Parro — EAT IT AUCKLAND

When I heard Omni would be closing its doors for good, I felt genuinely sad. I had really enjoyed that place and struggled to imagine a new restaurant that could live up to it. With its unusually open kitchen, which is as much for show as for function, and its indoor charcoal grill, who could possibly fill this stainless-steel void? A small team of three, Gleber, Iagor and Beatriz, rose to the task, and on the eve of Parro’s first anniversary I sat down and had one of my best meals of 2025.

The feel of the room has been retained, a kind of Scandinavian hygge minimalism, with the open kitchen leaving you feeling like you’ve come for dinner at your chicest friends’ house.

*Croquetas (left) and BBQ flat bread (right)*

At first glance, the menu seems to take inspiration from Spain, though the effusive use the charcoal barbecue hints at a South American influence. Naturally, chef and owner Gleber Chaparro hails from Brazil, his ancestry Spanish with some Italian thrown into the family as well. Originally an engineer, Gleber followed his passion for cooking and worked at several of Tāmaki Makaurau’s best restaurants: Lilian, Depot and Amano among them, before interning at Disfrutar, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Barcelona. He then returned to New Zealand to open his own place: Parro.

Parro is absolutely my kind of restaurant: the entire menu is for sharing, a concept I am thoroughly comfortable with and I could die happy if I never had to eat a singular dish by myself again. The menu consists of several starters and smaller dishes alongside larger dishes, all kissed by the charcoal grill. We had the best table in the house, right beside the gleaming stainless-steel kitchen. We revelled in watching Gleber and Iagor deftly work their magic, Brussel sprouts getting charred just so and slivers of red onion precisely placed atop dishes with ginormous tweezers (I’ve decided I want a pair of these for Christmas). It was mesmerising, like watching an episode of The Bear. Season 2, not season 1.

Sometimes in life, one could take or leave the house bread. Not so at Parro. You must order the BBQ flat bread: lofty white mounds of dough proof on the bench, just waiting for you to order them. They’re rolled out and baked over the charcoal grill, arriving at the table hot and fluffy with a sheen of EVOO and smoky grill marks. It would be easy to eat them as is (I nearly did) but I used the rest to mop up the lemon cream and burnt onion ash left behind from the smoked provolone croqueta.

*Pasta of the day: celeriac agnolotti, chicken jus, artichoke*

Croqueta, croquettes, korokke, every culture has them, and these are the Spanish kind: golden round nuggets of crumbed béchamel, fluffy with potato and oozy smoked smoked provolone cheese. They’re dusted with burnt onion ash that adds a subtle bitterness, while the lemon cream provides a refreshing, velvety finish. Excellent start.

Everything we ate at Parro had a level of refinement that was completely unexpected from a restaurant half way up Dominion Road. Not to bag on dumplings and hand-pulled noodles, the food of the people, but the food at Parro was uncommonly good. I thought I’d seen every take on raw fish, but Parro’s was imaginative and unbelievably eye-catching. Rounds of thinly sliced mandarin shone like summer suns on a bed of snow white gazpacho and verdant herb oil. If I blurred my eyes a little it could pass as a piece of abstract art. And art it was, the sweet zest of the mandarin cutting the buttery richness of the fresh snapper. White gazpacho, I almost can’t describe it. I guess you’ll just have to try it before it comes off their menu. The herbaceous green oil lent both flavour and a luxuriating mouthfeel. What a standout dish.

The phrase ‘pasta of the day’ is a dubious one that rings of ‘fish of the day’, an afterthought or a way to use something up. But not here. You will have no regrets ordering the pasta of the day. For us it was golden parcels of handmade agnolotti, delicate yet toothsome, with a velvety celeriac filling. It was adorned with charred radicchio leaves, earthy sun choke crisps and the crowning (or rather grounding) glory of chicken jus. This pasta dish was perfection. I sat awkwardly wishing I could lick the plate clean but settled for tilting the bowl and spooning the last of that incredible jus into my mouth instead.

*BBQ sprouts, pecorino foam, bread crumbs, preserved lemon*

Brussel sprout season is upon us and there are few situations in which I can say no to this vegetable. Here they have been cradled over hot coals to create a crispy, burnished finish without the need for a deep fryer. They’re smothered in a sharp pecorino foam and savoury breadcrumbs with a hint of preserved lemon and mint. All textures are hit in one mouthful: tension, crunch, chew and silk.

*Lamb shoulder, salsa verde, cucumber, labneh, pistachio*

These colder nights call for something warm and comforting, such as the slow cooked lamb shoulder, which arrived in the surprising but welcome format of being pulled and then compressed into a cylindrical puck. It yields at the gentle touch of a fork, the lamb perfectly placed for sharing. The deeply savoury and rich meat is offset beautifully by another spectacularly green salsa verde of finely diced cucumber and smooth labneh. A flourish of mint and crushed pistachios adds an earthy brightness that ties the whole dish together.

I know what you’re thinking, surely there was no room left for dessert. Well there was, and I recommend leave room too. Whilst not the biggest fan of panna cotta, I certainly became a fan of Parro’s version, a refreshingly light white chocolate jelly with rich dark cherry coulis , sweet fresh raspberries and delicate almond wafer, toasty and textural with almond rubble throughout . I had higher hopes for the creme Catalana, which on paper was my first pick. But I was surprised by its format, a piped doodle on a bed of ultra-fine sable cookies and apple compote. It had been showered with a freeze dried citrus (mandarin perhaps) but the citrusy aroma that creme Catalana usually promises did not shine through. I also missed the classic burnt sugar top that which was absent here.

Creme Catalana aside, my meal at Parro was outstanding, and I would take any friend, colleague, family member or visitor there in a heartbeat. Beatriz, the front-of-house and manager, is vibrant and cheeky, the embodiment of hospitality. And you foodies can play out your Bear fantasies watching two talented chefs work their magic in the open kitchen.

Parro
359 Dominion Road
Mount Eden, Auckland
Ph. +64 22 490 7935
@parro_akl