From the low lows of abandoned empires to the high highs of a mall done just right.

This is the second in the Malls of New Zealand series, where we rank the malls in major centres. Next week: Wellington.

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A note from the editor: This is the hardest ranking we’ve ever done. A ranking of Auckland’s malls has been talked about for literal years in The Spinoff offices but every time it’s been floated, the sheer size of the task has quietened even the loudest of opinions and soon we’d pretend it was never mentioned. But when Joseph Harper filed his truly exceptional ranking of all 14 malls in Christchurch last month, we knew it was now or never.

The task was too big for one person, and also would not have been a fair process. A single mind ranking something as broad and location-specific as 33 malls would be too much. So instead we called on seven Auckland-based Spinoff writers to divide and conquer, (re)visiting the malls in their designated regions before arguing for their places in the rankings at a roundtable.

Joseph outlined some simple requirements for a “mall” in his ranking, which were:

• must be a shared indoor space for food and retail, where one might put a Christmas tree
• must have toilets
• must have a car park
• must have a food court (or “multiple food options”)

These requirements disqualified more than a dozen strip malls, junctions and town centres and left us with 33 malls in Auckland.

For our ranking, we considered malls to fall into three categories: local mall that is 90% used by nearby residents, mid-tier mall that is a 50/50 split of residents and travelling shoppers, and destination malls. No category was considered superior to the other and malls were ranked in part by how well they performed their category function, as well as the usual considerations like retail options, ease of movement, cleanliness, character, accessibility and food options.

What we learned in doing this ranking is that “best Auckland mall” is an oxymoron, in the same camp as “best traffic”. It almost feels wrong to give an award to any shopping mall but we’ve done it anyway.

33. Pakūranga Plaza (Pakūranga)

I never thought I would feel sorry for a mall, but Pakūranga Plaza is like a little sachet of sugar forgotten in your glovebox that the car’s resident ants have got into. There’s nothing inside and the outside looks shitty too. At the moment the plaza is barely visible from the street thanks to the Eastern Busway roadworks. Though the big Warehouse towers over the cones and fences, it’s so faded that you can hardly call it red anymore. 

The car park is a wasteland. There’s not a scrap of shade and someone is yelling that they’re “going to tell my family what you did”. Everything is worse inside. The foodcourt is desolate. Abandoned alcove after abandoned alcove are each scrubbed clean with Jiff and left to echo. Wires hang down from the ceiling and menus have been ripped off their backlights. Even though the lights are mostly off, a few people guiltily eat at the last place standing right on the edge of the court – Subway. 

It seems like almost every shop front is shuttered. The bookshop has paperbacks at half price and yet still looks empty. The one lady looking at the hippie clothes in Unique Desire looks like she owns the place. Astina Floral Designs has big, beautiful flower arrangements but no one is walking past. One shop has been happily taken over by the ping pong club, and four seniors are tapping away across the tables. Table tennis is great and all, but it surely would be nicer outside or somewhere with windows.

Sounds echo from the far side of the mall. On my way there, I see security standing guard over some shuttered shops. Behind them, through the clear plastic roller doors, are stacks of cardboard boxes stamped with “Panda Mart”. There’s about five shop fronts that have turned into storage for the new behemoth at the Plaza. Now, in the place of Farmers is, you guessed it, Panda Mart – the big red shop that’s been described (rather accurately) to me as “Temu in real life”.

Inside, you can buy anything for incredibly low prices. Underwear (some with built-in butt padding), tools, pots and pans, Christmas everything, plushies, plastic footwear in the style of Crocs, mountains of carpets, actual furniture and anything else you might possibly discover you need. It’s the busiest part of the mall, and everyone is buying something. It’s hard to imagine any other shop being able to thrive with this next door. Forget Pakūranga, this is now the Panda Plaza. /Gabi Lardies

32. Atrium on Elliott (CBD)

Never in my life have I ever heard anyone say “I really need to visit the Atrium on Elliott”. The busiest I have ever seen the Atrium on Elliott was when it hosted a vaccination centre during the pandemic. At all other times, it is a liminal space designed to be discovered accidentally by someone very hungry, very desperate to visit The Warehouse or Rebel Sport or just a little bit lost in the CBD.

The Atrium’s food court was once a mecca for the tradies operating the never-ending road works around the CBD, but a few shut up eateries have slowed the lunchtime rush in recent years. There’s empty retail spaces on all three floors of the shopping centre, and if you remember its vaccination centre era, walking through the mall will make you feel stuck in the time of the pandemic. Or in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

Though the Atrium lacks a variety of shopping and eating options, it does have quite a few Japanese and Korean beauty and clothing stores, where you could either buy the best mascara of your life, or the cheapest material cardigan designed to fall apart after two wears. The Bed, Bath and Beyond usually has a sale on. Yes, there is parking. /Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

31. Kelston Mall (Kelston)

They say you shouldn’t punch down on an easy and vulnerable target, so labelling Kelston Mall as a shithole should be below us. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what it is.

I suspect the only thing bringing Aucklanders back to this mall is the Woolworths and the adjacent McDonalds, as there are only four other retailers (one a copy centre, one a post shop), four salons, a medical centre and a dentist inside the building. You’ll find all the takeaways and restaurants outside (one of them has a karaoke booth, which is kinda fun). In terms of walkable indoor space, it’s one of the smallest malls in this ranking, which gives it even more of a hospital waiting room energy. 

Being down the way from LynnMall (and in the middle of nowhere on Great North Rd) does this shopping centre no favours, as you can imagine most people wouldn’t question where they’d rather spend their time. Perhaps at some point Kelston Mall was the place to be (like back in the 80s when the first Georgie Pie restaurant opened adjacent to the mall), but that has been lost to time.

As soon as this ranking is published, I expect camera operators from NZ Herald and Stuff to swoop on this irresistible story about a mall on its death bed. The lone Christmas tree bringing festive cheer to a tiny, sterile and half empty shopping centre is a visual too deliciously depressing to resist. /Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

30. Highbury (Birkenhead)

The Highbury mall has quite a posh origin story. Before the mall, it was the private residence of Thomas Forgham whose friend and stepson-in-law, owned the Highbury House in Highgate, London.

Perched on a rise, with incredible views of the Waitematā Harbour, its grand start and prime location now only serve in stark contrast to the mall itself which is the opposite of incredible, grand and prime. 

Despite efforts to inject a bit of life into the place – a big games arcade where a vaccination centre and a Warehouse used to be, a new McDonald’s and KFC and a renovated food court – the supermarket and a tiny bit of hope are all that keeps Highbury from collapsing into the vast and dark car park beneath it. It really is trying to believe in its future. It has a bitcoin ATM in case that is the money of the future and a lot of recently renovated but empty retail and food outlet spaces that are just begging to be leased. If only someone, perhaps with some sweet, sweet bitcoin money, would also believe in the mall’s future.

