Orphans Kitchen Under Temporary Liquor Ban, Defiantly Hosting Prohibition Feast

Offbeat Ponsonby eatery Orphans Kitchen has delivered the unfortunate news that they have been forced to put the brakes on their traditional dinner service due to an expired liquor license. Opened by chef Tom Hishon and wine aficionado Josh Helm last year, the restaurant offers a multi-layered approach to bistro dining by using simple ingredients, unusual cuts of meat alongside an extensive drinks list of local drops and classic “bin ends”.

In a note posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page, they said:

“It seems that we’ve been so busy running our restaurant that we forgot to renew our liquor license on time. While Orphans Kitchen received no documents informing an upcoming expiry, the matter means we must undertake a full re-application, a process that takes at least 15 working days (excluding weekends)... This is major issue for us. So much so that we must temporarily close our dinner service (not brunch), as we cannot provide the full Orphans experience without the ability to serve your favourite liquids.”

The worst-case scenario will see the restaurant open again for dinner on Wednesday 8 April.

Taking it in their stride, the establishment will continue to run its daily brunch service and have revealed a five-course “prohibition” feast to be held over three evenings. The pre-ticketed event, possible under their current catering license, will feature two seatings of "unadulterated food and naughty wines," every night from Thursday 19 to Saturday 21 March.

Tickets are $70 or $130/per head with wine matching. Bookings can me made by emailing: [email protected].