World City Guide

Nightlife

Auckland may not be New York or Paris but it has its share of night entertainment. The waterfront is where many of the smarter venues are, in particular around the America’s Cup Village and the new Princes Wharf development. High Street, to the south of Queen’s Wharf, also has a number of good bars, including some with live music, and there are also a number of excellent clubs and bars in the immediate ‘burbs, particularly along Karangahape Road, or in Ponsonby and Parnell.

In bars and clubs the dress code tends to be casual, although some places enforce a smarter rule and are particularly anti black jeans and leathers, since these tend to be clothes favoured by gangs. Licensing laws are not strict and some bars have a 24-hour licence, while others remain open until the early hours. The age limit for drinking alcohol is 18 years. On average, a pint of beer will cost approximately NZ$3-6, while a glass of wine can be anything from NZ$4-12, depending upon where you do your drinking.

To find out what is on, read the Thursday and Saturday editions of the New Zealand Herald, the free monthly listings magazine What’s Happening, or the free newspaper Tourist Times.

Bars: Lots of local favourites are situated down by the waterfront, such as the vast glass-walled bar, The Loaded Hog, Quay Street, in the Viaduct Basin, Fox’s Ale House and Restaurant, O Hagan’s and Plum, with newly fashionable hangouts in Prince’s Wharf, refurbished as a result the America’s Cup challenges. These include Bellini, in the Hilton Auckland, Prince’s Wharf, 147 Quay Street, and the decidedly un-Russian vodka bar, Lenin Bar, Prince’s Wharf, 201 Quay Street. With the city’s British-influenced past, it is not surprising that there are numerous British-style bars in Auckland, the biggest being the Civic Tavern, 1 Wellesley Street West, which has an Irish bar, Murphy’s, and an English bar, the London Bar, both situated downstairs, with live music and a bistro restaurant. Alternatively try the aptly named Shakespeare Tavern (a micro-brewery producing its own ale) or Mad Dogs and Englishmen, both on Albert Street, or The Immigrant Irish Bar, 104 Fanshawe Street, an out-and-out Irish pub, with live music at the weekend. Other places worth dropping into are the Dogs Bollix on the corner of Karangahape and Newton roads, Starks Civic Theatre Bar at the corner of Queen and Wellesley streets, Rakino’s on the fist floor of 31 High Street, the Belgian Beer Café in Vulcan Lane, Elbow Room in Durham Lane or Tabac, 6 Mills Lane, renowned for its comfortable velvet room and for being part-owned by ex Crowded House singer-songwriter Neil Finn.

Casinos: Sky City Casino (website: www.skycityauckland.co.nz) in the Skytower, on the corner of Victoria and Federal Streets, is a gambling haven and an entertainment complex that includes a theatre, restaurant, bars and a hotel, as well as the casino itself. There is a minimum age of 20 years for entering the casino, although a passport is not required. Dress code is smart-casual and no T shirts, jeans or sandals are allowed.

Clubs: The Globe, 299 Queen Street (website: www.acb.co.nz), is a good place to start, with DJs from 2200 on Friday and Saturday. At the harbour, The Loaded Hog, Quay Street (website: www.loadedhog.co.nz), in the Viaduct Basin, has long been a favoured hangout for yachties and yuppies alike while also in the basin, if you want to get up close and personal, try Plum. The Fu Bar at 166 Queen Street (website: www.fu.co.nz) caters to a younger alternative crowd while the Khuja Lounge, 536 Queen Street (website: www.khujalounge.co.nz), caters for the more mature, musically a-tuned punters, as does The Jazz Bar at the corner of Queen and Rutland streets and Galatos, 17 Galatos Street, a mellow lounge bar with DJ-led dancing. For the big party atmosphere head for Papa Jack’s Voodoo Lounge in Vulcan Lane, Ibiza, 253 K’Road, or Roots, 322 K’Road, while live music aficionados might prefer the Kings Arms, 59 France Street, where they can witness small-time NZ touring acts playing trad’ rock, R&B, thrash, metal or alternative and punk sets.

Comedy: Classic, 31 Queen Street (website: www.comedy.co.nz) is a well-known comedy venue that showcases local talent as well as up and coming international acts. There is also the Aotea Centre, Aotea Square, Queen Street, Silo Theatre, Lower Grays Avenue, Maidment Theatre, corner of Princess Street and Alfred Street, and the Civic Theatre, corner of Queen Street and Wellesley Street.

Live Music: There is plenty of choice at the weekend, mostly in the Downtown area, along Karangahape (K) Road and in Ponsonby. Try Papa Jack’s Voodoo Lounge, 9 Vulcan Street, which has live touring bands and DJs, The Jazz Bar, corner of Queen and Rutland streets, where you can see many varieties of jazz, Galatos for off-beat live acts, the Kings Arms for sweaty bands, and Rakino’s, the Dogs Bollix (website: www.dogsbollixirishbar.co.nz) or O Hagan’s (website: www.ohagans.co.nz) for equally lively fare. It’s worth remembering that most New Zealand bars are threefold; bar, restaurant and club/venue, so lots of places will at some point in the evening introduce a more clubby feel, even if it’s just some hippy with an acoustic guitar sitting in the corner and playing ‘Wild Rover’. All the bars mentioned in this section are listed above.