Cuisine: A La Carte, Bistro, Tapas/Small Plates
Price Point: Mains from $25 - $35+
Pilkingtons Bar, Terrace and Kitchen is an inner-city oasis and one of the few places in Auckland where the décor is as exciting as the dining.
Being awarded a place in Metro’s Top 50 Restaurants 2015, national finalists in the Hospitality NZ Awards for Best Beverage List, Best Dish Over $25 and Best New/Redeveloped Bar or Restaurant - the hand-tooled joinery pieces sit alongside bespoke fabrics, natural stones and an abundance of greenery, creating a sophisticated atmosphere of celebration designed by award-winning Nat Cheshire. From the carved wooden bar to the tropical upholstery, ornate red ceiling and hand-blown glass light fittings – Pilkingtons literally is an oasis in the middle of Auckland’s inner city.
Whether you're seated inside for hand-tooled joinery, bespoke fabrics and blown glass lamps or outside for the Mediterranean-inspired terrace garden, the Pilkingtons experience doesn't disappoint.
Their dining menu is superb with kiwi and European style bistro food. Why not stay a little longer for the daring dessert selection and an excellent range of New Zealand and international wine and beer?
Map
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Pilkingtons
41 Shortland St.
Auckland CBD
Auckland 1010
Open Hours:
Monday-Friday: 9am til midnight
Sat: Midday Tapas. Dinner Menu from 5pm til midnight
Sun: CLOSED
Phone: 09 336 1857
Sample Menu *may not be current
Click on menu to enlarge.
Reviews
Caron Lynn - dined at Pilkingtons on 27 June 2019
We had a lovely time at Pilkingtons. The lady serving us delivered great service, and she was so passionate about the menu it made us excited to dig into the food! The food matched the expectations set by the staff. Good portions and interesting flavour combinations. We loved the atmosphere too, was very relaxed and we were'nt rushed to leave and felt welcome to stay back after our meal. Would definitely come back.
Jasmine Chen - dined at Pilkingtons on 13 October 2018
Everything was great. The staff were amazing - professional and kind and the food was superb in both quantity and quality. We enjoyed our food and no doubt we will come back again.
Kate Kim - dined at Pilkingtons on 21 July 2018
We had a great time at Pilkingtons. Not being from Auckland, it was a bit of a wild stab in the dark based on location, availability and a nice looking menu. I wish all stabs in the dark worked out this well.
As soon as you work in, the décor strikes you; it is open and fresh. It somehow manages to seem classy but inviting at the same time. It's not the sort of fine dining place that makes you feel uncomfortable, more like being welcomed into a rich friend's well decorated house.
The service was excellent; in particular the server who we dealt with 80% of the time was really attentive, and provided some very thoughtful and helpful food and wine recommendations.
The food, also was excellent. Everything was well cooked, well seasoned, and the dishes were really nicely constructed to have a good balance of flavour and texture. I was particularly impressed by the beef carpaccio, which is such a simple dish, and was executed flawlessly. The lamb main was perfectly cooked, and the mix of the white anchovies and salsa verde really bound it together. The kale (which I normally dislike quite intensely) added a nice bitterness in the context of the dish. I ended up with dessert envy. I had the orange crème brulee had nice flavour, but was very very slightly overdone. Not so much that it was unpleasant, but enough that I noticed. My wife, however, had an amazing chocolate cake. It was a chocolate dessert done right; bitter and rich. I may have stolen a decent amount of it from my wife.
The only one negative for me (and it's a small niggle) was it was (despite being a very open restaurant) very warm inside. It was a warm evening, and it was warmer inside than out. Might have been an idea to crank the air conditioning. Honestly though, that is nitpicking of what was a lovely experience of both service and flavour. I am now back in Christchurch, but would happily return on my next trip to Auckland.
Paul McNeil - dined at Pilkingtons on 27 January 2018
Had a wonderful evening at Pilkingtons. Food was lovely and service excellent from our waitress. Definitely will be back and recommend to others.
Marty Trow - dined at Pilkingtons on 5 March 2020
Lovely green atmosphere. Friendly staff. Excellent food. Great discount with the First table deal! Everyone in our table were so happy! Thank you :)
Christina Song - dined at Pilkingtons on 14 January 2020
Had dinner here just before christmas on a thursday evening . The bar was super busy as it was just before holidays . The staff were friendly and helpful however we did have a few bumps in the road as our drinks didnt arrive until 20 mins after ordering despite being checked in on twice for them and the food took equally if not longer to be ready once the order went in. I do think the timing issues were due to the unexpected influx of people on a thursday before Christmas but it was still too slow for us. The food itself was lovely as were the drinks. we would probably try here again just pick a better day
Niamh Slattery - dined at Pilkingtons on 19 December 2019
10/10 overall and highly recommend to friends and family.
