Vultures' Lane — Restaurant in Waitematā

Vultures Lane: The Reason You Should Visit Auckland

If you’re planning a trip anywhere in the world and haven’t settled on a destination yet, let me make it easy for you: Come to Auckland, New Zealand, and make Vultures Lane your first stop.

This place isn’t just a bar—it’s a perfectly crafted experience of warmth, flavor, and community. From the moment you walk in, you’re welcomed by the friendliest, most genuinely kind staff you could ever hope to meet. These are people who love what they do, and it shows in every interaction.

And then there’s the food. Oh. My. God. The meat pies here are hands down the best we’ve had—not just in New Zealand, but anywhere, period. We’ve been traveling for six weeks, and these pies blew every other place out of the water. But it doesn’t stop at pies. The fried chicken sandwich was out-of-this-world good, and every single dish we tried was so good that we came back three nights in a row.

Now, let’s talk beer. If you love craft beer, you will lose your mind over the selection here. Not only do they have an incredible variety of local and self-brewed beers, but they also feature a rotating lineup of guest brews, all of which are top-tier. Whether you’re a hop-head, a lager lover, or just someone who appreciates a perfectly poured pint, Vultures Lane delivers. And did I mention their pie and pint deal for $20? Absolute steal.

But what really sets this place apart is the atmosphere. Every single person who walks through these doors leaves with a smile. We’ve had some of our best conversations of the trip here, met incredible people, and genuinely felt at home in a way that very few places manage to achieve.

Vultures Lane is the kind of bar you wish existed in your own neighborhood, the kind of place you’d happily become a regular at. If we lived in Auckland, we’d be here every single day. If you’re traveling through, make it a priority. If you’re planning a trip, let this be the reason you come to Auckland.

Five stars. More if I...

Ended up with five hours to kill in Auckland CBD so popped in here to do some writing over a few beers. Not a lot to say really but the beer selection was good - a nice range of sours and ciders and the standard hoppy beers that everyone else seems to enjoy and the staff were unpretentious, friendly, and knowledgeable.

Downsides were: a variety of clientele - including some screeching folks betting on horses, knocking chairs over, spilling my beer and screaming a lot (though there were plenty of very pleasant friendly folk too), American football playing on the TVs. Not too many downsides to be fair. I enjoyed my beers and got some writing done whilst staying dry on a day of torrential rain so was a win for me. Happily recommend to others as a low key place for a...

We went this pub to watch rugby, and one order male service every table for free chicken wings, except my table, he just ignored our table and give every table which are around my table, I asked them, can I order that, and they told me that they service that for free and they don’t have anymore, and I said oh but I didn’t get that, they said we don’t have any chicken wings for free and you can’t order it too, but actually I saw some people ordered the chicken wings after I asked it, they lied me, so I kept looking at the guy who ignored our table, he cannot look at me and try to avoid me, I feel my friends and I just be treated badly, and I think he did on purpose without reason, I feel it’s not good...