From hush-hush phone numbers for restaurants such as Minetta Tavern, downtown’s hardest res, through to the off-menu bistecca fiorentina at Misi in South Williamsburg, or the first-in-first-served pineapple roast pork buns from Chinatown’s Mei Lai Wah, New Yorkers are unlikely to share their notes with the predicted 68 million hungry visitors expected to NYC in 2025. Lucky for us, some of our most successful and celebrated Kiwi women are based in New York City and they are here to share what they have for lunch, dishes to cure a Kiwi heartache and hidden foodie haunts for your next adventure in the aptly-named Big Apple.

KEISHA CASTLE-HUGHES
ACADEMY AWARD- NOMINATED ACTOR

At the age of 13, Keisha Castle-Hughes became the youngest actor to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her role as Paikea Apirana in Whale Rider. The breakout role had Keisha splitting her time between the land of the long white cloud and Los Angeles, the City of Dreams, for much of her twenties until she finally set up shop in LA. “At that time it was imperative to physically be in a place if you wanted to work in that place,” she says. In the coming years, she would go on to land roles in some of the world’s most epic and celebrated cinematic franchises such as Star Wars and Game of Thrones, while falling further and further in love with California’s foodie scene. “I grew up in Auckland. I wasn’t hugely familiar with Mexican cuisine beyond a burrito with avocado and sour cream and grated cheese – hard shell tacos!” she says. “It was amazing to move to the city where the Mexican and Latin food that’s available is incredible.”

Keisha then made the move to New York City where she resides in Brooklyn and stars as a series regular on CBS’ FBI: Most Wanted, a three-time Emmy-nominated procedural television series. “We shoot Monday to Friday, 10 months a year,” she says enthusiastically. “Stable employment is hard to come by so it is an incredible opportunity.” With the old-school 22-episode network model giving rise to a year-round shooting calendar, Keisha is often enjoying breakfast in the make-up chair.

“For someone like me who loves to eat, is motivated by food and inspired by food, that can be a little dangerous! From the morning onwards, the amazing caterers have muesli fruit bowls, banana pancakes with blueberries, full English breakfast, full American, smoothies, juices. Everything.” Although the options are endless, Keisha likes to keep it simple: “Oatmeal with brown sugar and cream. All my American counterparts think it’s very odd – they eat oatmeal with peanut butter and berries – so this is a definite throwback to my grandparents. We’ve perfected the perfect amount of ‘splash’ of cream – that’s the most diva thing about me!”

Outside of working hours, Keisha flips the ‘keep it boring’ breakfast ethos on its head, instead setting out to explore the new and staple foodie haunts both in her home borough of Brooklyn and further afield. One such place is Thai Diner in NoLita (thaidiner.com). Known for its gold-foil, disco-chic interior and to-the-sky plating, it’s a watering hole for cool kids and a reason to go below 14th Street for dining veterans. “I love going there for brunch. Their kabocha curry with roti is super, super spicy. The disco fries are fantastic. They also have this variation of bacon, egg and cheese in a roti wrap – really, really great,” Keisha says, conjuring the memory with a big smile. Corima (corimanyc.com), a 15-minute walk from Thai Diner, is also on Keisha’s list. “They just got their first Michelin star. The tortilla and butter is akin to Vegemite on Vogels!”

In her local neighbourhood, Keisha loves a small Ethiopian restaurant called Awash Ethiopian (awashny.com). “[I like] the lentil crêpes served with curries and different curries on the injera bread, it’s almost like crumpet bread. The texture is really yummy.” Also in the area is Baby Luc’s (babylucs.com), the baby sister to pizza giant, Lucali. “If you cannot be bothered waiting in the line for Lucali – which has gotten longer since Taylor Swift frequents there – the pizza is fantastic.”