A sign exuberantly proclaims that “more stores await you”. I thought it meant more stores were coming to the mall, but no, the sign exists to tell you to turn around, take a short walk and go to the shops at the other end. The shops at the other end include a pathology lab, a gym, Mystica (which might be the only place that sells any kind of clothing in the mall), PaperPlus, Chocka Bucket and Sal’s Pizza. As a microcosm of the tussle between big box retail and local business, the optometrist is fighting the good fight with a sign saying it will match the Chemist Warehouse’s contact lens solution prices. That is especially necessary because there is also a Chemist Warehouse in the mall.

According to Wikipedia, Highbury is a suburb within Birkenhead, which is also a suburb, making it a prime example of Auckland’s penchant for having too many suburbs. The sheer audacity of that thrums with the grandiosity of its early days. Had the toilets not been absolutely spotless, it might also be the best thing about this mall. /Anna Rawhiti-Connell

29. Pukekohe Plaza (Pukekohe)

This plaza is basically two thirds car park and one third Farmers, with a handful of shops sprinkled around. In fact, there are only 13 spaces in use, though I couldn’t quite find National MP Andrew Bayly’s office. If you dare traverse the four levels of car parking, you arrive at the Campbell Tyson Business Centre, which is just a bunch of corporate businesses sharing a floor atop a shitty mall.

Upon entering from the very small underground car park on the ground floor, you are instantly hit with the strong waft of acetone from a busy nail salon. Looking towards the end of the corridor, your eyes are drawn to the two-storey Farmers, which seem to dominate rural towns such as Pukekohe. 

On a wet Wednesday morning, a majority of the mall’s customers were either getting their nails done or waiting in line at ASB, the only bank within the mall. There’s a Pita Pit, Muffin Break and sushi shop, which I would argue doesn’t count as a food court. While the decor is nice, especially with its mid-November Christmas wreaths, I would argue this mall doesn’t deserve a ranking at all due to how tiny it is – yet here we are. It did have free wifi though, which I suspect may be a drawcard for the local teenage population after school and on weekends. /Liam Rātana

28. Shore City (Takapuna)

You know what they say about that place north of the Harbour Bridge: Shore City, sure thing. This largely unremarkable mall has served Takapuna since 1974, and remains one of those places the Shore girls rely on for their Friday night corsets, the Shore boys for the Les Mills, and the Shore parents for the Bubs Club with Suzy Cato. This is what I imagine people on the North Shore are doing.

But mostly, it’s a bit of a sterile ghost town. Sure, it’s nice and clean and well-presented, but is that just because there’s no one around? Footsteps echo. The roof feels like it’s closing in. You are forced to ponder the emptiness of shopping in a mall. I wouldn’t blame the Takapuna locals for making the 13-minute drive to Westfield Albany instead or, God forbid, Glenfield Mall. When I lived in Takapuna, I did the same thing, but on public transport. I preferred catching two buses to get to Albany rather than walk 20 minutes to Shore City, purely for better shopping vibes.

Nevertheless, Shore City is very accessible: there’s bus stops right outside the door, but given it’s never really busy, you’ll likely have your pick of the 831 car parks available. Visit it on a Sunday morning, and you’ll be able to pick up your veges pretty cheap at the farmers market next door. That’s probably where the mall gets most of its foot traffic, actually. /Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

27. Southpoint Mall (Manukau)

When I first saw this mall on the list, I had to search it up to see where it was. I soon realised it was the Countdown Woolworths where I used to shop (excessively) during the first round of Covid lockdowns. Effectively, this place is just a supermarket with a couple of food places and other random attachments. There’s a Baker’s Delight, medical centre, chemist, and dentist. Food wise, the standout options are Uncle Man’s, Burger Fuel, and The Cheesecake Shop. Otherwise, there’s not really much else to talk about here, except for maybe the underground car park that I’m unsure gets any use. It’s small, it’s a supermarket – that’s it. /Liam Rātana

26. Glenfield Mall (Glenfield)

What’s that great big (and ugly) turquoise thing looming in the distance? Why, it’s the one and only Glenfield Mall, home to a bunch of mall classics (Postie and Farmers) and one of Auckland’s worst-rated sushi restaurants (their end of day deals are still worth it). It used to have an aviary once upon a time, and proudly displays the history of the first Glenfield settlers – the Pākehā ones, that is.

It’s hardly a flashy place, but Glenfield mall is reliable, humble, packs everything you need (except a cinema) and most of all, smaller than its competitors, which gives it a real edge. Does anyone actually enjoy walking the air bridge at Westfield Newmarket? You can get your shopping done pretty quickly, which is great, because Glenfield Mall isn’t exactly a vibe provider and you probably just want to get out of there.

One day of shopping at Glenfield Mall will truly bring you back to Earth. Does that make it good? Absolutely not, but what else are you supposed to do in Glenfield? /Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

25. Ponsonby Central

Bet you didn’t expect to see this name pop up, did you? Technically, Ponsonby Central is a mall (by our definition), because it indeed has a shared space for eateries and retailers as well as a massive food ‘court’ and a car park underneath (the first 30 minutes of parking are free). 

Ponsonby Central is one of those places you go to check out something Jesse Mulligan has reviewed for Viva, and then toy around with price tags afterwards to see if you could spare $1,000 for sheets or a $600 dress. Needing necessities? Beat it – the only thing that should bring you into these walls is a need for a new iPhone.

It’s not about the shopping (which is minimal anyway), but the vibe of it all, and how drunk you can get on mimosas while the sun’s still out. Oh, how the other half lives. /Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

24. The Coast (Whangaparāoa)

This mall holds a special place in my heart. Once known simply as The Plaza, it was the only mall on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula. Just in my lifetime, The Plaza (for clarity, I lack the mental capacity to refer to this place as anything other than The Plaza) has almost died and been resurrected several times.

As a kid, it was our local hangout, one of the few spots the local youth would congregate after school and on a wet weekend. Every morning before school, I would venture to the Foodtown/Woolworths/Countdown/Woolworths to buy a Lift+ and chicken nibbles (teenagers, am I right?). In the afternoons, almost the entire student population of Whangaparāoa College would cross the main road to visit the humble food court at The Plaza, where the most popular item was undoubtedly the chips covered in gravy, mayonaise and tomato sauce from the Chinese place. They made no sense, but were god-tier. On the weekends, we would skate at the bottom car park and hang out at the net cafe, nearby tenpin bowling alley, or across the road at the HOYTS cinema.

