Mulleti - Nonna's Kitchen & Spritz

In Ponsonby Central’s food-hall style setting, Mulleti - Nonna's Kitchen & Spritz is built around a Roman-style forno rather than a broad Italian dining-room brief. For a return visit, the reason to go back is the format: teglia romana, pala romana, fritti and pasta al forno, with the cooking framed around Nonna’s kitchen rather than chef-led tasting-menu theatrics.

Roman forno cooking, not generic Italian comfort food

The clearest order here is the long Roman pizza, stretched by hand and baked directly on stone. That gives the place a more specific point of view than a standard pasta-and-pizza stop: the pizza format is the main decision driver, supported by tray-baked Roman-style pieces and baked pasta.

The service proposition also reads casual by design. Mulleti is part forno, part aperitivo counter and part Nonna’s kitchen, so expect a counter-and-kitchen rhythm. That works well if the appeal is direct food, spritz energy and a focused Roman bakehouse format. It is less compelling if the occasion needs a polished dining-room arc.

What to focus on after the first visit

Skip trying to treat this as an all-purpose Italian booking. The sharper move is to use it for the Roman bakehouse lane: long pizza from the stone oven, tray-baked Roman styles, fritti and pasta al forno. The baked pasta is positioned as rich, golden and generous, which makes it the natural second-visit pivot if pizza was the first order.

There are no awards, chef credentials, price range or reservation mechanics supplied here, so the decision should rest on format rather than status. Book this when Roman-style pizza and forno cooking are the point of the meal; choose another Auckland Italian option when the brief is fine dining, a long wine-led dinner or a more formal special-occasion setup.