An Auckland hotel restaurant pampers its diners.

The service, the view from the balcony over High St and the food all make Rakinos a great city cafe, says Michele Crawshaw.

Nici Wickes nominates Coco's Cantina as one of Auckland's best Italian-style eateries.

Ewan McDonald nominates Mondial Cafe as one of Auckland's best eateries.

In the latest of a series on Restaurants of the Year, Viva reviewer Nici Wickes nominates The Grove as one of Auckland's best restaurants of 2009.

This place is named after one of the great wines of Italy," I told the Professor's mother as we sat down.

It may have a short name but a tapas-style Indian restaurant in Grey Lynn is not short on flavour.

The olive grove setting is perfect but quality of meals and service needs to be more consistent.

A Whangarei restaurant delivers on its promises.

Yael Shochat's business has gone through several incarnations but the food and welcome remain impeccably good.

I do not pretend to have closely studied all - well, any actually - of the material presented to the Waitakere City Council and the Environment Court in the long battle to establish a cafe at this iconic West Coast beach.

A restaurant in a Parnell listed building proves one worth putting on the weekly outing list.

Quality and quantity - two things Parnell's Cibo does in spades.

Exotic sweets round off a memorable meal.

Forget what you think you know about pizza, Dante's is here to re-educate us.

A restaurant's name must convey, in a few syllables, the experience a diner might expect.

What better way to prepare for the arrival of the latest Beaujolais wine than with an authentically cooked French meal?

Once a police station, a Wellington restaurant keeps on the good side of the gastronomic law.

Hunted down: a traditional steakhouse that will satisfy the hungriest of carnivores.

Michele Crawshaw finds a great place to grab a bite during a family day out in Masterton.

A return visit to a Parnell establishment proved worth the effort, even if the scallops were Kiwi-sized.

New kid on the K Rd block has all the ingredients for a long and happy future.

The menu may present some geographical mysteries but a Newmarket restaurant holds its own in spirit.

Auckland does not have a monopoly when it comes to good eating, finds Nici Wickes.

A renewed effort in the kitchen has paid off for an old favourite.

Two nights a week, Parnell's La Cigale transforms itself into an informal French dinner party catering for 140 foodie folk.