Forum Bar is the public lobby bar at JW Marriott Auckland, occupying an elegant Albert Street setting that changes character through the day. Morning coffee and breakfast lead into afternoon bites, high tea and evening cocktails, so the venue is not limited to a late-night drinks crowd. Reservations are available, and the quiet, polished room works as readily for conversation over coffee as it does for a longer evening gathering.
The morning menu is compact but more ambitious than a pastry counter. Eggs Benedict is reworked with potato rösti, chorizo, poached free-range eggs and smoked-butter hollandaise, while toasted kumara sourdough carries avocado, eggs and roasted tomato. Fruit salad with herbs, coconut yoghurt and granola provides a lighter route. Croissants, Mojo coffee, New Zealand teas, juices and smoothies fill the spaces between those plated choices.
From noon, the food moves through small plates into several substantial dishes. House flatbread with coconut butter, hummus with nduja oil, duck-liver pâté and karaage chicken can be shared, and charcuterie or cheese boards suit a slower drink. Larger appetites can turn to beef-cheek-and-oyster pie, a smoked-chicken Forum sandwich or a wagyu burger with smoked gouda, bacon and chilli jam before choosing tiramisu, semifreddo or the coconut-based Snowball dessert.
High tea gives weekends their own format, pairing spanakopita cannoli, smoked salmon and delicate sandwiches with Earl Grey tart, opera cake, citrus chiffon and two kinds of scone. The drinks programme then carries the bar into evening through wines, cocktails and thoughtful alcohol-free serves. Some herbs come from the hotel's rooftop garden, appearing in combinations with mint, basil or lavender that connect the glass to the wider JW garden theme.
Address: JW Marriott Auckland, 22–26 Albert Street, Auckland Central, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
Been to Forum Bar? Be one of the first to rate it.
+ Log your visit
