Review Bar Magda - Auckland Central

Unique, hidden and delicious are some of the words I would choose to say about this hidden gem. I have been here on a few occasions and have found myself thought provoked in the unusual but obviously loved by the chef food, I love how the chef has crafted food of the Philippines into a modern tasty dishes. I recently went for a team building on a special night where they collaborated with the chefs from Ozone serving a Filipino celebratory style sharing dinner called a Boodlefight. What an amazing and authentic experience that we have not found anywhere in NZ.

2nd time dining at Bar Magda and another excellent meal. It’s an unassuming entrance in Cross St but just look for the little lit up Magda sign by a wooden doorway. Love the moody atmosphere. There are a few seating areas either end of the kitchen and bar but the kitchen counter seating is also a great experience to watch the chefs in action. The food is always excellent and unlike anything you can get in Auckland. Chef Carlo and team whips up modern takes on Filipino food especially highlighting flavours from Mindanao. Every dish we got was amazing in flavour and looked beautiful too. Highlights were the Magda salad which is one of the best we’ve ever had and the Lamb Ribs are always a classic. It’s great that they constantly have new menu items and cocktails which make repeat visits interesting. Love that Chef Carlo also takes his time to explain the story of each dish which makes the dining experience much more personal and interesting. Great work as always!

What an experience. My wife and I had a great time. The ambiance was great, the staff looked after us, the drinks were unique and the food was delicious. The staff were great explaining the drink menu and we explained what we wanted to them and they were able to recommend some to us. The waiter explain every plate of food that was bought to us and the story behind them. We then found out later on that it was actually Chef Carlo who did this to every dish served to us! Thank you for the amazing night team. We will definitely be back for more.

Checked out the infamous K Road first as we arrived bit early. Reserved seats was near the end was cosy. Ordered drinks first and entrée. It took a while for it to be served including the mains but it was worth the wait. A fusion of NZ and Filipino taste and we enjoyed it a lot.

Had the opportunity to dine at Bar Magda to treat a dear friend to celebrate her birthday. We really enjoyed our dinner especially the cheese pimiento and kilawin which brought back some childhood memories in Manila. My friend who is non-Filipino, has only been exposed to Philippine cuisine by way of my cooking lumpia and adobo, found Bar Magda’s flavours very different, new and refreshing! I couldn’t agree more. So to everyone who is missing Filipino food and to those who are looking for something different do visit Bar Magda!

We had a great first visit at Bar Magda. Cocktails were tasty, and service was just lovely. Very attentive and helpful staff. We had the suglaw - which was a ceviche type dish, and a flax seed cracker with cheese dish. The suglaw was a nice twist on the raw fish dish, and I reckon a better rendition of the real thing. The fish was thinly sliced, and there was a slight spice from the spiced vinegar. The cheese dish was something I hadn't had before so we also enjoyed that. The winners food wise though would have to be the lamb ribs and the relleno of pork, squid, and duck embutido. The subtle charcoal flavours from the lamb was beautifully done. I don't actually like lamb because of the lamb 'funk', but there was none of that from this dish. The other dish was essentially a squid stuffed with mince pork and duck, and some subtle spices, on a bed of sauce. I also don't quite know what was in the sauce but it was a great flavour. The squid was perfectly cooked, incredibly soft and flavourful. Drinks wise, the Ube sour cocktail is a must try. I've never seen it anywhere, and they have really done the Ube flavour justice. Don't be fooled by the dim lighting, the colour is quite the purple. I don't usually like sours because I can always smell the egg whites, but whatever they did here, it was magic - because I couldn't smell or taste the egg whites. All cocktails were delicious though - and we tried a few. Unfortunately we were too full to try the dessert. I'll have to come back for the Ube soufflé one day.

Amaaaazing! We need more Bar Magda’s in Auckland and NZ in general. The food is so delicious but simple, celebrating the ingredients with a Philippino twist. Naturally the food is meat heavy but they do it so well and there’s a range of options if you’re not a big meat eater. The drinks are modern and fun. And the interior is cosy, inviting and stylish. Go here if you haven’t been already!

The restaurant is very easy to miss since there isn't a large sign by the door. Just keep an eye out for the lights by a door with Magda on it. The restaurant is located down the stairs. there are a couple of dining areas on either end of the kitchen and the bar. They have a fairly large drinks menu and the food menu isn't too big. There were quite a few interesting items on both and we tried a few to share. Proverbs 25:16 and passion resurrection cocktails were so easy to drink. Quite delicious and nice balance. Most of the items were unexpected. The chicken liver parfait was nice but it was a bit salty. the parfait was piped over bread and dotted with cherries and chicken skin. It was nice that they cut it so it was easier to share. The parmesan custard was more like a cheese spread and did taste like it. The suglaw was quite nice with huge pieces of crab and pork served with black crackers. I liked that it had meaty and sinewy pieces of pork to give textural differences. The octopus was surprisingly spicy and the addition of the duck fat gave it more flavour and richness. The octopus had bits which were cooked perfectly and bits which were crispy. I enjoyed the daikon salad over the parsnips more than the parsnips themselves since they were still a bit bitter. the beef ribs were quite tender and fell off the bone, which made it easier to grab with the roti. The sauce was on the sour side though. Although the suglaw was delicious, the best part of the meal was the ube souffle. Beautifully flavoured and nicely set souffle with a coconut and sherry sauce which added some sweetness. I could have easily just eaten ramekin after ramekin of the souffle since it was also really light and airy. Definitely, a nice place to grab great food and drinks. The Filipino flavours were quite nice and very interesting. We did book online which was very easy to do. I would recommend booking because it was quite busy when we went on a Monday evening.

Absolutely great dishes - the flavours are familiar to a Filipino and yet have their own distinct twist. The short rib “tiyula itum” and shrimp and crab “binugsung” really blew us away. The “tinuug” was very earthy and almost resembled a chocolate cake (weird comparison but you have to try it to believe it). Ambiance really makes for an intimate experience and I look forward to the next dinner event/excuse I can conjure up to go back to this great establishment

It’s hard to say something dumb with a mouthful of fusion food here! Kiwi style ingredients with 🇵🇭ideas or cooking style made our dinner remarkable👍