198-200 State Highway 17,
Albany
Auckland,
0632

(09) 415 0433

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3 out of 5

Go past the bar at GPK before a big game is on at nearby Eden Park, and you might think you've stumbled onto one of those inane flash mobs. There are normally hordes of blue or black clad fans swarming on the footpath downing a few beers before heading off to watch Auckland or the All Blacks. The bar at GPK is actually quite spacious, but before big games it's fills up very easily, and getting to the bar can be like cracking the All Black's midfield defence in World Cup year.

Tonight the All Blacks are a couple of hundred kilometres further south in Hamilton playing Canada, and the spacious bar at GPK is only about half full. A gap opens up somewhere between second five-eighths and centre, and I order a pint of Mac's Gold and a glass of Kumeu River's Merlot. With an attached restaurant offering gourmet pizzas and more, GPK's wine list is impressive, and even covers a few pizza-friendly European varieties like Tuscan Sangioevse and Tempranillo from Spain. In the beer chiller Limburg Pilsner from Hawke's Bay and Germany's Becks are standouts in a diverse array of brews.

We're here to watch the footie though, and that's where GPK comes up trumps. There are three different plasma screens, one handily placed for propping yourself up on a few bar leaners, and the other two placed around a couple of huge leather sofas. Right beside this exceedingly comfy furniture is a toasty gas fire, and it's worth getting here a bit earlier to snare these best seats in the house.

Of course nothing goes like rugby and beer than pizza. GPK's Moroccan option is topped with lamb, spicy harissa and fresh mint and demands a second pint of Mac's.

The Dominion Road area of Mt Eden is a bit thin on good bars. The bar at GPK will never become a regular haunt, but it's certainly got enough appeal to be considered as an alternative to The Kingslander or the Bond St Bar & Grill across the railway tracks in Kingsland - either before a match at Eden Park, or to watch a game on the telly.

Comfy leather sofas, great pizzas, cold beer, and an open fire are always a pretty good combination after all.