RFK Rankings · Auckland
Best Restaurants for Brunch in Auckland (2026)
Weekend brunch · Auckland · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published July 15, 2024 · Updated June 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Auckland takes brunch seriously. The Britomart conservatories cook their own-farm produce, City Works Depot hides a chef-driven weekend table, and the bakeries on Great North Road queue out the door before nine. These six, ranked, are where to spend a Saturday morning when the room and the cooking matter as much as the flat white.
1.Ortolana
Hip Group's garden-to-table conservatory plates the city's most inventive brunch; book the Britomart room for a produce-led weekend morning.
Ortolana sits in a sun-filled conservatory in The Pavilions at Britomart, on Tyler Street near the Waitemata train station, and the name means market gardener. That is the point: Hip Group grows much of the produce on its own organic farm and runs it straight onto the plate, which makes the brunch as garden-to-table as Auckland gets. The folded-egg breakfast and the porridge are the dishes regulars order.
The menu reads simple and cooks ambitious, the most credible weekend table in the precinct rather than a bottomless-mimosa factory. Doors open at 7am daily, with the kitchen running late Tuesday through Saturday. Book ahead through the Savor and Hip Group sites for a weekend window, and treat it as the dressed-up brunch of the six. Ortolana also holds a full RFK Auckland profile.
2.Odettes Eatery
Jonah Huang's seasonal weekend kitchen tucked into City Works Depot; reserve the Wellesley Street room for chef-driven brunch.
Odettes Eatery hides at 90 Wellesley Street West inside City Works Depot, the redeveloped depot off Nelson Street, with head chef Jonah Huang running a seasonal kitchen. Born in Taiwan and raised in New Zealand, Huang came to Odettes after stints at Iguacu and Imperial Lane and a spell honing his craft in Japan, and it shows in the detail of the weekend plates.
The brunch menu runs all day on the weekend: packed eggs on sourdough and a big breakfast of creamy eggs, avocado, bacon, tomato and feta are the crowd favourites. Metro and the NZ Herald have both written the room up, and weekend service runs 8am to 3pm Saturday and Sunday. Reserve through the Odettes site for a weekend table, and come when the cooking is the reason.
3.Amano
Savor Group's all-day Italian room and bakery opposite the harbour; book the Tyler Street table for a pastry-led Britomart brunch.
Amano runs an all-day Italian room and an artisan bakery across Britomart's historic Quay and Altrans buildings at 66-68 Tyler Street, opposite the Waitemata Harbour. It is a Savor Group venture, and the adjoining bakery turns out pastries, piadina, pizza slices and sourdough loaves from early morning, which makes the brunch as much about the counter as the kitchen.
The room opens at 7am daily and runs through to 10pm, so the morning is unhurried and the pastry cabinet does half the work. The prosciutto-and-egg plates and the bakery sourdough are the picks. Book through the Savor site for a weekend table by the window, or arrive early and graze the bakery; this is the Britomart brunch for an Italian-leaning morning.
4.Federal Delicatessen
Al Brown's New York-style deli runs late and serves the easy group brunch; walk into the Federal Street room for griddle cakes and bottomless coffee.
Federal Delicatessen is Al Brown's take on an old-school New York Jewish deli at 86 Federal Street in the CBD, near SkyCity. The room trades in cured meats, lox, latkes and pickles, with some of the best sandwiches downtown, and the weekend brunch leans on griddle cakes, toasted muesli and bottomless filter coffee.
It is the easiest large-group morning on this list: open 7am to midnight every day, with brunch running 8am to 3.30pm on Saturday and Sunday. The booths fill but the room is big and the kitchen is fast. Book through the Federal site or walk up off-peak, and order the griddle cakes; this is the casual deli brunch when the table is large and the appetites are larger.
5.Williams Eatery
A bright Daldy Street room cooking NZ and Filipino-inspired plates; walk into Wynyard Quarter for a waterfront-adjacent weekend brunch.
Williams Eatery was the first hospitality tenant in Wynyard Central, the residential precinct in Wynyard Quarter, and it still anchors the corner at G03/85 Daldy Street. The kitchen cooks New Zealand and Filipino-inspired plates from seasonal, sustainable produce, a few minutes' walk from the waterfront and the Viaduct.
