Foodie fusion: Kiwi and global favourites converge as Auckland Airport welcomes new food & beverage line-up : Moodie Davitt Report

NEW ZEALAND/AOTEAROA. Auckland Airport is introducing a diverse new mix of dining options at its international terminal, with a combination of well-known international brands and local favourites joining a refreshed food & beverage offering to open progressively this year.

The updated offering will give travellers more options to look forward to before they fly – from coffee to fresh pasta, Asian dining, burgers, bagels, New Zealand pies and more relaxed places to sit and enjoy.

Auckland Airport Head of Retail Lucy Thomas said the focus is on improving the dining experience for customers as a core travel experience.

“We’re bringing together a mix of New Zealand operators and brands, experienced airport food & beverage partners and recognised international names to give travellers more choice before they fly,” she commented.

There will also be three new café and dining concepts celebrating New Zealand coffee and hospitality culture: Auckland Coffee Exports, The Local and NZ Pie Co & Croissant Lab.

Michal Haines, General Manager of Starbucks New Zealand, owned and operated by Tahua Group, said: “We are proud to open our new Starbucks store at Auckland International Airport, bringing together premium coffee, innovative handcrafted beverages and warm New Zealand hospitality for travellers before they embark on their journey.

“At Starbucks, we believe in creating moments of connection – one person, one cup and one neighbourhood at a time.

“We are proud to open our new Starbucks store at Auckland Airport, bringing travellers the iconic Starbucks experience they know and love – from expertly crafted espresso beverages to our globally loved favourites, seasonal innovations and handcrafted drinks created for every occasion.”

The new entrants will sit alongside six existing food & beverage offers, with the ever-popular Best Ugly Bagels and Vantage Bar & Kitchen both being refurbished.

Soul Origin also remains, serving up its sought-after salads, sandwiches and wraps.

Best Ugly Bagels Founder and operator Al Brown said, “We are stoked to serve our freshly made to order bagels prior to folks boarding their flights.

“We generously hero only the best NZ products to top our famous Montreal bagels. Think ‘New Zealand King Salmon’, ‘Zany Zeus’ cream cheese and ‘Fix & Fog’ peanut butter.

“There is something for everyone’s tastes with a bunch of new and exciting offerings about to be rolled out as part of the upgrades of our refurbished Auckland Airport flagship stores. It’s a super fun vibe, smashing out rockstar tasting bagels by kind and caring staff.”

Lucy Thomas said the upgraded food & beverage offering is designed to give travellers more choice once they are through security, from fast, convenient options through to more relaxed dining and familiar local favourites.

“We’ve worked hard to create a food & beverage offering that gives people a reason to head through security a little earlier and start their journey well,” she observed.

“We know great food & beverage helps create a sense of place, and we’ve carefully curated an offering that reflects the diverse needs of travellers moving through the airport every day.”

New or refurbished airside operators

Starbucks (Tahua Group)

The New Zealand owner and operator of Starbucks, Tahua Group, will bring a local touch to this globally recognised brand through exclusive merchandise, locally relevant menu offerings and genuine New Zealand hospitality, while delivering the quality, craft and connection that define the Starbucks experience.

Needo

Needo is a locally developed concept that has grown from a food truck into a number of stores across Auckland including Mt Eden, Auckland University and Mānawa Bay adjacent to the airport. It offers a range of quick and freshly made pasta, pizza and salads. With a food truck and ‘Kiwi can do’ background, Needo is poised to meet travellers’ needs.

TJ Katsu

TJ Katsu brings a new Japanese dining experience to Auckland Airport, featuring a signature self-serve sushi concept with over 35 varieties, alongside dumplings, noodle dishes, hearty ramen, and authentic Japanese curry rice.

Haha Chicken

Complementing the Japanese offerings, Haha Chicken serves authentic Korean fried chicken, renowned for its crispy texture, bold flavours, and freshly prepared menu. With a focus on quality ingredients and consistent execution, Haha Chicken pledges a vibrant dining experience for every customer.

The Local

A new café and all-day dining option on level one offering seating with excellent runway views, and a broad range of menu options from very early breakfast to late dining and everything in between. The name ‘The Local’ reflects the intentional focus on all things local to Auckland and New Zealand as part of its fare.

Auckland Coffee Exports

Showcasing New Zealand coffee, serving up barista made coffee and café-style food such as warm breakfast baguettes and hot deli-style sandwiches.

NZ Pie Co & Croissant Lab

A new concept offering two kiwi favourites, pies and croissants. The pie menu will embrace the classic mince and cheese as well as speciality gourmet pies. The croissant offer is a modern twist with both sweet and savoury creations.

Roll’d

Rôll’d is a fast-casual Vietnamese eatery serving fresh, healthy street food – phở, bánh mì, rice paper rolls and noodle bowls. The brand has recently launched in Auckland, with stores at Sylvia Park, Westfield St Lukes and Botany Town Centre.

BurgerFuel

One of New Zealand’s favourite burger brands, BurgerFuel is bringing its signature gourmet burgers to Auckland Airport. Known for fresh, quality ingredients and distinctive flavours, BurgerFuel is set to deliver a familiar and trusted offering for travellers with cult favourites, the Bacon Backfire and C N Cheese, as well as its renowned thick shakes, plant powered burgers, and its excellent range for smaller appetites, kids and low-carb options.

Fernery Eatery & Bar

Celebrating New Zealand with a dine-in menu complemented by a ‘side-serve’ of airfield views, Fernery Eatery & Bar replaces the popular Wondertree in the latter’s prime location and with the same operator.

The new offering features additional seating space and an updated menu featuring Reuben sandwiches, classic fish and chips, salads, desserts and a family-friendly kids’ menu.