A lot has changed since I was a kid (it was still Rodney back then). The Warehouse has shifted and been replaced by a Mitre 10. There are several bars and swanky bistros there now, including The Cove, The Beer Spot, and Parāoa Brewing Co. There’s a Chipmunks there now too, and a Better Burger. However, the Chinese takeaways on the corner up the top is gone, as is the bakery next door. A few of the original stores still exist though, like the pet store with the puppies in the window and Jay Jays. The library is still across Main St too, which adds to the mall’s appeal. Compared to some other malls, The Plaza might not be much, but as a young hooligan growing up on the Coast, it was our mall and we loved it – despite it being a bit of a hole. /Liam Rātana

23. Ormiston Town Centre

By the time I got to this mall, I was desperate to go home, and so so far away. To get to the mall, I had to cross a strange pointy bridge and it occurred to me that maybe this isn’t even Auckland. Ormiston Town Centre greeted me like a discarded orange peel on the side of the road and it was hard to tell how to enter. It was surrounded by cookie cutter houses that looked like they’d popped up yesterday and put fuel in the tank of some developer laughing their way to the bank.

The underground car park should have pleased me, given that each time I’d parked the car outside that day I sizzled and melted when I returned to it. But instead it stressed me out. Tyres kept squeaking, all sounds echoed into an ever chaotic landscape and did I mention I wanted to go home already. I reckon about half the times I find myself in a mall I am driven by necessity rather than desire (empty fridge, need a present, lost my key, hungry, undies have holes in them) yet there are still ways a mall can attempt to avert my hatred. The first would be as much peace and quiet as possible, an approach already shattered in the car park. The second is giving me tools to navigate the consumerist hellhole so I can get out of there as fast as possible, but sadly Ormiston did not have a map or directory in sight. The third would be a nice open space with natural light where I feel like I can breathe. Unfortunately Ormiston is a big, long, dimly lit passageway.

Ormiston almost had a small saving grace in the form of a station to refill water bottles by the toilets. Unfortunately mine was in the car (empty) and I was peeved that they’d chosen a design that worked only for bottles and not as a drinking fountain. It also gave me the heebie jeebies that they’d placed it right by the place for peeing and pooing (though this is a practice I have seen elsewhere too).

In theory this mall is fine. There’s a Saint Pierre’s sushi, a Rodney Wayne and a Just Cuts side by side, a New World for your organic blueberries and a Pak’nSave for everything else. There’s even a cafe that’s entirely pink with a faux blossom tree at its centre. But to get to anything you have to walk the ugly grey granite composite floor which gives you a sore back just looking at it. The floor is not the biggest problem though, the biggest problem is that Ormiston isn’t really happening enough to be a destination mall, and hasn’t got the community around it to be a local neighbourhood mall. It’s like an empty shell drifting around the tideline which no hermit crab quite fits. 

There were plenty of empty shopfronts, mostly covered up neatly with big vinyl stickers with stock photography on them. Some had signs saying “we’re making some exciting changes” which is code for “we’re desperately trying to lease this out”. When I was there everything seemed so new that I thought perhaps they just hadn’t had time to fill all the slots yet, but in fact the centre opened more than three years ago. 

There was one exciting thing at Ormiston. Inside a giant snowglobe sans the snow, a robot arm zipped around serving ice cream – the Swirlbot. “I’ll come back on my way out,” I thought to myself. But, at the other end of the mall there was a second exit, and I decided to exit and walk the long way around to my car instead. /Gabi Lardies

22. NorthWest Shopping Centre (Massey)

A Woolworths at one end, and a Farmers at the other: this is exactly how every true New Zealand mall should be. Even better, you can get all of your shopping done on the ground floor. There is a second storey advertising “More Shops”, but much like me there’s not a lot going on upstairs. The escalator will only take you to the car park.

This mall is home to the usual suspects – Glassons, Hallensteins, Typo and McDonald’s – as well as what may be the one of the most targeted Michael Hill stores in Auckland. NorthWest vibes like a greener and more modern LynnMall, but being situated in what is already a sprawling retail district takes away a lot of its charm. Why be here in a building run by Massey High School students when you could literally be anywhere else?

If you’ve forgotten anything, you can probably pick it up at the strip mall down the road. Being right behind the strip mall actually kind of makes the mall feel like an afterthought, like someone just plopped it on Maki St for the sake of cashing in a bit more on everything around it (preposterous thought, right?). It’s kind of like putting a Pak’n’Save across the road from a Woolwo– oh wait, they have that too. Again, why does one suburb need so much shopping? What actually goes on in Westgate? Oh, and the Costco is behind the NorthWest? What the fuck is happening here?  /Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

21. Meadowlands (Howick)

It’s a shame that from the outside Meadowlands has been made to look like a Woolworths. They’ve painted the whole thing that intense green and taken over the signage. Food is essential but I’d say the supermarket is the worst part of this little neighbourhood mall. The best part is hidden down the passageway that leads to the (tiny but styley) toilets. A huge community noticeboard pinned with all sorts of neighbourly requests and offers. There’s the usual plying of gardening and house painting work, music lessons, an invitation to learn ancient Egyptian or old Norse and a flyer for a found chicken that is “obviously someone’s pet”. Sadly a grey and white cat with lime green eyes is missing. This is society at its finest. 

Across the other side of the mall, past the Dollar Store, Post Shop and Five Star Nails, is the busiest barbershop in town. The Crown’s three chairs are full, and teenagers are patiently waiting inside and outside for their fresh fades. On the wall is a guide to how to groom your facial hair according to your face and head shape, though the clients look like they’re still in the wispy stage.

The food court is in a state of upheaval, with some temporary-looking empty alcoves dominating the space. On the side there’s Nami Sushi and Singapore Malaysian Cuisine, both which look authentic and yum. Around the corner there’s the mall-mandatory Coffee Club and The Cheesecake Shop. 

This is a small mall which could be described as a Woolworths with a few extras tacked on, but that wouldn’t do justice to the young people who were hanging around, the Post Shop’s remarkable range of greeting cards or the multi-skilled “quick fix cobbler” who could also repair phones. /Gabi Lardies

20. Chinatown (Botany)

Chinatown looms large on Ti Rakau Drive and Burswood Drive with its big, red, 3D signage that kind of looks like a lego piece and kind of looks like a gate to a magical garden. The car park is a thing of beauty, straightforward and lined with palm trees and big red posts leading the way to the big red shed. 

Upon entering you’re met with dusty antiques on dusty shelves behind retractable belt barriers and protected by A4 printed signs saying that there’s CCTV security watching. There’s vases, figurines, paintings and pottery but it all seems long forgotten. Behind them is a stage, empty. In fact there’s hardly anyone around at all. 

