Te Puna — welcomed as 'The Spring' — is Auckland Zoo's newest dining venue, set in the very heart of the park beside the South East Asia Jungle Track. The café faces the Zoo's central lake, and its curving veranda looks out over the water towards the treetops, where orangutans and siamangs range across aerial pathways that span out from their habitat.
Inside, it is a spacious, inviting, light-filled space built for lingering — a place to dine and unwind, seven days a week. The offering is broad and family-friendly: freshly made salads and sandwiches, hot chips and takeaway fare, pizzas and a selection of hot food from the kitchen, freshly baked donuts, Danishes and pastries, plus Mojo Coffee, hot beverages, soft drinks, juices, sweet treats and ice creams.
Sustainability shapes everything here. The Zoo's cafés source from local suppliers wherever they can, any products using palm oil contain only Certified Sustainable Palm Oil that's rainforest and wildlife friendly, and single-use coffee cups have been removed entirely — bring your own reusable cup for a discount on your hot drink, or sip from porcelain dine-in ware.
Te Puna is open daily, from 9.30am to 5.30pm during summer and 9.30am to 4.30pm in winter, with restrooms available. It is also available for private events and functions, with the lake and the Jungle Track as the backdrop.
Step into Te Puna and the first thing you notice is the light. Auckland Zoo's newest dining venue — welcomed with the words 'The Spring' — sits in the very heart of the park, facing the Zoo's central lake with the South East Asia Jungle Track rising green beyond it. A curving veranda follows the water's edge, and on a good day you might look up to see orangutans and siamangs ranging across the aerial pathways that span out from their habitat towards the café.
This is dining with a soundtrack of birdsong and a view few inner-city cafés can match. Whether you're refuelling halfway through a Zoo day or settling in for a long, slow lunch, Te Puna was built for lingering.
Te Puna is a spacious, inviting, light-filled space, and its curving veranda looks out over the lake towards the South East Asia Jungle Track. That positioning is no accident: orangutans and siamangs move across aerial pathways that reach out from their habitat, and the café puts you in the front row. Inside, the tone is relaxed and unfussy — a place, as the Zoo puts it, to dine and unwind.
The café opens seven days a week, with seasonal hours: 9.30am to 5.30pm during summer and 9.30am to 4.30pm through winter. It sits right beside the South East Asia Jungle Track, so it's an easy stop as you loop through the heart of the Zoo.
The kitchen covers a wide stretch of ground. Freshly made salads and sandwiches headline the offering, ideal for a quick lakeside lunch. Hot chips and takeaway fare keep younger visitors happy, while pizzas and a selection of hot food come out of the kitchen for anyone after something more substantial.
Bakers are well looked after too: freshly baked donuts, Danishes and pastries sit alongside sweet treats and ice creams. To drink, there are hot beverages poured with Mojo Coffee, plus soft drinks and juices for warm Auckland afternoons.
Sustainability isn't a side note here — it's house policy. Te Puna and the Zoo's other cafés no longer stock single-use coffee cups at all. Hot drinks are served in porcelain cups and mugs for those staying put, and visitors who bring their own reusable cup receive a 40-cent discount on their hot drink. If you forget yours, Auckland Zoo sells its own stainless steel reusable cups — etched with a ruru (morepork) — at the cafés and the Zoo Shop.
The move is part of a bigger picture: Auckland Zoo is a Toitū net carbon zero certified organisation, diverts 84% of its waste from landfill each year, and sources products from local suppliers wherever it can. Any products using palm oil contain only Certified Sustainable Palm Oil that's rainforest and wildlife friendly.
Te Puna also opens its doors to private events and functions, making it a memorable setting for celebrations and gatherings — with the lake and the Jungle Track as the backdrop.
A few practical notes: the café sits in the heart of the Zoo by the South East Asia Jungle Track, restrooms are available on site, and Auckland Zoo itself is open every day except Christmas, with last entry at 3.30pm. Annual Pass Members receive 10% off at the cafés, which stacks neatly with the reusable-cup discount. Come for the animals, stay for the coffee — and bring your own cup while you're at it.