Depot has been part of Auckland’s dining life since 2011, when chef Al Brown opened it on Federal Street as his first Auckland restaurant. It is still very much his place, reflecting a way of cooking that favours what is in season, cooked beautifully and shared with friends. Over fifteen years it has become something of a yardstick for honest, unfussy New Zealand food, and Al has gathered seventy of its recipes, along with his thinking about generosity and informality at the table, in a book devoted to the restaurant. The room has an energy that suits a quick refuel as much as a long, lingering lunch, and the team keeps the mood fast, fun and fresh rather than precious or pretentious.
Most of the cooking happens over charcoal or hardwood, which gives the food real succulence, and the menu revolves around plates ordered in a spread and passed around the table. The raw bar makes an obvious first stop, with freshly shucked oysters that might come from Kerikeri, Waiheke Island, the Coromandel, Mahurangi, Russell, Whangārei Heads, Kawhia or Marlborough, depending on the weather and the season, with tuatua and diamond shell clams from Marlborough alongside. Trevally sashimi arrives with soy syrup, wasabi peas, kewpie mayo and basil, and Regal king salmon tartare comes with a preserved lemon dip and potato fritters. A charcuterie board brings the kitchen’s pig head croquettes together with wild pork salami, coppa, venison bresaola and duck liver parfait.
The snapper sliders with pickled lemon mayo and watercress have become one of the city’s most famous dishes, and they sit among small plates such as falafel with tomato kasundi and feta labneh, green lipped mussels cooked over wood with nori and miso butter, grilled octopus with nduja dressing and romesco, and charred eggplant finished with pine nut tahini and a coffee syrup. Fergus’ bone marrow is roasted over wood and served with a parsley and shallot salad. Bigger plates include skirt steak with tobacco onions and an iceberg wedge, lemon sole in brown butter with capers, a crisp pork hock with apple and horseradish salsa verde, and a half chicken with grilled radicchio. A short breakfast menu offers a bacon and egg doona, beignets with passionfruit curd and homemade muesli.
Drinks follow the same easygoing line. The wine list is small but carefully chosen, with many of Al’s own favourites, and includes his Tipping Point wines on tap, a project with Constellation Brands in which each of the six varietals supports a different environmental charity. Bottles lean towards New Zealand growers, with Central Otago pinot noir, chardonnay from Hawke’s Bay and Nelson, and sauvignon blanc from Marlborough and Martinborough, alongside a few Champagnes. Hallertau lager and Sawmill pilsner pour on tap by the glass or jug, local craft beer and cider fill out the bottle list, and the cocktail list has included a tequila and elderflower drink named after the Federal Street address, a pandan negroni and a Paper Plane. Good Joe coffee, kawakawa tea and mocktails cover everyone else.
Address: 86 Federal Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010
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