Overview
Here in Tāmaki Makarau, we like to think our cafes and restaurants are pretty world-class — anecdotally we can confirm our coffee certainly is — but it's still pretty exciting getting recognition from the big overseas players.
So bookmark this news for this weekend's coffee and croissant combo — a suburban bakery has just been called out by the New York Times as one of the go-to spots for 2023. In the publication's travel guide, Auckland came in at number five on the list of places to visit this year, thanks to its "famous multiculturalism" and culinary influences.
Top picks for eating out included Hugo's Bistro on Shortland Street, Omni and Cazador in Mt Eden and Little French Cafe — which has two spots, one tucked away in Mount Albert and the other found in Point Chevalier.
The bakery was praised for slinging pastries "rivalling Paris' best" — you can't give higher praise than that.
Owners Ben Chevré and Matt Betron took to Instagram to thank the Times for the win, captioning their post: "If someone told us seven years ago that we would feature in the New York Times, we would never have believed them".
They told Concrete Playground the recognition "is an honour".
"We say, 'fait avec amour', meaning 'made with love'. We take time and care with everything we create - all from scratch! This is what makes us different from so many others - and what makes our food authentic and delicious."
We've been longtime fans of Little French Cafe here at Concrete Playground (especially their outrageously cheesy ham-and-cheese croissants), so we'll forgive the New York Times for outing what we consider to be one of the city's best-kept secrets.
You can find Mount Albert's Little French Cafe at 756 New North Road and the Point Chev spot at 201 Point Chevalier Road.