Is this the new K Road?
Half a dozen great restaurants on one 400m strip
I spent Thursday night exploring a part of town I’ve never visited. See if you can guess where …
Yes welcome to Onehunga Mall, which sounds like a shopping centre but which is actually the name of a street containing all of the above and more within a couple of blocks. I went there to visit (finally) the famous Sashimi Bar Ajimi but was very happy to find another couple of Auckland secrets: Everybody Eats is a social enterprise using food surplus ingredients to make delicious meals for those who can pay and those who can’t (you’ll notice no prices on the menu above: it’s a koha system); Little Sicily was a food truck which served authentic Italian food for some time next to the train tracks in Penrose but now runs the menu at a local tavern - when I visited, it was going off. The founder tells me his favourite pre-service feed is at Mr T’s, a beautiful Vietnamese restaurant where they bake their own Banh Mi on site. He reckons the local cocktail bar is great too, and I was pretty excited to see a no frills Filipino restaurant on the way back to the car.
“Onehunga is NOT South Auckland Jesse, it’s as central as it gets” the manager of the Onehunga Business Association corrected me when I mentioned O-Town on Linked In recently. Well, it might not be South Auckland but it took 18 minutes to get here from Grey Lynn in moderate traffic, and involved travelling on the Southwestern Motorway so … she may technically be right but you should be prepared for a little journey to if you’re coming from anywhere near the city.
Why the K Road comparison? Because it still feels a little gritty in places, and because businesses that have been here for years serving the old Onehunga now sit side-by-side with businesses aimed at the new million-dollar-listing crowd.
Ajimi is definitely worth your time. You can read my Viva review of their lockdown takeaway offering here (paywalled). I said nice things about their lamb chops and was delighted to see this poster when I finally visited in person.
It was standing room only when I visited and I was lucky to squeeze onto a stool in a narrow hallway. Make a reservation if you’re organised enough, and order a plum wine on the rocks (just don’t have a heart attack like I did when they dropped it off)
.Thanks for reading each week! If you have a couple of minutes let me know what you like and what you’d like more of.
I too think the photos (and video) are a great addition to the “words of wisdom”. You know what I’d like to hear more of - your own adventures in the kitchen. If you ever get a chance to eat at home? I have read a few Herald articles where you mention trying to recreate some of dishes you sampled on your restaurant reviews. It would be great to discover your successes/failures in this endeavour.
What a great discovery. Every time I visit Auckland, I try to explore somewhere I've never been, and heading to a recommended restaurant is as good an excuse as any. However, it seems I haven't ranged far enough.
You're having fun with the photos, which are good. I like that the sign in #13 is reflected in the bowl in #5. I can imagine you framing that one up.
I would be prepared to make the trip from Central Auckland to Onehunga Mall just to check out Everybody Eats — 'Where communities come together around good food.' It reminds me of a social enterprise restaurant in Caversham, here in Dunedin — The Bowling Club (https://thebowlingclub.co.nz).
Eating out is a good way to connect with our communities. Restaurants are crucial 'third places.' Ray Oldenburg suggested that home is our 'first place,' work is our 'second place,' and 'third places' are where we go to socialise, build community, and, in the case of eating establishments, enjoy a good meal.