Beau is a neighbourhood restaurant and wine bar at 265 Ponsonby Road in the heart of Ponsonby. The kitchen cooks modern European food with New Zealand produce, built around seasonal ingredients and shared plates, and the drinks list is a big part of the evening. Visitors describe the room as cosy.
The Trust BEAU set menu is a four-course shared menu of seasonal dishes and the restaurant's classics. From the small plates, the Freaky Fried Chicken comes crisp with sesame mayonnaise, and the Market Crudo Tostada is market fish with avocado and tiger milk. Oysters are often mentioned by visitors. From the stove, the Black Origin Wagyu Scotch is a 450g steak served with Café de Ponsonby butter, and the Manila Braised Short Rib is a kaldereta-style short rib on parmesan polenta. Visitors also praise the lamb ribs and the Brown Butter Gnocchi, which one diner said was a surprise for someone who does not usually like pasta. The Allpress Tiramisu, with coffee ganache and mascarpone cream, is the sweet finish.
The wine list is a draw in its own right, and visitors often mention the wine alongside the food. Regulars say the staff are friendly even when a table arrives late in the evening. Groups have come from overseas to dine together, and one group said everyone had a wonderful meal.
Beau is open from midday on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 2pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, and is closed on Mondays and Sundays.
Our pick in Ponsonby for a long dinner of shared plates and a glass of white wine.
Beau — styled on its own site as 'Beau,' comma and all — sits at 265 Ponsonby Road, in the middle of one of Auckland's most-loved dining strips. It is a restaurant built around the pleasures of the table: seasonal produce, shared plates, a considered wine and cocktail list, and hours that run well past dark. On paper it reads like a modern European kitchen with a New Zealand accent, and in practice that is exactly how the menu plays out — crudo and tartare up front, wagyu and lamb from the stove, and a dessert list that is clearly no afterthought.
The menu opens with 'While You Decide' — Beau's Mean Martini, a Cherry Blossom cocktail, a glass of floral Saison White Flowers vermouth, marinated olives, spiced almonds and warm house focaccia with herb butter and black lime. From there, the Raw & Fresh section does what a good raw bar should: a market crudo tostada with avocado and tiger milk, beef tartare with smoked cheddar and Agria crisps (with the option of fresh Aotearoa black truffle shaved over the top), and fresh labneh with za'atar and chives.
The Snacks list is where Beau's personality shows. Freaky Fried Chicken with sesame mayo is the headline act; alongside it sit whipped chicken liver parfait with PX sherry, smoked fish croquettes with sauce gribiche, prawn toast with yuzu kosho aioli, and little portobello and mozzarella arancini.
'From the Stove' carries the bigger, centrepiece plates: a 450g Black Origin wagyu scotch with Café de Ponsonby butter, roast lamb with 'nduja, cashew and butterbeans, market fish with squid ink fregola and cocoa butter, Hawkes Bay lamb ribs with black garlic and za'atar, a Manila braised short rib — a nod to kaldereta — over parmesan polenta, and brown butter gnocchi with roast butternut and stracciatella. Sides run from panfried brussels sprouts with tonnato to broccolini with whipped feta, and there is a proper French cheese selection served with warm baguette, charred grapes and Aotearoa honeycomb, plus a charcuterie board built on house-made guanciale, saucisson and pork coppa.
If decision fatigue strikes, the kitchen's answer is printed right on the menu: 'Trust BEAU — let us take care of everything.' That is a four-course shared menu showcasing seasonal dishes and Beau classics, and it scales up for larger tables: the restaurant runs set menus for groups of nine or more, with sample menus published on its website. Private dining is available for occasions that want their own room, and gift vouchers can be bought online if you would rather give someone else the meal.
Dessert is taken seriously. There is an Allpress tiramisu built on coffee ganache and mascarpone cream, sticky toffee pudding with vanilla bean ice cream, lemon semifreddo with Doris plum and Niue honeycomb, and a Valrhona white chocolate cake with candied almonds. The drinks list keeps pace with a dedicated dessert section — Lustau Pedro Ximenez sherry, late-harvest pinot gris from Central Otago, Graham's tawny and late bottled vintage ports, and a Churton petit manseng from Marlborough.
Beau keeps afternoon-to-late hours early in the week and opens at midday from Thursday: Tuesday and Wednesday run from 2pm until late, Thursday to Saturday from midday until late. Bookings can be made through the website, and the team asks diners to flag any allergies or dietary requirements so the kitchen can accommodate them. You will find the restaurant at 265 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby, Auckland, and it shares news on Instagram at @beauponsonby.
Whether it is a long lunch on a Friday, a martini-and-focaccia afternoon on a Tuesday, or a full set-menu feast for a big table, Beau leans into the same idea throughout: good produce, generous shared plates, and hospitality that runs on Ponsonby time.