25 Teed Street,
Newmarket
Auckland,


(09) 524 4126

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Bambina has been one of Ponsonby’s best cafes for almost a decade now, drawing in a regular clientele with simple and super-fresh brunch and bistro fare, excellent coffee, and probably Auckland’s most up to date selection of food, lifestyle and travel magazines. With handy booths and a big shared table, it’s also the kind of place which rewards solo dining or catching up with friends. Now owners Peter and Sarah Wren have replicated the Bambina promise in Newmarket, an area that’s traditionally been light on good cafes. It’s a great match, and after just two months, Bambina Newmarket is fast becoming a firm local favourite. Handily tucked down a good shopping street, it’s a convenient haven in Auckland’s retail hub.

Popping in for a late Friday lunch, there’s lots that is familiar about the new Bambina. Polished concrete floors and a clean and simple design ethic create an ambience that’s both uncluttered and welcoming. There’s a big shared table crammed with lots of current, airfreighted editions of magazines you’d love to buy each month, but simply can’t justify. The blackboard menu lists a concise array of brunch items – think eggs with mushrooms and fennel sausages, ricotta hotcakes, and corn fritters, and there’s also a small selection of more substantial lunch-oriented mains including pasta and risotto. Nearby workers and on-the-run shoppers are catered to with counter food including baps, sandwiches and panini.

I’m not in a huge rush so grab a stack of brand new travel magazines and settle into a good Allpress coffee. My lamb salad ($17) has Middle Eastern influences with around six small lamb chops seasoned with spices and served with a zingy cucumber and yoghurt sauce. I can tick off my 5+ a day requirements with radicchio leaves, currants and pinenuts. It’s a nicely light lunch option, but if I’d come a little earlier maybe I’d probably be diving into a more substantial breakfast or brunch offering.

Bambina Newmarket effortlessly recreates the success of the earlier Ponsonby Rd opening, and deserves to be a popular and consistently excellent addition to Newmarket’s café scene. Where to next?