Overview
If you've had to can any big overseas trips to London this year thanks to multiple lengthy lockdowns, we've got good news: you can now pretend you're having a gander around the Queen's country without venturing further than the waterfront.
New London-inspired gastropub The Fox is set to open its doors in Auckland's viaduct this Friday, December 3, as Auckland's hospitality restrictions ease and the country's new 'traffic light' system comes into place.
It's not hard to see where The Fox gets its name: the venue reimagines and gives a new fitout to the site previously home to the city's sports-bar stalwart Foxes. It's been given a new look, new menu and a cocktail list that has to be seen to be believed.
Mixed by resident cocktail whiz Joey Hickman, the 'License to Swill' menu contains some absolute standouts that are sure to draw both ex-pats and local liquor lovers in. The particularly eccentric 'Hair of the Fox' is being badged as a British take on a bloody mary, and comes with bacon fat-washed bourbon (yes, that's a thing), Marmite and Heinz Brown Sauce. It's then topped with the makings of a full English breakfast — including a chiploata sausage, tomato and a tater tot, as a full hash brown probably wouldn't have fit on the rim.
Meanwhile, for the sweet-toothed drinkers there's a whole range of cocktails inspired by classic English lollies. The 'Sherbet Lemon Drop' gets it's tart flavour from a mix of citrus gin and Frangelico, whereas the 'Jammie Dodger' recalls the famous shortcake biscuit with Briottet Crème de Framboise, vodka and cherry syrup. If you've knackered yourself on espresso martinis the last couple of years, you might want to try The Fox's twist, a 'Jaffa Martini' — a mix of chocolate, espresso and jaffa cake gin.
Food wise, The Fox has everything you'd expect in terms of classic English bangers (and mash, if you're so inclined): toad in the hole, pigs in blankets, weekend roasts and fisherman's baskets.
Sans any black cabs, we're recommend Ubering down, and settling in to this new addition to the viaduct this summer.
The Fox opens at 85/87 Customs Street West, in Auckland's CBD on Friday, December 3. For more information and to see the full menu, check out the website.