The best gluten free food in Auckland City is in Auckland Central/CBD. The centre of Auckland city is the place to be if you suffer with coeliac disease – you can choose from so many wonderful restaurants and cafes.
Gluten free fast food in Auckland Central
As a coeliac traveller, it’s important to know how to get food when you’re tight on time. Our fast food section has places you’ll be able to get a meal within ten minutes.
Hello Mister
If you fancy a Vietnamese food fix and you’re in the city at lunchtime on a weekday, visit Hello Mister! They offer a tasty vermicelli noodle salad with pork or prawn. I recommend you ask for “Aunty Bun (totally gluten free, so no spring roll garnish on top) and add extra meat and a bit of chilli on top”. Hello Mister is really popular with the local working crowd, so beat the rush by arriving at midday or after 1:30pm.
Revive Café
There are two Revive cafes in Auckland central, one on Wyndham Street and the other on Lorne Street. Revive is a vegetarian/vegan café and most of their menu is gluten free, there’s usually one or two items in the cabinet that contain gluten (like a pasta salad or a lasagne). We recommend the regular size salad (three choices) or a regular hot pot, for a filling meal. Recently, Revive started selling bulk foods in their café, so it’s a good place to buy meal ingredients.
Best Ugly Bagels
In the City Works Depot (corner of Wellesley and Nelson), you’ll find Best Ugly Bagels. They totally get coeliac disease and will take extra special effort to make you a tasty gluten free bagel that’s safe for you (we’re talking opening new packages of the toppings and making the bagel in a different area of the kitchen). Our favourite bagel topping is the White Rabbit (think cream cheese, tomato, basil, lemon fennel olive oil), the champion is the lemon fennel olive oil and you will definitely crave it again!
Krung Thep Thai Street Food
One block back from Auckland’s viaduct is this tasty hole in the wall. They have seating, but we recommend ordering to take away and eat it while looking out over the Viaduct, in the public chill-out zone outside the Headquarters bar. You can order any of the curries (red, green or massaman) or two their noodle dishes (we recommend the Pad See Ew over the Pad Thai). Just be sure to tell them you need your dish to be made gluten free, as that isn’t their default recipe.
There’s also St Pierre’s, BurgerFuel, Hell Pizza, Tank and PitaPit in town. Check our tips for those national chain fast food restaurants here.
Gluten free sweet treats in Auckland Central
Milse
The original bespoke dessert bar in Auckland. You can buy delicious gelato sticks at Milse with no fear of cross contamination. They’re expensive by Auckland standards at $8 per ice cream, but we think they’re worth it for a treat!
The Raw Kitchen
You’ll find dense ‘natural’ treats at the Raw Kitchen. Using lots of cacao, nut butter and dates, these treats are great for a sweet afternoon tea pick-me-up, and for people following a ketogenic diet. They close at 3pm on weekends and 4pm on weekdays.
Gluten free cafés/casual restaurants in Auckland Central
Mexican Café
The Mexican Café is a cheerful restaurant that has both lunch and happy hour specials. Ten or fifteen dollars will buy you a hearty gluten free Mexican meal. For coeliacs, the chips and salsa served on the table are safe to eat and they have lots of menu options to choose from – chilli con carne, nachos, quesadillas and steaks. We like to wash it down with a virgin frozen margarita at lunch time – try the passionfruit or pineapple flavours.
Misters 100% Gluten Free Café
Our only complaint about Misters is that they’re only open on weekdays 7am-3pm! Other than that, the food here is fresh, flavoured and tasty. Everything in the café is gluten free so it’s a safe bet for coeliacs. We highly recommend the Moroccan bowl with lamb or calamari – yum!
Food Truck Garage
The Food Truck Garage takes a healthy twist on burgers, salads and wraps. It’s not fast food, it takes a little while for the food to come out but it’s worth it when it comes. We recommend the Beefroot Burger, the Aztec Chicken Burger Bowl and a side of thick salty fries (more like wedges). Remember to tell your server you need a gluten free meal.
Raviz
Raviz could almost fit into the fast food section. As a classic Indian takeaway and restaurant, they offer all the usual Indian curries. You can’t eat the poppadums or the naan (no surprise!) but you can enjoy the biryanis. The décor is dated, but the food is reliably tasty and the restaurant allows BYO wine.