The big warehouse space is separated into shop areas by walls that seem semi-temporary, and that look tiny considering the ceiling is metres above them. On one hand it’s nice because it gives all the red lanterns and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling plenty of space to shine, and on the other hand it feels a bit like a trailer park version of a mall. Chinatown is centred around Lim Chour the same way that other small malls are around Woolworths or New World. The supermarket has lots of fruit and veges, a butchery and heaps of  Chinese groceries – snacks, pickles, sauces, ready-to-eat instant food and spices. Right next to it is Seafood Harbour, a fishmonger with tanks of giant crayfish and big purple Crystal Crabs that you would not want to encounter in the wild. There’s also filleted fish and cockles under sprinklers. 

If you’ve ever wanted a rain outfit, knock-off Crocs, fishing nets, a coal-fired barbecue or a wok, Chinatown is the place to come. Asian cookware dominates much of the shop spaces, but there is also Chinese herbal medicines, fashion, a place that repairs phones, a whole shop of pink claw machines and down the back near the food court JKD Combat Fitness which teaches boxing, kick boxing, muay thai and general fitness to adults and children. If you peek through the window on a Tuesday afternoon, you will see a line of kids, their heads about as high as your knee, in black boxer shorts and t-shirts practising their punches and kicks. So cute, so wholesome. 

The food court, with its extremely faded red tables, is open from 10am till “late”. There’s Lee Hong BBQ and takeaways – its menu is a grid of tiny photos of bowls taking up a whole wall. Saigon Kitchen, Qi Qi Cuisine, Chonghong cuisine, Bento Express and a cute cake shop round out the food options. There was not one person eating when I visited but I’ve heard it’s a great place to grab takeaways. /Gabi Lardies

19. Ōrākei Bay Village (Ōrākei)

Is Ōrākei Bay Village truly a mall? This has been a question posed multiple times by multiple Spinoff staff members, though I imagine the good people of Ōrākei would have no doubt about its mall identity by virtue of not wanting to get stuck in traffic on the way to Westfield Newmarket.

You may enter Ōrākei Bay Village from its front entrance on the main Ōrākei Rd or park yourself downstairs near the Ōrākei train station, where there’s a lift advising you that using an elevator only burns two calories but walking the two flights of stairs to the mall’s back entrance burns 20. Inevitably, you will take the stairs.

Inside, you’ll find the retail version of the Quiet Luxury aesthetic. They’ve got a Farro so you can buy fancier groceries than the New World at the Ōrākei shops, a Father Rabbit to buy expensive gifts for your mother-in-law, a Silky Otter to enjoy the latest cinema release with wine and a reclined seat, and an infrared yoga studio so you can sweat out the stress from paying your rates. Don’t know what any of these things are? It’s probably because you’re poor.

But the best thing about Ōrākei Bay Village is the King’s Plant Barn with a Daily Bread bakery inside, and an open-ceiling garden out the back for purchasing lemon trees and herbs and the like. It’s a little slice of calm surrounded by the Ōrākei basin, which you can enjoy with an artisan sandwich while listening to the trains screech on the tracks next door. If you’re already here, you should also check out the antique store in the downstairs car park. /Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

18. Milford Centre (Milford)

If the Milford Shopping Centre had a mood board, it would feature linen pants and candles that smell like sea salt and sage. 

Located in the coastal North Shore suburb of Milford, the mall bills itself as “exquisitely Milford”. You enter the mall by car into an underground car park. I visited at 2pm on a Tuesday, and parking was abundant. A community noticeboard that proudly announces itself as being of “Our Community” is currently home to many flyers advertising local Christmas carol concerts and one offering meth testing for your property.

The centre opened in 1995 and was pitched as an intimate, premier and boutique shopping experience. This architectural design service firm describes it (fairly) as “still looking good for its age”. It is a tidy, uncontroversial and small mall catering to the residents of a suburb where the median age is 16.3 years above the national median. Based on the people I spotted around the shopping centre, looking good for one’s age is a feature and not a bug of Milford. This is undoubtedly aided by proximity to the 23 shops in the mall selling shoes and clothing of a remarkably similar style. Linen, preppy and perfect for coastal strolling. 

The centre houses a supermarket and a small food court where your choices are sushi, Muffin Break and Bean Grinding, which is the challenger brand upstart taking on the very well-known Coffee Club, which is also in the mall. Boutiqueing it up, it has a standalone butchery called Well Hung and a fruit and vege store. 

The best thing about this mall is its dedication to its clientele and location. You can make a candle (sea salt if you like) at Flame in Vintage, a candle-making shop(?) open only on Saturdays between 4pm and 8pm. If you’re looking for something to wear while you make that candle, fashion retailer Seasalt Cornwall is here to help.  

Commendations should also go to Well Hung and Bean Grinding for having the kinds of creative names that elicit a small but restrained chuckle.

One can only conclude that the centre is, indeed, exquisitely Milford. 

Its exquisite Milfordness might also be its Achilles heel. It’s hard to imagine coming here unless it was your very geographically defined local or you needed a new pair of linen pants. /Anna Rawhiti-Connell

17. Hunters Plaza (Papatoetoe)

Hunters Plaza gets a bit of a bad rap. It’s notorious for being the go-to spot in South Auckland if you’re looking for a bit of paid companionship late at night. Besides that, it’s a relatively nice mid-tier mall. It has an actual food court with a wide range of options (LJs to Pinoy barbecue) and features an impressive skylight and small playground for the kids. There is a large underground car park, though the mall could do with a lot more parking. 

It has some of the stores you’d expect any respectable mall to have – a Kmart, Postie, Chemist Warehouse, Number One Shoes, and Mister Minit. There are also some gems like Lil Orbits donuts and massage chairs sprinkled in, adding to Hunters Plaza’s appeal. For the health conscious, there is a City Fitness gym and supplement stores.

Acknowledging the diversity of the area, there are multiple ethnic clothing stores and the Plaza has recently played host to a Diwali festival. It’s a community hub in Papatoetoe, holding coffee with a cop dates, halloween face-painting, and even build-a-bear workshops. With 52 stores in the plaza, you can basically get everything you need. /Liam Rātana

16. Commercial Bay (Downtown)

When Commercial Bay opened in June 2020 with the hope that it would help lead us out of pandemic economic depression (lol), I would hazard a guess that many Aucklanders were asking themselves, why? But cast your mind back before the mid-2010s, and you’ll remember the absolute dump that used to exist in Commercial Bay’s place, known as Westfield Downtown. Thank God that dinky little shithole was demolished.

Now, we have a $1b shopping development where you can feel each cent in every step, because the building is just so goddamn fancy and shiny and for some reason, architecturally sharp. By virtue of being right next to Britomart, a thoroughfare to the North Shore bus link and attached to the PwC building, it’s a mall that’s virtually never low on foot traffic and mostly filled with suits. Being here will either make you feel incredibly posh or incredibly broke.