SARAH McNAMARA
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL MANAGER AT PETER THOMAS ROTH

Sarah McNamara is the Executive Vice President and General Manager at Peter Thomas Roth, the largest independently owned skincare brand in the USA. Originally from the City of Sails, Sarah voyaged across the ditch early in her career to work for Unilever in Australia, who at the time owned Calvin Klein and Elizabeth Arden among other major brands. In the coming years, Sarah would go on to live all over the globe including a stint in Tokyo, before joining Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong and transferring to the New York City office in 2000. Shortly after, Sarah joined L’Oréal which paved the way for her to launch her own brand, Miracle Skin Transformer, before ultimately bringing her expertise to Peter Thomas Roth.

Having settled in the US 25 years ago, Sarah admits, “I feel like I have a lot of Australian friends… a few New Zealand friends, but not as many as I would like.” She makes a special visit home to Aotearoa annually, reconnecting with family, nature and, of course, the best of Kiwi produce. “I think the real high-quality produce in New Zealand is second to none,” she says. Although it is no secret that the US has a polluted food chain, Sarah praises the diversity of cuisines on offer. “Coming and living here in the US, I learned a lot about Mexican food, because growing up I had no exposure to it,” she says.

Having lived in Tribeca, NoMad and the Upper East Side, Sarah has eaten her way around the island. For a downtown recommendation, she has a soft spot for the beloved Bar Pitti (barpittirestaurant.com), a cash-only, chalk-board Italian gem. “You can’t go wrong. I’ve loved it my whole life. It’s remained a complete classic. I always order off the blackboard and I’ll get the linguine with clams, the meatballs are second to none and their sautéed spinach is incredible.” Most seats are saved for walk-ins, so a good dose of trust and luck should secure your seats at this homey pasta scene in the heart of the village.

With an office near Central Park, Sarah recommends Le Bilboquet (lebilboquetny.com) for a special occasion or business lunch. “Their Cajun chicken and frites is amazing – that’s their classic,” she says. The ritzy fine-dining bistro which started with 35 seats for its devoted celebrities and chess masters alike, is now a boujee brunch scene sporting waxed leather booths, impeccable service and old-money opulence.

GEORGIA JOHNSTONE
SENIOR COPYWRITER AT DROGA5

Few can say their first job necessitated a front-row seat to interviews with the likes of John Campbell and Hilary Barry, but for Georgia Johnstone, who began operating the autocue at TV3, it was the first step towards an international career in the ad world. Georgia is a Senior Copywriter at Droga5, a creative agency and 25-time winner of the ‘Agency of the Year’ award, headquartered in New York City with clients including Amazon, JPMorganChase and LVMH. Though she exceeds the markers of a true New Yorker (West-Village digs, friends with local barista, slight Yankee twang), Georgia exemplifies the high-performing yet graciously humble Kiwi spirit. “Droga was the dream,” she says. “I grew up on a farm, living in gumboots!” Reflecting on her rural upbringing, Georgia notes her preference for the farm-to-table brunch offerings around the city. “Friend of a Farmer in Gramercy (friendofafarmer.com) is hyper-cozy and rustic. I’ve had their macaroni cheese,” she says. “I do like Hudson Clearwater (hudsonclearwater.com), [it has a] similar vibe – it’s American, but the same kind of big brunches.”

When she has time to grab lunch, Georgia’s Wall Street office is walking distance to the Tin Building, the immersive culinary mecca by French-American restaurateur Jean-Georges. The one-stop dining destination boasts all types of foodie delights from artisanal chocolate from Spoiled Parrot (an opulent, luxury candy parlour), to what the New York Times calls a ‘stupendous’ French onion soup from T. Brasserie. Georgia opts for a crêpe from Crepes and Dosas. Perfect for dessert, try the pillowy vanilla sponge cake crêpe with almond paste espresso, dark chocolate lashings and whipped meringue that is sure to satisfy the sweet-tooths among us.

From a small but mighty nation of 5 million, New Zealanders have a reputation for making a global splash – and these Kiwi women are no different. They’re not just excelling but turning heads in some of the most competitive and cut-throat industries in the world. And no matter how busy life gets they all prove that there is always time to find excellent dishes to write home about.