What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 5pm - 9pm Wednesday 5pm - 9pm Thursday 5pm - 9pm Friday 5pm - 9pm Saturday 5pm - 9pm

Return Restaurant.

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New Zealand
Auckland
Return Restaurant.

Directions Website

www.returnrestaurant.com

02/11/2026

Veal | asparagus | eggplant | bordelaise

29/10/2026

Ora king salmon I pear I watercress I spiced yoghurt

29/10/2026

What better way to enjoy our natural kauri bar top than a snack and cocktail flight?

Choose three tasting cocktails, paired with three of our snacks, for $45.

Available all week, at the bar only.

28/10/2026

Pretty well settled into our spot here on Ponsonby Road.

We look forward to inviting new guests in, and having old friends return 😎

27/10/2026

A Pear and a Pipe dream.

House smoked wh**ky meets a rich spiced nashi pear syrup.

Some dreams go up in smoke. This one’s the point 💨

23/10/2026

King fish crudo I white asparagus

22/10/2026

Forager x Return: W**emaker’s Evening

Fermented on a limestone hillside, served on Ponsonby Road.

Dom Maxwell has spent more than two decades shaping North Canterbury w**e. He is a two-time New Zealand W**emaker of the Year, with trophies from both Decanter and the IWC, and he did vintages in Burgundy, Oregon and the Rheingau. Forager, founded in 2012, is his personal family label. It is small, sought after by sommeliers, and built around a few exceptional sites.

Forager was among the first in New Zealand to use vineyard fermentation. Fruit is crushed on the hillside and fermented outdoors in an open vessel, using only the wild yeasts of the site, with no temperature control and minimal intervention. It stays on skins for close to a month while the cap is wetted by hand. The ferment runs cooler and more variably than it would in a w**ery, and that builds fine, early-integrating tannins and a sense of place that is hard to get any other way. Élevage is in French oak, with no fining or filtration.

At Return, Matt Lambert brings the same discipline to the plate. He held a Michelin star for seven years at The Musket Room in New York, and Return was named Cuisine’s New Restaurant of the Year 2026. “This is not fine dining, it is intentional dining,” Matt says. “Nothing here is accidental; everything is deliberate.” He cooks seasonally from small New Zealand growers and farmers, with precision and restraint.

Two makers who let place and season lead, and who intervene only when it counts. Join Dom and Matt for an evening of Forager w**es matched to Return’s menu.

Reserve a table now via our website or give us a call directly.

21/10/2026

A little something to look forward to each Friday.

Our three-course prix fixe lunch. Every Friday - $75pp.

The perfect excuse to step away from the week and settle in for a while 🙌

Reserve your spot now.

20/10/2026

We’re hosting a very special collaboration at RETURN alongside Dom Maxwell, the creative force behind Forager W**e.

Save the date: November 4th 2026. Reserve a spot now.

Forager W**e

19/10/2026

The team during a pre-service briefing. A vital moment to come together and prepare for the evening ahead.

We look forward to see you this coming week.

Reservations → return.nz

Address

165 Ponsonby Road
Auckland
1011

Opening Hours

Tuesday	5pm - 9pm
Wednesday	5pm - 9pm
Thursday	5pm - 9pm
Friday	5pm - 9pm
Saturday	5pm - 9pm

Website

http://www.Return.nz/

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