Andiamo is a modern Italian restaurant on Jervois Road in the heart of Herne Bay, Auckland — a neighbourhood local that describes its own cooking as 'modern Italian with a wink of nostalgia.' Expect strong drinks poured slow, long lunches that drift into dinner, and a warm, social dining room built around the belief that 'Andiamo is nothing without Herne Bay.'
The menu moves from Aperitivo through Antipasti, Pizza, Primi, Secondi, Contorni and Dolci — warm Sicilian olives, local oysters, fried ricotta gnudi with truffle, chilli fried calamari, wood-fired pizzas, a Lasagna Della Nonna with three-meat bolognese, truffle macaroni, market fish and tiramisu with amaretto crumb and Valrhona cocoa. There is a dedicated vegetarian menu, and a shared set menu for group bookings of 12 or more, alongside roaming canapés packages.
The bar is a draw in its own right: local favourites like the Jalapeño Coconut Margarita and Mike's Barrel Aged Negroni, a broad cocktail list, New Zealand, Italian and French wines by the glass and bottle, champagne, tap beer and zero-alcohol serves. Andiamo Hour runs daily from 4-5pm with specials on prosecco, wines and Kirin beer.
Andiamo opens Tuesday from 4pm and from midday Wednesday to Sunday, running late each night. Bookings can be made online, with bar-area tables kept for walk-ins; gift cards are available through Foley Hospitality.
On the shopfront stretch of Jervois Road in Herne Bay, Andiamo runs at its own pace. This is modern Italian with a wink of nostalgia — strong drinks poured slow, long lunches that drift into dinner, and a kitchen that treats comfort food with genuine intent. The team sums it up simply: come for the comfort and good intentions, stay because plans always change.
The restaurant opens Tuesday from 4pm, and from midday Wednesday through to Sunday, running late into the evening each night. Bookings are made online, but a set of bar-area tables is always kept for walk-ins — so turning up for a drink while you wait for a spot is very much part of the rhythm here.
Andiamo is nothing without Herne Bay — the restaurant says as much itself. It presents not as a destination venue parachuted into the suburb, but as a local shaped by the people around it, and the photos across its site tell that story: the team laughing in the kitchen, fresh focaccia coming out of the oven, a neighbourhood pup keeping watch.
That spirit carries into the way the kitchen describes its own cooking — Bright, Grilled, Nostalgic, Vibrant, Fresh, Saucy. Italian at heart, played with a light hand: fresh herbs, chilli, citrus and truffle turn up everywhere, and plates are built for sharing at a table that isn't in any hurry.
A night here tends to start the way nights in Italy do. The Aperitivo list is short and sharp: warm Sicilian olives, local oysters with lemon and shallot vinegar, house focaccia with truffle brown butter, and bruschetta layered with buffalo curd, shallot jam and Ortiz anchovy. The fried ricotta gnudi — Jerusalem artichoke, hazelnut brown butter, truffle — is one of the kitchen's calling cards.
Antipasti steps things up: tuna tartare with fennel chilli crisp and tonnato; chilli fried calamari in 'bagna cauda' and chorizo chilli oil; stracciatella with charred leek, pickled mustard and hazelnut; grass-fed beef meatballs with blistered tomato and oregano; and fried Brussels tossed with herb ranch, hot honey and potato straws.
The pizza section is deliberately compact — four pies, done properly. Chorizo with 'nduja caramel; buffalo mozzarella with tomato and basil pesto; harissa lamb sausage with spinach and chilli oil; and a roast mushroom pizza with green garlic butter and provolone.
Primi is where the nostalgia really lands. Lasagna Della Nonna layers veal, pork and beef bolognese under béchamel; mafaldine comes through as cacio e pepe with yolk and sesame; chicken ravioli arrives with walnut beurre noisette and barrel-aged balsamic; and the macaroni — fontina, cheddar, parmesan, truffle, bacon and chilli — is pure comfort. There's also a spaghetti amatriciana with prawns, crab and guanciale, and a roast mushroom risotto with fried enoki.
For secondi, expect market fish with green goddess dressing and charred cos, free-range chicken cotoletta with diavola sauce and Clevedon buffalo mozzarella, slow-roasted porchetta, and a grass-fed bavette with pomegranate and smoked feta. Truffle parmesan fries and a cos lettuce caesar hold down the sides, and dolci runs from tiramisu with amaretto crumb and Valrhona cocoa to baked chocolate ganache with olive oil gelato.
The bar is a genuine drawcard. The local favourites list leads with the Jalapeño Coconut Margarita, Mike's Barrel Aged Negroni and the succinctly named GST — Lighthouse Gin, soda, tonic. Beyond them sit cocktails like the Andiamo Fizz, Montenegro Mule, Amalfi Smash and a Gingerbread Espresso Martini, plus a thoughtful zero-alcohol lineup.
The wine list runs deep: Martinborough, Marlborough, Central Otago and Hawke's Bay sit alongside Italy and France, with champagne from Perrier-Jouët and G.H. Mumm towards the top, and ports, sherries and dessert wines for a nightcap. Andiamo Hour runs daily from 4-5pm with specials on prosecco, several table wines and Kirin beer.
Andiamo handles crowds well. Groups of 12 or more dine on a shared set menu built for the table, while the roaming canapés menu — fried stuffed olives, crispy polenta, chicken cotoletta sliders, prosciutto-wrapped melon — is designed to move with drinks and conversation. A dedicated vegetarian menu covers plant-based diners.
Whether it's a midweek pasta, an aperitivo hour that turns into dinner, or a long Sunday table with everyone you know, Andiamo delivers exactly what its own tagline promises: comfort, good intentions, and plans that happily change.