Ponsonby Central Welcomes New Nic Watt Venture

Nic Watt is set to open his second INCA restaurant in Auckland’s famous Ponsonby Central dining precinct. 

The next time you’re walking down Broadway in Newmarket, keep an ear out, you might just hear the feint sound of diners singing their praises from the rooftops. The likely source of which is Nic Watt’s INCA restaurant.  

If you have business further afield, however, you’re in luck because the renowned chef has found a second home for his Nikkei-inspired menu within the expansion of Ponsonby Central. A location which is guaranteed to have the buzz heard loud and clear along the streets of one of Auckland’s most famous suburbs.  

The concept for Nic’s INCA restaurant began nine years ago with a research mission in South America. He and his team travelled from London to Peru, visiting various restaurants throughout the country including the capital Lima, the ancient capital of Cusco and even the Amazon, sampling the country’s colourful cuisine.  

Nic’s extensive experience in Japanese cooking is well documented, so a research mission in South America might seem like a departure from his traditional cooking background but Japanese cuisine and culture have a long history in Peru. It was the first Latin American country to accept Japanese immigrants in 1899. The individuals who emigrated there (and other countries around the world) during this time were known as Nikkei. Despite their small numbers, their impact on the country was significant. Perhaps none more so than Nikkei cuisine, which Nic describes as a meeting between the flamboyance of South America and the techniques of Japan. And that was precisely what drew him to Peru almost a decade ago, “We went from anywhere dining with the locals to then Nikkei restaurants. So, second and third generation Japanese people living in Peru, to see their interpretation. So, it was very much an in-depth hospitality research trip,” he explains.  

If football is any example to go by, when something that transcends borders and cultures is introduced to Latin America, it tends to become infused with an inimitable level of passion and zest. So, it’s no surprise then that traditional Japanese cuisine underwent its own metamorphosis when it found its way to the continent, “I guess I come from working in the Japanese restaurants, which is very precise, very accurate, and there’s sort of only one way to do something. And then you go to South America and you’ve got all this flamboyance and creativity and lime juice and all the different chillis, Aji Amarillo, Aji Panca, corinader flavours. So, it’s a really exciting, flavourful, sort of younger version of traditional Japanese food or contemporary Japanese food.”  

Nic has always wanted to open a Nikkei restaurant, so when he was given the opportunity not once but twice, he grabbed it with both hands, “I think Nikkei’s missing from the New Zealand food scene. When you look overseas, there’s a huge growth in the Nikkei cuisine,” he says.Building on the success of his first location, Nic is certain that diners in Ponsonby will have just as much of an appetite for the cuisine, “We’ve got a two-meter charcoal hearth where we cook over coffee embers, so that’ll be fantastic for the Ponsonby audience, and then all the beautiful fresh fish and ceviche and contemporary sashimi and contemporary maki rolls that we’ll bring in, I think will be really well received,” says Nic.  

When asked about a dish on the menu that best represents Nikkei, Nic says “There’s a dish called [...] Beef Sirloin Lomo Saltado. So that’s Nikkei right there. That’s effectively like a beef stir-fry. If you go traditionally into Peru, beef sirloin, black beans, peppers, potato, onion. And we’re doing a version of that and we’ll upgrade it to a Wagyu Beef Lomo Saltado. That’ll be served with baby peppers, young onion. We’re going to do a black garlic salsa verde and fried potato. So that’s Nikkei cuisine right there.”  

Despite being the new kid on the block, Westfield Newmarket proved to be the perfect proving ground for Nic’s Nikkei-inspired cuisine. As he explained, Newmarket Westfield has a diverse audience of mall goers, many of whom just happen to stumble across INCA without any idea of what to expect. But it hasn’t taken long for them to become fans of the restaurant and its menu. And the restaurant now regularly receives what Nic calls ‘destination diners’ - people who travel across the city specifically to dine at his restaurant, “People love it. It’s a young, vibrant feeling. They love the bold flavours, the strong flavours. Our margaritas are an absolute sensation as are our Pisco Sours. And we’ve got a really strong regular base. And we can see that from when we come out of these lockdowns in different situations, people say, “Inca is the first restaurant I came to,” he says. 

While many restaurateurs would have had strong doubts about opening a new restaurant in these difficult times, Nic was more resolute than ever over his decision to open up a second location in Ponsonby, “COVID has without question hit hospitality hard, but I also believe that this is a really strong location. It’s a really strong restaurant concept and I’ve got a really strong team around me and we’ll deliver a fantastic experience for what will be a regular, loyal clientele and employ 20-plus hospitality professionals in the process. So, we’ve got to keep going,” he explains. 

Far from being a carbon copy of the Newmarket location, INCA Ponsonby will have its own identity with all new menu items that will expand the restaurant’s offering “Yeah, so it’s definitely not a cookie cut model, so it’s not we’re just cut and pasting one restaurant from one location to the other. So, at least 40% or more of the menu will be specific and new to that menu. We’ll still have some of our signature items with the Pork al Pastor Tacos, for example, and the Pacific Ceviche, but we’ll be bringing on some new items," says Nic. "If we think about Nikkei cuisine, it’s so diverse and so broad what you can tap into with all the chilli flavours, all the wood fire from South America, and then bringing in some of the flavour profiles from Asia, be it China or Japan. It’s a really, really broad palate to work with.” 

For all the success that INCA has enjoyed at its Newmarket location, the possibilities offered by the expansion of Ponsonby Central may prove to be even more alluring. The restaurant will occupy prime real estate on the corner of Richmond Road. The entrance will also be via a new laneway that connects to new office space, 80 car parks and to the existing building which houses more than 20 eateries, homeware, fashion and pop-up shops. All of which will be key ingredients in the success of INCA’s new location.  

“It reminds me a lot of one of my old restaurants in London. It's a corner site, lots of street exposure, it's square. So, you can really work with the space really well. And then to be able to bring my hospitality style, Nic Watt hospitality style up to Ponsonby Road is really exciting. I've got the inner city on Federal Street with Masu, I've got Newmarket, I've got the Eastern Bay. And to be able to go up in such an iconic restaurant area, and to be part of the Ponsonby Central big group of restaurants and retail is really exciting. I'm super keen to be there and really happy that Andy Davies from Ponsonby Central said, "Yes, let's do this," says Nic. 

One aspect of the expansion that Nic is particularly excited about is his soon to be neighbour Silky Otter, a four-screen luxury boutique cinema complex set to open mid-year. One which he anticipates will attract moviegoers to his restaurant for pre- and post-movie dinner and drinks, “I'm super excited about the movie theaters going in. I think they're a great concept for movie theaters. It's new, there's not really a movie theater in and around that Ponsonby area at all. So, if you think of the existing Ponsonby Central, then you suddenly add on the back now, there's a florist, Inca's going in there, then there's a big four theater movie section, Silky Otter, but it's not your traditional concept. And offices upstairs. I think it's going to just bring a whole new, exciting energy to that existing precinct,” he says. 

INCA Ponsonby will be open seven days for lunch (12-2:30pm) and dinner (5:00pm – late) and is expected to welcome diners early March. The 200 sqm site has been in development for 18 months and will seat 100 diners inside, with seating for a further 34 outside in the new laneway. 

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