These guys really know how to have fun. They have everything you might need to throw an awesome party - costumes, balloons, lighting, fun props! The staff are super helpful - definitely ask for their advice.

If you’re planning a fancy party - definitely check out first scene not only for attire but for general ambience! They have lots of props and dressing to put around your house to really sell your party’s theme.

This is a great place to go if your organizing a larger party or event. They have a whole lot of stuff you might need like furniture, catering equipment as well as neat lighting and special effects solutions. The staff are really helpful and the prices are reasonable.

If you’re looking to throw a snazzy party on a budget then Look Sharp is a great place to pimp your party. They have all kinds of decorations and fun costumes to suit any kind of party.

This is the cutest little place. There are so many tasty desserts to choose from – I like the fondant chocolate – and the gelato is smooth and creamy and delicious. But I think my favourite thing about it is the adorable little seating area, down a cobblestone path. Matching flower vases tie together the mismatched tables and chairs and a giant teddy bear in the corner keeps watch as you dig in.

Little & Friday is the perfect place for a sweet afternoon treat. They make amazing little cakes with all natural ingredients, and pretty good tea, too. Everything is served on mismatched china plates, and I love that instead of a number you get a little red-painted animal – a polar bear, a giraffe, a bull – to put on the table.

If you love chocolate, you’ll love The Chocolate Boutique. You’ll want to keep going back to try all the desserts on the menu – I do, anyway. There are so many chocolates in the window it’s difficult to make a decision! It seems to get pretty busy later in the evening, so be prepared to wait for the deliciousness if you’re going late. And you can order online and have chocolatey goodness delivered! How awesome is that??

Petal make the yummiest cupcakes. They are always so light and fluffy and the icing has so much flavour. Not to mention they’re absolutely gorgeous. I love that you can get little gift boxes, which turn your cupcake into the perfect little birthday present. Salted caramel, mango, chocolate and raspberry are all winners.

The best thing about Giapo is that they’re always coming up with crazy new flavours to try. The staff are so nice and patient and don’t mind if you taste heaps of flavours before making your choice, which is tricky because they’re all so good. A bit of a mission to get to if you don’t live central but so worth it!

if there is no time to do baking with the kids head here

very very good

A real treat

You will not be disappointed, awesome for birthdays and any time you need a delicious cake.

Saturday morning treat

Impressive looking range of cakes that will look like you ordered it weeks ago.

Stack a cake stand with these puppies, sweet happiness!

If you want to turn up to a birthday party and impressive the pants off everyone, stop in here for a Bomb Alaska or a Gelato log - gourmet all the way!

The easy fix, grab one of these babies, put it on a platter of your own and spell out their name in lollies, job done :)

The morning tea with a fairy is a great activity for mother and child and the staff are always so friendly. A great day out

A great place to go for morning tea with your daughter - yummy cupcakes and my daughter always loves decorating her own.

Friendly owner and staff and good clean playground and bouncy castle to play on while you wait for your food. They have recently added more table out by the playground which is fantastic

Lovely café that overlooks a big playground

A great bar with 80’s themed décor that provides kids meals, a few toys and often events during the weekend where kids are welcome and entertained.

The most amazing place to go for cakes and hot chocolates to die for, staff are always friendly and helpful, and lots of specials, normally buy a hot drink get a delish muffin for a $1. Would recommend anyone needing a cake for any occasion to go to kevin and his team. Worth the trip you wont be disappointed.

Fantastic place to have a party for anyone, time to relax and let them take care of everything. Friendly staff very lovely people, easy to deal with and so many different types of party for any occasion and age.

Kerry is fantastic for cake making you can order any cake of any sort. Located in Kaipatiki Road Glenfield. Well priced and they taste amazing, so many different flavours, cake pops, cup cakes, anything you like she can make it.

By far the prettiest bakery in Auckland, Bluebells Cakery is a charming vintage-inspired spot and full of so many delicious cakes and treats you will hard-pressed to decide on which sweet thing to order. High on my list of favourite cake flavours are the banana and salted caramel, which is as amazing as it sounds and the fabulous lemon curd which has just the right amount of sweetness and bite. If classic flavours are more your thing make sure you try the vanilla bean, it's definitely the most perfect vanilla cake in Auckland. Bluebells cakes are addictively good and from your first visit you'll find any excuse to re-visit this suburban treat haven.

