33 Drake Street,
Freemans Bay,
Freemans Bay
Auckland,
1010

(09) 379 8167

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5 out of 5

Approaching La Zeppa’s one-year anniversary and it hasn’t lost any of the initial hype and popularity.

In fact, La Zeppa is so popular it recently changed the layout of the restaurant to cater for the continuously growing weekend crowds.

This sophisticated wine bar is located on Drake Street, just behind Victoria Park Market. Based in a big open warehouse with concrete floors, brick walls and open beams, bar tables are dotted around the massive island bar and kitchen, and the dining area is available for dinner bookings.

Despite the large area, the combination of a lively crowd and flickering candles make La Zeppa surprisingly cosy.

If you appreciate good wine, then you’re in for a treat at La Zeppa. For a reasonably priced tapas restaurant/bar, the wine list is impressive. It boasts a good selection of French, Aussie, Spanish, Italian and Kiwi reds—as well as a good offering of whites, with a reasonable number of these available by the glass.

I started the night at the higher end of the list; $13 for a generous glass of Pegasus Bay chardonnay, but by the end of the night when my taste buds were substantially dulled, enjoyed an Aussie Padthaway for $8. My partner stuck to the beer and opted for a few of Eastern European’s best; Budvar—a steal at $6.50 a bottle.

We were there for a while so sampled some of the tasty tapas. The extensive menu and additional blackboard specials made it hard to choose, but we managed to fill up on four different dishes all priced between $8 and $12.

The food was as good as it sounded—one taste of my salt and pepper squid meant I wasn’t sharing. The staff were friendly and the service fast and efficient.

From experience, it’s best to arrive early on a Saturday night (if you want to get a seat that is). La Zeppa was busy the whole time we were there—the DJ started later in the night, but it didn’t make a lot of difference to the ambience as everyone was having a good time anyway.

It’s not often a bar meets all of ones expectations, but for me, La Zeppa is on to a winning formula and always a pleasure to visit.