Vegan
Organic
Delivery
Take-out
Bakery
European
Fusion
Australian
Breakfast
Kaiaroha, meaning 'Food from Love' in Maori, is a vegan eatery based in an 'ecohub' building - enter on Garfield Street. Offers meals from the a la carte menu plus deli foods and specialty nut cheese direct from a glass 'cheesecave.' Features sharing platter menu on Sundays. Reported closed June 2022.
48 Reviews
First Review by Aimz2kill
livegreenwearblack
Points +329
Amazing food - Edit
(VIsited January 2019) This restaurant has a wonderful menu that includes many deli favorites. I was torn between the jackfruit barbecue ribs and the croque monsieur. The barbecue jackfruit plate one, and it $22 was basically enough food for two people. The jackfruit barbecue ribs were incredible: I've never ordered a jackfruit dish before and this was delicious with fantastic barbecue sauce that was tangy but not too sweet and had lots of smoky depth. The corn fritters for like dumplings and very tasty. The garlic bread was just like I would make it home and the rest of vegetable salad was very delicious. They do not have decaf coffee since they only have one coffee grinder - But I tried a couple of chicory as a flat white with coconut milk and was very pleased with the flavor and the drink it's self.
Read moreThe owner of the restaurant was raised on a dairy farm! She and I talked about all the problems that dairy farms and people are causing to the environment generally and especially in New Zealand with use of chemicals and the runoff from agriculture.
Peace begins on the plate - and a full belly begins at Kaiaroha!
Guest
VeganMountie
Points +554
Super delicious, a must for a trip to Auckland or locals - Edit
They have a wonderful menu, lots of options, I loved the French toast 😍😍😍😍.
Read moreNice relaxing cafe with a few groceries to take home.
Pros: Delicious food, Really friendly staff , Can takeaway so you can try more
Cons: Your hidden glutton makes you eat so much
Guest
Jesslogager
Points +35
Super fresh and lots of options! - Edit
Super yummy food and lots of different options to choose from!
Read moreGuest
pikelloww
Points +52
Best vegan breakfast - Edit
The eggs Benedict is my favourite vegan meal in auckland and i always get it when i'm in town!
Read morePros: Vegan, Cheap, Friendly staff
Guest
Dmitry
Points +215
Plenty of delightful options and best vegan cheese in NZ - Edit
Belated posting after two visits last couple of weeks: Vegan duck was amazing as well as other yummy options on offer (spoiled for choice: salads, quiches, "chicken" skewers, tarts etc) and the variety of cheeses that you can have will never make you miss the old stuff. I can't wait to go back when I am back in the city.
Read moreYou get your food in takeaway containers, but there are still tables outside and a bench top sitting inside that you can use. Containers/cups apparently are compostable and you can leave them for the store to dispose of.
I think hours can be a bit flexible due to covid, so may best call ahead to be sure.
P.S. Have been to a couple of other places that have gone takeaway only (no seating at all) and one told me that they didn't want to discriminate (against not fully vaxed).
Updated from previous review on 2022-01-24
Pros: Yum food, Best vegan cheese, Also for plant meat lovers
Cons: Have to have a whole round of cheese, though small, No plates due to not wanting to ask for vax pass
AlaraVarnel
Thanks so much for the lovely review Dmitry.
Read moreGuest
skappy
Points +45
Great food, questionable covid politics - Edit
Longtime fan, their range of SO MANY drool worthy cheeses and breakfasts are bar none. Love the food.
Read moreHowever sadly they chose to cease functioning as an actual restaurant in the wake of vax passports requirements in Dec 2021. Instead they are now a deli and takeaway… all so they don’t have to verify vaccines. And we can’t find in.
So be forewarned this lovely eatery has taken a stand against covid vaccines and become a “store and deli” at their own peril. I am sad to see this favourite restaurant in its cute Parnell location fold to anti-science beliefs.