When you have an expensive mall, you’re going to fill it with expensive shops, such as Kate Sylvester and Yu Mei (as seen on Jacinda Ardern) or Rodd & Gunn (as seen on Christopher Luxon). Come in with a $1,000 spending budget, and you’ll likely walk away with a single handbag, coat and a bottle of essential oil. The four-storey H&M is only there to keep up appearances.

I’m pretty sure people are only coming here for the food court on level two, anyway. It’s sprawling, well-kept, constantly crowded, stays open later than the mall itself and offers everything from dumplings and donuts to poke and pad thai. Commercial Bay is best enjoyed on a completely vibes-based level, either wandering aimlessly looking at the bright lights like a kid at Christmas, from the food court window. or on the stone steps between COS and the sushi shop, where you can people watch the weirdos of Auckland and feel a bit fancy until your heart’s content. /Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

15. Royal Oak Mall (Royal Oak)

Royal Oak Mall is a place that oozes nostalgia, and not just because you are greeted by a friendly cobbler when you walk through its archway entrance like some kind of immersive Charles Dickens experience. My colleague Liam believes that the old McDonald’s, back when it was upstairs, had the best playground of any McDonald’s in the country. For me, Royal Oak Mall reminds me of the delicious finish line after a busy morning of op-shopping with my mum in Balmoral, culminating in a curry from Sahil Indian Cuisine at the Royal Oak Mall food court. 

Although every time we visited it felt like more stores had either closed or been replaced by a $2 shop called “Price & Quality”, the food court was always bustling. I was always intrigued by the sophistication of Elegance Catering and the experimental language of The Ca Faye, but nothing could ever beat splitting a Sahil lunch deal (one coke, two straws) and pawing through our op shop finds. Occasionally we’d stroll around the low-lying shops and get a book from Whitcoulls, a fancy hair product from Rodney Wayne, last minute groceries at the Pak’nSave. 

There’s also some interesting experiences available now that go above and beyond the expected mall services of a haircut and an eye exam. You can pop in and get your framing done at The Framers Guild, or head upstairs to Dice Goblin, a 200-seater lounge for board-gamers and role players – they even offer on-demand 3D printing for miniatures and models! Visit Wendy’s fashion for a tasteful tunic, treat yourself to a golden statuette at “Unique Desires” and then cuddle a bloody chinchilla and/or “stunning lizard” if you come on the right day.

Also consider this from another colleague, Sacha: “It has exquisite liminal spaces vibes down by the abandoned TAB part. It has a shop where you can buy churro chips. It has a place that does donut burgers that nobody ever orders. It’s the best.” One of the last times I visited Royal Oak Mall, I bought a phone case from that place smack bang in the middle of the sunny atrium. It had a picture of a cat on it and simply said “cheese” and “bread” – sums up both the old world charm and slight surrealism of Royal Oak Mall quite nicely indeed. / Alex Casey

14. Dress Smart (Onehunga)

An objective nightmare in almost every sense of the word. Yet, Dress Smart (or is it Dress Mart, what a silly name) is also an institution. With discount stores ranging from high end offerings like Tommy Hilfiger and Coach through to Kathmandu and Cotton On, Dress Smart is unavoidable if you’re on the hunt for a bargain. But it’s not the shops that are the problem, it’s everything else.

The confusing figure-eight layout means you can easily get lost for hours. It’s partly underground, so there are pretty much no windows and the whole thing has a bunker quality to it. You won’t get cell reception in parts of it, so don’t try calling for help if the apocalypse arrives while you’re neck deep in cut-price jeans. It’s been around since the 90s, and feels like it. If you do happen to make it into the car park, be prepared to wait a long time to make it back onto the street. And don’t be surprised to not even get a park in the first place (but the train station is nearby, which is a plus).

It’s unfortunate that the shopping experience at Dress Smart is often so miserable because the stores themselves are consistently pretty good. Yes, outlet shopping is now less of a novelty given you can probably find the same bargains online. And yes, the scorching neon lights in most of the stores will probably render you without sight for the next 12 hours. But there is a joy to rifling through messy, unattended stacks of clothes or an overflowing rack in the hopes you’ll find a t-shirt you absolutely do not need but absolutely must buy because it’s only $5.99. Long live, and screw you, Dress Smart. / Stewart Sowman-Lund

13. WestCity (Waitākere)

They say West Auckland gets weirder the deeper west you go. WestCity Waitākere is pretty far west. In its day, this place was a jewel in the crown of Henderson, though I am perhaps remembering it through my rose tinted teenage lenses. It’s easy to navigate, and has three levels of parking but unfortunately, WestCity seems to have remained stuck in its mid-2000s era (or that could just be me). The parking situation isn’t overly stressful, though you may struggle to find a park on a Saturday morning, unless you are willing to walk a small distance from a nearby carpark or catch the train to the station conveniently located across the road.

The arcade at Event Cinemas is still going but isn’t necessarily somewhere you’d want to take the kids for a day out. The once popular Arizona surf store has been replaced by a random dress store for kids. The post shop is gone. The food court still goes hard, with plenty of options for those craving a mall feed, including orange butter chicken from Shamiana, tasty fresh sushi, and all your standard big chain fast food outlets.

Pretty Pete – a well-known figure who frequents WestCity, and the Pakūranga night market – still wanders around with ribbons in his hair to remind him who he is. Jay Jays is still there downstairs, as is All Out Customs. There’s a Woolworths, though I’m unsure many locals prefer it for their shopping. The Warehouse is small but popular, despite being overshadowed by the much larger Kmart across the road. 

It’s still a popular hangout spot for the local youth, and has just about everything you need, except a large electronics or appliance store. All-in-all, WestCity is still a decent mall, with everything you’d expect to find at a Westfield operation. /Liam Rātana

12. Mānawa Bay (Māngere)

Now this is a mall. It’s hard to write about Mānawa Bay without it sounding like an advert but this place is nice. With over 1,000 parking spaces in the massive open-air carpark, it’s unlikely you’ll ever be waiting long for a spot at the newest outlet mall in Tāmaki Makarau. The layout is simple – there are two main strips, with a food court off to one side. In the food court, you can still get an orange butter chicken from Shamiana, but you can also eat at Better Burger, grab a boujee toasted sandwich, or choose something else from the 16 food and drink options. The seating in the food court is spacious and comfortable, with outdoor options and an outdoor playground for the kids.

While most malls are usually blindingly bright and often have a sterile or clinical feeling about them, the inside of this mall is surprisingly calming. Floor-to-ceiling windows break the shop fronts every so often, so you remember what the outside looks like, but it is otherwise unusually dark inside Mānawa Bay. The architecture of this mall takes a contemporary approach to blending natural materials with modern industrial aesthetics. Basically, it just feels nice. There are grand leather sofas for those in need of a seat. There are no sharp corners in the mall either, which adds to the natural flow. All 35,000 square metres of Mānawa Bay feel considered, right down to the country’s largest rooftop solar system helping to power everything.

