Hotel Ponsonby fills the ground floor of a grand old building at Three Lamps. It went up in 1912 as the Ponsonby Post Office, designed by the government architect John Campbell in the Edwardian Baroque style he liked for civic buildings, and it handled the suburb’s mail until 2002. Heritage New Zealand lists it in Category 1. The pub moved in during late 2020, and despite the name there are no rooms to stay in. The idea was a gastropub of the sort found in Australia and Britain, with a public bar, a bistro and a beer garden under one roof.
Inside, the post office proportions do much of the work. Ceilings are high and the rooms generous, warmed by timber, dark green panelling, pressed tin, old tiles and leather banquettes, while a wooden bar with tall shelving stands close to the front door. A walled courtyard, mostly hidden from the street, serves as the beer garden, and on sunny afternoons it is where people linger over a long lunch or a drink after work. It draws a broad crowd, from younger Ponsonby locals to families and long time regulars, and suits a quick beer as readily as a full meal.
The kitchen cooks modern bistro food with a strong snacking side. Rosemary focaccia arrives with whipped butter and can be topped with burrata and marinated capsicum, smoked kahawai rillettes or prosciutto with preserved fig. On the October menu, small plates run from market fish crudo with mandarin, white soy and coconut to Cantabrian anchovy toast with whipped ricotta, crispy calamari with saffron aioli, piri piri chicken thigh skewers and confit duck croquettes with pomegranate sauce. Heartier choices include wagyu rump cap with red wine and smoked beef fat, pan fried market fish with salsa verde, a dry aged cheeseburger, chicken schnitzel with caper butter and fresh spaghetti with broken cherry tomatoes and basil.
Pints get equal billing with plates. Taps pour beer by the middy, schooner or jug, from Sapporo and Heineken to Sawmill Pilsner from Matakana, Hallertau’s #2 Pale Ale and Parrotdog’s Birdseye Hazy IPA, with low and alcohol free beers in cans. The wine list ranges from Laurent-Perrier Champagne to Felton Road Chardonnay, Craggy Range Te Muna Pinot Noir and Man O’ War Ironclad from Waiheke, with Barolo, Chablis and Rioja further afield. Two cocktails that have been favourites since the early years, the Enzoni of gin, Campari, lemon and grape and a coconut margarita, are still on the list. The food menu labels dishes that are vegetarian, free of dairy or made with no added gluten, and dessert might be crack pie with bourbon cream or a strawberry matcha panna cotta.
Address: 1 Saint Marys Road, Ponsonby, Auckland 1011
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