Summer is upon us and that means more sunshine, less work, and more time spent at the beach and in the garden. Garden bar that is.
Strap on your jandals, slip, slop, slap and wrap, and get along to one of these great Auckland beer gardens and garden bars for a spot of summertime drinking, dining and hanging out with your mates.
Settle in, though, because one swallow does not make a summer.
Acacia Restaurant & Garden Bar, Ellerslie
Ellerslie’s “best-kept secret garden” won’t stay that way for long – not if we have anything to do with it.
Acacia’s sunny courtyard is the perfect place to dine alfresco or enjoy casual snacks and drinks on a sunny summer’s day. Dine on delicious cuisine from New Zealand and the Pacific Rim from Acacia’s la carte menu or indulge in the daily buffet.
And it’s also a great option for functions and events, whether you’re looking for a wedding venue or just a place for a work or family gathering.
Empire Tavern, Auckland CBD
Rain, hail or shine, Empire Tavern’s all-weather garden bar is one of the liveliest in Auckland.
A prominent entertainment venue, Empire hosts live music gigs and special events – not to mention it screens all major sporting events on giant projectors. It caters for functions and it’s just a great place to hang out with your mates. Check out our review of the new-look Empire.
The Postman's Leg, Glenfield
One of Auckland's newest gastropubs, The Postman's Leg in Glenfield boasts a massive sun-drenched deck that's begging to be your home-away-from-home this summer. And with a different special on every day of the week, the food ain't half bad either.
Garrison Public House, Mt Wellington
Take a break from shopping at Sylvia Park or, better yet, leave your better half to shop while you have a few drinks at the Garrison Public House (pictured above).
The service is great, the beer is cold and you could do far worse than spend a couple of hours here on a sunny afternoon.
Creole’s Bar & Brasserie, Orewa
If dining or drinking in a garden bar is about escaping the drudgery of everyday life – then driving out of the city to Creole’s Bar & Brasserie in Orewa is even more of an escape.
You’d certainly be lucky to call it your local, with a large garden bar complete with an out-door pool table. It’s a sweet spot for a beer or two with your mates – or a great place to stop in for lunch, between bouts of splashing in the surf at the beach across the road.
De Post, Mt Eden
It’s not strictly a garden bar but De Post’s sunny upstairs balcony is just as good – plus this Belgium beer café merely boasts the most-extensive beer menu in all of New Zealand!
De Post’s upstairs balcony is the perfect spot from which to enjoy one – or many – of its 116 different Belgian beers. And it also serves up excellent food and a great selection of wines from around Australia and New Zealand. The building itself is impressive, too, dating all the way back to 1886.
The Normanby Hotel, Mount Eden
You can’t go wrong with The Normanby Hotel’s giant deck, featuring enough outdoor tables, bench seats and all-day sun to keep even the largest groups of avid drinkers and diners happy.
It boasts a full range of draft beers and a large variety of local wines, spirits, liqueurs as well as imports. The food is unfussy but excellent – just the kind of thing you want on a hot summer’s day – and it prides itself on its good Kiwi hospitality.
Kings Arms Tavern, Newton
The Kings Arm Tavern is famous for being a live music venue – but it’s infamous for being one of the places to be on a sunny day.
It’s a classic English-style pub with a classic beer garden to match. The outdoor area double as a concert venue during the summer.
Sale St, Freemans Bay
Auckland’s (alleged) largest deck and garden bar makes for an ideal place to sit and sip a few drinks – especially on Sundays, when from 2pm Sale St's Cider Co-op features some wicked tunes and the garden bar becomes an official cider lawn with deckchairs.
And with its own microbrewery what more do you need?
Britomart Country Club, Britomart
No list of the best garden bars in Auckland would be complete without including (allegedly) the largest courtyard bar in all of New Zealand.
That’s right; the Britomart Country Club is the bar in Britomart that looks like a country club, with a stylish landscaped and canopied space furnished with antique furniture. There’s real grass, a putting green, pentanque court and the staff all get around in vintage sports outfits.
