TALA : RESTAURANT REVIEW 
3.25 STARS / 5  (a quarter of the way between Good & Excellent) 
CHEF-OWNER : HENRY ONESEMO 
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND 
VISITED MARCH 2026 
 
 
Note : This review by the same author has also been featured on Chow Luck Club 
 
 
Tala, the modern Samoan restaurant in Parnell, Auckland, headed by Chef Henry Onesemo who is admirably humble and gracious towards his patrons, has gone from strength to strength within a few years of opening. It was 2025's NZ Herald Viva Supreme Award Winner, and this year Time places it on its list of The World's Greatest Places. My recent experience here included some unmistakable positive highlights, with the $215 Chef's Journey tasting menu at the counter with Mr. Onesemo warmly conducting, cooking and serving up the meal right there in front of you while explaining the cultural aspects of this modern Samoan presentation. In terms of being a culinary, creative and a cultural experience, it is a distinct one indeed - but when it boils down to direct and consistent heights of taste and hearty plates of food, there is space to improve (I had substitutions in place of red meat, even as I got to try various dishes of seafood and chicken, so it's possible that others with the red meat menu would have enjoyed this more than me and rated it higher). 
 
 
 
 
When was the last time you were the recipient of a ceremonial hand-washing at the table mid way through the meal, with water poured from above on to your outstretched hands into a basin, in appreciation of you as the guest, in accordance with traditional Samoan values of respect and gratitude ? Barely had I walked into the restaurant when I was greeted and given a glass of hibiscus juice to sip on, while I was led to the seating. For a juice-boy like me, getting juiced-up this early was music to my palate, apart from the record speed with which I have been given juice in any restaurant in any part of the world. 
 
I was surprised the restaurant has chosen the same space vacated by 'Pasture' - the fine-dining restaurant which closed a few years ago in the aftermath of a scandal of staff abuse. Clearly Mr.Onesemo does not believe in a physical space carrying forward bad karma - he might have just sprinkled Samoan holy water or hibiscus juice to exorcise and re-sanctify the space and then brought his team in to essay a new chapter.  
 
There is one other Pacific/Samoan fine cuisine (but not fine-dining) restaurant in Auckland - Michael Meredith's Metita with head chef Arinut Sachdeva - where you can experience lushly designed and flavoured dishes of high talent from the a la carte menu but that is a looser, less structured experience compared to the more stream-lined thematic journey offered by Onesemo's Tala. 
 
Tala offers multiple tasting menus - The Chef's Journey ($215), Fagogo Journey ($165) and Lunch Journey ($85), and is strategically located in Parnell near the city centre. There is no a la carte. I was led to the counter-side seating directly opposite the kitchen - I glanced around the very compact single-room dining area and decided there was not much to lose by sitting at the counter where all the kitchen action unfolds in front of you. Besides, counter seating means Chef Onesemo can directly interact and present the dishes right in front of you - a definite advantage. 
 
 
 
 
There was another juice which I never drank before - smoked apple juice - with the smoked element giving it a top-note which tangoed over the fruit flavour. This novel drink was served alongside a slice of pineapple covered in red spice - some people do not see the point of nature's healthy bounty being slathered in salt-'n'-spice but Samoa, India and Mexico disagree. 
 
 
 
 
Samoan-inspired snacks continued with Taro chip served with curry paste and pomelo on top - there were competing tastes which may not have exactly added up - but a consumer like me who has eaten a lifetime's share of taro, cassava and tapioca chips is happy enjoying a whole bag of these chips' unique and bewitching umami on its own, although that means there wouldn't be an opportunity for fancy-pants fine-dining additions as above. 
 
