Imperial Lane hotdogs, Auckland, New Zealand
On our last night in Auckland, we decided to go for a walk in the city to find dinner. First, we followed a tip from a few of my Kiwi readers and headed to Imperial Lane in search of gourmet hotdogs. We found a neon-lit hotdog stand, coffee machine and well stocked bar down a dark sloping laneway. This historical space has been carefully refurbished and deliberately furnished for that trendy modern industrial look, though still exuding an attractive roughness from age and architectural character.
We shared the Pølser (Danish for ‘sausage’), with a pork sausage, ketchup, mustard, remoulade, diced onion, crispy fried onion and pickled cucumber in a soft Vienna dough bun. Jac ordered a beer from the bar to wash it all down. Duck fat chips were tempting, as was splitting another hotdog – second on the list was the Banh Mi, with chilli and lime sausage, shredded carrot, cucumber ribbons, pickled cabbage, chilli, coriander, toasted rice and rice wine mayo. But next stop in our dinner mission was an Auckland street food icon (another blog post to come), so we wanted to pace ourselves.
The Pølser: pork sausage, ketchup, mustard, remoulade, diced onion, crispy fried onion and pickled cucumber – a fantastic combo 
I watched the hotdog maker at work – fluent movements, pure concentration At the time of our visit, Roxy was the hot new restaurant in the century-old, heritage-listed Imperial building, absolutely packed on Friday night – we didn’t have the patience to wait. Roxy Restaurant has since closed, replaced by Roxy bar and lounge. Everybody’s Bar and Bistro, also tucked away in the Imperial building, has been reinvented as Everybody’s Izakaya.
Thankfully for hotdog fans, Imperial Lane’s hotdog stand is going strong, and the menu’s even grown a little since our visit.
Imperial Lane hotdogs
Enter via 7 Fort Lane or 44 Queen Street
Auckland, New Zealand
All hotdogs NZ$9.80
Hotdogs available from 12pm daily
Imperial Lane serves up more than hotdogs – there’s breakfast, an all-day grazing menu and drinks list too.
Auckland and Waiheke Island trip – blog series
We had a brilliant holiday in Auckland earlier this year. There are more blog posts to come from the trip.
Posted so far (in reading order):
- New Zealand trip – sneak peek
- The Big Foody Auckland Tastebud Tour
- El Faro, Elliott Stables, Auckland
- Takapuna Beach Cafe, Auckland and ferry ride to Devonport
- The Kapiti Store, Auckland
- Food Alley, Auckland
- Waiheke Island: Le Chalet Apartments and The Oyster Inn
- Waiheke Island tour with See Waiheke
- Scenes from Waiheke Island
- No.1 Pancake, Auckland
- Tiffin Afternoon Tea at The Langham Auckland
- Imperial Lane hotdogs, Auckland – this post
This trip to Auckland and Waiheke Island, New Zealand was planned by Jac and me. We paid for all meals, accommodation and activities; the exception was 1 x return premium economy flight Perth to Auckland, which I received at an Air New Zealand launch event last year. Everything I blog about the trip is based on our experiences and all opinions are ours.