OB真人视讯

The Verdict

When *everyone* gets a rooftop spot with stunning harbour views, you know you’re in for a treat. , the 360-degree, sky-high wrap-around bar atop the Deloitte building and Commercial Bay is Auckland’s newest grand dame. 

She’s sleek, convivial and statuesque—with a bar that nods to the glamour of the great skyscrapers of yesteryear. Throw in a live garden—complete with sculptures—to break up the uninterrupted harbour views and you know you're in for a treat. 

Venture through the impressive ground floor wineshop—where you can pick up bottles you'll be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in Auckland line the walls—to the elevator hidden in the back.

Queens is all about plates big and small that cater to every hankering, with fine cocktails and a welcomingly quirky wine list. While it’s hard to beeline for drinks or bites here—the perfectly balanced nibbles and mains, along with the wine, beer and cocktail list make it a perfect pick and mix. 

Forget the waitstaff, it’s an impressive raw bar that does the greeting at Queens. Walk out on the 21st-storey lift, and boom, an artfully arranged oyster, whole fish, crayfish and champagne cornucopia over ice is there—(although the waitstaff are wonderful, let us point out). 

Sourdough with butter—whipped brown butter—is a must. It’s lightly salted, light and airy without a fault and is served piped like icing. A textural dream. And when you hoon through the butter (a given,) let your leftover bread be the sponge to soak up the many sauces of the dishes to come. 

Exhibit A: the labneh that forms a moat under and around the marinated peppers, or the whipped eggplant and pistachios—both plated as snacks but could be the main attraction on taste alone. Then there’s the champagne and bisque sauce-drenched Nduja Clams & Mussels. A savoury, orange sauce and herbs over a mountain of shellfish and olive-oil-grilled toast. Graze between friends, or make it entirely yours, it’s all fair game. 

Speaking of oodles of shellfish, there’s an impressive Seafood Tower to be had. Remember the iced-out raw bar? Find its contents both raw (mignonette oysters, Cloudy Bay Clams) and grilled (hello mussels with coconut and chilli butter, oysters with nduja butter) stacked high with Queens Gilda Skewers, jumbo prawns and bloody mary shooters. An edible tower on the rooftop of a skyscraper is more than romantic—it’s pure poetry, if you ask us. 

Skewers get a chic spin (a bit of a nod to downstairs sister-restaurant Advieh’s shish legacy). Jumbo prawns, chicken & shishito pepper yakitori, and the pairing you didn’t know you needed, calamari & pork belly with smoked mānuka aioli strike the balance between sides and sharing. 

Power lunch and dinner classics—all with local spins—best describe the mains. There’s a kilo bone steak, bavette, pork scorch, a miso caramel glazed Cauliflower Steak, confit duck leg and breast with kumara hoisin and even a line-caught Fish Schnitzel with curry butter and shellfish beurre blanc. Each one of them with out-of-the-box trimmings. 

A fruity Martini fan? Get your hands around a pretty Pornstar Martini complete with a floating passionfruit half, a perfectly frothy French Martini and the hero Queens Vesper Martini with its quattro of local and European liquors—all served in the all-important fine-stemmed glassware. 

Dessert is a main attraction. Don’t go thinking the rhubarb and frangipane (you know, that doughy paste that fills almond croissants) tart is but a slither: it’s a golden, buttery-crusted pocket pie that is topped with caramel cream. Word to the wise, don’t share yours with anyone else.

Now we’d be silly not to talk about wine in the same breath as Queens. On the rooftop, you’ll find a selection of reds, whites, and even oranges by the glass. Dusty house sav, who? The good stuff isn’t saved for by-the-bottle drinking either (although that list is an adventure,) there’s Argentinian Malbec, Local Albarino Pyramid Valley Orange, Loire Valley Vouvray, and a magenta-toned, chilled Dubost Beaujolais that goes down like raspberry juice.

Of course, on your way out, their very own bottle store provides another round of inspiration. Be it sparkling, still, any longitude, latitude or grape colour, chances are the Queens bottle store will have it—and you’ll never have heard of it. 

Image credit: Wono Kim

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