Amano spreads across two of Britomart’s historic buildings on Tyler Street, the Altrans and the Quay, looking out towards the Waitematā Harbour in central Auckland. The Altrans Building has a fitting past: built for a kauri gum merchant and given a fourth floor in 1913, it was taken over in 1937 by the Newdick brothers, cake makers who ran their bakery on the third floor. Amano’s own bakery now fills the ground floor beside a restaurant that opened in 2016 and celebrated ten years in 2026. The name means both made by hand and with love in Italian, which suits a kitchen and bakery where nearly everything starts from scratch.
The guiding idea is provenance: seasonal, sustainable ingredients bought from New Zealand’s own growers and farmers, rustic food with an Italian accent, and service that stays humble and attentive. The airy dining room seats around 120, setting terrazzo tiles and Italian marble against the buildings’ heritage features, and it ranks among the busiest restaurants in the country. Mornings in the bakery nod to France, with cabinets stacked with croissants, pain aux raisins, almond croissants, cinnamon brioche and far breton, with prosciutto croissants and savoury brioche for anyone wanting something salty, and an app lets regulars order from the bakery ahead.
Breakfast brings granola with strawberry, lemon and panna cotta, a blueberry hotcake with vanilla mascarpone, smashed meatballs in salsa rosso with a poached egg, and morning cocktails such as a tamarillo Bellini. From lunch the menu is arranged by produce and has included mozzarella focaccia di Recco, stracciatella with Kaipara tamarillo, Pahi Pacific oysters and raw Northland trevally, line caught and served as a crudo. Pasta might be pipe rigate cacio e pepe made from extruded semolina, pappardelle with Hawke’s Bay Suffolk lamb ragu or chitarra with Auckland Islands scampi, fennel and chilli, while a bone in lamb shoulder, roasted slowly and brought out with yoghurt, chilli dressing and piadina, is meant for the whole table. Sweet endings have included a lemon and vanilla bombe Alaska on a stick, a cannolo with spiced apple and an espresso trifle.
Italy and New Zealand share the wine list, which reaches from Alto Adige pinot bianco and Langhe nebbiolo to a Waiheke merlot blend and Central Otago pinot noir, with champagne available by the glass and a cellar list for bigger occasions. Cocktails lean on fruit, pairing tamarillo with rum, kiwifruit with tequila and limoncello, or pear with calvados and prosecco, and those skipping alcohol can choose Seedlip mixes, shrubs such as beetroot and black pepper, sodas and smoothies. Campari and vermouths make up an aperitivo list, amari, grappa and other digestivi wait for after dinner, and large groups sit down to set menus that can change twice in a day.
Address: 68 Tyler Street, Britomart, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010
Been to Amano? Be one of the first to rate it.
+ Log your visit
