We just got back from Kepa’s birthday dinner at Prego in Ponsonby.
There are no photos because I forgot to bring a camera or phone since we came from salsa dancing class. I wish I had it because the food was so camera worthy. And drool worthy. And just altogether worthy.
Kepa chose Prego for his birthday dinner after checking out several places online. Prego had decent prices and 4-5 star reviews on every restaurant review site. On Trip Advisor it’s #15 of 807 restaurants in Auckland Central. That’s pretty good!
Prego describes itself on it’s website:
Italian al fresco dining in the intimacy of an enclosed courtyard, late suppers at the bar in front of a wood fire. Banquet table suitable for large groups. Bistro-style dining inside with the buzz of a busy restaurant. Established over 22 years ago as one of Auckland’s most popular dining venues, Prego is well versed in meeting the needs of any type of dining occasion.
We arrived around 7:30 and the place was packed. We had a wait for a table but were able to have a couple drinks at the bar during that time. After a relatively short wait we got a nice table with booth seating near the cashier toward the front of the restaurant. It was actually the table I wanted and was perfect. The atmosphere was fun and casual with lots of conversation in the air.
When faced with the menu we wanted to try a ton of different items. The first thing we ordered was a loaf of bread to share among us with olive oil and balsamic. I love bread with balsamic and this was really good bread.
Next Kepa and I split the calamari and his mom ordered prawns. I have to say – this was the best calamari I’ve ever eaten. The best. Ever. It was amazing. The calamari was cooked perfectly and it had a delicious garlic aioli with it. This was the best. A table next to us ordered it while we were contemplating dessert and when we smelled it Kepa jokingly asked if we could order it again. I can’t say how great this was!
For my main I went against my dairy free experiment and ordered a pizza. I chose the prosciutto pizza that was one of the specials. It came with black fid, prosciutto monsivo, gorgonzola piccante, white mozzarella, basil pesto, and rocket. It also had a sweetish balsamic sauce drizzled on top. Once again, it was amazing. Food magic! I wasn’t totally sure everything would work together since there were so many different flavors, but it managed to work together perfectly. It was a flavor explosion of sweet and savory deliciousness.
Kepa ordered the risotto that was one of the specials. His take on the food:
Okay, just got back from having the most amazing birthday dinner EVAR. If you’re in Auckland, look up Prego in Ponsonby. Best Calamari I’ve ever had, best Risotto. Italian food FTW! Oh yeah, and their Indulgenza was a chocolate revelation. Valrhona Sorbet is the shizzle.
Yes, I agree with him. On everything. We split two dessert between the three of us and I adored both. The Valrhona Sorbet really was the best, richest part of dessert. I don’t even like coffee and I even liked the bite of tiramisu I tried. Prego delivered on the desserts just like they had throughout the rest of the meal.
The only strange thing, which isn’t even a complaint, was that every so often the lighting would dim. We were there for a few hours and this happened a couple of times. Other than that everything was amazing.
It’s officially my favorite Italian restaurant in New Zealand and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it to anyone in Auckland. :)
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Happy Birthday, Kepa!! Omg that restaurant sounds amazing! This post had me droooling! :9 Must find a similar Italian heaven here in Hawaii….
Wow, I walk past Prego all the time as live basically in Ponsonby, but I’ve always just known it as the “celebrity hangout” and thought it would be overpriced and overrated! However it sounds great… if you ever want a cheaper meal down in Ponsonby, on a Sunday Longroom does a 50/50 deal for lunch. It’s 50% off lunch menu which includes, breads, calamari, prawns, larger meals etc. I went Sunday with friends and we ordered heaps, split 4 ways only $22.50!
Happy Birthday Kepa :)
Thanks for the recommendation! Also, I had no idea Prego was a celebrity hangout. It was $27 for my main, which is on the expensive side I guess but I’ve noticed most “nicer” restaurants are in that range. It’s definitely not overrated though…. it was amazing food. The cost is why we usually stick to eating out at cheaper places or during lunch. Thanks for the tip!
Ooh..I just glanced at the next title without really looking, and saw the word ‘Prego’ and thought you were pregnant! LOL. Mmm I love fried calamari. That restaurant sounds pretty, with a courtyard, etc. Happy birthday Kepa! What’s rocket?
Haha!
Rocket is arugula. Lettuce. ;)