Levain — Restaurant in Puketāpapa

Given the reviews that hyped this place up, we drove from south to try their pies.

We had high expectations but unfortunately were dissappointed & with how spoiled we are for bakeries in NZ & Auckland alone, found the pies average. In our opinion, place is overhyped and have had better elsewhere.

We bought the following:

Philly cheese Tasted like a cheeseburger, but really oversalted.

Salmon One piece of salmon in the whole pie which was dissappointing as once that was eaten the rest of the pie was just filling. Would’ve preferred smaller chunks so there was salmon in every bite.

Steak & cheese / Lamb Both were ok. Nice and meaty but flavoring was almost bland?

Basque cheesecake Super sweet but still yum. Unsure if the size of slice is worth the price though.

Pastry was ok. Meat pies were filled with meat which was great.

Flavours in general were underwhelming and for us, nothing special. Felt like some of the fillings lacked depth, like the gravy for the steak and cheese just tasted like a standard (slightly oversalted) and tangy gravy with no other flavour notes, and some of the fillings tasted really bland to us or oversalted.

Also love getting pies from bakeries which are still nice and hot, the pies were just all warm to the touch.

Would be open to return & try some other items incase we get pleasantly surprised.

Service is good, parking can be challenging. We went on a weekend and had to loop a few times as we couldn’t find a parking and it’s on a busy main road. Oh & there are queues but...

Levain Bakery absolutely blew me away. I’ve heard a lot of talk—especially from my wife—about how New Zealand pies are better than Australian ones, but I never quite got it… until now.

After trying the pies from Levain, I’m officially converted. The pastry was next-level flaky, golden, and buttery without being too heavy. And the filling? Just wow. Packed with flavour, beautifully seasoned, and cooked to perfection. You can tell real care goes into both the ingredients and the technique. It’s one of those rare food moments where you take a bite and go, “Okay, now I get the hype.”

The experience honestly changed my whole view on what a good pie should be. I’ve had plenty of pies in Australia, but this was something else. Levain has set a new standard, and I don’t think I can go back!

The bakery itself also had a warm, inviting feel. You can smell the goodness the second you walk in, and the display is full of tempting treats beyond just the pies. The staff were friendly and clearly passionate about what they do—it’s the kind of place where you feel like you’re in good hands.

I only tried a couple of pies this time, but I’m already keen to come back and explore more of what they have on offer. Whether it’s more pies, sweet treats, or something totally unexpected, I’ve got high hopes after that first experience.

If you’re a pie lover—or even if you think you’re not—Levain Bakery is a must-visit. I can honestly say I now understand why NZ pies have such a legendary rep, and it’s all thanks...

IT'S A PITY THE SERVICE DOESN'T MATCH THE FOOD QUALITY! We found Levain recently and have been stopping for lunch regularly as the food is great. Last Monday (19th Feb) we dropped in just after noon for lunch. I was going to order the feta & spinach quiche but noticed there was a fly crawling about on the top quiche so drew our server's attention to it before it contaminated more food. Instead of removing both the fly and quiches he tried to catch the fly with the tongs he held while the tray was still in the display. After a few missed attempts, where he had it trapped within the tongs and pushed it onto another quiche, he finally removed the tray of quiches with the fly. When I advised I'd prefer a sausage roll he moved toward them with the same tongs before I stated I wanted him to use another set of tongs! Horrifying he simply laughed, said okay and moved to exchange them. There were two other customers behind us who witnessed this. The server wore glasses, had a moustache and seemed to be oblivious of any possible contamination issues. He also spoke to an another woman at the back of the bakery during this incident. I believe there are health training issues and a lack of customer care here that need to be addressed by management before we...