Serosa Matapa - dined at Pilkingtons on 9 December 2019
great experience with friends. good food and good service. lovely decor
Melanie Chan - dined at Pilkingtons on 11 November 2019
Amazing
Stuart AIRZEE - dined at Pilkingtons on 4 November 2019
Seems like a great place for after work drinks.
Paige Zinn - dined at Pilkingtons on 11 October 2019
Service was great. Food was ok, not bad but not wowed. Gin was excellent!!
Nicole Jardine - dined at Pilkingtons on 2 October 2019
Food was good, came out promptly and drinks were well made. Service could be better. Charged us full price initially but then changed it when we explained we were with firsttable. Manager seemed displeased when we spoke up about it and unfriendly. Wait staff were much more professional.
Jin Lee - dined at Pilkingtons on 25 September 2019
Food and ambiance is good that’s why I kept coming back!
Luisa De Vega - dined at Pilkingtons on 19 September 2019
Wow, what a delicious meal. When told hapuka was the fish main we all chose that dish. Superb.
Graham Barrett - dined at Pilkingtons on 19 September 2019
Absolutely delicious! Would 10/10 dine again. Highly recommend. Great venue, fantastic venue, all round a incredible dining experience.
Jessica Elsmore - dined at Pilkingtons on 18 September 2019
Great lunch menu selections. Food was delicious and well presented.
Shirley Chan - dined at Pilkingtons on 6 September 2019
Great spot! Love the vibe and great food
Natalie Cole - dined at Pilkingtons on 21 August 2019
We went to Pilkingtons with no expectations and came away totally impressed. The food was delicious! And interesting. Will definitely go back!
Kate Goodwin - dined at Pilkingtons on 5 August 2019
Food & service was good!
Ranita Nand - dined at Pilkingtons on 17 July 2019
We had a lovely lunch before departing on our mini getaway.
Great service and great food
Donna Terry - dined at Pilkingtons on 21 June 2019
We were absolutely blown away by our experience at Pilkingtons. The manager, Vanessa, was friendly, engaging and personable - we'd come back again just to see her! The food was divine - my personal favourite was the ceviche. But the goat cheese salad and skirt steak were pretty damn good, too! I would definitely recommend coming here. We will most assuredly be back!
Caron Lynn - dined at Pilkingtons on 27 June 2019
We had a fabulous experience at Pilkingtons. The food was excellent, our table great and the service excellent. We recommend it to anyone who wants a lovely evening out.
Debbie Webb - dined at Pilkingtons on 18 June 2019
Food was lovely, service was really great.
Adele Holmes - dined at Pilkingtons on 14 June 2019
Nice menu selection and very generous portions. The starters could double up as a small main if needed.
Lyndsay Davenport - dined at Pilkingtons on 5 June 2019
The environment and food are great, and the service is awesome, will come back again.
Mandy Jiang - dined at Pilkingtons on 1 June 2019
Amazing food :)
Amy Jackson - dined at Pilkingtons on 29 May 2019
The food, atmosphere and service was great. We loved the chocolate mousse and ice cream desserts. I would definitely come back again.
Sabrina Phu - dined at Pilkingtons on 15 May 2019
Great service, decent food. Was a little bit noisy at times on Thu evening, but great experience anyway. Thanks.
Vladimir Baskov - dined at Pilkingtons on 16 May 2019
Great location and great food.
David Chamberlain - dined at Pilkingtons on 10 May 2019
had a great time, dessert was spectacular, not a large menu but everything was executed perfectly, confit duck was divine
Angela Shearer - dined at Pilkingtons on 26 April 2019
We had a lovely time. The food was delicious and the staff were amazing. Will definitely be coming back soon.
Lisa Simonsen - dined at Pilkingtons on 16 April 2019
My 2nd time to dine in here for lunch. Food was amazing!! Had the market fish, chicken, prawn linguine and squid! Yummy! Will definitely be back!
