Culprit

Restaurants key icon.
Restaurants key icon.

MondayClosed.

TuesdayClosed.

Wednesday5:00 – 9:30 pm.

Thursday5:00 – 9:30 pm.

Friday5:00 – 9:30 pm.

Saturday5:00 – 9:30 pm.

SundayClosed.

Level 1/12 Wyndham St, Auckland Central, Auckland

09 377 5992

Tucked away up a narrow central Auckland staircase lies Culprit, a trendy and sophisticated inner city hideout serving nostalgic New Zealand cuisine with a modern global edge.

Owner and chef Kyle Street is well known for his time spent at Depot, where alongside Al Brown, he helped bring modern Kiwi dining to Auckland. Culprit is an evolution of this style, where local seasonal ingredients are championed in a fun and novel way. It’s degustation, but without the fuss.

On offer is a rotating ‘chef’s choice’ set menu, heroing local suppliers and diverse ingredients. Inspiration is taken from Kyle’s uniquely Kiwi upbringing, the result being that each dish is playful, always innovative and big on flavour. Seafood lovers will definitely want to upgrade to the ‘Epic menu’, which adds on an assortment of kaimoana, including oysters, sashimi, fish tartare and whatever else may be in season.

Keeping with the rest, the drinks menu is also edgy - offering both classic and inventive cocktails and a wine list clearly created with thought. Take your pick or opt to pair with the chef’s choice menu. 

Culprit is all about creating a fun, relaxed and quirky dining experience. Kyle and his team seek to deliver fine dining sensibility and sophistication in an unpretentious, energetic and generous way.

Striking the perfect balance between upmarket and casual, Culprit is the perfect spot for your next meal out. While walk-ins are welcome, reservations are always recommended.

Words by Nicole Mudgway & Photography by Jerome Warburton

Information not correct? Report an error

Location

Level 1/12 Wyndham St, Auckland Central, Auckland

Nearby Places

Amano

The cream interior of a large restaurant space.
Place Auckland
Restaurants key icon.

Very few big city eateries pull the masses all hours of the day, seven days a week, but at much loved Amano, this is simply the reality.

Hotel Britomart

A view of a hotel room on a sunny day in Auckland.
Place Auckland
Accommodation key icon.

Contemporary and chic, The Hotel Britomart opened in October 2020, but its journey had started long before.

World

The store.
Place Auckland
Fashion key icon.

The home of innovative styles and trends.

Perch

Dumplings on a table.
Place Auckland
Bars key icon. Restaurants key icon.

Well worth a visit for its impressive dumplings and cocktail lineup.

Similar Places

Mor Bakery

Two women smiling in front of the camera outside a cafe.
Place Auckland
Cafes key icon. Goods key icon.

There is nothing quite like a freshly baked pastry to start the day, a simple fact well grasped by those at Mor Bakery in Auckland.

Tiger Burger

Outside windows at Tiger Burger.
Place Auckland
Restaurants key icon.

If Korean quirk and good ol’ western burgers once bumped into each other, they've most certainly made themselves at home here on Great N’ Road.

Perch

Curtains in the restaurant.
Place Auckland
Bars key icon. Restaurants key icon.

Well worth a visit for its impressive dumplings and cocktail lineup.

The Kimchi Project

Entrance to the Kimchi Project.
Place Auckland
Cafes key icon.

Offering Korean-inspired breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner with a menu full of delicious surprises.