37 Queen Street,
Northcote Point,
Northcote
Auckland,


(09) 480 7707

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3 out of 5

The Northcote has most angles on pubby drinking covered. This is an establishment of two halves:

To the right is the old, Scottish-influenced lounge bar, with the beer garden outside and a cosy (dare I say it) reading area at the back.

To the left, is the TAB / sports bar—altogether more modern with a darts board, riskily-dressed bar lady, a gaming lounge and patio for smokers.

And if you can't decide between these very different vibes, you can order takeout from the booth in the middle.

When we visit, we have a quick look in the TAB bar (men only) and the gaming lounge (just women) and decide upon the Scottishness-infused lounge bar.

It's cosy, sentimental, and a little over the top—even the carpet and curtains are tartan. But it's honest and heartening.

It's a very old pub, the Northcote, and Scotland has obviously always been important to its owners—as is apparent from the branded whisky jug collection behind the bar, the tartan shields on the wall, and the map of Scotland showing the various clan regions.

It's big on Northcote history too. There are old pictures of the road in its muddy, narrow-footprint existence; and the pub before, and after, the second bar was added in the 1930s. There are also aerial shots of Northcote looking towards the city.

Bridging these Scottish and Kiwi themes is a copy of an advert for colonists to join a ship leaving Glasgow for New Zealand in 1839—with the agent for the operation in Glasgow's Queen Street.

The food's nothing to write home about (especially if home is Scotland). Haggis is not on the menu; fisho's baskets are.

Drinks are pretty standard, but there's a good range of Scotches, not surprisingly, including single malts from the Orkneys and Jura.

The Northcote Tavern is a nice bit of pub tourism that’s worth crossing the bridge for.