I had heard of the amazing baker Jordan Rondel, known as The Caker, long before I tasted her delicious cakes. Such is the way good food news travels in this city. Her beautiful cakes are instantly recognisable by their pretty decorations which include fresh flowers, berries and pistachio pieces. The fact that these cakes taste even more amazing than they look is quite something and make them a treat for the eyes and the palate. I can never go past her flourless dark chocolate cake which is sinfully good and as moist and rich as you would want your chocolate cake to be. Definitely my favourite chocolate cake in Auckland.

Known for their creative recipes and super fresh baking, Delish Cupcakes, are a true cake gem and have built up a loyal following over the past few years. Every single cupcake is baked fresh in store each day and carefully decorated by Delish's clever team, the flavours are all kinds of awesome with everything from classic chocolate with chocolate ganache to Perky Nana and Pinky Bar inspired cupcakes sure to please the kids or your inner child. I find it impossible to order just one with vanilla passionfruit and jersey caramel high on my list of favourites. If you're keen to unleash your inner baker they also offer cupcake making classes for adults and children which are a lot of fun and you leave with tasty treats to take home if they make it that long! They also make custom cakes and cupcakes to order which are definitely worth doing. If you can't make it to the shore you can order from them online too - no excuses not to try some, you'll be glad you did!

Making some of the cutest cupcakes and cakes in Auckland, Icing On The Cake, has perfected their American style cupcakes complete with frosting and sprinkles. Must try flavours are the delicious strawberry, jaffa and my favourite, raspberry lamington with vanilla bean frosting which is a true delight. Icing On The Cake also make full-size cakes to order in their great range of flavours. Make sure you try the fresh frozen yoghurt too, it's a perfect summer treat.

Hidden away on a backstreet in Newmarket is Heart of Flavour, the artisanal bakery that produces some of the tastiest cakes in Auckland. The focus here is on flavour and high quality ingredients with simple but chic decorations, You must try the banana and almond cake with passionfruit curd filling, it's absolutely divine and the perfectly light without being too sweet. Their chocolate buttermilk cake is also incredibly delicious and high on my list of favourite cakes too.

Gourmet ice cream in decadent flavours! I can definitely recommend the OMG Super Chocoate (definitely OMG and definitely super) and the salted caramel - perfect mix of salty and sweet to get your taste buds tingling.

A slice of heaven for dessert lovers, the only difficult thing about coming to Milse is trying to choose which delicious sweet treat you're going to indulge in. Personally I'm all over the salted caramel craze and can heartily recommend the salted caramel macarons, bon bons and mallow puffs. You can't come to Milse and not #feelgood

You haven't lived until you've had a truly authentic French crepe from Catherine! Her crepes are made with love and full of fresh, gourmet fillings including chocolate and salted caramel that she whips herself. Do yourself a favour and get some of Catherine's sweet and savoury crepes at your next event, you and your tastebuds will #feelgood

If you love sweet treats and beautiful things, you'll love Petal Cupcakes, they lovely to look at and even lovelier to eat! They have some fantastic standard flavours and are constantly coming up with exciting new limited edition flavours too - jelly tip, chilli chocolate and my personal favourite - salted caramel. Make yourself or someone special #feelgood with Petal Cupcakes.

If you want to start making your own home brew, this is a good place to start. They're tucked away in Albany and can be a little hard to find, but they have a good selection of brew pots, fermentation barrels, full grain crushed malts and a decent selection of cone hops. There's pretty much everything you need to get your brew on. They also sell stills should you want to start making spirits (which is perfectly legal in NZ - awesome!).

Tucked away in a back street in Penrose, Brewers Coop is one of the best places to get all your home brewing supplies. A large range of malts and hops, plus brewing equipment and all the little bits and pieces that you need. They're really helpful too, and if they don't have what you want, they'll tell you where you can get it.

