Giraffe Restaurant brings fine cuisine and the comfort of home together at 85–87 Custom Street West in Auckland's Viaduct Harbour. Open seven days a week from early breakfast until late, it takes diners on a culinary journey that captures New Zealand's diverse flavours and distinct charm — innovation drives the kitchen, while the welcoming ambience strikes a deliberate balance between professional polish and relaxed, knowledgeable service.
At the heart of Giraffe is communal dining: shared plates and smaller dishes made to be enjoyed together. Every ingredient on the menu is treated as the hero of its dish, sourced from select producers and growers with whom the team builds strong, long-term relationships — so they know the origin of everything they serve and the people behind it.
Beyond its à la carte breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner menus, Giraffe offers three set menus — the Giraffe Experience, Giraffe Journey and Giraffe Sharing — plus a Chef's Table Experience, a dedicated kids menu and a No Added Gluten/Dairy Free menu. The restaurant's approach earned it a Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Awards Best of the Best 2025.
On Custom Street West, in the heart of Auckland's Viaduct Harbour, Giraffe Restaurant has built its name on a simple idea: fine cuisine should still feel like home. Open seven days a week, the restaurant welcomes guests from early in the morning — 7.30am on weekdays and 8am on weekends — and stays open until late, making it as natural a choice for an early breakfast as it is for a long evening by the harbour.
The team describes their aim plainly: to create a space where you can unwind and savour the best of New Zealand. The menu is framed as a culinary journey through the country's diverse flavours and distinct charm, with innovation driving the kitchen and delightful surprises built into every visit. Just as important is the feel of the room — an ambience that strikes a balance between professional and relaxed, served with welcoming, knowledgeable hospitality.
At the centre of the Giraffe experience is communal dining. The kitchen leans into shared plates and smaller dishes made to be passed around the table — the restaurant's "dine as one" philosophy. It's a style of eating that turns a meal into a conversation, and it shapes everything from the à la carte lists to the dedicated Giraffe Sharing set menu.
That philosophy extends to how the food is sourced. Every ingredient on the menu is treated as the hero of its dish, and the team sources the very best produce from select producers and growers, deliberately building strong, long-term relationships along the way. The point is provenance: knowing exactly where each ingredient comes from and the people behind it, and sharing in the same narrative of quality, pride and passion for the end result. At Giraffe, it's all about personal connections.
Because Giraffe opens seven days, the menus run across the whole day. Weekday mornings bring a dedicated breakfast menu from 7.30am, while weekends shift into their own rhythm with a separate Weekend Brunch list. Lunch and dinner are served from the Lunch/Dinner menu, and there's a dedicated dessert menu and a full drinks list to carry the meal through to the end.
Families are well looked after — there's a dedicated kids menu — as are guests with dietary requirements, who can order from a separate No Added Gluten/Dairy Free menu. That means nearly everyone at the table can eat from the same kitchen, in the same spirit of generosity.
For diners who want the full Giraffe story, the restaurant offers three set menus: the Giraffe Experience, the Giraffe Journey and the Giraffe Sharing. Each is a guided way to eat — moving through the kitchen's cooking course by course — with the Sharing menu leaning into the restaurant's communal, pass-it-around style and the Journey designed as the most extensive of the three.
Beyond the dining room, the Chef's Table Experience puts guests at the chef's counter — a front-row seat to the kitchen at work, and a natural pick for anyone who wants to get closer to the craft behind the dishes.
Giraffe's approach has not gone unnoticed: the restaurant was named among Tripadvisor's Travellers' Choice Awards Best of the Best for 2025 — an award the team says they were "stoked" to receive.
Whether you're booking a table through the online reservations system, planning a private function (enquiries go to functions@girafferestaurant.co.nz), or picking up a gift voucher for someone else's next night out, the practical side of Giraffe is as considered as the cooking. Reservations can be made online or by phone — a sensible move for anyone hoping to settle in and make an evening of it.
In a city full of places to eat, Giraffe stands out by keeping two promises at once: dishes that capture the best of New Zealand, and a room that never forgets the comfort of home.