When it comes to shopping, there are over 100 outlet stores, featuring everything from Swanndri to Michael Kors. While that many stores may feel overwhelming in any other mall, it feels an easy number to navigate due to the simplistic layout of Mānawa Bay. 

Unfortunately, this mall is focussed on shoppers looking for clothes, shoes, and handbags. There is no supermarket, Kmart, Farmers, appliance stores, or electronics stores. There is a barbershop, but not many other health and beauty stores.

Walking through here makes me feel like I’m walking through a less anxiety-inducing version of the duty-free section at the airport (which is literally two minutes down the road). South Auckland doesn’t often get nice things but Mānawa Bay isn’t just nice, it’s magnificent. /Liam Rātana

11. Southmall (Manurewa)

While I can’t confirm this, I strongly suspect there are no other malls in Auckland where you can buy a corned beef toastie and visit a lawyer in a single visit. The car park out the back might be small, but Southmall has all you need. 

Outside, free shuttle vans drop off and collect shoppers as the train pulls into the Manurewa station located out the back. There are (genuine) bakeries packed with jam and cream donuts. Inside, there is a House of Butter Chicken, Crackerjack, and beauty salons that take WINZ payments. You can buy a salu at the Southmall Warehouse and then pop next door for some Mama Sita’s powders from the Kuya Eli Pinoy Store. Somewhat surprisingly, there is even a New World supermarket.

There are also several $2 shops, some of which hold significant real estate within the mall and sell the much beloved iconic mink blankets (that usually have tigers on them but these ones have the coat of arms of Samoa). There’s also a t-shirt printing store, and a shop that sells merchandise with “Rewa Hard” plastered all over it. 

For those that enjoy going to the mall to people watch, Southmall is arguably one of the best spots. It is truly a melting pot of South Auckland. There are old Indian men eating mince and cheese pies, young Polynesian kids playing on the train toy without paying, old hippy Pākehā ladies wearing purple tie-dye T-shirts, men dressed from head-to-toe in blue with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths who ask you for “spare change cuz” as they hold a box of Cody’s. Southmall is for the people. As the saying goes, life is hard, but Rewa is harder. Āmene.  /Liam Rātana

10. Meadowbank Shopping Centre (St Johns)

I’ve heard people who are not from around here call this place a shithole. They will point to the empty shops (there’s only two in an economic downturn!) the funeral home shop (everyone dies!!!) and the ugly flat building with faded signage (OK true). Don’t let those blow-ins lead you astray. This is an excellent neighbourhood mall. It is a little past its heyday, but it is still going strong.

The architects may not have understood beauty, but they did understand convenience. There’s a whole tranche of shops that can be accessed from the outside, so if you’re making a one-stop trip you don’t have to get lost inside. Some of them have two openings, one that goes in and one out, so you can use them as a gateway, should you be that way inclined. One of the external shops is Alex The Cobbler, that has been there as long as time itself. He can cobble, he’s got a great selection of dog tags and obviously he can also cut keys and engrave trophies. The shop is a little alcove of practical bits and tools, and feels like it’s from a time gone by, a time before we bought shitty things to instantly replace. 

The Dove Hospice Shop a couple of doors down is chockablock full and not taking donations. I was taken with a set of tiny stamps, so cute for craft projects, but they were $20, so nah. Then there were wooden salad servers that looked like they were from K-mart for $15. It’s not the best op shop, mostly on account of being pricey, but there’s always a gem to be found. If you go out through its back door, you’ll be transported into the food court. Midori Sushi, Curry Village and K&G Cafe have all stood the test of about 15 years and therefore must be good. Unfortunately for my biased argument that this is the best mall, most of the food court is blocked off by yellow plastic CAUTION tape. The problem appears to be the majestic cathedral skylight which is either structurally unsound, infested with sparrows or both. 

And fine, I admit the questionable skylight is not the only bleak detail of the mall. The toilets are dirty; the Paper Plus is full of trinket trays and bath bombs; the part next to the jewellers that used to be the Woolworths exit is now a dead space where some shelving has been dumped and someone parks their scooter; there’s this weird area of loose pebbles (once had palm trees there) and nothing for kids to do apart from look at the Dollar Store or throw a coin down a wishing well. There are however seven Christmas trees and an un-countable number of wreaths to keep you distracted from life’s small miseries.

The best thing about Meadowbank Shopping Centre is that no one stops you taking your shopping trolley around the whole place. There’s a bunch of old people pushing them along to Paper Plus, the cafe and the ATMs. Then they scoot down to the benches facing the Christmas trees for a little sit down and a rest. If this is where I end up when I’m 78, life will have turned out OK. /Gabi Lardies

9. Westfield (St Luke’s)

At any given moment in the past 20 years, Westfield St Luke’s is a strong contender for both best and worst mall in Auckland. On its best day, it can offer you a range of haircuts, the cheapest and best eyebrow threading in the city, a notebook from Typo or Smiggle (the adult and child version of the same store) a perfect orange mall butter chicken (because the biggest lines are always at KFC and McDonald’s) and a mildly overpriced movie in a never-busy cinema. It has a Starbucks which feels random? And of course a Mister Minit and a (seasonally) 24-hour Kmart.

It’s on multiple frequent bus routes including the OuterLink, and is a genuine local mall in that residents nearby will do their weekly grocery shop at the Woolworths inside the mall even though it closes at 8pm most days which is taking the piss a bit. And it used to have a handy post office but now that’s gone and I keep forgetting and getting annoyed about it. All things considered, though, St Luke’s is an incredible suburban mall on its best day.

But on its worst day? Kill me now. On its worst day (any Saturday or Sunday but especially in December), St Luke’s becomes hell on earth, the most claustrophobic place in the city. You’ll spend 20 minutes circling the low-ceilinged car park only to walk into what is, in reality, a very small space for how many stores it holds. You’ll get stuck in the foot traffic (why does everyone just stop walking in the middle of the lane?) for 30 minutes before realising that all the electronics stores have long since left the mall and actually you need to be across the road visiting the Big Stores. Then you’ll sit in your car for a literal hour trying to leave the car park and travel 100 metres, cursing yourself for not just walking in the baking sun, before inevitably giving up and going home empty-handed.

But when it’s not like that, St Luke’s is the best mall in Auckland. / Madeleine Chapman

8. Eastridge (Mission Bay)

Within two blocks of Eastridge, I saw two senior walking groups. They were all wearing those white woven hats with the black ribbon and their skinny legs were almost exclusively white. Perhaps then it shouldn’t have been such a surprise that on a sunny, hot Tuesday at 10am, Eastridge’s licensed cafe, The Daily Mission, was teeming. 