Best Ugly Bagels

Best Ugly Bagels, created by famed Kiwi chef and restaurateur Al Brown, is recognised as a signature New Zealand offer. Brown’s team manages this site directly as one of the company’s flagship stores. Travellers who have come to rely on the outlet’s signature bagel menu will continue to be able to enjoy their fresh salmon or avocado and tomato bagels and gain access to an expanded menu. This will showcase Brown’s culinary passion for all things Kiwi, bagel and his bespoke Good Joe coffee.

Vantage Bar & Kitchen

This long-time Auckland Airport retains its prime location, which offers expansive views of the runway and harbour along with a premium airside bar and dining offer. Vantage Bar & Kitchen has undergone a full refurbishment and continues to showcase New Zealand produce across its food & beverage menu.

The landside dining environment is also undergoing a shake-up.

The café and bar area (Oma’s Bakery and Blue Marble Bar) will be updated with a new layout, new look, menu and name – The Social will open as a new-look café, bar and restaurant, bringing a contemporary offer for travellers, those farewelling their friends and whānau (extended family) and workers in the terminal.

The popular landside KFC remains in place, along with customer-favourite McDonald’s, which boasts landside and airside locations.

Further brands will follow, as the country’s premiere gateway’s upgrading continues, Auckland Airport said.

Old favourites and new options

Food & beverage is integral to the ambitious refreshment of Auckland Airport’s international terminal airside departures area, a transformation that includes upgraded dining areas and shared relaxation spaces for customers

Important, the new-look offer includes +15% more seating and a greater culinary choice. More comfortable spots and improved access to phone-charging ports are other features.

The level one airside dining area is introducing electric cooking over gas as part of the refurbishment.

Around 16,000 travellers depart the gateway’s international terminal each day. Such heavy traffic prompts intense demand for food and drinks with more than 1,500 burgers flying off the different grills at Auckland Airport’s airside dining precinct, alongside around 500 chicken salads and over 6,000 serves of fries.

“Travellers are looking to relax before they board their flight, enjoying something good to eat, finding a comfortable seat, and somewhere to charge their phone,” said Auckland Airport Chief Commercial Officer Mark Thomson.

“We know they want more variety, food options that work for the whole family, and spaces that feel good to be in. So that’s what we’re focused on – making sure the time travellers spend airside before their flight is something they can look forward to and enjoy.”

Auckland Airport is set to begin redeveloping the airside dining precinct and seating areas in international departures this month, the first such refurbishment in almost a decade ago. The aim is to better meet today’s customer expectations of a modern airport,

The work will introduce new hospitality options, retain some firm favourites, plus refresh more than 2,600sq m of flooring across the level one and level two airside departures areas.

Thomson commented: “The departures area beyond security will look a little different for a while as the refresh is undertaken.

“We will have a set of temporary walls put in place around areas in progress although there will be plenty of other areas to still hang out, eat and enjoy, it will be business as usual.

“We’ve planned the work in stages so plenty of food options will continue to be available for travellers.

“Customers have been clear, they want more than a food court. We’re working hard to deliver an experience that reflects the best of Aotearoa [New Zealand’s Māori-language name] and the world and gives Kiwis something to feel proud of. It will be fit for purpose now and for the years ahead.”

The refreshed area on level one will house around ten new or refurbished dining options by the end of the year, bringing the total airside eateries to 15.

“We look forward to sharing more details on the concepts and operators in due course, in the meantime we can say we are working to create a compelling mix of international eateries and local food that we know our travellers want to see. There will be something on offer for everyone,” said Thomson.

As mentioned in the main article above, the popular Vantage Bar and Kitchen, on level two of departures, renowned for its runway views, has undergone a revamp as part of the overall development. It now features a refreshed layout, updated furniture, and a cosier atmosphere designed to enhance the overall experience.

Davina Connell, Regional Director and General Manager of Emirates Leisure Retail ANZ, operators of Vantage Bar and Kitchen, said: “Auckland is one of New Zealand’s great food and drink cities and that shouldn’t stop at the terminal door.

“We’ve created a classic public bar and kitchen that feels like a proper local, somewhere worth settling into whatever the hour.

“From morning coffee to a relaxed meal before the gate, the kitchen draws on the finest local produce this side of the Tasman while the taps pour New Zealand favourites alongside international names. It’s our way of giving every traveller one last proper taste of Auckland before their journey begins.”

Sustainability focus via electric cooking

The project also introduces electric cooking in the airside dining precinct, building on the zero‑gas-cooking policy at nearby Mānawa Bay, the airport’s premium outlet centre, which opened in September 2024.

The long-term intent is to reduce gas-based kitchens and replace with electric-based cooking. The latest redevelopment seeks to achieve that in new tenancies and where electric can be retrofitted into some refurbished ones.

Thomson said: “The commitment we saw from operators at Mānawa Bay proved electric kitchens can deliver. Now we’re taking this as a blueprint for the international terminal and it’s shaping how we will roll out electric cooking at the airside dining precinct.

“We are delighted to see so much progress as part of this redevelopment as we are on this journey to phase out gas.”

Reducing waste

To help reduce rubbish sent to the ‘honey pot’, which treats airside waste before it goes to landfill, Auckland Airport is ramping up its use of reusable serveware across its airside eateries.

The level one food & beverage operators will shift from disposable packaging and single use items to reusable cutlery and crockery by default, for dining-in customers, supported by an onsite back-of-house sorting and cleaning team.

The initiative will contribute to Auckland Airport’s target of a -20% reduction in aeronautical waste by 2030 from a 2019 baseline. Food and compostable packaging makes up around 30-40% of all waste coming from terminal food & beverage outlets.

Thomson said, “Customers are dining in while they wait to board their flight, which makes reusables the right solution. It will be a shift in how the food & beverage offering works, and it’s an important step in how we actively manage waste at the airport.”