Juliana's Restaurant & Bar is the dining heart of the Auto Lodge on Devon Street East in Strandon, New Plymouth — a spacious, modern restaurant serving a variety of tasty and interesting dishes. The expert team of chefs pride themselves on creating culinary delights from locally sourced produce, letting good Taranaki ingredients lead the way rather than pinning the kitchen to a single cuisine.
The room is made for all kinds of occasions: catching up with friends, celebrating something special, or a romantic dinner for two. Families are genuinely welcome too, with special children's meals offered for younger diners. Everything is fully licensed, with the bar carrying its own drinks list. Juliana's cooking has also been recognised on the national stage, receiving a New Zealand Beef and Lamb Excellence Award in 2019.
Juliana's opens seven days: breakfast runs Monday to Friday from 6.30am to 10am, and 7am to 10am on weekends and public holidays (a 15% surcharge applies on public holidays). In the evening, the restaurant and bar open from 6pm every night for à la carte dinner. Being part of Auto Lodge means easy visiting — complimentary on-site parking, free WiFi, and a location between the New Plymouth CBD and the Strandon and Fitzroy suburbs, handy to the coastal walkway. Tables can be booked by calling 06 759 9918 or emailing reservations@autolodge.co.nz.
Juliana's Restaurant & Bar is the in-house dining room of the Auto Lodge on Devon Street East, Strandon — a modern, spacious restaurant that has quietly become one of New Plymouth's dependable tables. The idea behind it is simple: a variety of tasty and interesting dishes, cooked by an expert team of chefs who take real pride in sourcing locally, served in a room comfortable enough for any occasion.
Juliana's kitchen isn't pinned to one cuisine. Instead, the chefs build a menu of interesting, modern dishes around locally sourced produce, letting good ingredients lead the way. That approach earned recognition in 2019, when Juliana's received a New Zealand Beef and Lamb Excellence Award — a nationally respected mark of quality for kitchens doing standout work with beef and lamb. If a well-cooked red-meat dish is how you judge a restaurant, this is a menu worth checking.
The menu covers the whole day rather than a single service: an à la carte dinner list for evenings, a printed breakfast menu for mornings, and a dedicated children's selection so families eat well too. The drinks side is taken care of as well — Juliana's is fully licensed, with its own drinks list, so a pre-dinner drink at the bar is an easy way to start the night.
One of Juliana's strengths is its hours. The restaurant opens seven days a week. Early risers can get a proper breakfast on weekdays from 6.30am until 10am, while weekends and public holidays start a little later, from 7am to 10am — useful to know if you're heading out to walk the coastal walkway and want to eat first.
Come evening, the restaurant and bar open from 6pm, every day of the week. Families are explicitly welcome: the team offers special children's meals for younger diners, and the spacious dining room means a family table never feels like an afterthought.
One practical note: a 15% surcharge applies on public holidays — standard practice for hospitality, but good to know before you book.
The dining room was clearly designed with flexibility in mind. It's spacious and modern, which makes it a natural fit for a range of outings: catching up with friends over dinner, celebrating a birthday or anniversary, or settling in for a romantic dinner for two. Being part of a hotel, Juliana's is used to looking after travellers and locals alike, and Auto Lodge's wider facilities — complimentary on-site parking and free WiFi — make visiting straightforward even if you're not staying there. Guests can go one further and pair dinner with a swim in the hotel's heated indoor pool or a soak in the spa pool.
The setting helps too. Auto Lodge sits on Devon Street East between the New Plymouth CBD and the suburbs of Strandon and Fitzroy, close to the coastal walkway and the city's boutique shops, bars and street art. Dinner at Juliana's slots neatly into a day spent exploring Taranaki.
Tables can be booked by contacting the team — call 06 759 9918 or email reservations@autolodge.co.nz. Auto Lodge also runs a meetings and events operation, so if you're planning something bigger, such as a special occasion or a large group dinner, it's worth mentioning when you book.
Whether it's an early breakfast before a day out, a relaxed dinner with the kids in tow, or an award-backed beef and lamb dish for a special night, Juliana's aims to be an easy, welcoming choice in New Plymouth — seven days a week.