Karissa Templanza - dined at Pilkingtons on 27 March 2019
Great restaurant, wonderful decor, attentive staff and delicious food ! Will definitely be returning
Julie Carter - dined at Pilkingtons on 26 March 2019
We had a really nice time, food was so good and the place itself is absolutely stunning. We loved the atmosphere and the sorroundings. I would definitely return on that basis however the waiting staff were not very pleasant.
Lisa Cole - dined at Pilkingtons on 15 March 2019
Great food and loved the design details of the restaurant. Amazing, helpful staff. Thanks
Hannah Donoghue - dined at Pilkingtons on 13 February 2019
Good service, good food :)
Hyun Sue Lee - dined at Pilkingtons on 9 February 2019
The restaurant is beautiful.
However, the service was not that good, taking us a while to be able to call attention to any waitress, and the food was nice, but that’s all.
All in all, if you’re not in a hurry and want a cosy place to have some drinks, is not bad.
Tereza Eickmann - dined at Pilkingtons on 12 November 2018
Had a lovely dinner at Pilkingtons. Highly recommend the buttermilk fried chicken! Great service and awesome atmosphere.
Nicole Moore - dined at Pilkingtons on 29 October 2018
Everything was fabulous, great service, food and wine. The gnocchi was to die for! Highly recommend!
Jo Hyslop - dined at Pilkingtons on 17 October 2018
Food was delicious and a lovely environment. Was the perfect place to sit and chat after not seeing my boyfriend for a couple months. Second time dining and both experiences have been superb!
Kirsty McCorkindale - dined at Pilkingtons on 15 October 2018
We had a lovely time at Pilkingtons. The lady serving us delivered great service, and she was so passionate about the menu it made us excited to dig into the food! The food matched the expectations set by the staff. Good portions and interesting flavour combinations. We loved the atmosphere too, was very relaxed and we were'nt rushed to leave and felt welcome to stay back after our meal. Would definitely come back.
Jasmine Chen - dined at Pilkingtons on 13 October 2018
Amazing, friendly staff. Delicious food and lovely cocktails. Not too busy around dinner time as most people were just there for drinks rather than a meal.
Susan Brookes - dined at Pilkingtons on 10 October 2018
Pilkingtons had a lovely ambience and decor, soft lighting all around. Staff were friendly and attentive, we didn't wait long for anything. We ordered the lamb, squid and the poke salad between the two. It was the perfect amount to order, they were delicious and well presented (I loved the rustic glazing on the plates as I do pottery). We had a great time and will return another day :)
Ruby Jang - dined at Pilkingtons on 6 October 2018
We had a great dinning experience here from the moment we stepped through the door. The service was really good and the staff were wonderful, so helpful and obliging. The food was delicious, every dish we ordered was a delight. We highly recommend. Thank you for a lovely time.
Fiona Tagaloa - dined at Pilkingtons on 19 September 2018
Pumpkin pie fans will luv brulee ;)
Joseph Martin - dined at Pilkingtons on 19 September 2018
The Food was amazing, venue was beautiful, the staff were very friendly....Thank you!! il definitely be back
Paea Ashton - dined at Pilkingtons on 14 September 2018
Great food and service. Good atmosphere however pretty loud on a friday night
Jamie Banhidi - dined at Pilkingtons on 14 September 2018
Good food, great service
Kai Li - dined at Pilkingtons on 13 September 2018
Amazing food, drinks and service every time I dine at Pilkingtons. I walked away feeling relaxed and chilled after a great night out.....
Carol Pito - dined at Pilkingtons on 11 September 2018
The food was really nice and we were returning customers and in fact had or wedding at the same venue! Nice food with seasonal updates. We're biased in saying that the food couldn't beat what we had on our wedding day!
Keep up the good work team!
Derek Lau - dined at Pilkingtons on 8 September 2018
It is amazing in term of food and atmosphere.
Asrar Alzhrany - dined at Pilkingtons on 7 September 2018
Great experience! Only could afford coming here with First Table but the food was amazing!
Calvin So - dined at Pilkingtons on 23 August 2018
Yummy food. Looked great. Just service needed to be better as we had never dined here before, and we weren't asked if we had or not. So would of liked to have been told more about menu and how much to order as left hungry even with dessert.
Katey Chapman - dined at Pilkingtons on 20 August 2018
Overview
153 reviews
We were absolutely blown away by our experience at Pilkingtons. The manager, Vanessa, was friendly, engaging and personable - we'd come back again just to see her! The food was divine - my personal favourite was the ceviche. But the goat cheese salad and skirt steak were pretty damn good, too! I would definitely recommend coming here. We will most assuredly be back!