Wishbone

Wishbone was amazing in its heyday. It’s still pretty good for a takeaway/​convenience food type place but I feel like it was less commercial and there were less options to choose from a few years ago so it was special, whereas today there are more options.
The sandwiches are nice for a white slice bread type thing. I always get a variation of some kind of chicken sandwich there. I rarely get the full meals but have had one before and it’s like a fancy version of a tv dinner. The risottos and pastas are okay, it’s nice to have a hot food option and I think they do that relatively well.
Good for quick heat up dinners and lunches — it’s not super cheap but it is higher quality than your average ‘to go’ food.

This little shop is good, as it seems to stock a wide range of the excellent Wishbone products. Where it falls down is in price, as where I’m prepared to pay upwards of $ 15 for dinner, I’m not prepared to pay the same for lunch, and this place tends to serve the breakfast/​lunch crowd more than the forward-​thinking dinner buyers.
I do love the Wishbone meals, however. I can’t count how many of the chicken breasts with veges and kumara mash I’ve eaten, but they’re so good that I even went on a mission to Foodtown in Takapuna specifically to buy one, only to find that i’s not a Foodtown but a Countdown and they don’t sell Wishbone any more. Sad face.
I would love to see more of the delicious treats available at convenient locations around dinner time. If someone can tell me where to stock up on those chicken breasts I’ll be there in a flash.

Wishbone feels very New York. I’ve never been to New York, sure, but I have seen movies where people have deli sandwiches and food at their desks and stuff and this is what it’s like.
I have also visited the Wishbone’s in Wellington and it seems like it’s their thing to be situated in little nooks and crannys. This one is another little nook. I think this is another thing that adds to it’s New Yorky feel. The have sandwiches, salads, wraps, cereal, fruit and full meals like lasagne and stuff.
Most of the stuff is takeaway instant stuff, but I imagine the dinner meals are sweet to take home that day and heat up for dinner. The flavour combos go from being pretty standard crowd-​pleasers, to unique gourmet stuff sure to satisfy even an extremely fussy eater.
The staff are all good. The pricing is a wee bit expensive. I am more inclined to go to the Pita Pit next door for the price, but it is tasty and the selection is good.
Worth a lunchtime visit.

I feel like Wishbone used to be better. Perhaps the novelty has just worn off. Or maybe I’m tired of the overblown prices.
The thing about Wishbone that keeps me coming back, albeit infrequently, is the convenience. And it’s that old appeal of knowing exactly what you’re getting, every time. The food is reliably good and I especially like the pastas, but the coffee at this branch isn’t so flash, it was way too bitter last time I tried it.
Come here to pick up a quick takeaway lunch, or one of the delicious berry/​yoghurt/​muesli combos, but avoid the scones at all costs, and get the coffee only if desperate.

Finally, a place in Auckland to rival Pret in London. One thing I always missed about London was Pret and its tasty food you could eat on the go. Granted this place is not quite that good but it’s getting there. They had tasty looking risottos (chicken and mushroom — good combination) and pastas in a little tub for $ 6.90. They also had a good selection of sandwiches and the smoked salmon one caught my eye. They also had a selection of meat and veg dishes which they can heat up for you. Though I didn’t try anything (I had already had lunch) all the food looked very enticing. The next time I am in the CBD, I shall make sure I come here and sample the food. I wish there was more places like this scattered around Auckland rather than the crummy bakehouses selling pies.