TOP 10 BEST Restaurants in New Zealand - Updated November 2024

Gao Asian Fusion

86/100 (1027 ratings)

Restaurants

Vegetarian Friendly

Thai

Vegan Options

Asian

Vegetarian Friendly

Vegan Options

Dinner

Lunch

Banana Spring Roll

Sashimi

Peking Duck Rolls

Fried Eggplants

Gao Fried Chicken

Drunken Fish

Crispy Pork Rib

Dumplings

Coconut Jasmine Rice

Twice Cooked Beef Short Rib

Coconut Rockstar

Fish Cake

Noodles

Soft Shell Crab

Pancake

Beef Dumplings

dumpling

Pork and Prawn Dumplings

Peking Duck Pancakes

Market Fish

Beef Tataki

Asian

Thai

Seating

Table Service

Serves Alcohol

Takeout

Reservations

Lunch

Dinner

Mid-range

"Food was..."

Prashant Meenu Champa

"This is our local favourite. Friendly service and great..."

Jonathan Chen

"Delicious food, cool atmosphere, super fast service. Vege curry is the best one I’ve ever..."

Caitlin

"Ordered Gao Fried Chicken, Pad Thai, Fried Egg Noodles and Pork Belly, along with an Oreo Cheesecake for..."

Minh Thu

"Friendly service, good..."

Narasupreme

"Great service &..."

Adech

"Absolutely amazing food! Service was fantastic.Will definitely be..."

Rachelle Hannah

"I had a nice meal with friends just before Christmas! The foods are tasty and good-looking. This place has good and friendly services. We will..."

Kathleen

"Wow I went to Gao with my family on Sunday night and we were all very impressed with their delicious dishes and generous portion. We all agreed Gao..."

Lina Jeong Ah Park

"Gao is the best. The red curry is absolutely delicious, and the spicy pork noodles is so good. Wow i just want to come back, its soooo worth..."

Laura

"Food was amazing! The portions sizes were very large, well worth the money. Only thing was the customer service was a little slow, our dishes..."

Sarah.h7339

"Went with a group - loved it. Fantastic food and great atmosphere. Taking another group there tonight. Two visits in first week of finding this..."

Chris Tankard

"Pork Ribs and shell crab are absolutely must go menu! Large portion and very delicious. Prawn is a little bit overcooked. Sashimi and eggplant is..."

Yan Carol

"Had the most delicious dinner here previewing their summer menu. Started off with a range of dumplings and Peking duck taco (my favourite 😍)..."

Fridayu

"Service and flavour was 10/10 - loved the pecking duck pancakes!! And the dumplings! Also my favourite dish was a chicken thigh and egg plant curry..."

Janita Fuller

"Straight off the bat this restaurant is absolutely amazing! The first thing you’ll notice once you walk in is the art work painted all over the..."

Moonpieeats

"Excellent summer menu! The duck tacos are to die for, and the dumplings are simply perfection. Very nice place to hang out with friends and share..."

Eva Leong

"GAOls at Gao in Albany 🥳 We tried their new summer menu, tasted some of the classics from the current menu and had our fair share of their amazing..."

Annie Ren

"Dining @gao.akl is such a mood! The moment you step in, you can't help but say WOW at all the wall and ceiling art! The 4 ladies mural reminded me of..."

Suji Hang

"I'll give a 5* rating to the staff, loved how welcoming all of them were. Food was great, pork and prawn dumplings were the..."

Mona Kapoor

"Their soft shell crab is to die for! It was so full of flavour, sweet/salty/sour/a bit of spice too - a very well balanced dish that was far above..."

Kelly

"Have been trying to come here for the past 2 months. We finally got to try today. We were craving for both crab and duck, so we ordered the soft..."

Wilson Shum

"surprisingly, their dumplings probably is the best in town. And soft shell crab which my partner is obessed..."

Carina Chang

"Friendly staff looked after us , went there for dinner , delicious meal , music was too loud but it was okay. Definitely go back there..."

Lightblue204

"Absolutely delicious meals and wonderful service with friendly staff. Had krispy chicken and chicken skewers. Cooked to perfection and yummy satay..."

Joanne Bright

"Such a dining place with a nice taste of art. I fell in love with this place the moment I stepped in. All the drawings on the wall and ceiling really..."

The. GIANT. Eater

"Delious food! Excellent service! Friendly staffs!..."

Joy Yang

"The restaurant is very unique n attractive decoration, Beautiful n delicious meals, very responsive n friendly waiters n good customer service....."

