Nosh

I love this place! Since I’m pretty new to Auckland, I often frequent Countdown, New World or Asian stores for my grocery shopping. I tried Nosh for the first time yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that the prices are not that high. As a gourmet food market, I didn’t expect my $ 50 budget to go the distance that it did. I was able to buy fish, sausages, mortadella with olives, ham, pastrami, chips, juice, butter, 4 liters of milk, apples, oranges and a couple of other things. That’s food good for 3 adults for about 3 days. Not bad! The best part is, the food they have there is really good. I just tried the smoked fish this morning and it was divine! The mortadella from their deli items was really good, too. The milk was on special for 2×2 liter bottles for $ 6.50, i think. It’s the Nosh brand and I’d have to say it’s better than most brands you’ll find in other grocery stores. The milk was really creamy despite being Lite.
Definitely adding this place to my weekly grocery stops. Pro tip: Watch out for their specials, really good prices on amazing products. Go there on weekends when they have food tasting. So you get to try what’s new. If you’ve never been there, sign up for VIP membership prior to going so you can use your mobile number to start getting points towards vouchers.

I have been visiting ‘Nosh’ a lot lately — as I work close to this gourmet food market. I have a VIP card which comes in very handy (each shop) with daily specials and points accrue every time you purchase. I was surprised the other day when I received a $ 5 credit which equates to a bag of seasonal apples, artisan bread and/​or probiotic Camembert or Brie! ‘Nosh’ stock ‘Waitrose’ shortbread (yah!) which I’m a fan of, Black Rock meats, Nice Blocks, Village Press olive oils & ‘Nosh’ branded (boysenberry) yoghurt, hummus, milk, biscuits etc… This store does not offer any wine (which is a huge shame) as there is a liquor specialist beside them. Their other food markets/​stores all do — to my knowledge! You can do a lot of your weekly grocery shop here with the exception of cleaning products, toiletries & miscellaneous items (i.e batteries, lollies, soft drink). Always great produce — this week 5 avocados for $ 5! Happy Unilocaler!

Terrible, truly terrible. I ordered a hamper on-​line from them as a Xmas gift for a friend… it was not delivered… I eventually found this out a month later… at which point they did manage to deliver it but rather than compensating me in any way for the fact that this was so badly messed up, they gave me excuses and ultimately were rather rude. Would not recommend them to any one.

Nice little grocery store. The café inside is devine. Great coffee tea and pastries. It’s a nice spot to sit and enjoy breakfast as well.

You don’t have to be scared of speciality or upmarket supermarket stores like Nosh. In fact, you can actually incorporate it into your weekly shopping routine, you just have to know how to make it work for you.
Yes, if you go in there and buy all of their expensive cuts of meat, hugely marked-​up jars of chutneys and jams and then grab a few cheeses for your next dinner party, chances are you’ll be shocked by the final tally. But if you shop smartly, and seasonally, often the prices are lower than what you’d find at your local Countdown or Pak n Save.
The other day I was in Pak n Save and I thought $ 3.99 for a whole pumpkin was quite a good deal, so I picked one up. The next day I was in Nosh to grab something else and they had pumpkin for sale for $ 0.90/kg. I thought I was going to be fooled by the sheer weight of a pumpkin but for $ 1.91 I purchased a pumpkin roughly the same size as the one I paid over double for at the supermarket.
When avocados are in season you can often find good deals such as 4 for $ 3 when they’re $ 2.49 each at Countdown.
Shop smarter, and make each store work for you!

You know what? I love Nosh despite the fact that I know it’s overpriced and I’m paying for the presentation and the location more than anything. The fruit and vegetables and lined up in these great bins, they have a beautiful cheese and dairy section. I love that there are food items in there with packaging I haven’t seen before. #exclusive. The fish always looks incredible, as do the fillets of steak.
I’ve got to be honest, I’m not sure exactly if I would know the difference between the taste of a lamb rack from Nosh and one from your good old local supermarket if I were blindfolded, but I’m sure I would vote the Nosh lamb higher if I wasn’t. That’s just how good branding works, okay?

I’ll be honest with you right off the bat. I have no business shopping at Nosh. Me and Nosh just don’t gel. Possibly the uneasy combination of misguided morality, powerful self-​loathing, and deep set nostalgia, mean that me and Nosh aren’t great bedfellows. I do however often sneak in on my way home from work, and while I’m sneering at the overprices produce, and the overpriced baked goods, and the overpriced kettle chips, and the overpriced dried pasta; I sneak a little cube of the cheese they have out for you to taste. That cheese is ALWAYS exceptional. For my birthday last year my girlfriend bought me a chunk of this one particular cheese. It was fucking great.
I give them three stars on the strength of their cheese alone.

For those of us who miss Marks and Spencers back home, Nosh supermarket is about as good as it gets in Auckland. You wouldn’t dream of doing your weekly shop here but it’s great for a few treats. I especially like the pack of frozen crossaints and pastries that you get in the freezer. You leave them in the overnight and they rise and then you bake them. They are as fresh as you would find in a bakery in Montmartre! Another treat is the San Pelligrino sodas — the blood orange one is nice as is the mandarin one. They are lovely served ice cold on a hot day. Nosh also does a great range of Blackrock meat. No it doesn’t come cheap but if you like a good steak, you can get a great fillet from the meat counter. A gourmet supermarket but you need a decent bank balance to shop here on a regular basis.

I take real comfort in shopping in a place which has a reputation for selling organically grown and produced food. The modern food industry is mysterious, and often malevolent. Unless you spend hours Google searching the ingredients which are used to make the food you buy, you do not know what you are eating. Even fruit and vegetables can be gown with all kinds of potentially harmful additives. Wow, I must sound like a paranoid crazy person right about now. But if you find yourself in the same boat as me, always suspicious of what you are eating, I recommend Nosh. Also, they are the only place in Auckland which I have been able to find who sells kale — why such a delicious healthy easy to grow vegetable is so hard to find is beyond me.