Sweat Shop

I loved everything about this place– the atmosphere, the service, the food, the price– nothing was sub-​par. Generous servings– especially the $ 15 burger and fries deal. The highlight of the dish, however was the s’more. Perfectly toasted marshmallow wedged between two perfect brownies and to top it off, a scoop of ice cream– delicious! ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would return– and soon!

We ended up here on a Wednesday night with our out-​of-​town colleagues who all had high expectation that we’d take them to where the good food is in Auckland.
When we rang up last minute after our original plans fell through (thanks for that no reservation policy Depot!), they were very gracious and set aside a table when we rocked up 10 minutes later.
We ordered starters to share and individual mains. We enjoyed the Buffalo wings and the popcorn prawns, and of course someone had to order the obligatory deep fried mac n cheese (also known as the Mac + Cheese Morsels on their menu). Sadly the deep fried Mac n Cheese wasn’t as well received because it tasted slightly under seasoned and kinda dry. Maybe deep frying isn’t the answer to everything after all, Paula Dean!
Our mains were tasty and the servings were very generous. half of us ordered off the smokehouse menu and none of us finished our food. A couple of our friends ordered the fish taco since we were told it was part of the specials menu and came with fries, however it seems that the wait staff got confused and the fries didn’t arrive with their mains. When they spoke to our waitress, she was really apologetic and promised to bring out the chips as soon as they were ready but only 1 serving ended up being delivered. Confusion all around.
Despite the amount of food consumed, it’s not a meal without dessert so a few of us brave souls ordered the key lime pie and the apple pie. Best decision ever!
The key lime pie served here is probably the best I’ve had in NZ. I would say it comes pretty close to what I’ve had in the States and I’ve been disappointed plenty of times in NZ when a key lime pie is on a menu.
A delicious crumble base with a hint of coconut, a nice lime cheesecake-​esq filling and a delicious lemon curd that is served on the side — one of my colleagues insisted she was too full for dessert but inhaled the vanilla mascarpone with lemon curd from my plate once she tried a bit of my dessert, that was how good it was.
The apple pie was equally as delicious and unexpectedly large for a dessert. The pastry on top was golden and crispy on top, the apples were soft and full of spices and cinnamon. I ended up eating half of the apple pie after my key lime pie…
Would definitely come back and I highly recommend leaving room for the dessert if you do visit!

Where do I even start? The girls and I decided to visit this which was part of the Auckland Restaurant month — let me tell you, it did NOT disappoint. For $ 40 you get an entrée and a main, they also have their own craft beers on special. The meat was so tender that it fell off the bone and my pulled pork was one of the best I have ever had. The serving sizes are extremely generous — we were all super stuffed by the end of our meals (I had to get a doggy bag for my left overs). Will definitely go back and try the rest of the menu!

Sweat Shop Brew is the previously named Sale St Bar. Offering a bustling atmosphere with inside and outside seating, its the place to be on a sunny afternoon or for after work drinks.
The newly designed menu is extensive and follows a Southern American theme, with smokehouse menu items. I think this a cool idea as its a little something different. Between the two of us we shared everything — my fav. I think we over ordered a little. The feta and rosemary bread was much bigger than anticipated and i wasn’t expecting it on a thin pizza base. It was tasty but i personally prefer pizza bread with a thick, soft, chewy texture. We both loved the popcorn prawns. The flavour was on par and cooked perfectly. The pulled lamb shoulder muffuletta was actually an accidental menu order. I think we actually ordered the mussels but they had run out, and we saw this amazing bread bowl another diner ordered and we were like ok, we want that. This is a first I’ve seen in Auckland. The pulled lamb in bread, it was a great concept. I think to be honest its a bit much. just all meat in a bowl but prob a dish a guy would love. It was also served with chips but you can’t go too wrong with chips. The meat was cooked perfectly, but i there just needed to be more flavour. Something more exciting to lift it.
What i appreciate is that the menu offers something a bit better than your average bar or pub menu items and has something for everyone. If you don’t go for the food, go for the big jugs on offer and the chic interior.
Rating
Food: 6.5÷10
Service: ⁷⁄₁₀
Value for Money: Good
7 Sale Street, Freemans Bay
Opening Hours: Mon-​Sun 1130am-​Late

Total classic pub in Auckland City. It’s a great spot and one that I’ve frequented over the years. It was once even my local. just a stones throw from my old apartment. Although not a lot has changed over the years the service and food have always got better! Great menu that is a mix of pub food with some very skilfully prepared dishes. Awesome outdoor area that captures the sun all day and great open indoor space that makes you want to boogie the nights away. This place was previously known as Sale St Bar.

What a joke for a Saturday afternoon.
Having a few afternoon drinks with some friends, and the place is practically empty with more than nine staff on.
There was a definite vibe of «Ugh, I’m at work on a Saturday» amongst the staff. One of the guys behind the bar was basically begging for tips, while the floor staff were just wandering around not doing much at all. A simple order of chips took forever to arrive. When we ordered we asked for an extra side of ketchup, which didn’t arrive, so we asked the staff member who brought us our chips if we could please have an extra thing of ketchup, he said sure, walked away and never returned.
Beer selection isn’t anything inspiring. They do brew on site, and those are the only beers I’d recommend on tap.

