culprit.

gorgeously lit and fitted out gem to be discovered in the cbd. a modern western take on yum cha had me frothing at the mouth; with all the tasty and beautiful appetisers. service was immaculate. i am very impressed with this place and will be back with many friends.

awesome experience at culprit last night.

such a professional team and loved such a different style of service!

loved the donut and chicken pate and will be back to make my way through the dessert menu!

what an incredible gem hidden on wynyard st. i am gobsmacked.
a friend of mine was desperate to go here and so we went in tonight ready for the set menu. it was an absolute treat. the koha with savoury panna cotta dip was a great way to start, and was followed up by the most beautiful oysters served on ice, beef tartare and parsnip cream cone, and kingfish sashimi. the oysters were so fresh with the most incredible dressing, the beef tartare cone was intimidating but once we (elegantly) shoved it all into our mouths, the flavours were all there. lastly, the kingfish sashimi with kaffir lime was bright and fresh and light and a perfect way to end the trio. next, we received a pumpkin, creme fraiche and pastry dish. i don't like pumpkin unless it's from culprit. it was beautifully cooked, and the creme fraiche and pastry provided the perfect accompanying flavours and crunch. the duck confit brussel sprouts afterwards were crispy and salty and so so delicious, and this was followed by donuts with chicken liver parfait. considering this was the first time i've had parfait, i'm still going to say i'm impressed. the sweet syrup underneath distracted me enough to forget that it was liver i was eating, and man those donuts were unbelievably fluffy. lastly for this course we received the duck in lettuce tacos with plum sauce and a homemade hot sauce. i did not expect that hot sauce to hit like it did but it was so delicious. a little painful, but so, so delicious. before we moved to mains, there was a brilliant segue in the menu for a refresher, which came in the form of a kiwifruit shaved ice dish with gin and tonic jelly underneath. a little boozy, but the perfect palate cleanser. for mains we received slivers of perfectly cooked steak and a beef cheek croquette (holy mother that croquette will haunt my dreams for years) as well as kumara waffle fries with crayfish head mayo. the waffle fries were good enough to come back for on their own, regardless of how incredible the meat was. i am in love. lastly, we finished off with chocolate mousse with mandarin and crunchy goodness around it. deceptively large and banging in taste, the dessert was the perfect end to the evening. mix this in with fantastic service from all four waiters who looked after us tonight (and who all seemed to get along and vibe well with one another) and a really great ambience and aesthetic appeal, and i would say all in all that this is the best restaurant i have been to in auckland. absolutely props to foh and boh here, i can't wait to come back. you guys are killing it.

so sick and tired of these hipster places where you go for dinner and end up paying close to 100$ for a small snack because it's fancy. it's not bad quality food, alright but far from mindblowing - no meaning, no tradition behind it.

and what's with the micro portions? we got the 65$ menu and it was ridiculous...i mean we had to share something like 5 kumara chips between three of us! i had the luxury of having a whole brussels sprout all for myself thou.
the main dish was a lamb shoulder, again divided in three, so just pretty much a mouthful each but well at least slow-cooked lamb is not something that you can taste every day at home...oh wait...
and it came with a half carrot!! i kid you not, one half of a carrot - to share of course we don't want to overdo it.

want to have an " experience"? go to an actual yumcha place, go and eat italian, chinese, indian, malaysian, whatever, there are a few places worth going in auckland, but definitely not this one.

friendly waiter. when walked in offered either a $45 or $100 menu. we choose 45. there were 4 tiny starters and then the big dish we choose hapuku which was basically a piece of fish with corriander on top and then coconut sauce was poured over by waiter. seriously small servings!!!! sadly i wouldn't recommend. while tasty it was overpriced. with 2 small glasses of sav our bill was $75 each.

i have heard countless good reviews on cuplrit and i was not disappointed! i love the idea of their yum cha trolley with their little entree goodies! off the trolley we had the sashimi, fried donut balls with chicken liver pate, venison 'tataki' and the tomato consomme. for the large dish we had the melt in your mouth pork belly which was just delightful! i had such a lovely dining experience cuplrit and will definitely be back again! its not hard to see how they earned their place on the top 50 list!

the creativity award goes to @culprit.nz for their 𝗝𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 menu! who else misses inflight meals like 🐼 does😭 we were so excited when the waiter pulled out a trolley to serve us hot buns and packaged meals just like on an airplane, except the meal tastes way better!

the shiitake butter filled buns deserves an award on its own! buttery buns oozing melted shiitake butter 🧈 that really assembles the taste of truffle, with perfect amount of sea salt on top of the bun to complete the palate.

you have the option to upgrade your jet set meal to “first class” too, adding oysters and laurent perrier champagne to fancy it up🥂

💲price $40/person for restaurant month jet set menu (additional buns at $4 each)
😋taste 4.8/5
📍 cbd

on our last restaurant review i mentioned it was our second time dining outside after the lockdown here in new zealand was lifted, where we splurged on a staycation date with the mrs. that last review was our teatime and this post was our dinner. our place of choice is culprit, a restaurant in auckland cbd with an amazing concept.

we celebrated my daughter 16 years birthday here and we ordered 4 course jet set they designed for august auckland restaurant month which was $40 per person.

we had kimchi salt chips to start and shiitake mushroom stuffed bun, cauliflower soup and raw fish with tomato jelly appetizer. next followed by rose kaffir lime sherbet to cleanse our mouth. main we had grilled fish with butter porch potato and crayhead bisque sauce. as we do not like lamb we did not try the lamb. the dessert was soft pavlova.

overall, we had a very good experience and the food was above expectation.

love to return...

been to the restaurant twice. once for a new years menu and another for a support local menu. also attended their akai doa 2.0 event. all times i’ve been really impressed by the food. would really recommend giving a range of dishes a go because many of the dishes are tasty, light and leave you thinking about them for days to come. the doughnuts with pate were a match made in heaven. yams are usually rendered a side but in this case they shine in their own way. would go to any event this restaurant is involved in.

came here for a work function and the food was amazing. perfect portion sizes to be able to try everything. full of flavour and unique tastings. great service too.

we went to culprit because it had been so strongly recommended by family, particularly the smashed pig face and doughnuts and pate. so we went ready to be delighted and adventurous and were not disappointed! each plate was an absolute feast for the eyes and tastebuds. i loved all the different flavours and sauces. my top favourites were the sashimi and lemon meringue.
our waitstaff were really warm and friendly while being completely professional. they lead us well through the yumcha style and all the new and interesting dishes.
at the end of the night we were amazed that there wasn't a high end price for such a special experience.
thank you culprit. i'm already telling friends to come!

ambience 4.5
service 4
food 3.5
general 4
food is the most important to me, so yeah not a lot impressed.

thoroughly loved the tv dinner concept and their use of pickled watermelon with their oysters. awesome hidden little location. service could be more enthusiastic and cocktails can be improved. other than that, thoroughly loved the meal!

when you go up the flight of stairs you’re instantly greeted with a classic and sophisticated vibe. the open kitchen and bar balances the atmosphere by creating a more relaxing style. the tables are nicely laid out and you don’t feel crammed between other diners.
a complementary kina pate sort of dish was served, which is interesting and so worth trying! we chose a few entrees as they came out, sashimi dish (refreshing), wagyu tataki with radish (must order), octopus pepperoni, a savoury peach with blue cheese and roast lamb (almost melted in my mouth). for main, we chose the courgette flowers (it was like a tempura dish) and pig face (meat was so soft! and the crackling on top is delicious).
service was professional and attentive, and each dish and the whole dining system was explained very well. i liked how we didn’t have to be served as there were always someone available.