This is your chance to turn your favourite dish into an award-winning one!
Nominations for Iconic Auckland Eats 2025 opens at 9am today (5 Feb 2025), and the call is out for foodies and diners to share which Tāmaki Makaurau dishes they love – and why.
This special celebration of Auckland eats is back for its fifth year.
Dishes that have been nominated by Chow Luckies and made the list include Treasure Kitchen’s chilli crab, Lao Guangzhou’s clay-pot rice, Yuan Taste’s Portuguese egg tart and Vie’s banh xeo among many others.
“Nothing brings people together like food – whether it’s an old favourite or a new and exciting dish – and Auckland has some of the best food in the world,” said Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Head of Tourism Karen Thompson-Smith.
“Iconic Auckland Eats is the perfect way for locals and visitors alike to spread the word by nominating the dishes they love the most in Tāmaki Makaurau.”
Thompson-Smith said Iconic Auckland Eats has become a much-loved annual celebration of the diverse and delicious food choices on offer in Tāmaki Makaurau and a way to honour the businesses that bring them to us.
The annual list showcases the top 100 dishes across Tāmaki Makaurau, as voted by the public.
Last year, the public nominated more than 1800 Iconic Auckland Eats dishes in 2024.
Foodies have until 5 March to nominate their favourite eatery meal or snack at https://www.aucklandnz.com/iconic-eats
To nominate, share what you love about your favourite dish and what they mean to you.
Five lucky nominators will win vouchers worth $500 each to be redeemed at their favourite Iconic Auckland Eats top 100 food businesses.
This year’s judges include Annie Dundas, Destination Director Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and Mark Gregory, co-owner of Restaurant Hub, with a guest judge still to be announced.
The final list of the top 100 dishes and personal stories celebrate not only the exceptional food of Tāmaki Makaurau but also in-store experiences, people, history, heritage and culture unique to the region.
Two Iconic dishes – Depot’s Fish Sliders, and the Strawberry Lamington from Sugar at Chelsea Bay – have been top 100 dishes since Iconic Auckland Eats launched in 2020.
Iconic Auckland Eats is a much-anticipated annual initiative by Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, on behalf of Auckland Council, in partnership with Restaurant Hub, New Zealand’s largest online restaurant booking network.
Iconic Auckland Eats aims to support the hospitality sector and showcase Auckland’s world-class food and diverse culinary story, whether it’s a tasty food-truck meal, bakery snack or a degustation course at a fine-dining restaurant.
Nationwide, the restaurant and cafe sector contributed $7.8 billion to the economy to the year ending March 2024.
To nominate a favourite dish and be in to win one of five dining-voucher prizes each worth $500 to spend on Iconic Auckland Eats, visit https://www.aucklandnz.com/iconic-eats