The room is bright and airy, open 7am most mornings and later into the evening Thursday through Saturday, with weekend service from 8am. It is an easy walk-in for a group, and the coffee program holds up against the brunch crowd. Book through the Williams site for a busy weekend or arrive before the mid-morning rush; this is the Wynyard pick for a relaxed waterfront-adjacent morning.
6.Daily Bread
Auckland's sourdough benchmark in an old Point Chev bank; arrive before nine for the pastry cabinet and a counter brunch.
Daily Bread started in Point Chevalier and its flagship still occupies an old bank building at 1202 Great North Road, now one of the city's best-loved bakeries. The sourdough is the draw, alongside cardamom morning buns, seasonal doughnuts, flaky pies and croissants from a cabinet that turns over fast on a weekend.
It is a counter-and-table morning rather than a sit-down service, open 7am to 3pm seven days, and the queue builds early. There are now several Daily Bread sites around Auckland, but the Point Chev bank is the one to visit. Come before nine on a Saturday for the full cabinet and a flat white; this is the bakery brunch when the bread is the point.
Not for everyone
Famous, but mind the format
Best Ugly Bagels. Al Brown's wood-fired Montreal-style bagels at City Works Depot are genuinely excellent, but it is a counter open 7am to 3pm, not a sit-down brunch room. For a proper weekend table in the same depot, Odettes Eatery is the booking; grab the bagels on the way out.
Ortolana at the last minute. The Britomart conservatory fills its weekend tables early and does not hold much walk-in space. For an easy unbooked morning by the water instead, Williams Eatery in Wynyard Quarter takes walk-ins and seats groups without the wait.
Generic hotel buffets. Several Auckland hotels run a weekend spread that trades cooking for volume. Skip them for the chef-driven rooms here; Odettes at City Works Depot and Ortolana at Britomart both cook to order from seasonal produce.
How to brunch well in Auckland
Auckland brunch splits by neighbourhood: Britomart for the dressed-up conservatory rooms by the harbour, City Works Depot off Nelson Street for the chef-driven and the counters, Wynyard Quarter for the bright waterfront-adjacent cafes, and the Great North Road run through Point Chevalier and Grey Lynn for the bakeries. The CBD spots are walkable from each other, but Point Chev needs a car or a bus, and weekend parking around Britomart fills by mid-morning.
The sit-down rooms take reservations and fill early, so book Ortolana, Odettes and Amano rather than turning up. Federal Delicatessen and Williams Eatery hold space for groups and walk-ins, while Daily Bread in Point Chev is queue-and-counter, so arrive before nine. Auckland brunch skews Saturday and Sunday from 8am, with the cafe-culture peak landing between nine and eleven; come early on a fine weekend and the harbour-side tables are yours.
Frequently asked
Where is the best brunch in Auckland?
For a garden-produce morning, Ortolana in The Pavilions at Britomart runs Hip Group's own-farm vegetables through its conservatory brunch. Odettes Eatery at City Works Depot is the chef-driven pick, with head chef Jonah Huang plating a seasonal weekend menu. For a downtown deli morning instead, Al Brown's Federal Delicatessen on Federal Street is the call.
Which Auckland brunch is best for a group?
Federal Delicatessen on Federal Street is the easiest big-group brunch, a New York-style deli open until midnight with griddle cakes and bottomless coffee. Williams Eatery in Wynyard Quarter is the other group-friendly option, a bright Daldy Street room serving New Zealand and Filipino-inspired plates with space to spread out.
Does Auckland have a Michelin brunch?
No. New Zealand has no Michelin guide, so Auckland brunch is measured by local critics instead. We rank from the Metro Top 50, the Cuisine Good Food Awards, Viva and the NZ Herald, plus each room's own weekend service. Ortolana and Odettes both sit on those lists, which is why they lead this ranking.
Do you need a reservation for brunch in Auckland?
At the sit-down rooms, yes. Ortolana, Odettes and Amano fill their weekend tables early, so book ahead through their own sites. The bakeries and counters work differently: Daily Bread in Point Chevalier is walk-in only, so arrive before nine on a Saturday or expect a queue out the door of the old bank building.
What is a good upscale brunch in Auckland?
Ortolana is the dressed-up pick, a sun-filled conservatory at Britomart cooking Hip Group's own-farm produce into one of the city's most inventive brunch menus. Odettes Eatery at City Works Depot is the other, with head chef Jonah Huang running a seasonal weekend service in a tucked-away room praised by Metro and the NZ Herald.
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