Northern Italian cooking on Buckingham Street
Aosta is named after the alpine valley in northern Italy that sits on the same 45th parallel as Arrowtown — similar mountains, similar seasons, similar attitude to preserving things through winter. That is the whole idea of the place.
Ben Bayly opened it in 2019 with Michael Hill. The cooking is Northern Italian with a French edge, built on Central Otago growers and producers, and it picked up a Bib Gourmand in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide — the distinction for good cooking at a fair price rather than a Star. Bayly's Auckland restaurant Ahi. took One Star in the same guide.
It is a small dining room tucked off Buckingham Street, and it fills. Dinner runs seven nights. Walk-ins are welcome but booking is the safer plan, and groups of eight or more go on a set menu.
Award: Bib Gourmand, MICHELIN Guide New Zealand 2026.
- Date night
- Special occasion
- Groups
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