Though they may come walking, the car park situation is lovely. Parks are abundant, if a little narrow for the suburban SUVs that were around. I slotted into a shaded spot under a tree next to a vintage Jaguar, its silver cat pouncing from the bonnet. Reow! Along the edges of the car park, rosemary, the drooping kind that’s bitter but oh-so pretty, runs wild. 

Any medical need you may have is catered for at Eastridge. There’s a doctor, dentist, audiologist, glasses shop and pharmacy. For your grooming, there’s Rodney Wayne or the Shearing Shed. You can also get your shoes fixed, keys cut, technical help with phones and post birthday cards to the grandkids. Fashion at Eastridge doesn’t extend far beyond things that match those white woven hats. There’s a lot of capris, bright pink loose blouses and floral flowy tops and dresses. Glassons is nowhere to be seen and men will have to shop elsewhere. 

Eastridge is not a place of modesty. In mid-November there were not one but three Christmas trees around the mall, bushy and laden with baubles. Giant, real, pot plants are scattered throughout.  The architecture is rather glamourous – ceilings are super high and almost entirely skylights so that beams of natural light fall down onto the faux marble floor, which is decorated in diamond patterning. The New World has a boutique feel to it, which two surf lifesavers with a fold out table and little buckets were trying to leverage for fundraising.

The toilets are down a forgotten alleyway, past the management office which looks like it hasn’t been updated since the 70s, its wall has panels of those glass blocks that are trendy again. As I inspected the white bathroom tiles, Neil Diamond belted out, “I got an emptiness deep inside, and I’ve tried, but it won’t let me go.” There were convenient little shelves between the sinks to rest your handbag.

Eastridge makes retirement look great, provided you have a couple of investment properties to top up your super. /Gabi Lardies

7. Westfield (Manukau)

If you drive in a 7km straight line along Great South Rd from Southmall to Hunters Plaza, you drive past at least four malls. However, none is more recognisable than the iconic Westfield Manukau, affectionately known by locals as Manix. It is the mall of South Auckland. Growing up, I always associated Manix as being the home of Jordans-wearing hoodrats and skuxxes rocking jean shorts and Windsor Smiths. Hanging out at Westfield Manukau on the weekend seemed to be the epitome of being a teenager in South Auckland. 

There over 150 stores, most of which you’d expect to find at a Westfield mall, with a touch of South Auckland-specific stores sprinkled into the mix. There is a Farmers and JB Hi-Fi, but no Kmart or Warehouse. Besides that, you can probably find everything you need there, including your groceries from Woolworths. The layout is slightly confusing though and it’s easy to lose your bearings quite quickly.

The parking is quite generous, with both a large outdoor car park and moderate covered park. The movies are quite nice and you can choose a luxury recliner or even a daybed, if you feel so inclined. There is a McDonald’s in the outdoor car park and in the food court inside. The food court has a good range of food but the seating can feel a little cramped when it’s busy, which is more often than not. There are a couple of bars and restaurants out the back too. There is also an odd atrium above the food court, which I still haven’t figured out how to access. Bonus points for having Rainbow’s End across the road though. /Liam Rātana

6. Botany Town Centre

Imagine being a bookish weed of a child and walking behind two teenaged girls in Juicy Couture velour tracksuits at the mall. They had all those bits of anatomy that your mum did, but like 30% higher up on the body. It was 2001, and Botany Town Centre was the hot new thing in East Auckland. A big fuck-off destination mall with everything you could ever want. I’m pretty sure we were there to get my brother Ripcurl branded board shorts, but mostly my eyes were glued to the teen girls I never ended up growing into, the white marble floors and an impressive fountain.

When I pulled up in 2024, for the first time in at least 15 years, I looked around and thought – is this it? It wasn’t. I was at a random side entrance, after getting lost and almost heading into Kmart across the road. It seems unfair to pitch Botany against all the other malls because it’s much more. The carpark is surrounded by huge heavy hitters like Torpedo 7, Bed, Bath & Beyond, The Warehouse, Kathmandu and Noel Leeming. There’s little outside streets that feel like a village, and an open “town square” at its centre, where food establishments make the most of al-fresco dining. 

Inside, the air was gently air-conditioned and I saw five pretty small babies (with parents). Outside the supermarket a toddler in a hat with bunny ears was eating donuts with her grandpa. There were little playgrounds all around the mall, and cinemas and a Timezone to occupy those pesky older kids. There’s heaps of comfy places to sit down, ones that come without an obligation of buying anything. The shops here are extremely contemporary compared to the neighbourhood malls – there’s various laser clinics, bubble tea and a Mecca Maxima. Teenagers in school uniforms formed tiny packs which roamed the passageways and loitered around shops (though not actually inside them).

On a Tuesday at noon, the mall was, dare I say it, peaceful and pleasant. Everything was clean and tidy and the indoor-outdoor flow impeccable. The information centre had printed out maps, and there was wayfinding signage everywhere, some of it rather quaint. Fashion is well covered from Cotton-on up to Cue. In terms of food there’s McDonald’s, some dinky little handmade chocolate shops where one piece costs about my weekly grocery allowance, and everything in between. /Gabi Lardies

5. Māngere Town Centre

My beloved local mall. The Māngere Town Centre is a short walk from my house and it was a major reason we moved here. The town centre is the beating heart of Māngere. When there is a big league or rugby game featuring either Tonga or Samoa, the Māngere Town Square becomes a rally point for fans. During the week, the local community gathers together for free Zumba classes, followed by a mandatory feed of chicken and chips (there are at least three places to buy fried chicken from here, with JK Takeaway’s being the most popular). There are often cultural festivals too and market days where small local businesses showcase their offerings. 

On Saturdays, the car park at the back of the mall plays host to the iconic Māngere markets, where local residents flock to grab their weekly supply of fresh fruit and vegetables. The market also offers homemade lamb buns with enough soy sauce to make you question your life choices, warm Cook Islands donuts that make you want to dance like a Pukapukan, and ‘otai that you’d happily pay $10 for.

Beyond the markets, the town centre offers anything you’d expect a mall in the middle of Māngere to offer. There are enough food choices to keep you interested all year round, featuring two fresh fish shops, two sushi stores, bakeries, curry, pizza, barbecue, Chinese and more. There are more laundromats than I can count, plus a post shop, multiple dairies (which also sell fresh fruit and vegetables), two butchers, several clothing stores (with everything from island wear to the “Māngere 275” hoodies and T-shirts), and a community law centre, two pharmacies, a medical centre and even a night club.

