Craving some flavoursome Filipino food in NZ? You’re in luck, as there’s some amazing Filipino restaurants in Auckland where you can fill your belly on all sorts of traditional dishes. From sisig to lechón, the following restaurants are cooking up some of the best eats from all across the Philippines.
It’s a diverse (and delicious!) cuisine, as these stellar places perfectly showcase.
Best Filipino Restaurants In Auckland
How do these rankings work?
1. Nanam Eatery
Namam is a stylish Filipino restaurant that started off as a casual but popular taco siapo stall in Auckland’s night markets. Now, it’s a hotspot for some of the tastiest bites to eat in the city, with a menu of larger plates and tapas. Chow down on all sorts of creative Filipino specialities that take inspiration from authentic recipes and are made using the best of New Zealand produce.
Must-eats include the signature pulled pork taco pao, fresh chicharon or lechon with caramelised artichoke and paté sauce.
2. Boracay Garden
For proper traditional flavours and a welcoming atmosphere similar to any local-run restaurant you’d find on the island of Boracay itself, this is the place to go. Boracay Garden is all about home cooked food with a variety of tempting dishes. There’s all-day breakfast in the form of different silog dishes (meat/fish with garlic rice and a fried egg) as well as hearty beef stews with beef brisket, peanut butter, long beans, eggplant, and lettuce.
3. HomeCooked Filipino Cuisine
With two locations in Auckland, this is one of the essential Filipino restaurants in Auckland. HomeCooked has a menu of dishes from the style of cooking of the Kapampangan’s who hail from Pampanga, which is known as The Culinary Capital of Philippines. There’s a homey atmosphere and all your favourite dishes here.
Choose between crispy pata, pork barbecue skewers and fried fish, with halo-halo for dessert. Picking just one dish here is impossible! So, we suggest you come with friends and order as many as you can fit on the table.
4. Kalye Manila
This lovely little restaurant will transport you to the streets of Manila, with the waft of freshly cooked Filipino food hitting you as soon as you enter. It’s a family-owned restaurant and does things the proper, old school way. This means all the classic dishes made how they should be.
From pork pochero (crispy pork belly topped with steamed veggies, banana stew and rice) to chicken adobo or stuffed squid, get ready for a feast here.
5. Turo-Turo Philippine Cafe
Turo-Turo might be small in size, but it has a mighty reputation for cooking up some of the most authentic Filipino fare in the city. You can order food for sit-in, takeaway or catering. Be sure to come early on weekends as this place gets pretty busy with hungry locals in the know. You can enjoy all sorts of dishes from various regions of the Philippines here, all bursting with flavour.
We suggest you order plenty of things to share! Then, finish off with a scoop of ube ice cream in their halo-halo dessert.
6. Chiko’sÂ
Want something a little different? Chiko’s is a Filipino-fusion restaurant that takes the best of Filipino flavours and adds in dishes from other parts of South East Asia. You’ll spot traditional dishes on the menu, but with a creative flair. Think: crispy pata pata with a tom yum sauce, coco shrimp paste and peanut sauce or a toasted sisig seafood sushi.
It’s the perfect place to come and try new foods that you might never have eaten before. Ask the waiter to recommend their top Filipino-inspired eats for the real experience.
7. Trigo Bakeshop
Trigo Bakeshop technically isn’t a restaurant, but with a loyal fanbase flocking here for freshly baked pandesol (a Pinoy bread roll of slightly sweet, soft and fluffy white bread) and other delicacies, it’s too good not to include.
They also sell plenty of other Filipino baked goods, from Pan de Ube, Pan de Coco, Spanish bread and Monay to savoury sandwiches and quiches. Stock up on treats to make your own little picnic spread, and be sure to grab one of the delicious ube doughnuts.