Cafeography
Auckland

Outdoor seating cafés in Auckland

Terrace and lane tables, most of them in the CBD, Wynyard Quarter and Newmarket.

Photo: MB, Pexels License

The CBD has the most cafés with outdoor tables, ahead of Newmarket and Wynyard Quarter. In the centre they sit in lanes and squares: Espresso Workshop at 11 Britomart Place and Ronnies Cafe at 3 Albert Street, which stays open until 17:00 on weekdays. The Terrace Café at the Aotea Centre, 50 Mayoral Drive, serves until 19:30 on Thursdays and Fridays.

Auckland's summers are warm rather than hot. At the airport station, February averages a daily maximum of 24.4 °C and July 14.6 °C, and the station logs about 2,121.8 hours of sunshine a year.1 Most terrace cafés are breakfast-and-lunch places, and about three in four close by 16:00.

Local tip: The Gaunt Street cafés in Wynyard Quarter keep weekday hours only; for a waterfront table at the weekend, Goodness Gracious on Pakenham Street West opens at 08:00.

Where these cafés are: City Centre (7), Wynyard Quarter & Viaduct (4), Newmarket & Grafton (4), Eden Terrace & Newton (2), Mount Eden (1), Herne Bay & St Marys Bay (1), Epsom & Remuera (1), Devonport (1), Grey Lynn & Westmere (1), Karangahape Road (1), Ponsonby & Freemans Bay (1), Parnell (1).

At a glance

25Cafés listed
12With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
22:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Altezano Brothers, from 07:00 (Mon–Fri 07:00–14:00).
  • Closes latest: Sugar Bae, until 22:00 (Mon–Thu 11:00–21:00 · Fri–Sat 11:00–22:00 · Sun 11:00–21:00).
  • Most listed streets: Gaunt Street (2).
  • Most common features: toilets (20%), wi-fi (12%), takeaway (12%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Auckland.

Wynyard Quarter, from tank farm to tables

Wynyard Quarter is reclaimed land on the Waitematā Harbour at the western end of the waterfront. The Auckland Harbour Board finished its last part, Wynyard Wharf, in 1930, and the land served the timber trade and then bulk petrochemical storage, which gave it the name Tank Farm.2 The first redeveloped stretch, including Jellicoe Street, North Wharf and Silo Park, opened to the public in August 2011.2

Cafe at Bayleys, at 30 Gaunt Street, opens 07:00–15:00 on weekdays only. Goodness Gracious at 117 Pakenham Street West opens daily, from 07:30 on weekdays and 08:00 at weekends, and Wander is at 8 Madden Street.

The Viaduct and Westhaven

For the 2000 and 2003 America's Cup, the syndicate bases at Viaduct Harbour were built into a new mixed-use extension of the city, which became Auckland's first waterfront precinct.3 The scheme was the model for Wynyard Quarter next door, which later housed the America's Cup race village.3

At Westhaven, Buoy has outdoor tables at 141–151 Westhaven Drive.

Sun, wind and rain

The sun matters more than the heat. Health New Zealand says the country has very high levels of UV and advises avoiding the sun between 10:00 and 16:00 from September to April, and whenever the UV index is 3 or more.4 On a summer lunch break, an umbrella or awning is worth waiting for.

Prevailing winds come from the southwest, and in summer a sea breeze often rises in the morning and fades by evening.1 July is the wettest month, with 136.9 mm of rain at the airport, against an annual total of about 1,118.9 mm.1

Inner-suburb terraces

Newmarket has Foundation On George at 11-8 George Street, open until 16:00 on weekdays, Cheese on Toast at 89 Nuffield Street and Sparrow at 19 Great South Road. Sugar Bae at 1 Sarawia Street stays open latest, 11:00–21:00 and until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.

Elsewhere, Friend & Whau at 260 Mount Eden Road opens 08:00–16:00 every day, Honey Bones is at 480 Richmond Road in Grey Lynn, and Queenies Lunchroom at 24 Spring Street in Freemans Bay. Verve Cafe is at 311 Parnell Road, and Devonport Deli Cafe at 16 Victoria Road.

Sources

  1. Auckland: Climate, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Wynyard Quarter, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. How the America's Cup was transformed from a remote race to a spectator event on Auckland's harbour, The Conversation, accessed October 2026
  4. Be sun smart, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, accessed October 2026
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By area: Karangahape Road Wynyard Quarter & Viaduct City Centre Ponsonby & Freemans Bay Grey Lynn & Westmere Mount Eden Newmarket & Grafton Parnell

FAQ

Outdoor seating in Auckland: questions

Where are the waterfront cafés with outdoor seating in Auckland?

Most are in Wynyard Quarter: Cafe at Bayleys on Gaunt Street opens on weekdays from 07:00 to 15:00, Goodness Gracious is on Pakenham Street West and Wander on Madden Street. Buoy is on Westhaven Drive. In the CBD, Espresso Workshop has tables on Britomart Place.

When is the best season to sit outside at an Auckland café?

Summer is warm rather than hot: February averages a daily maximum of 24.4 °C at the airport station. Health New Zealand advises avoiding the sun between 10:00 and 16:00 from September to April, so pick shade. July is the wettest month, with about 136.9 mm of rain, and averages a maximum of 14.6 °C.

What was Auckland's Wynyard Quarter before the cafés?

Wynyard Quarter is reclaimed harbour land finished in 1930 with Wynyard Wharf. It was used for the timber trade and then for bulk petrochemical storage, hence its old name, Tank Farm. Jellicoe Street, North Wharf and Silo Park opened to the public in August 2011, and Cafe at Bayleys and Goodness Gracious now serve on Gaunt Street and Pakenham Street West.

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