Vie Lounge & Eatery sits on the ground floor of the Auckland City Hotel at 157 Hobson Street, in the heart of Auckland's CBD. The team describes it as a place with a 'classy, enchanting ambiance' — affordable luxury suited equally to socialising and chilling out, guided by the tagline 'celebrating life through food & moments'.
Mornings belong to the breakfast buffet, served daily from 7am to 10am with adult and child options plus boxed breakfasts to take away. From 3pm to 9pm, Tuesday to Saturday, the kitchen offers its full food and drinks menu: shareable finger food, soups and salads, a kids' menu, hearty dinner plates and French-leaning desserts. Its most distinctive section is Poly Manna, a feast inspired by Polynesia, featuring sashimi, tartares, carpaccios, coconut raw fish, poke and fafa.
Beyond the dining room, Vie is also a venue for hire — weddings for up to 150 guests across more than 121 square metres with full AV and a catering kitchen, plus birthdays, corporate events, product launches and school balls, with tailored catering menus and drink packages. Regular extras include Paint & Chill art sessions and limited-time specials on handcrafted cocktails.
On Hobson Street, on the ground floor of the Auckland City Hotel, Vie Lounge & Eatery occupies a handy slice of central Auckland. The team describes the room as having a 'classy, enchanting ambiance' — a spot for what they call affordable luxury, whether you're there to socialise or simply chill out. Their tagline, 'celebrating life through food & moments', sets the tone for a restaurant that treats gatherings as seriously as plates. For hotel guests it's an easy downstairs option; for city workers and locals, it doubles as a central place for after-work drinks and dinner.
Vie runs to two rhythms. Every morning from 7am to 10am there's a breakfast buffet, with adult and child (ages 5–12) options as well as boxed breakfasts for anyone heading straight out the door. Then, from 3pm to 9pm Tuesday to Saturday, the kitchen serves its full food and drinks menu — finger food to start, soups and salads, a kids' menu, hearty dinner plates and desserts — with a separate bar menu for those simply in the mood for a quiet drink.
The most distinctive stretch of the menu is Poly Manna, which Vie describes as 'a feast of flavor, inspired by Polynesia'. Sashimi tuna arrives on a bed of crispy cabbage with the house's exclusive secret sauce. Tuna and NZ King salmon each appear as tartares — folded through with tomato, capers, green onion and garlic — and as carpaccios dressed simply with olive oil, lemon juice, red onion and garlic. Coconut raw fish pairs raw fish steeped in creamy coconut milk with fresh crunchy vegetables, while tuna poke sits marinated in sesame sauce over steamed rice. The Tuna Trio combines skewers, tartare and seared tataki in one serving, and pork or chicken fafa brings tender meat together with fresh spinach in a rich, savoury sauce.
The dinner menu leans comforting. There are slow-cooked NZ baby pork ribs glazed with the house's secret sauce and served with fries and crispy coleslaw, chicken stuffed with spinach and sautéed mushrooms over risoni, NZ prime beef steak with creamy mushroom sauce, pan-fried NZ King Salmon with lemon garlic sauce, creamy seafood risotto, classic fish and chips, a beef burger loaded with cheese, bacon and egg, and a stir-fry of tofu and seasonal vegetables with jasmine rice.
The finger food list is built for sharing: fries with homemade sauce, grilled chicken, beef or prawn skewers, tempura prawns, fried squid tentacles with ink mayonnaise, golden spring rolls, chef's special pizzas, fresh summer rolls with a secret peanut sauce, guacamole with corn chips and cornflake chicken with sweet chilli. Desserts stay French-leaning — peach melba, coffee or chocolate liégeois, a three-scoop ice cream cup and fruit salad — and kids get their own fish and chips, spaghetti bolognese and burger steak with mash.
One reviewed visit called the experience 'first class', praising 'exquisite' food and generous portions, with named shout-outs for Anup's wonderful curry, Vicky's fantastic salads and Abraham's all-round fine dining — plus the front-of-house team.
Vie is set up for bigger moments, too. The venue covers more than 121 square metres and seats up to 150 guests, complete with a full AV setup and catering kitchen — the team calls it a charming, memorable place to say 'I do'. Beyond weddings, it hosts Christmas functions, anniversaries, birthday parties, corporate parties, product launches and school balls. Catering runs to finger food, set menus and buffet dinners, with the chef tailoring menus to taste, budget and dietary requirements, and drink packages built around red and white wines or beverages of your choice.
Keep the two service windows in mind: buffet breakfast daily from 7am to 10am, and food and drinks from 3pm to 9pm Tuesday to Saturday. Vie also layers in regular extras — Paint & Chill art sessions on Friday evenings (7pm–8.30pm) and Saturday afternoons (4pm–5.30pm), plus limited-time specials on handcrafted cocktails. The team can be reached on 09-9250799.