auckland restaurant setting it usually means fresh pasta is made on the premises, often in view of the dining room, and sold by the serving to take home as well as cooked to order. Pasta & Cuore in Mt Eden and Farina in Ponsonby both run one.

What do the food grade stickers in restaurant windows mean?

Auckland Council grades food businesses under its eatsafe scheme, with A the highest level of confidence in a venue’s food safety and hygiene management. The certificate has to be displayed where customers can see it, and you can look up any cafe or restaurant on the council’s food grade search.

Do Auckland Italian restaurants offer takeaway?

Several do. Prego offers take-out from its all day menu, Farina runs a takeout and delivery service, and Pasta & Cuore sells servings of fresh pasta and sauce to cook at home as well as meals cooked to take away. Full service dining rooms are more likely to be dine-in only.

What do polpette, primi and secondi mean on an Italian menu?

Polpette are meatballs, and at Baduzzi they are the signature of the menu rather than a side dish. Primi is the first substantial course, usually pasta, risotto or soup, and secondi is the main protein course that follows it. Ordering one of each is normal in Italy, though most Auckland kitchens are happy for you to build the meal however you like.