Cecilia Sukmadjaja

"The atmosphere, service and the food was LOVELY👌🏼. Definitely was worth coming here for..."

Ian Jang

"The best aspect of this restaurant is definitely the atmosphere. The wall art is amazing and even the bathroom is nicely designed! The soft shell..."

Ellie

"Had dinner with family of 5 adults, spent about $170. Price Abit on higher side, about $30s/main. We ordered fried chicken, soft shell crabs, beef..."

“Dailee” 25% Off Zomato Gold

"Great food and service...."

Liana Chapman

"We used "grab one" for a 50% off voucher at GAO so our $50 meal only cost $25. I believe this was the best way to get the food here as do I believe..."

Tasteful Seconds By Kyrsta Lynn

"I absolutely loved Gao. It's so nice to have a place that feels super modem finally in Albany!! Food was gorgeous, service was great. It was a little..."

Dini

"Food: 4Value : 3.5Service : 4Atmosphere : 4.5 Always drive past this place which has a huge wall painting of a white woman..."

Jonathan Chau

"Price was high class while the food was not. But food still tastes good, I like the dumplings yummy. Main dishes just soso. Service is excellent. I..."

Katherine Swift

"We heard about this place in instagram and came to check it out on a Tuesday night with a grabone deal.Food/Portion:👍 Crispy..."

Flavourbomb

"Gao was recommended to us by a family friend and we were not disappointed. The service was great and the food was very Moorish. We will definitely be..."

Jessica Harvey

"Came into Gao for dinner and the vibe and atmosphere inside was so nice. We started off with the 'lychee mojitos' and they were SO YUM, I could have..."

Karina

"A nice asian fusion restaurant, environment nice and clean with modern decor. Service polite and friendly. Foods are all taste delicious, i love the..."

LuNa The TuNa

"I'm a big fan of Asian fusion, this one has so much to offer. The dumplings were scrumptious, loved the colour it somehow makes them taste yummier...."

Liza Cosme

"Came on opening night and was wowed fromThe moment I stepped in the door. The funky decor, lights and industrial brickwork gets you ready for a..."

Phil Morton

"An absolutely gorgeous Asian Fusion restaurant located on Dairy Flat Highway that’s pretty hard to miss! Like most Asian fusion restaurants the..."

Samantha Taveras

"We had read rave reviews of the Gao restaurant in Albany and tried it ourselves a couple of Fridays ago. The place was pretty full, but spacious,..."

Lochbuie

"All I can say is... WOW! Finally Albany has a restaurant to rave about! The exterior of this place is deceiving, but as soon as you walk in you will..."

Louisa Keddell

"Tried some dumplings, the beef entree, 2x buns, the massaman curry and the red curry. all of the dishes were amazing. the atmosphere is so funky and..."

Amy Fleetwood

"From the moment you walk into Gao you know you are in for an experience. A welcome smile and hello is really noticed and appreciated (something that..."

Andrew Poore

"This place was outstanding!!! The menu looked extreme and it was nothing short of that. I saw a lot of reviews earlier about portion sizes so they..."

Bayley

"I've been to Gao twice with my girlfriend and this place is really great. We've tried a number of items on the menu from the dumplings, eggplant, bok..."

Leslie Tan

"The food is very expensive and there is only a little amount. I am very disappointed at the amount but the quality is the best I've ever seen it is..."

Robbin

"Loved the duck pancakes. Chicken red curry. Beef Check. Pad Thai. Everthing we ordered was fantastic. Will be back. Great restaurantYummy..."

Deidre Anderson

"Tried out the new fusion eatery out in Albany. The service, ambience and food were amazing. Perfect as sharing dishes so you can try all their..."

Food2belly

"Best restaurant in Albany that’s for sure! Smoked duck was something special and the pork belly was on another level. Cocktails were..."

Mark Jory

"Design of restaurant is very artistic 4/5Service 4/5Wine list 5/5Food menu 4/5Taste of foodPeking duck wrap, nice twist with..."

Bella Lin

"I’m always down for a dirty dumpling and I’d usually go to glenfield night markets, but I decided not to spend the rest of the night with a..."

Lucy

"We went to there for dinner last month. Everything we ate was delicious. Service was pleasant too. The only downside is a little bit..."

Bright One

"Such an awesome place! Love the vibes with the artwork & lights on the roof. Food was amazing. Service was a bit average as it took a while to get..."

Theresa Fanene

"Incredible new place. A hidden gem and absolute delight. Murals are so in right now and a lot of places are really taking their game to next level..."

