TOP 10 BEST Restaurants in New Zealand - Updated November 2024

The Zookeepers Son

80/100 (2262 ratings)

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Gluten Free Options

Gastropub

Bar

Pub

Gastropub

Vegetarian Friendly

Contemporary

Gluten Free Options

Vegetarian Friendly

Breakfast

Dinner

Lunch

Brunch

Drinks

Beer Battered Fries

Wings

Bourbon and Coke

Sirloin Steak

Nachos

Chicken Wings

Ribs

Burger

Cheeseburger

Poutine

Lamb

Warm Lamb Salad

Fish

Bread with Dipping Sauces

Pork Belly

Caramelised Onion Pizza

Onion rings

Canterbury Lamb Sharing Plate with Roast Veges and Gravy

pork ribs

Golden Beer Battered Fish & Fries

Roasted Veges

Smash Burger

QUESTION: bottomless brunch booking

Espresso Martini

Lagunitas IPA

Salt & Pepper Squid

Salad

Sit down

Contemporary

Bar

Pub

Gastropub

Reservations

Outdoor Seating

Takeout

Television

Seating

Accepts Mastercard

Accepts Visa

Table Service

Accepts American Express

Wheelchair Accessible

Street Parking

Buffet

Parking Available

Serves Alcohol

Free off-street parking

Wine and Beer

Highchairs Available

Full Bar

Free Wifi

Accepts Credit Cards

Breakfast

Dinner

Lunch

Drinks

Brunch

Mid-range

"Staff were sooo super friendly and provided great customer service!!! Harry, Davyn, Kayla, Nina and May, you guys are an asset to The Zookeeper’s..."

Semisi Hau

"Came here for lunch last weekend on a first table deal. The food and service was excellent. The food came out quickly after ordering and tasted..."

Emma Judd

"We hosted a special bday at the Zoo on Sat Feb 29th. From the minute we made contact about the venue NOTHING has been a problem. Preeti and Lisa..."

Kirsty Johnson

"We’ve enjoyed our time here at zoo keepers son. Wonderful staff and table service sitting outside. Jess was a great waitress suggesting options..."

Nicole Champagne

"Loved beer..."

Alice In New Zealand

"Hosted an event recently, was a great venue, with fantastic service and tasty food. Thank you Preeti for helping organise it and the bar staff from..."

Jack Baird

"We were celebrating a family birthday and it was our first time at this pub. And what a lovely surprise it was. Our waiting team, especially May, was..."

Andre Fredericks

"Hosted an event here on a Sunday afternoon. Staff were super helpful and nice. It's such a lovely venue and the food was great too! Would definitely..."

Serena Kashkari

"This place was pretty lit on a Sat night. I had the Ringmaster's Mess to share with a mate and it fed us well. There was live music playing which was..."

Ming

"Xanthe and her team was on the ball from start to finish. Very helpful and understanding with all our special request. I've only heard everyone..."

Lucinda Du Preez

"We dined on a Sunday night upstairs with a group of 8 adults and 2 kids. Service was friendly and the wait wasn’t very long for our food. Kids dine..."

Nicola

"Great atmosphere. Quick service and great menu choices. Had fantastic service from our waitress Sally. Loved my chocolate desert and my partner..."

Anthea Callagher

"Great atmosphere, great food and fantastic service. Sally was our waitress and she was on the ball. Been there a couple of times now .Love..."

Brent Wallwork

"I enjoy have enjoyed coming to the Zookeepers son over the last few years and love the food, ambiance and service I receive. I have also recently..."

Beth Terry

"It's a great local bar and restaurant. Environment is nice and clean, service is good. My husband and i love their hot spicy wings. Beer taste quite..."

LuNa The TuNa

"Just went to have a quick bite we had the Caesar salad, 1/2 kilo ribs, kiwi burger and kiddie cheese burger. All really nice especially the ribs...."

Laisa N Julessa

"Have been going here for years. Lovely atmosphere, food and staff. Jess and the team always looks after our group on Tuesdays evenings at quiz..."

Sean Wilkinson

"Huge thank you to Xanthe and the team at Zookeeper’s for helping make my 21st so seamless! From the communication leading up to the night and how..."

Gfo

"Thank you Helena for looking after our group. We had a special request to play a farewell video tribute and Helena helped set this up as well as..."

Dominique Latu

"Great work, Sally! Excellent work sorting out my hungry children with a cheeky ice cream! Lovely food and easy option for supper. All the staff..."

Camilla_field

"Food was average, but awesome service from the really nice waitress (Theanna) that made the experience that much better. Will definitely consider the..."

