iTi is a drinks & bites garden in the heart of Titirangi, West Auckland — a relaxed, bush-fringed spot built around craft beer on tap, the best cocktails and wine, and food made to share while the afternoon rolls on. The team's own pitch says it best: if you're into native bush, craft beer on tap, the best cocktails & wine, you'll find yourself at home around here.
The kitchen goes well beyond bar snacks, with innovative dishes made from locally sourced ingredients. The food offering spans a full main menu, bar snacks for grazing, an express lunch, a dedicated kids menu and a bottomless brunch running Saturdays and Sundays. Larger groups are looked after too — platters for 6–8 people and two set menu options can be arranged, pre-ordered three days in advance, and all current menus are published on the website.
Music feeds the soul here every Saturday and Sunday, and the locals have taken notice: iTi won the 2024 Lewisham Award for Outstanding Local Establishment – West and was named a finalist in the Estrella Damm Top 50 New Zealand Gastropubs. Doors open from midday till late Monday to Thursday, and from 10am on weekends.
Tucked into Titirangi, where West Auckland's suburban streets give way to native bush, iTi keeps its own introduction refreshingly simple: 'a drinks & bites garden in the soul of Titirangi.' That's the whole idea. This is a venue built around the pleasures of a long, easy session in the garden — native bush on the horizon, craft beer on tap, properly made cocktails and wine, and a kitchen turning out bites that keep the table happy while the afternoon rolls on. As the team puts it: if you're into native bush, craft beer on tap, the best cocktails and wine, you'll find yourself at home around here.
iTi has the silverware to back up the local love. In 2024 it won the Lewisham Award for Outstanding Local Establishment – West, one of the more meaningful honours in Auckland hospitality. The Lewisham Awards, named after industry pioneer Richard Lewisham, have been running since 2002 with the goal of encouraging excellence in the city's hospitality community — and because nominees are voted for by their peers, a win is a genuine nod of respect from the people who know the business best.
iTi has also been recognised on the national stage, named a finalist in the Estrella Damm Top 50 New Zealand Gastropubs. In both cases the team has been quick to thank its customers and community — a telling habit for a venue that clearly sees itself as part of the neighbourhood rather than just a business in it.
Drinks lead the way here — craft beer on tap, a cocktail list and wine the venue confidently calls among the best, and a curated beverage selection showcasing what the team describes as the best of Kiwi hospitality. But the kitchen earns its keep too. iTi speaks of innovative dishes made from locally sourced ingredients, and the food offering is broader than the 'bites' label suggests.
There's a full main menu, bar snacks for grazing between drinks, an express lunch for shorter midday windows, and a dedicated kids menu, so families are properly looked after. Weekends bring a bottomless brunch, running Saturdays and Sundays, with the terms and conditions published openly on the website. Larger groups are covered as well: platters sized for six to eight people and two set menu options can be arranged for gatherings, though these need to be pre-ordered at least three days in advance. The current menus are published as PDFs on the iTi website, so it pays to have a look before you visit to see the latest dishes and pours.
Music isn't an occasional extra at iTi — it's a weekly ritual. Live music plays every Saturday and Sunday, every week, in the team's words 'to feed your soul.' Combine that with bottomless brunch, a 10am opening time on weekends, and the garden setting, and you have the recipe for the long, unhurried sessions the place is built for. Weekdays run to a different rhythm: doors open at midday Monday to Thursday, making it a natural spot for a long lunch or an after-work drink that stretches into the evening.
There's a community thread running through everything iTi does, too. The Supporters Club gives regulars a way to get closer to the venue, a mailing list keeps people across events, and the 'what's on' page fills in the picture of what's happening each week. It's the sort of infrastructure you build when you expect to see your customers again next week — and the week after that.
iTi is at 421 Titirangi Road, Titirangi, open from 12pm until late Monday to Thursday and from 10am until late Friday to Sunday. Bookings can be made through the Book Now page on the website — worth doing if you've got your heart set on weekend brunch or a table for a big group.
Between the Lewisham Award, the Top 50 Gastropubs recognition, the weekly live music and the bush-clad setting, iTi has firmly earned its place as one of West Auckland's outstanding local establishments: a garden, a glass, and a community all in one.