Atico Cocina

A friend told me about this place and we decided to check it out. I’d never had Caribbean food but was excited to try it out. We ordered a few dishes to share and all were delicious! Full of flavour and left me wanting to try the other items on the menu! We actually tried to go back but they weren’t open on a Monday night. Would definitely return.

Apparently Atico Cocina has been around a while but under my radar until our recent foray into the new Victoria Park Market development. When I found out it was Carribean I had to return as soon as possible and eat and drink and find out more.
My only experience with Carribean food has been at market stalls in London and it is SO up my street — spicy, beans, rice, plantains, sweet with savoury and sometimes a bit Tex-​Mexy. Atico is all the above and more but seems to be struggling to keep up with its neighbours.
The service was iffy; our waitress at one point confessed to «having completely forgotten» about us. She was cute and bubbly so we let her off but then our Blackbean & Queso Fresco Empanadas arrived as the Jerk Beef Oxtail version (not visible to the naked eye). We were unimpressed. Particularly as I had checked the meat-​free-​ness of said Bean Empanada. Lucky I didn’t take a big old bite as I would have had a big tanty about such a stupid mistake. We (calmly) sent them back and there were apologies but it’s not really ok given the restaurant was mainly empty apart from a few other couples and a hens’ party.
We ridiculously over-​ordered as I insisted on getting the Plantains and the husband got the Potatas Bravas so our few «tantalisers» ended up being way more than we could eat.
There’s definitely a lot of exciting things to eat on the menu if you’ve not carcass-​averse like me, but I think they could extend their meat-​free options, especially as many of their existing dishes would probably taste just as great without the slab of yak in there.
Overall the experience was a bit flat; there’s something just a little cheap feeling about this place but I am glad it exists as it really does offer something different to anywhere else in Auckland. I just want it to be a bit better.

David, Omar and the team at Atico Cocina have battled through Victoria Park’s darkest times, during massive renovations to the park and a downturn in interest in the area. It’s a shame because Atico Cocina is an interesting concept — it’s New Zealand’s only Carribbean restaurant and its wait staff (and one of the owners) are from sunny Central and South America.
Owner Omar is from Colombia, and styled the menu on traditional dishes from the Carribbean to create the Atico menu. Try the Colombian style empanadas, croquetas de Cerdo — or pork jerk croquettes. The Cuban prawns are also amazing!
Atico Cocina is a little low energy due to its slow numbers through the restaurant. The venue transforms into a salsa evening once a month, which would liven up the place a lot, but something needs to be done if this restaurant wants to survive.