Nicole Widdleton

"Zookeepers Son is a really good local bar. Great atmosphere and food. Jess consistently looks after our table well. Definitely recommend..."

Ryan Dobbs

"Zookeepers is hands down amazing!!! You have to try the Southern Chicken👌 We had our wedding reception at Zookeepers last Saturday in the Rooftop..."

Stacey Dowler

"Such a amazing place to be at. Cool, Calm and Perfect chill out place. The beers and music also makes you tap your feet. Will come again there for..."

Shrey Bhatt

"(2/11/18) friday night is always the best time for drink with friends, went to this place for the first time, like the ambience, they have live music..."

Erin - Gold Code For 20% Off : CATH6386

"Beautiful venue, really friendly staff and wonderful, accommodating service from Xanthe Smythe (Event Manager). My guests loved the venue. The..."

Aarti Patel

"Hosted our Quiz Night in the RoofTop Bar at the Zookeeper's Son. With the help of Xanthe Smythe and the team, we had a very successful night! Our..."

Candice Deutschmann

"I looooooooooooooved this place! Cutest setting and amazing atmosphere, plus customer service. My Bffl and I came here for brunch and ordered..."

Preeti Mala

"We recently had my daughters 21st in the private upstairs Rooftop Garden bar. It was awesome!!! Thank you so much it's such a great venue with a..."

Tawa Latham

"Celebrate my brothers 21st at the roof top bar. Xanthe and her team were very accommodating! Great communication! Great food options! Great service!..."

John Semau

"Great food, service and a great team. I would definitely put my trust back in to the events team in helping me organise another event here. Thank you..."

Karita Siakisini

"Really welcoming, food took around 20 minutes but I had the fried buttermilk chicken which came with fries, it was really good. My partner had the..."

Louise Manase

"Fell in love with this place at first sight, then chosen here for my daughter's 1st birthday party, what a good choice ! All guest enjoyed food and..."

Yu Jia

"Steak meal was nice. My green salad side order was forgotten but the really lovely 'Maria Tutaia' look alike waitress compensated me with a free..."

Kisa Kupa

"Nice pub food, friendly atmosphere :) prices a bit hefty for some things, e.g. hapuka sliders which was 3 little smoked fish burgers for $18. But..."

Kiwi Eats Asia

"Good little local bar and restaurant. Chicken wings are delicious. Pina colada cocktails are 🙋Good atmosphere, music and great..."

Pinny Quinlan

"Great food attentive staff highly recommend I'm vegan so could be more plant based options but enjoyed meal I made up from sides etc will be back..."

Temptation Cakes Auckland

"Amazing friendly service from Monique! Left very very full! Not a great selection of Vego options but enough to satisfy. Always return to a..."

Michael Graves

"great service and great vibe, watching the rugby with a few mates and the food was brilliant (the lamb for 2 and the seasonal vegetables). totally..."

Haman Shahpari

"Great ambience and with the Lions in NZ it was real buzzing. Liked the new menu and Uli was really helpful and friendly as are all the other staff...."

Claire Chatfield

"Always good to visit The Zookeepers. The new menu offers plenty of choices, both old favourites and new things to try. Ulrika and Stevie provided..."

Andy

"It's a nice place. Burgers are yummy and salads are great. Nice environment and lots of people. The only drawback is that we cannot get our water..."

Coco_Clairy

"Neat place. Went for drinks, ordered only starters. Nice selection. Bit more pricey for just pub food. But didn't disappoint. Tasted good. Looked..."

Chanel Matamu

"Great local in Royal Oak, went there over the weekend and the staff are amazing and nothing was an issue. Keep up the good work and look forward to..."

Matthew Richardson

"A couple of my work colleagues and I finally made a trip to the Zookeeper's Son the other night for an after work drinkie (or two) - we'd been..."

Anabelle

"Had the Tandoori chicken salad (coleslaw) tonight on melon. It was just delicious and also at a very reasonable price. The place was buzzing as..."

Neil Fibbens

"Yummy food really nice clean restaurant. Like how there is a smoking area where you can take your drink. Only downside is that the staff are..."

Kylie Butters

"There is a special every night but Friday night is $1 buffalo wings night, which is my kinda heaven. This place is lively, atmosphere is great with..."

ShoRt

"It was Wednesday night and I was very hungry so thought of going to somewhere near so thought of Zookeepers son as I've seen quite a lot of people..."

Kashish Obhan

"This place is always busy! With plenty of seating inside, upstairs and also outside you should be fine getting a table. The crowd is a mixture of..."

