Wilder and Hunt Ponsonby - CLOSED

Overview

Many might find Ponsonby Road intimidating. It is the place to avoid on your Sunday morning walk of hungover shame, mostly due to the fact that you will inevitably receive a multitude of Karen Walker-hidden glares at your matching grey hoody and fat-pant combo. Also there is a 98% chance you will run into one of the Ridges at SPQR, and I swear that family have superpower radars for detecting things so disgraceful as hangovers. Yes, Ponsonby is a scary stretch of street. If Auckland were a high school, Ponsonby would be the popular crew. So when a new kid rocks up, there is every chance they will be shunned from the cool crowd, and expelled from Auckland’s elite as quick as you can say soy decaf flat white. But not this time. Wilder and Hunt was accepted into the Ponsonby Road a-class as one of their own, and it is flourishing.

An extension from her first venture in St Heliers, Amy Gibson has opened her second eatery following the huge success of her first.  The café is essentially the same as its predecessor, specialising in paleo and primal foods and basically adopting a caveman, eat-what-you-can-catch-or-grow kind of motto. Although the Ponsonby branch has a few notable changes that, in my humble opinion, makes the eatery even more desirable than its ancestor. Firstly, the new joint caters to coffee lovers by providing a Kokako blend, which will undeniably become the norm amongst Ponsonby folk. The latest venture also boasts a whole lot more seating, easily housing diners who want to eat within the bright, open store, or out in the cheery courtyard.

An honourable mention goes to the chia puddings. Even though they are as much of a staple in Ponsonby as transvestites on K Road, Wilder and Hunt does chia puddings better than most (maybe even all). Layers of awesomeness topping with crunchy muesli that adds some textural variation, along with coconut yoghurt and fresh blueberries. If you’re feeling unsatisfied thanks to the unnaturally low calorie count of the breakfast, then I can recommend the red velvet cupcakes. They taste so good that they should be bad. But apparently they are all raw and organic too, provided by The Raw Kitchen and coloured naturally with beetroot (I know, I know, but don’t knock it til you’ve tried it).

The joint also offers precooked meals that you can toss in the microwave to nuke a quick, but super nutritious dinner. I haven’t tried them, but word on the street says they’re no letdown. And I would be surprised if the word was wrong, because Ponsonby Road doesn’t let just any old riffraff into the cool gang.