Best Places To Eat On Dominion Road, Auckland

Dominion Road is one of the best places in New Zealand for independent restaurants, especially for Chinese and other Asian cuisines. Here are some of my favourite places to eat on Dominion Road, from north to south…

Eden Noodles Cafe

Starting at the top of Dominion Road, Eden Noodles Cafe is a great place for noodles and dumplings. It’s a tiny restaurant but always busy. So busy that they’ve expanded to many other branches including one in the CBD. Their dan dan noodles are hard to resist, and I love their dumplings/wontons in spicy sauce. For sides, I recommend the cucumber salad and the black fungus salad.

Guilin Rice Noodles

It’s one of my go-to lunch spots. I usually get the “Guilin Roast Pork Rice Noodles” (A1) and ask for the soup on the side. I order it spicy, which the lovely staff always double-check with me to make sure I can handle it. About half-way through the meal, I add the soup to the noodles and finish it off. The roast pork is rendered and incredibly delicious. It’s cheap too and they usually have an offer for a free drink or a discount.

KIIN Thai Kitchen

I really enjoy their som tam (papaya salad) but it’s definitely on the expensive side, especially compared to the other places on this list. Still, it’s definitely worth a visit for some tasty Thai food!

Maruten Ramen

Their tsukemen (dipping) ramen hit the spot. It’s quite rare to find it in New Zealand, so I went there specifically for that. The broth has a great flavour but it got cold quickly, which is fairly common with tsukemen. It would be great if they served it extra hot or provided a way to keep it hot for longer.

Barilla Dumpling

It’s an Auckland institution for dumplings. They have a huge menu with a wide variety of dumplings, and they do them really well. It’s cheap enough that you can eat as many as you like. I love their sour soup too.

Xi’an Food Bar

Xi’an Food Bar is another place that’s so popular that they’ve opened multiple branches around Auckland (and further afield). Number 37 (Hand-pulled Noodles with Xi’an Style Braised Pork) is probably the most popular dish and it’s for good reason. I love the hand-pulled noodles!

PHỞ YẾN

Northern Vietnamese pho is my favourite type of phở, and PHỞ YẾN does it well.

UdonWorks

Great place for lunch. I really enjoyed the udon and sushi combo meal. Pretty reasonably priced too, especially for the quality of the food.