HJ

"This is my regular on a Friday night. After work finishing quite late at night, Zooies is a good place to relax and unwind. Live music on Friday..."

James T. Raukete

"The service is top notch. Really friendly staff. The place is spacious and if you're not keen on drinking theres a separate space from the rabble...."

Jamez Hill III

"A-MA-ZING.It was pouring with rain and we came in here to escape the weather.I'll say I was expecting typical bar food, but this place blew..."

Eden OBrien Ford

"I hadn't been to The Zookeepers Son before & wasn't sure what to expect. From the outside it looks like a busy pub, which is great, but pubs don't..."

Stephy_NakiGirl

"Good ambience, prompt service and follow up. Only reason I gave a 3.5 was the chicken starters came out salty and since we were short of time I did..."

Prem C

"Have been here for lunch a couple of times. The staff are great and friendly and you never have to wait too long after ordering, even if the place is..."

Hannah Gear

"A perfect place to come for lunch. The atmosphere is really comfortable. I came with my friend and my one year son and the lady serving us was so..."

Mana Katsukawa Otimi

"We have recently moved to the area so The Zookeepers Son was an easy choice for a mid week dinner and drink. Great selection of drinks and the menu..."

Food Adventures With AnnaJ

"I've travelled (and eaten) all over the world and rate The Zookeeper's Son as one of the best local eateries/pubs. Sometime I dream about their lamb..."

Sam Pease

"This used to be a favourite but has got worse over the past year. I used to go every week but now it's expensive for the food you get. Even the..."

Erin Jay

"Bitchn bingo is a hoot, come every month. Food is always spot on. A++ mistress Viv rocks!..."

Jenna Bean

"Love this place so much! My local bar/restaurant which I go to so much. Lovely atmosphere, it's comfortable, always good music on and good people to..."

Grace Hunt

"Food is delicious! I got the chicken Caesar burger with a side of fries. Had it before and it's always good. The beer battered friend here are..."

Reservation For Two

"Just had to eye filet medium rare perfect. Great staff, friendly and welcoming waitress that recommended a great red wine. Keep up the good work,..."

Dave

"Perfect spot to watch any sports on a large screen near Royal Oak. Good pub food too with wide range of items too. Must try : Bbq..."

Aucklandfoodlover

"TZK'S a fun bar to go, it's nice and local and we've dined there for dinner and lunch on several diff occasions, had drinks there and my wife's book..."

Vitale Eti

"Absolutely love this place. My family and i have been coming here since it opened, and every single time, i'm in awe at how great the food..."

Maria Carmela

"I had wrung this place to change my reservation to a later time, when I arrived I was informed that there was no reservation! So was seated in the..."

Monica

"Awesome service guys! After being let down by a local restaurant for a birthday dinner, we found you guys in passing on a Friday night you..."

LiannJ

"Beautiful setting, service was great and the burgers were fresh and large. Very well thought-out layout. Had the Auckland pizza and it was fantastic!..."

Ange Gray

"Went there a while back. Had their Had their bread loaf and sunday roast. Both were really delicious but the bread was a bit hard and messy to cut...."

Eli A

"Other than a time I had to wait for the food for about half an hour to forty five minutes for the food, the place has nice vibe, good live music,..."

Ardi Alemi

"I celebrated my recent birthday here with a small group of friends and I was very impressed with both the food and the venue.The bar itself..."

Keith

"A good local, with friendly staff, mostly reasonable food and a reasonable price and a good selection of..."

Kerensa Robertson

"This place is the closest decent bar to where my parents live. I love popping by here and catching up with my mates.There uk imported..."

Tony Ma

"I absolutely adore The Zookeepers Son. I have been going here since I moved to New Zealand. Have always gotten to know the staff so always go there..."

Cara Jamieson

"Myself and 3 others went here for Sunday lunch and was absolutely blown away but the meal and the service!!! the food was amazing and I can honestly..."

David Maynard

"Just wanted to thank you Guys for helping to celebrate my birthday last night. The food was tasty, service friendly, atmospheric awesome...."

Jolanta Dougherty

"We used the zookeepers son as a venue for engagement party. After running into many places that seemed to do their utmost to dissuade us from having..."

Danielle Windfuhr

"4 of us went last night and really enjoyed ourselves. The service was fast and efficient, the staff were friendly and the food was good. The pork..."

Pauline Bennett

"Went there today for lunch (9 people). NOt only were the meals amazing (my partner said his steak was the best he'd ever had...and he is very..."