Good for after work drinks. I’ve been to more leaving drinks for coworkers here than I would like to count. Their pizzas are pretty good too.

Sale St is a brewery, developing interesting flavours for their own boutique beers only sold here. I’m not much of a beer goer personally, but even I enjoyed their beer tasting platter. It came with their three creations at the time (they usually offer three different flavours of beer and that changes with the season) with small tapas of food to go with them (salt and pepper squid and a rich morsel of chocolate cake are the two I can remember. The cake was nice; the squid could have been crispier). It’s a nice large space, but the service on that particular night was pretty bad. It wasn’t busy at all, and my friend was made to wait at there for about 10−15minutes before the bar tender decided speak to her (and it’s not as if he didn’t see her either, there had been direct eye contact). Not too impressive but hey, that’s just ONE staff member.

Sale Street is deceptively large! They have a great outdoor space which is especially entertaining in the sunny, summer months, with the typical Sale Street customer coming in for a ‘session’ which will generally involve large amounts of alcohol.
I’ve sampled a couple of their platters and the food is good, if not fairly standard ‘pub’ fare.
Sale Street is actually owned by DB so, not surprisingly, all of the alcohol on offer is DB licensed, produced or marketed.
Not my first choice of bars in Auckland, but not my last either.

Sale Street does a bit of everything — they’re a bar and bistro, they’re a brewery, they’re a gig venue. There’s a neat social vibe in here that’s helped by the old wooden feel of the building and the sheer size which means plenty of spots to sit inside and out. Both times I’ve been here it’s primarily been for a gig, so I can’t really speak for their food. However I can speak for the beers they brew on site, and I’ve yet to have a bad one — really good stuff. Speaking of gigs, it’s a great venue for small, intimate concerts — Hollie Smith here in was a pretty sweet night out a couple of years back.

Half way through last year I became aware of the fact that there was a fantastic duo of singers performing at Sale Street every Friday night. The truth is one of my friends had developed a somewhat sad obsession with the two male performers and decided it was essential we all accompanied her to Sale Street every Friday. There’s no need to complain though. This pair had beautiful voices, worked wonders with their guitars and knew just what songs to play to get the crowd going. And there was always a crowd! Everyone wanted a piece of these guys!
So the entertainment was one drawing factor for Sale Street. And yes… food was the other. I can never pass up a quality pizza when I’m out and about. I’ve enjoyed many a great pizzas here and the fries are something quite special too.
All in all this is a great place to kick start a night with friends. The venue is somewhat large though so don’t get too lost or it might take you a fair while to locate your friends in the crowds.

One of my most memorable afternoons at Sale St was right after Taste of Auckland at Victoria Park and after being in sun all day eating delicious food and downing cider, we wanted somewhere to chill out nearby. While I partially claim the alcohol to be the factor, the food at Sale St almost made us forget that we’d been eating all day.
Part intoxicated and part ambitious, four of us made our way through a number of items on the bar menu (the bistro doesn’t open until 6pm). I fell in love with their maple bacon pizza (I’ll eat anything with pineapple and/​or bacon on it), and the meat lover’s calzone was a treat too. Honorable mentions to their fried chicken wings, handcut fries and onion rings– they really take the bar food up a level here.
I enjoy every aspect of Sale Street and from what I can tell it attracts a wide range of people, which can only be a good thing. They’ve got a great set-​up both indoors and outdoors and is great for groups. If you’re having dinner at the bistro ensure you get there early as they only take reservations for large groups. On the other hand, they do have an impressive bar on hand to keep you company!

As a relative newcomer to Auckland I first heard that this bar does amazing hand cut fries. One day I went to try them out with a friend. They were as described and definitely a good option to share (else you’re just eating a whole lot of potato to yourself) but they were pretty great as far as bar snacks go.
I have also been to Sale St Cider Co-​op session on a Sunday afternoon, which was a great set up. Sitting outside in the sun, with fine tunes being played drinking delicious cider is tough to beat. Cider available included Monteith’s, Old Mout, Rekorderlig and Johnny Arrow.
I think Sale Street bar has been well designed; it’s stylish, fun and its decent size means there are lots of different seating areas. Both times I thought the staff were friendly and attentive. I’m definitely keen to visit again.

Sale St has always been a great place to sit and enjoy a chilled out beer, or a decent cocktail, and is always full on Friday nights of the after-​office crew from the surrounding businesses.
It used to be the ‘It’ place to go, but now it’s more of an option for a cold brew on a Sunday afternoon on the awesome sun-​drenched deck with some mates.
Also a good thing to note is that even though the bar is open seven days a week, the bistro is only open Wed-​Fri 11:30am-2:30pm and then 6pm-​10pm. It’s also open 6−10pm on Saturdays