The walk up from the Matiatia ferry takes about half an hour, or five minutes in a cab, and at the top of Church Bay Road you find the Archive on the relaxed side of Mudbrick, with vines running downhill, the Hauraki Gulf spread out in front of you and Auckland's skyline across the water. You can take a long lunch on the garden terrace under an umbrella, or settle into the tent-styled dining room with its panoramic windows and fire when the evenings turn cold, and it's open from 11.30 in the morning until 9.30 at night, every day of the week. The menu leans towards island-style bistro food, with oysters, crudo, market fish, lamb rump, duck meatballs and pasta, all easy to match with Mudbrick's own Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Syrah and rosé. Book if you want to be sure of a table with a view, but you can just turn up and they'll look after you, and if there's a wait, start with a tasting at the cellar door or a drink at the rooftop bar. If there are twelve or more of you, you'll get set menus, and there's a children's menu for smaller appetites.
Written from 323 Google reviews, every one we could get, on 12 November 2026. Rated 4.6 from 321 Google reviews.
A 4.6 from more than 300 reviews tells you most of what you need: a hilltop view worth the ferry ride, cooking that is often very good and a room that feels like an occasion. Come for a long lunch or a sunset rather than a bargain.
Oysters are where to start, fresh and properly garnished, and the crudo of the day and market fish are worth ordering for the same reason. For mains look to the lamb rump, duck meatballs and pork belly, build a meal around the pasta, and get the focaccia in for the table.
Staff are warm and switched on, know the dishes, take allergies and dietary needs seriously and will steer you to a wine that works. When the room fills it can slow right down, and you might wait a long time between mains and the bill.
You're high on the ridge with the Hauraki Gulf in front of you and Auckland's skyline across the water, so the terrace, the garden and the sunset do much of the work. When it cools off you're inside the tent-styled room with panoramic windows and a fire, and dogs are as welcome as children.
Prices sit at the high end for a bistro and the portions are the thing most likely to leave you grumbling, with mains that can look small for what they cost. The wine, the setting and the cooking mostly earn it back, so treat it as a splurge.
Long lunches, birthdays, anniversaries and sunset dinners are the occasions it suits best, and the terrace is where you want to be on a fine day. Groups of twelve or more get set menus from around $99 a head, and children are properly looked after.
Portion size against price is the recurring grumble, and service can slow right down on a busy night, with water and the bill arriving late. Oysters and the fish of the day do sell out, so ask what's off before you settle in.
Every fact on this page was checked on 8 November 2026 against Google, The Archive Bar & Bistro's own website and 323 of its Google reviews. The photo is from the eatout library, not taken here, and no venue pays to be listed or ranked. Something out of date? Tell us
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