Pros: Cheeeeeese
Cons: They don’t support vaccines, so 🤷🏼♀️
AlaraVarnel
Hi Skappy,
Read moreThanks for your thoughts about covid politics and science/ antiscience. We appreciate that this is a really difficult subject and a really difficult time for everyone with a wide range of perspectives and varying info- but I felt we should reply just to clarify some misunderstandings.
We have been very quiet to date (when almost every other business has made what you might call a more 'political stand') putting up on their doors signs which signal whether the business requires vaccine passes or not and making multiple posts on the matter. In fact it is a legal requirement to disclose this. We have one sign on our door and one instagram post showing this sign (hardly a political stance I would say).
Regardless of personal opinion we have a responsibility to our staff and community to ensure safety in our premise and dealings and take this responsibility very seriously. We have undertaken a rigorous health and safety analysis (we have a very high ceilinged venue and an excellent ventilation system luckily) and consulted with staff and listened to their perspectives and concerns. We value our team incredibly highly and our team value each other.
We chose together to respect each others decisions. We can talk openly about the issues because everyone's voice is respected and they know that they are not threatened- because we do not and never have threatened people (or animals)...this is central to our values.
We did not take a political stance (compassion interests us, not politics or righteousness) we have however been forced to make a decision and in order to be able to remain open, be legally cautious, respect our teams decisions and continue to support EVERYONE in our community including our animal friends we decided to change our business model back to a Delicatessan during the day (prior to the traffic light system being implemented as we have always been a retail Deli since 2011 and only more recently ventured into hospitality (2018).
We really appreciate that you love our food and miss being able to dine-in and so are working hard to be able to bring this to you in a model that is true to our values, the Govts guidelines and our teams wishes. We miss serving you too!
Sometimes these things take a while to achieve but we now have the first seated dinners planned and look forward to serving our community in the way that makes them comfortable both with vax passes and without, adhering to the Govts regulations and our goal of unity.
Guest
SamanthaFairley
Points +147
Excellent - Edit
Best in Auckland in my opinion!! Amazing variety of really skilfully made food. Satisfying big meals and a big range of cabinet food and lots of treats. Fantastic don’t miss it
Read moreGuest
PJSahandi
Points +28
Great menu - Edit
Lovely menu here! Lots to try and come back for
Read moreCoffee was yum very strong
I wish they had cosier seating/ less loud scrapey chairs
Guest
larahart
Points +290
Vegan Artisan Cheeses - Edit
Beautiful cafe with large vegan menu. They make their own nut cheeses which are used throughout menu. Cabinet food also. Had Field Mushroom Omelette which was soft & light, served with spicy homemade relish. Delish.
Read morePros: Lots of options on menu and in cabinet, Good portion size & nicely presented, Friendly & helpful staff
Guest
SuitableCoconut
Points +345
Cool place - Edit
Open nice and early on a Saturday for this vegan traveller to get his feed on
Read moreGuest
irfrankie
Points +63
Superb - Edit
Excellent range of deli food, creative and delicious looking. Great food menu as well, had the Reuben sandwich, lots of flavour. Highly recommend.
Read moreGuest
sawmillguy
Points +28
Amazing - Edit
Great selection of prepared and made to order food and smoothies. They have a beautiful cashew cheese display, very friendly staff. I always stop here when I'm in town.
Read moreGuest
SagaVigreBohinen
Points +1079
Beautiful cafe - Edit
Lovely cafe with super nice staff! Clean and had a nice ambiance. And so many fun options to choose from and a fully stocked cabinet. The omelette was incredible, and the waffles were pretty good too. Maybe just a bit too soft. Muffins were amazing but I would not recommend the cheesecake, a bit too much tofu consistency .
Read morePros: Fun menu, Nice staff , Reasonable portions
Cons: A bit pricy (but worth it in my opinion)
Guest
StevevanWinkel
Points +35
Great little find in a nice area - Edit
Great staff that were more than happy to discuss options. I feel like they really made an effort to make sure everything was enjoyable. Great all vegan options. I would definitely return.