What you won’t find at the Māngere Town Centre are any big name retail stores, or pretentiousness. It’s just full of everyday people doing everyday things, be that picking up some supplies from Woolworths, sending a parcel at the post shop, or drying their laundry. The buildings might be in need of some love, there may be a few people around asking for change, and it might be limited to cheap and unhealthy kai, but that’s what adds to the charm of the Māngere Town Centre. For many, it would be a place to avoid but for us locals, it’s like the centre of our village. Like my partner says: “It’s like a little Apia or Nuku’alofa.” /Liam Rātana

4. Sylvia Park (Mount Wellington Sylvia Park)

Perched on the banks of Auckland’s great undulating river (State Highway 1), Sylvia Park is big, bolshy and familiar. Forget the Sky Tower or the Harbour Bridge: this is the definitive Auckland landmark – the place that says: this is a proper city because only a proper city can handle a mall like me. 

As it’s grown over 18 years, with assorted annexes bolted on, this all-purpose behemoth has gathered a good bit of faded glory – especially compared with the soulless silver blob upriver in Newmarket – and that’s all part of the Sylvia charm. Did I mention it’s big? More than 250 retailers big, with all the chains and department stores, a bog-standard multiplex, a bunch of smaller surprises including eccentric pop-up activities in the circular plaza and a solid food court, as well as fancier dining options around the edges. Big enough to stumble on something new on your 10th visit. Big enough to wander empty-headed, high on the fumes of consumer capitalism, for more than an hour. Big enough to get totally disoriented in the Christmas crush. 

The transport options are sound: heaps of car parks, but even better, a railway station and good bus links. And the name is good. Sylvia Park is in fact the name of the area, derived from a stud farm established in the 19th century. That took the name Sylvia from a beloved thoroughbred mare. Something to mull on as you try to work out where you parked your car. / Toby Manhire

3. Westfield (Newmarket)

A destination mall in every sense. Nobody visits Westfield Newmarket for essentials, you visit it because it’s got everything you could ever dream of and more (example: coin-operated karaoke booths). It’s got the nicest cinema in the city, the best shops, the flashiest architectural design, the boujiest food court ever (though still with an Indian takeaway and a KFC). When it first opened, replacing and expanding upon the demolished Westfield of yore, I was worried the mall felt too sterile, with its glimmering white floors and harsh lighting. But the more time I’ve spent there, the more I’ve appreciated it. It is never as overcrowded as Sylvia Park, despite having the same stores (minus a Kmart, damn it) and the shimmering light from the glass-bottomed pond on the top floor makes me feel serene. It is essentially a big fancy mall with a regular mall inside as well.

But its destination quality is also a detriment. You can’t just pop into Westfield Newmarket, it’s an event. You need to commit to winding your way up the multistoried carpark, and then will have to pay to stay if you’re longer than two hours (on a weekday). The parking is so bad someone pissed in their car waiting to get back to the street that time. Westfield Newmarket is my favourite mall in Auckland, but much like my favourite dessert (tiramisu) it is an occasional treat. / Stewart Sowman-Lund

2. LynnMall (New Lynn)

In the heart of New Lynn lies an originator whose creation forever changed New Zealand’s retail industry. No, we’re not talking about Crown Lynn – this is LynnMall, Aotearoa’s first shopping centre and thus the first place to introduce mall walkers to our nation. The pioneer that paved the way for endless news stories about the death of the mall.

How does one summarise the magic of LynnMall? For starters, the building covers everything you need on a single floor with a variety of clothiers, salons, homeware and technology retailers, eateries, a Woolworths and a Chemist Warehouse. There are big brands like JB Hi-Fi and Starbucks. In free-flowing foot traffic, you can make it from one end of the mall to the other in just a few minutes. You need only ascend stairs if you’re trying to reach Reading Cinemas, which remains one of the cheaper cinema options in Auckland and certainly the cheapest with actual big screens.

If you step into the mall from the train station entrance (another plus: close proximity to public transport, just stay street smart at the station), you’ll pop out on the other side in the mall’s mini dining precinct, Brickworks. Here, you have the likes of a Cleaver & Co, a Taco Bell and Bodrum Kitchen, which makes really great shakshuka and Turkish coffee, if you were interested in that. Otherwise, the food court within the mall satisfies all needs.

Even on a weekday morning, LynnMall attracts crowds from all walks of life, and you’re always bound to come across a few interesting characters in a building full of personality. There’s the old folks lining the café tables, mums getting their nails done, families digging in at the food court, bogans smoking outside and a healthy number of loitering teens. There goes the baker with his tray like always.

All of its beauty and prominence truly makes me weep. I look at my possessions and my many memories of successful ventures to LynnMall make me fall to my knees. It is truly my favourite mall in Auckland and a deserving, though begrudging, silver medallist. /Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

1. Westfield (Albany)

Westfield Albany is an expression of what St Luke’s could be with a different layout, more space and an upgrade. This mall looked at the brief and decided it would nail it. It understood that to exceed low expectations, all it takes is wide car parking spaces, a wide concourse, cleanliness and absolutely everything you expect from a a mid-tier Westfield. It is not trying to be the heart of a community, nor novel nor upmarket. Westfield Albany is giving mall and that’s it.

It has a Kmart, a New World, a Farmers, a cinema complex and a food court that delivers the exact same food you get at most Westfield malls, including an absolutely perfect mall butter chicken. The space is airy and light, and you can move easily around well-spaced chairs and tables. It has all the banks and telcos you’ll ever need. You can shop the typical mid-tier Westfield sliding scale of clothing outlets from Country Road to Pagani and get new glasses at not one but two trendy “high street” eyewear retailers. 

Aside from an upper level at the cinema and a small lower level at its Northwestern end, this mall stared down the temptation to trap shoppers in a labyrinth-like maze of levels and escalators. It is a long, flat and largely single-level mall. The wide internal concourse makes it very easy to overtake slow walkers and while it seems like a long walk from end to end, I can confirm that it takes four minutes and is a mere 200 metres in length. I burned 30 calories doing it.

The MegaCentre across the road has a Warehouse, an Animates and a Briscoes and while its offering can not be considered as part of this review, its proximity adds polish to Albany’s crown as a one-stop retail shop.

Westfield Albany has a 4.3 star Google rating and that might be the most perfectly accurate rating I’ve ever seen. Each review is also replied to, delight bursting out of the standard response through a precisely placed exclamation mark. 

Westfield Albany is malling so hard, so effortlessly, and so pleasantly that I was not only uplifted by my visit there but stepped out into the sun to its large car park with several good ideas. The man rounding up the trolleys saw me taking a photo of this perfectly good 4.3-star mall and made a perfectly good joke. I smiled a solid 4.3-star smile. He smiled a 4.3 back. /Anna Rawhiti-Connell

Westfield Albany is the best mall in Auckland.

This is the second in the Malls of New Zealand series, where we rank the malls in major centres. Next week: Wellington.

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