Cousin Scott's is Takapuna's family restaurant and American sports bar with a honky-tonk twist — the self-declared home of fried chicken, cold brews and live sport on Lake Road. The kitchen serves bold Southern-inspired comfort food: Nashville hot fried chicken on white bread with pickles and comeback sauce, wings, house pickles, smoked BBQ and a menu-billed legendary Philly cheesesteak.
Feeling brave? Fried chicken comes in six heat levels, from Country (no heat) all the way to X-Hot, and wings let you pick two different heats per order. The team also claims the hottest Nashville chicken sandwich on the Shore — maybe even in New Zealand.
Inside it's wall-to-wall TVs so you never miss a game, plus pool tables, arcade games and a soundtrack of country, Southern rock and sing-along anthems. On weekends, live bands and DJs crank it up. Walk-ins are happily welcomed, and there's a booking option for those who want a guaranteed table.
Behind it all is 'Head Coach' Scott Ruddock, who pulled his first pints on his 18th birthday at his father's Liberties American Bar & Brasserie in Arbroath, Scotland, and later helped launch some of Auckland's most iconic spots, including Crab Shack, HeadQuarters, Long Bay Surf Club and The Lodge Bar. His dream here is simple: a community hangout where families, friends and total strangers gather — because at Cousin Scott's, everyone's family.
Cousin Scott's sits on Lake Road in Takapuna wearing two hats at once: family restaurant and American sports bar, with what the team happily calls a honky-tonk twist. The promise is printed right on the signage — fried chicken, cold brews and live sport — and inside it's pool tables, arcade games, wall-to-wall TVs and a soundtrack of country, Southern rock and sing-along anthems.
The kitchen leans into bold Southern-inspired comfort food. The headliner is Nashville fried chicken, served the traditional way — on white bread with pickles and comeback sauce — and available until midnight for the late-night crowd. Add smoked BBQ, wings, house pickles and what the menu proudly bills as a legendary Philly cheesesteak, and you have a menu built for long tables and big appetites.
Fried chicken here comes with a choice of six spice levels, running from Country — no heat at all — through Mild, Medium and Hot to X-Hot, which the menu warns with a straight face: "HELL NO!!! You can't touch this!!!". Wings give you even more room to play: order eight for yourself, twelve to share, a full kilo for the crew, or the Cousin Scott's 4X4 — sixteen wings, four flavours — and pick two different heats. Sauces run from a sweet-and-savoury teriyaki glaze to house Jack Daniel's BBQ and a rich, hot, tangy Buffalo, with blue cheese available on the side for dunking. And if you're feeling brave, there's the Nashville chicken sandwich the team bills as the hottest on the Shore — maybe even in New Zealand.
Beyond the bird, the menu reads like a road trip through American comfort food. Start with southern fried pickles, crispy fried corn ribs, spinach and artichoke dip or lemon pepper squid, then move on to loaded nachos or Buffalo fries built for the middle of the table. Burger lovers get the smash burger with two Wagyu patties, a Texas double bacon and a Hawaiian stacked with grilled pineapple and bacon, while the pulled pork sando and soft-shell tacos cover the rest. Sides are properly old-school: crinkle-cut fries, mashed potato and gravy, sweetcorn waffle and coleslaw.
Feeding the whole family? The family plate brings a whole bird with mash and gravy, coleslaw, waffles and mac and cheese. Many dishes can be made gluten-free on request, and there are vegan tenders plus a vegan chilli add-on for the loaded plates. To drink there are ice-cold brews on tap, cocktails the menu promises will have your tastebuds two-stepping, and milkshakes for anyone steering clear of the strong stuff.
With wall-to-wall TVs you'll never miss a game, and the bar makes a proper occasion of the big ones. But this is equally a spot for catch-ups, date nights or a good old-fashioned yarn — the kind of place where family dinners share the room with jersey-clad fans. On weekends the volume comes up, with live bands and DJs taking the honky-tonk spirit well past dinner.
Cousin Scott's is the long-held dream of "Head Coach" Scott Ruddock, and hospitality is genuinely in the blood. Scott pulled his first pints on his 18th birthday at his father's bar, Liberties American Bar & Brasserie, in Arbroath, Scotland — and there's a neat symmetry in his first venue of his own being American-themed too. His grandfather was legendary All Black Ron Bryers; his parents are award-winning recording artist Rhonda, "The Voice of New Zealand", and professional wrestler Jock Ruddock of On the Mat fame. Sport, music and hospitality were always going to end up in the same building.
Before opening here, Scott lived and worked in Hawaii, Scotland, New York and New Zealand, and helped launch some of Auckland's most iconic spots, including Crab Shack, HeadQuarters, Long Bay Surf Club and The Lodge Bar by Rodd & Gunn. Cousin Scott's is the venue he always wanted: a community hangout where families, friends and total strangers can gather, connect and feel at home — a place where everyone knows your name, or soon will.
The welcome matches the story: walk-ins are happily welcomed, bookings are there if you want a guaranteed table, and the motto on the wall says it all — at Cousin Scott's, everyone's family. (Just don't ask them about that one time in Vegas.)
You'll find it at 486a Lake Road, Takapuna. Doors open at 11:30am daily — Monday to Thursday runs until late, Friday and Saturday until 1:00am, and Sunday wraps up at 10:00pm.