Read morePros: All vegan, Range of options, Friendly considerate staff
Guest
Siolovesplants
Points +386
All vegan paradise - Edit
Great cafe in beautiful more quiet area of Auckland. All vegan, fresh juices and smoothies and amazing menu and extensive cabinet range, lovely staff, a great visit 💛
Read morePros: All vegan
Guest
HollyChantelleMoses
Points +34
Amazing food and lovely service. Massive variety too - Edit
Amazing food, service and variety
Read moreGuest
samyang
Points +83
Must eat vegan egg sub!! - Edit
One of the best vegan cafe in town!
Read moreGuest
gxvigo
Points +16
Perfect private function (birthday party) - Edit
For a special occasion I organized a party for my wife, I wanted for her a unique evening with all our closest friends, vegan and non vegan.
Read moreAlara helped me organizing a terrific party, we had the venue just for us (about 40 people) and the serving was impeccable.
Food was great, we opted for finger (licking) food to have the freedom to move around and not confined in tables. Alara and I discussed different options, from simple things to more refined bites, to finish with a professional cake with sugar free icing (awesome).
You don't organize things like this often and they must be memorable. This will definitely be.
Pros: Great food, Great variety, Easy communication
Guest
TroyCoyle
Points +146
Great cabinet food - Edit
Amazing range. The croque monsieur is so good. If you are in a rush, choose from the cabinet as service can be really slow.
Read moreGuest
LisaLöwenherz
Points +572
Amazing place with good food - Edit
We went to this place and loved it. The food was amazing. They have a big selection. Because the food was so good we even took some food for take away.
Read moreThe owner is really friendly she told us about the eco friendly aspects of the building etc. Really nice and good- highly recommend
Pros: Awesome
Guest
vegan_nyam
Points +1547
Cozy place - Edit
Food was very delicious and the place was cozy.
Read moreGuest
YohanⓋ
Points +6767
Great food and service! - Edit
We had the shared breakfast platter and it was delicious! Tr hot chocolate with coconut milk was so tasty too!
Read morePros: Delicious food, Friendly staff, All vegan!
Cons: The A/C was a little too cold
Guest
LisaSpykers
Points +10047
Delicious creative food - Edit
We came for breakfast and had a lovely meal -- gluten-free waffles with rhubarb, berries, banana and coconut cream and a kumara fennel chorizo tart with salad. I would have preferred the tart heated in an oven rather than a microwave, but it still tasted good. There was a lot of ready-to-go food in the cabinet food and the cakes looked divine (I was too full to try any). I liked the creativity and colourful presentation of the meals -- the lemon cheesecake pancakes with meringue sounds and looks amazing.
Read moreGuest
Shellz_111
Points +74
🌱Love - Edit
Nice people, great service and the food was delicious
Read moreGuest
Bellac
Points +43
Yummy food - Edit
The food here is great! It's all very hearty so great if you're quite hungry. Although the flavours are awesome, I would love to see more 'light' options in the deli such as more salads to choose from, and some healthier baking possibly.
Read moreI've gone a few times and enjoyed the food and service, however option don't find exactly what I'm looking for if I am craving a healthy meal, as it's all fairly carb heavy.
Great what this business is doing so will continue to support them!
Pros: Yummy food, Good flavours, Great service
Cons: Not many light lunch options, Lacks atmosphere, music or decor maybe?
Guest
Mellifluoust
Points +827
Posh vegan deli - Edit
Kaiaroha totally overwhelmed me with all the options. I ordered a cashew cheese spinach sausage roll/spanakopita, a muffin (a bit dry) and split the baked cheesecake with my friend. The cheesecake was pricey ($11!) but absolutely worth it - so creamy, fluffy and chewy. They also serve platters for 2 which looked amazing - one was Sunday roast themed and another Mexican.
Read moreGuest
lu_V
Points +41
Wonderful Vegan Cafe - Edit
Cosy little spot in Parnell with good pricing for portion sizes. Amazing cabinet display of food, with a great menu. Sharing platter was to die for, tasted just like a traditional Sunday roast.
Read morePros: 100% vegan with massive portion sizes, Food looks incredible and tastes authentic, Lovely, attentive staff
Cons: Can get noisy because of open plan layout
Guest
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