Many of our favourite local eateries have found ways to innovate and operate within Alert Level 3.
Award-winning Sidart, Cassia and Sid at the French Cafe have been taking orders for contactless delivery since 20 April.
Perfect for a birthday celebration. While they aren’t open on Mother’s Day, you can still give your mum a night off cooking with gift vouchers from either Sidart, Cassia and Sid at the French Café which can be redeemed in Level 3 for contactless delivery or pick up or when the restaurant reopens for service.
For something a little more casual and ‘hands on’, try Smokin Coles BBQ. This BBQ joint in Grey Lynn has been receiving rave reviews since it opened in 2019. Offering slow-cooked BBQ ribs and traditional BBQ meat cuts, Smokin Coles is rich in flavour, fragrance and taste. The talented Croydon Cole has developed a menu that is American inspired and infused with flavours from Aotearoa. Using a mix of pohutukawa and seasoned maple wood to smoke the meat, his range of dishes are mouth-watering taste sensations.
Having already enjoyed the Wichita Baby Back Ribs Memphis Style with Smokin Col Rub and the 8-hour Beef Cheek with Rum & Que Blackout Rub during ‘at-home’ birthday parties last year, I can thoroughly recommend Smokin Coles as a great birthday take-out option or the perfect way to give mum the night off, especially if you match it with a good, local craft beer. Check out their website for Mother’s Day dinner ideas.
A tradition for Mother’s Day is breakfast in bed or brunch out at a favourite cafe. This year, café-style brunch can be delivered to your mother’s door if not her bed. Seabreeze Cafe in Westmere has made enjoying exceptional barista coffee and delicious cabinet food easy for locals while staying Covid-Safe. Many have already enjoyed the great coffee and brioche from Seabreeze which opened on day one of Level 3. For Mother’s Day, they have created a capsule brunch menu that can be ordered up till 5pm on 9 May (the day before Mother’s Day) and will be ready for contactless pick up between 7am and 1pm using the Regulr app
The Seabreeze special menu includes Tea smoked salmon bagel: slow roasted tomatoes, horseradish crème fraiche, capers, red onion and dill. Bharta eggs: poached eggs, spiced aubergine puree, whipped yoghurt, chilli butter with sourdough toast. And Coconut Hotcakes: marscapone, lemon curd, fresh berries, coconut.
Bread and Butter in Westmoreland St, Grey Lynn offers an incredible array of pastries, artisan breads and divine cafe-style meals that can be picked up (contactless) or delivered to your door if you’re local. Especially for Mother’s Day, they have a number of great specials including a very special berry and white chocolate mousse cake, a collection of Mother’s Day shortbread cookies and a box set of freshly baked pastries. Orders for Mother’s Day need to be in by 5pm on Thursday 7 May but do check out the website for all sorts of divine options.
For those who want to support small local vineyards, Auckland’s Hunting Lodge vineyard offers delivery to Ponsonby and the surrounding suburbs. The vinyard’s array array of wine is amazing and with award-winning chef Des Harris developing their capsule takeaway menu, it will be a complete treat for any mother or birthday boy or girl. Due to cancelled export orders, there are some great bargains to be had, so we recommend you check out their website.
If you prefer something non-alcoholic, then check out Mama’s Brew Shop. The shop is offering free delivery and a special LOCKDOWN discount code. Their kombucha is raw, organic and crafted using beautiful botanicals, making it the ultimate choice for non-alcoholic drinks. Mama’s Brew Shop also makes the world’s first kombucha cocktail. Described as tasting like something inbetween a Negroni and a Spritz, the Happy Hour cocktail is a collaboration between Mama’s Brew Shop and Victor Gin. It’s the perfect drink for every mama wanting to enjoy a little gin during the last of the autumn sunsets.