Auckland has needed this for ages. Bring your own growler, or buy one on site. A great selection of unusual craft beers from all across NZ  and also abroad. They have a party keg hire service too. Fill your own on a Friday for perfect after work drinks that don't suck.

Ok, why would I come to a fire safety services business for home brew supplies? The answer is that this is pretty much the only place I've found that fills up CO2 cylinders for home brewing. Good value too.

A wide range of grains for beer making, plus a bunch of other stuff too. They have a small amount of equipment - plastic pails and fermenting barrels etc. But the main reason you come here is for the big bulk bins full of cereals, flours and grains - much cheaper than buying elsewhere.

One word- YUM!!!!!!

Bought her cupcake recipe book as well as being a frequent cupcake eater here!! Amazing, sometimes quirky flavours.. love it!

Red Velvet- must try! Really reasonable and prompt delivery service is a bonus!

Passion fruit cupcake is heavenly!

Great cupcakes, macaroons and the best tasting cake around- So much so that they were our first choice when it came to wedding cake!

Found this cute bar in Newmarket. The bar staff were friendly, they were doing tricks while making our drinks and even started to sing for us. I think Im in Love with this place, definitely going back again soon!!

Had a great time at the after parade! Thanks for the service!

Had a great time at queerlesque! it was a great set up with the stage and everyone enjoyed themselves! cant wait for the next one! thanks for the great venue!

I love this place! Its always my pre drinks stop when going out to town. The bar staff are snazzy and do an incredible job!

Great place to play pool. Tables are a resonable price and are very good quality. I Love this place!

I've had a date with Miann in my diary for a few weeks now as it's hailed as one of Auckland's best dessert bar meccas. It's the hard work and a dream come true for passionate creator and head chef Brian Campbell and his wife Roselle and features a sumptuous array of desserts. It was so good, I went twice in a matter of days. The first time we stopped in to pick up donuts to munch on the way back to the car after a movie. But the second time was the full-on, sit down Miann experience and what an experience it was. I never knew anything could be better than cheesecake. But cheesecake inside a sugary strawberry balloon. Amazing!

Candy lovers look no further! If you want to feel like you've died and gone to a heavenly world dripped in sugar and full of colours, flavours and tantalising tastes, you need to pop your head in and say hi to the confectionary experts at this iconic Mt Eden local. There are so many different types of hard-to-find candies at this great Auckland sweet shop that an experience of visiting feels delightfully decadent and a little overwhelming. I love the fact that the guy behind the counter has worked here for six years and still hasn't tried every sweet in store.

Every amazing thing you've heard about Milse is entirely true. Since its arrival in Britomart it has become a sweet tooth mecca and for many delicious reasons. Let's start with the patisseries which are utterly mouthwatering and comprise so many different kinds of pastries, tarts and creative delicacies you will have great difficulty choosing just one, although do try the roasted pear, apple and frangipane tart - it's a true delight! Milse also has the best selection of fresh macarons in Auckland, incredible handmade chocolates and clever gelato blends on sticks amongst its many other treats. Everything at Milse is presented in a beautiful way and the service is also impeccable, it really is a five star dessert experience and even offers a dessert degustation menu which is out of this world. If you haven't tried it yet, find any excuse to go as it's an absolute must.

A good mate of mine told me I hadn’t lived until I’d taking a trip to the Chocolate Boutique Cafe (once visited by then-US President Bill Clinton) and tried their chilli Italian denso, a thick hot chocolate that literally got my mouth watering before I’d even had a chance to taste it. The experience is like travelling to chocolate heaven but with a real zing. My companion tried the Mexican spice version and considered it to be just as delicious. This will be one of my go-to places come winter.

The doughnuts at Al’s Deli make me smile, not only because they taste delectably selfish but more importantly it’s about the fact that they are served up with personality plus. When we visited there was one creation you could inject with lemon meringue but I was swayed by the Bob Marley lyrics ("I Wanna Jam It With You") of their traditional jam and cream option. And don’t miss a date with the ribs or burgers here. $10 burger lunches on a Monday are a winner.