The Broken Lantern is a modern tavern on Ponsonby Road, built as a tribute to the kind of pub that a good neighbourhood gathers in. It is a gastropub at heart, with comfort food and generous share plates from the kitchen, a bar with a big draught list of local craft beer, and a wine list of organic and natural wines from New Zealand and overseas. Tuesday to Thursday it opens from 4pm, and it is closed on Mondays.
The Smashed Burger is the kitchen favourite, and it is the centre of Tuesday burger night. On Wednesdays the Parmi of the Week rotates, and it comes with a beer. Visitors also mention the pork belly, and the Butter Chickpea pizza is one that surprised a couple who came in for lunch. On Sundays the Irish Spice Bag is the staple, with chips, fried chicken, onions, peppers, seasoning and curry sauce.
The bar is the other half of the place. The cocktails are made to order by the bar team, and the gin and whisky selection gets the most praise. Visitors say the whiskey selection is strong, and the cocktails are the most talked about thing on the menu. The draught beer changes with the local craft producers the bar championes.
Visitors describe the staff as attentive and fun, and say the booths inside are the best seats in the room. Groups book the space for nights out, and one group said the drinks and service made the evening. Happy hour is a regular draw, with burgers at $10 as at 2026.
Our pick on Ponsonby Road for a Wednesday chicken parmi and a whisky after.
The Broken Lantern sits in the heart of Ponsonby Road, and it makes no secret of what it is about. The team calls the venue a tribute to everything they love from a world-class, modern tavern — and that idea shapes the whole experience, from a comfort-driven kitchen to a bar list that champions local makers without ever turning down a well-poured Guinness. It is the kind of room that works just as well for a midweek burger as it does for a late Friday night, and its food and drink menus change with the seasons.
Sharing is the operating principle in the kitchen. The menus are predominantly designed to be shared, so a table might start with bar snacks of fried deliciousness, move on to a smashed burger or a pizza, and then work through a full section of creatively put-together dishes that rotate as the seasons do. That seasonal approach is not just for show: the team reworks the menu to suit the weather, the temperature, and what their local suppliers have available, so repeat visitors are regularly greeted with something new.
The weekly calendar gives people even more reason to come back. Tuesdays belong to burgers, matched with gin and whisky pours. Wednesdays bring a rotating Parmi of the Week served with a beer. Thursday is steak night, with cocktails to match, and Friday is chicken wings day — served while they last, which is a detail worth taking seriously. Sunday closes the week with the Irish Spice Bag: chips, fried chicken, onions, peppers, seasoning and curry sauce.
The drinks list is where The Broken Lantern's personality shows most clearly. Behind the bar sits a large selection of local craft beer on draught, with a deliberate bias towards local, family-run, craft and boutique operators. Bespoke cocktails are designed in-house with a strong focus on gin and whisky, built to sit alongside the beer list and pair with the food menu. Wine drinkers get a large selection of organic and natural bottles from New Zealand and abroad, plus a few extra treats off menu that shift with supply, season and whatever the team is loving at the time. For the traditionalists, there is always a properly poured pint of Guinness or a high-end dram.
The Broken Lantern keeps modern tavern hours. Doors open Tuesday to Thursday from 4pm and Friday to Sunday from midday, and the venue stays open until at least 1am across the week and weekend. It is an R18 venue, so valid ID is required at the door.
For bigger occasions there is a fabulous private function space, complete with its own bar, a dedicated server and a pool table, arranged through the venue's bookings page or by email. Between the seasonal menu, the rotating specials and a bar list that rewards curiosity, The Broken Lantern manages to feel both like a reliable local and a place with something new to discover — good things, made to share, in the heart of Ponsonby Road.