Hannah-Jane

"I went here last night with my girlfriend and a mate. Service was fast, drinks came less than 5 mins after ordering, starters 5 mins after ordering..."

Brian Castello

"Went to Zoo Keepers Son on a Sunday Night, didn't need to book. Got a table in the corner, a waitress came and took our drinks orders straight away..."

Caitlin

"This is a great new local pub for me. They have a good drink selection and super friendly staff. I also recommend the pub meals, they obviously use..."

Anita Walsh

"This place has changed alot since being revamped and having a name change, well done to Dave and his team! Food/Service/ 10/10 not to mention the..."

Isaac Valach

"Great service, great food and very reasonable price! Will definately eat here..."

Lynley

"We frequent Zookeepers often. As a family of 5 and also just with the adults. It's nice to have a one stop shop in the area, where the boys can..."

DAM

"Thank goodness finally a great place to go right in our neighbourhood. Had a wonderful mothers day lunch with my two daughters. Food and service..."

Wendy Mauer

"We came here as a group of 10. 4 adult and 6 children. Luckily we booked because it was busy. The food was delicious, every plate was sent back..."

Alexis Purvis

"we decided to check out our new local after hearing good things about it, we’re a family of 9 and we were sat at a large table which is in front of..."

Michael

"My friends and I have been hanging out for a place like this to open in our neighbourhood!! This is a cool funky place, and now my hangout! Food was..."

Lindy Knisley Catchpole

"The Zookeeper's Son is another one of my go-to places in Royal Oak. It's a great casual spot to have a quick meal or for after work drinks. They have..."

Jennifer Manalo

"Great place to watch the game with a few mates. Love the fact you can buy beer in a jug! Nice flow from indoors to outside to upstairs. Good..."

Duncan Brough

"Great and delicious fresh food! ..the combination of flavors is just amazing and when you add a fresh apple cider or glass of red wine it's like..."

Minerva Manzano Romero

"A friend brought me to this place for her birthday after she received a $25 voucher from the bar to use. Sweet deal I thought! We came on a Friday..."

Xanthe Smythe

"Food is absolutely delicious! Enjoyed the buffalo wings and cheesy pizza bread the most. Loaded burger had nice fresh garnish and a smokey taste...."

bobbyanderson10

"The food was great. Pizza tasty. Fries crunchy. Onion rings perfect. Everyone enjoyed their meals. Pity the coffee machine broke down. However, the..."

Roger “Lazardo66” Kimiangatau

"Saturday nights are my fave the band from.9pm til midnight and the bottomless chicken and waffles and beer and prosecco for $45 is a good start to a..."

Nia Tupouniua

"The food was Amazing, the service though...it was phenomonal. We had Tikara serving us. She was so polite and made sure we were all comfortable...."

Fiona Taupe

"Our first time at this stunning & unique restuarant which offers free parking! - huge bonus! 😆 The food was superb & prepared to our liking. Great..."

Yavashni Chetty

"Does anyone appreciate what light is? I do. I found it. Here. At Zoos. With Shay. Guys if you’re thinking about coming down here just remember we..."

Neerav Singh

"Been here a few times but the staff, atmosphere and beers were exceptional tonight. Alex was a standout. He served us in a timely manner even though..."

Preetham Musthyala

"We booked the rooftop bar for a 30th birthday and right from booking all the way through to the party the experience was awesome! Thank you to our..."

Cassandra King

"Friendly and efficient service, excellent food and drinks made. Great outdoor seating, pleasant interior decor. Spacious, good selection of music not..."

Staysey Liuu

"First time @ Zookeepers. Slow Tuesday night in the restaurant but nice if you want quiet. Ordered ribs, cheesy garlic pizza & warm lamb salad which..."

Boonty Boo

"Great food, lovely environment and fabulous service, can't go wrong. 5 stars all the..."

Ruth Lemmer

"Really really nice place. Staff are always very friendly, great atmosphere and even better food. Love coming here for a few chill drinks and..."

Mr Jiiggy

"Great place to have a little cosy birthday dinner. There is an upstairs for functions or parties, which is separated from the public, along with a..."

Lobster Mak

"Had my son's surprise 21st birthday celebration upstairs in the Rooftop Bar recently, Lisa was very helpful & great to deal with when booking our..."

Ana Skudder -Tupou

"Had my 30th here a month ago! Lisa, the event manager was amazing, so easy to deal with! Food was amazing and came out right on time and the space..."

Neha Hussain

"Great experience, quality food and family friendly establishment. Ended up dining here for 4 hours and never got bored or felt obliged to..."

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