Disha

"Seeing the murals made me smile. One bite of the prawn and pork dumplings made me do a happy dance. My partner's beef dumplings were also awesome,..."

Clarissa Geronimo

"Went there with friends last night, it was an absolutely amazing experience. Great food and sweet service. If you're looking for Asian fusion food,..."

Whittling Arts

"This place just made my day. Its asian fusion kitchen with an interesting twist. Very good servis. Great interior decor with option outdoor sittings...."

Katerina

"We had not planned to come here to eat, but on passing thought we'd give it a try. It's not long open , the owner told me six weeks, but i have still..."

Bryan

"Stumbled across this place on Zomato when looking for a new restaurant on the shore. The atmospheric decor at GAO coupled with the flavourful..."

Em

"Awesome to see another fantastic Asian fusion restaurant on the shore. The decor in this place is so funky and the staff were really attentive and..."

Carla

"Had to check this amazing funky bistro out... Fantastic! We booked almost late into the night and they welcomed us with a smile.... Food was just as..."

Findlinc

"Amazing food and great service! We had the chicken curry and soft shell crab with a side of rice. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the soft shell..."

Coogie

"Such a good little place to eat! Dumplings and spring onion pancakes are awesome as was the sashimi carpaccio. We also had the smoked duck which was..."

L.B.

"This place is exactly what Auckland needed. The food is just too good! Can't wait to try everything on the menu - I had the smoked duck which was..."

James Hunt

"The newest Asian Fusion kid on the block, Gao was bustling with live and vibrancy even on a Sunday evening. It's giant murals and neon luminescent..."

Oksana Zhang

"Hidden gem on the shore. Food was fantastic. From delicious dumplings to desserts. Oysters are shucked to orders, sashimi were the freshest I have..."

Jonathan Wong

"Best modern Asian food in Albany. would recommend to try their dumpling and curry menu to get the best out of the best meals from the menu. Make sure..."

Zacroos

"Albany finally has a wealthy place to hang out! We tried xiao long bao and some spicy dumplings they were so yum. Suprised.And massamam curry was..."

Foodlover

"I have lived locally for nearly 1.5 years and this is the very first time I have dined in at Gao. What an amazing experience here! What a delicious..."

Sita Karawakul

"Group of 16 islanders. Originally booked for 90min bottomless lunch menu and drinks. $45 for bottomless lunch and non alcoholic drinks. $65 for..."

puddie mocha

"I was lucky to get a dinner reservation last minute for 5.30pm on a Saturday. As soon as we walked in, the ambiance draws in all of your senses. We..."

Soo Woo

"Incredible! Best bottomless brunch that my girls and I have attended and they’ve really set the standards high for other bottomless brunches around..."

Pam Ela

"One of the best place I’ve been by far (over the shore) Great food. Great service and great ambiance! Keep up the good work..."

Yusoff Kamal

"Loved this place. Came here on a Friday night but the only booking available was 5:00, so we were the only ones in here. But despite that it was..."

Hippo

"We decided to try this place for dinner. The place wasn't too hard to find. There are a few parking spots around the building but they did get full..."

Benedict Uy

"We went there last saturday for bottomless brunch! Awesome service and fantastic food! Fresh and great flavour! Highly recommended for weekend..."

Jersey Blair

"Everything about this place is amazing, from the service when you walk in the door, to the amazing authentic Asian fusion (Phillipines,Thai,chinese)..."

Amber Cunliffe

"Dinner for 2 tonight. Great ambiance Overall, this was a wonderful experience with friendly, helpful, and approachable staff, all very..."

Ron Krajenbrink

"We had the Gao Fried Chicken, Drunken Fish, Crispy Eggplant, Kung Pa-Orange chicken, Sichuan Spicy Noodles & Papaya Salad. The Goa Fried Chicken was..."

B R

"Went for their bottomless brunch and food - and it was a GREAT experience. The staff were so lovely - especially Jeanette and Albert. The food kept..."

Tessera Lastimosa

"My family and I celebrated a birthday here the other night and LOVED it!!! We all can't stop talking about it! Gao has the tastiest food, great..."

R Chalmers (Rach)

"This place is awesome! Went for the first time after seeing the reviews and did not disappoint. From our first bite we were amazed, so tasty! It's a..."

Victoria L

"Amazing gem of a place. Such a happening vibe about it.... love love love your music!!! Friendly staff and AMAZING food. Thanks for a great..."

Brenda Kemp

"Dark with minimal lighting. Has candles on the tables but weren't lit up at yet at 7pm so we had to tilt the menus to the doors to even see..."