Ponsonby is an amazing location to dine, drink, live and work from home from but sometimes we need to find a place to meet with a client or work with a barista to provide additional caffeinated motivation. With this in mind weโve come up with a list of 9 of the best cafรฉs in Ponsonby to work from and meet plus one left field option.
Annabelโs โ Conspiratorial Cool
Seat yourself at one of the small tables perfect for a conspiratorial one-on-one whether youโre meeting that contact for the first time or theyโre a long-standing ally. There are a few tables for larger groups including dining outside (brilliant for summer!). The coffee is super solid, the team warm, welcoming without being overpowering and provide some simple tasty eats. They donโt have a real kitchen so the menu is limited to some great grilled baguettes, pastries and open-faced sandwiches and the menu is all the better for it.
We also love that Annabelโs isnโt a cafรฉ, which means itโs open during the tricky later afternoon meeting when the cafรฉs close but youโre not quite ready for the pub but Annabel’s allows an easy transition if you decide to switch things up mid meeting for a cheeky beer or their expertly selected wine.
Our summary: Perfect for a one-on-one with a client or colleague when you want it to be a little conspiratorial & creative.
The Daily Bread - Breaking the Daily Routine
Daily Bread is well known for their superb baked goods but the long communal tables are awesome for rocking up with your laptop and nailing some serious work with a great coffee in hand and a pastry in the other. We love The Daily Bread when we need to break our routine and get down to business.
Our summary: Ideal for focussed cafรฉ working.
Orphans Kitchen - Get the Team Excited!
Amazing food which is creative and reflects Aotearoaโs roots. We adore Orphanโs Kitchen menu. It can get a little busy particularly on the weekends, but during the weekdays itโs usually easy enough to find a few seats. Word of warning the hard interior surfaces and excited patrons can mean it can be difficult to hear the person across from you, but itโs worth it and thatโs why we love it for a team catch up or when we want to get excited about what’s ahead. While the coffee is awesome, we really need to make a shout out to their teas which use native ingredients like fresh Kawakawa.
Our summary: Brilliant for a casual but exciting team coffee/tea or brunch.
Dear Jervois - Perfectly Balanced
Well technically not Ponsonby but itโs close enough being over in Herne Bay but as itโs not in Ponsonby youโll find no problem securing parking near by. Dear Jervois is a relatively large space but that means during the weekdays thereโs usually a few places to post up, conquer the inbox and take a few meetings. Dear Jervois is just superbly balanced, neither overly stuffy and formal nor overly casual which is a perfect fit for Auckland business.
Our summary: Balanced, the perfect place to work for a few hours then take a meeting.
Honey Bones - Perfect Start to the Day
Again not Ponsonby but close enough โ itโs located in Grey Lynn. The food and coffee are so good here itโs always busy โ sometimes a little too busy in winter when the outdoor seating is restricted but in summer the capacity doubles โ as do the weekend crowds. The food is divine, some of the best in Auckland โ perfect for the breakfast meeting before they shoot into the office.
Our summary: The perfect breakfast meeting.
Longshot - A Sureshot
Okay, weโll be honest, weโre not really a super fan of their food nor coffee. Itโs solid and better than most cafes, but it doesnโt blow the doors off compared to the tough competition in Ponsonby โ so why is it in our list? Pretty simply, it’s still good and the semi outdoor seating is great for those spring days when youโre looking to recharge your vitamin d after this long gruelling winter.
Our summary: Spring into sunshine
Dizengoff - Down to Business
Everything about Dizengoff is straight to the point no fluff, nothing that doesnโt need to be there. With the sparse white interiors Dizengoff feels more like itโs an off shoot from an art gallery than a cafรฉ. The menu is like the interior, sparse and straight down to business. It feels like itโs been around forever, and for some it is the epitome of what Ponsonby is, potentially a little pretentious but ultimately, itโs a Ponsonby Icon.
Our summary: Probably the most down to business cafรฉ on our list if youโre talking finance or showing a spreadsheet this is probably the place
Queenies Cafรฉ - Disarming Charm
Queenies is located down the road in Freemans Bay, but weโre being pretty liberal with our definition of Ponsonby here! Located on an off street of and in a building which is cloaked in Ivy it feels a simple French cafรฉ a million miles away from Ponsonby and a refreshing change. There is no hustle here. It has something about it which gives off the vibe that your grandma would feel right at home, which could sound like a bad thing, this is no Robert Harris! What we mean by this is that from the menu to the space it has a disarming and unpretentious charm to it. Your meeting will automatically be chilled out for meeting here!
Our Summary: Itโs not Ponsonby and thatโs good!
Honey Cafรฉ - Spacious & Chill
Itโs easy to forget about Honey cafรฉ as itโs located off a side street close to St Marys Bay. Honey Cafe relatively recently undertook a new ownership and rebrand but the historic building is spacious with heaps of places to park up and hit the keyboard or catch up over a coffee. The coffee is okay and the food menu a bit of a mash up but the reason we come here is that we really love their leafy courtyard which means you can even work outdoors in the middle of summer.
Our Summary: Relaxed outdoor working
Plus One - The Walking Meeting
Okay, so not for everyone but for some it’s ideal. Try a walking meeting. Walking meetings in Ponsonby’s urban landscape offer a dynamic way to merge business with the benefits of light physical activity. Stepping out into the bustling streets, participants can enjoy a change of pace from the conventional office setting. This shift not only sparks creativity and fresh thinking but also promotes health and well-being. This approach is ideal for businesses seeking to foster a more active, innovative, and health-conscious work culture.
Our Summary: The leftfield approach with mental health, physical and work benefits.
