The World's Best Restaurants · 2026
Auckland, New Zealand
New Zealand provenance takes centre stage in contemporary Auckland cooking shaped by fire.
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Ahi. makes a detailed argument for contemporary Aotearoa cooking. Ben Bayly’s menu begins with New Zealand growers, fisheries, regenerative agriculture and the restaurant’s own South Auckland garden, then uses fire and fine-dining technique to concentrate those ingredients rather than disguise them. The wine list extends the same proposition across the country’s regions and styles. Located in a commercial city-centre development, Ahi avoids generic urban luxury by naming its producers and treating local food systems as part of the restaurant’s identity. More than five years of operation, a dedicated garden and a broad national lens give the concept substance. a restaurant record for the stated edition is supported because place, sourcing, technique and beverage form one unusually complete programme.
The menu is explicitly organised around Aotearoa ingredients, growers, fisheries and techniques, creating a broader national portrait rather than a token use of local produce.
Ahi’s four-acre organic garden in South Auckland supplies vegetables to the restaurant, turning regenerative sourcing from a claim into a visible operating commitment.
The wine programme is designed to represent New Zealand regions and styles, allowing beverage to reinforce the same geographic argument made by the kitchen.
The restaurant’s operations, garden, sourcing statement and menu structure are documented, with an independent local profile as corroboration. Sensory execution, service delivery and consistency cannot be directly established from those records.
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