Concrete Playground

I love Dizengoff, so apologies in advance for what might come across as a wildly bias review. Having worked for the past couple of years within 200 meters of the famous Dizi on Ponsonby Road, I’ve done a through and through sampling of the menu, which has remained seemingly unchanged since it’s opening. I can safely say it pulls through on the goods.

It's not just me that is a part of the fan club; Dizengoff has a huge family of regulars. So what makes a café reach almost cult status with dedicated return caffeine sippers? It’s a combination of making remarkably consistent coffee, perfectly executed meals and a friendly, social team who have an insane memory for what your name and favourite coffee is.

The food at Dizengoff is Jewish-ish, so there’s no bacon on the menu. But if you can get past not being able to order bacon to complement your breakfast, you’ll find a wide selection of both cooked and fresh morning options.

If there was an award for the café that received the most talk about their mushrooms, Dizi would win by a mile. A favourite of mine on the menu is the mountain of mushroom on toasted sour dough with a dollop of pesto. However, Winter saw me regularly rotating the Porridge with pecans and honey (the best by far on Ponsonby Road), Poached Eggs and Pastrami and what can only be described as next level Coconut Loaf with the super rich and creamy Lemon Curd (throw in the seasonal fruit and you've got The Marc Moore Special).

A couple of notables on the lunch menu are the Chargrilled Veges with sourdough and The Israeli style Chicken Salad. But if you’re looking for something to run in and grab, there’s a reason the Morrocan Chicken with red cabbage coleslaw bagels don’t usually last on the counter much past 1pm (luckily keep these puppies rolling out til the kitchen closes at 3)

Dizengoff is a bit like the coffee version of that friend you can call on in the middle of the night, they're always open.  If it wasn't against the law they'd work on Christmas day too. But 364 days of top notch coffee is still a pretty good track record.

The predominantly white fit out of Dizengoff is complemented by a constant rotation of New Zealand art.  Depsite having seating outside, down and upstairs there’s very rarely a time the café isn’t near full. But getting along to taste some of the best coffee (and biscotti while we’re on the topic) in town, is absolutely worth getting amongst the buzz.