 
 
 
I had nine courses, out of which four impressed me. A quail egg, black as a result of a charcoal crust, wiped through carrot cream was all manner of delicious umami. For the first time ever, I could taste the white bait in a NZ variation of 'Palolo' - undistracted by omelettes and other adulterations - the mild, mellow taste of the tiny fish coming through. Hearing about the seasonal delicacy of 'Palolo' in Samoa makes for fascinating reading, this interesting-looking marine product harvested at the end of the year in that neck of the ocean, with Chef Onesemo telling us that serving authentic Palolo in Auckland was not considered a wise idea (it might have kicked up a bigger storm than 'Pasture'). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Just like Mr.Onesemo thought of the riff on "Palolo", the Samoan fondness for corned beef ('Pisupo') would have caught his attention, leading to him offering his patrons a related dish made from 55 day aged sirloin. Sounds great, except that as I don't eat red meat, my 'Pisupo' was brunoised trevally (fish) with bits of sweet savoury elements - not bad but I'd forgotten it by the meal end - a decidedly un-inspired take when substitution called for more creativity. In retrospect, I wanted just one nice piece of fish handsomely cooked Samoan style, considering how popular fish is in ocean-surrounded Samoa, but except for high-falutin' faff, I didn't get this in Tala. 
 
 
 
 
Panikeke - one more doff of feathered hat, this time to the Samoan staple of fried dough balls often flavoured with banana - was served as a toasted soft bun, with a separate bowl of mild, almost sweet mix of melted cheese, mushroom and coconut. I suspect the regular good ol' Panikeke would have given me a better bakery kick. 
 
 
 
 
The dish of Oka (the last before the main course) - diced trevally with crunchy toasted grains on top - was a wan attempt at the genre, as was a scallop oka which was overpowered by mango. But the fish broth, made from trevally bones and a key contribution from seaweed, was exquisite oceanic umami in a fabulously balanced soup and a vital hint to me that this kitchen can cook unusually delicious and creative dishes when the stars align. 
 
 
 
 
Service was good, and the sommelier was especially nice to me. Sitting at the counter and watching all the action unfolding in the kitchen, especially with leaping flames from the hearth used to cook the meats, along with the patient plating, does not give a great chance to see how good the service is, but no lacunae in this regard affected my experience. 
 
With bangs and whistles largely missing in the first half of the meal, I looked forward to major satiation from the main courses. 
 
Alas ! The main course was woefully insubstantial and a miserable ending to the savoury part of my meal. There were two entries in the tasting menu for this key part of the meal - roadside BBQ and Umu Chicken - both were presented together for the main course. They had given me one prawn in place of the lustily barbecued pork my co-diners got as I do not eat red meat. The moderately bigger size of the prawn (smoky, tender, flavourful) was finished by me in two bites. In another bowl, a few kumara chips were served with a little puddle of a tasty potato-leek soup. In the same bowl, there were a few small cuts of chicken which were cooked in the leaf-wrapped steaming method with hot rocks. No doubt they had a smooth, buttery taste - a cross between sous vide and grilling. Two other small receptacles held chicken soup and prawn soup. I expected a separate presentation of Umu chicken - like how a chicken main course usually appears - to follow this, but no ! This collection of small eats - please see the photo to better understand - was the so-called main course !
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
More than the passable flavours, what bothered me about the main course was that the portions might not even satisfy a toddler. This lack of thought about basics like portion size is just plain puzzling, not to mention disappointing. 
 
Some solace ensued in the name of 'Copra' - which actually denotes the dried white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. My long time lament that one can't get good coconut ice cream in New Zealand (not the strident toasted flavour variety) was ably answered by this dream of a presentation. One half of the hard brown coconut shell was removed, and cold smoke continued to swirl from the hemisphere beneath. Multiple components contributed to this frosted white beauty in tropical Tala. Coconut had been channeled in various forms - sorbet, yoghurt, cream, oil, with pavlova and lychees thrown in for good measure. Exquisite complexity ensued, and so did a very simple rapture, like a soaring aria or a Morricone cello.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
There was a multi-compartment box at the end : coconut jam inside meringue - subtly rich, like mellow manuka honey. A little Koko Samoa brownie had the molten richness of a superior chocolate marquise. The bun of "Panipopo" was drowned in moreish chilled banana cream.
 
 
 
 
 
For a chef who has won Auckland's No.1 award, Henry Onesemo is very humble, obliging, kind and gracious to his customers. There is enough indication that this kitchen can cook at a high level when the dish is well selected and executed. But the shockingly meagre main course and overall lack of consistency in heights of taste, mean that I am in no hurry to return to this lavishly awarded restaurant. 
 
 
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