Gluten free restaurants in Auckland Central
Baduzzi
A favourite of many Aucklanders, Baduzzi is an Italian restaurant that’s fancy, romantic and the little sister restaurant to the famous fine-dining The Grove up at Wyndham Street. They don’t take reservations so just turn up to their cozy restaurant in Wynyard Quarter and put your name on the list and have a drink, or a walk along Wynyard Quarter, while you wait. Baduzzi offer a gluten free menu and the stars include the polpette (get the crayfish!), fresh tiger prawns and their meat dishes. Their gluten free “pasta” is actually spiralised vegetables, so keep that in mind for the correct expectation.
The Hip Group – Ortolana and Amano
Both owned by the Hip Group and both in Britomart, these Italian restaurants focus on fresh ingredients. They don’t offer gluten free pasta, but everything else is available to be made gluten free. Our favourites here are the seafood and cheeses (the burrata!). Amano is trendy and industrial-glamourous while Ortolana is more casual and romantic, especially if you have a seat in the courtyard under the fairy lights.
Masu
For Auckland’s top fine dining Japanese, head to Masu. They have a gluten free menu, so you’ll be well looked after here.
Restaurants at the Sky Tower: Andy’s Burger Bar, Orbit and the Sugar Club
The Sky Tower’s restaurants offer gluten free options.
- At Andy’s Burger Bar, there are limited choices for coeliacs, just a burger (no fries) and some of their milkshakes.
- At Orbit, most of the menu is, or can, be gluten free.
- Orbit is an excellent tourist choice as the minimum spend ($40) will buy you a one-course dinner and entrance to the observation deck for forty-five minutes prior and/or after your lunch or dinner reservation. Tickets to visit the observation deck costs $32, so we think having a meal at Orbit is pretty good bang for your buck!
- Orbit is a revolving restaurant which means you get to enjoy 360-degree views of Auckland city over the course of an hour. So you’ll typically see all of Auckland twice over lunch or dinner.
- The Sugar Club is one of Auckland’s best restaurants. Inform the team of your gluten free requirements when you make your booking. Your degustation will be tailored to your needs.
Ima
For middle eastern fare, Ima is the place to go. You select proteins and then they supplement your selections with a variety of fresh, zesty salads- if you like Yotam Ottolenghi, you’ll love Ima. Ima is on Fort Street, two blocks back from Britomart.
Any of the fine dining restaurants in Auckland
You’ll have no trouble at Sidart, French Café, The Grove, Cassia and the like. Auckland’s top tier dining scene attracts knowledgeable talent, where intolerances are an exciting creative challenge rather than an annoyance.
Drinks in town
- Enjoy a cocktail at Caretaker (a little tricky to find: once you’re in Roukai Lane, look to the side opposite to Orleans and head downstairs). Every cocktail at Caretaker costs $20 NZD and are crafted by the mixologists according to what you feel like.
- For something more exotic, try the mezcal bar, La Fuente, in Snickel Lane. Here you can taste a wide variety of mezcal or just have a wine.
- Rooftop bars are becoming more established in Auckland city. Try the HiSo rooftop at the So Hotel (they won’t make gluten free cocktails for some unknown reason, so stick to wine here) or the Churchill for some gin-goodness.
Gluten free restaurants in nearby locations
Waiheke
Auckland’s beloved island of sunshine and vineyards, has several incredible restaurants that cater to gluten free coeliacs to dine at. Close to the Waiheke ferry are Mudbrick and Cable Bay.
- Mudbrick Restaurant (pre-book) is the place to go for a romantic multi-course dinner while their Archive Restaurant is casual (and usually won’t need pre-booking). Both restaurants have a rustic feel to them and are well-versed in catering for gluten free (and other) requirements.
- Cable Bay focus on casual sharing plates in a modern environment. The can adapt most of the menu to be gluten free (the wood-fired pizzas are an exception).
- We also recommend Casita Miro for a supremely tasty Spanish dining experience. Spanish cuisine is not very available in Auckland and Casita Miro presents authentic Spanish food and wine in a glasshouse-like restaurant. Casita Miro’s knowledge of gluten free is less than Mudbrick and Cable Bay, so be sure to have a chat with your waiter to discuss your needs.
Ponsonby
Ponsonby is just a five-minute drive from the CBD. Check out our guide to our favourite Ponsonby restaurants.
North Shore
Heading further afield? Our North Shore guide for gluten free cafes and restaurants covers Takapuna, Birkenhead and Devonport suburbs.
General tips for coeliac safe gluten free eating in Auckland
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