The Great Crumpet Hunt

With crumpets popping up on the menus of cafes near and far, we've compiled a list of our favourite places to find the soft pillows of deliciousness.

In our latest issue, we have a recipe for light and tasty crumpets. If you're not quite ready to tackle the task of making your own, these places will show you how it's done. Call it research.

Little & Friday, Auckland
Little & Friday currently has light-as-air crumpets with berry coulis, dollops of mascarpone and Fred’s Honeycomb on their menu. They get through a fair few of these each day – we were lucky enough to nab the last pair the day we visited and had to have a good stare before we dug on in. Flowers make everything prettier.

Hello Sunday, Christchurch
Christchurch favourite Hello Sunday serves their decadently sweet crumpets with house-preserved fruits, mascarpone foam and house-made syrup. The savoury option comes topped with the brilliant combination of prosciutto ham, fried egg, vine tomatoes, manchego cheese and smoked garlic emulsion.

Homestead, Auckland
Offering sweet toppings such as poached fruit and coconut and lemon curd which change with the seasons, the one item the team at Pah Homestead say is glued to their menu is the savoury topping of Smoked Fish, Caper Beurre Blanc and Parsley with Poached Egg. We try to order something different each time we go but this is the order that we find rolling off our tongue every single time. 

Crumpet, Wellington
This cafe and bar on Manners Street serves crumpets alongside a delicious cocktail menu, which is probably the best drink/snack combination there is. 

Ceremony, Auckland
While Ceremony's incredible sandwiches are hard to go past, if you order their crumpet you'll be rewarded with one covered in brew-soaked dates, caramelised banana and shredded coconut. We ordered a sandwich each and shared this for dessert. Win-win.

Kraken Crumpets, Auckland
Hamish Macdonald and Amy Sisson, the duo behind the gorgeous foodtruck that houses Kraken crumpets, can be found at markets around Auckland serving a rotating menu of irresistable toppings. So far we've tried their Banana and Salted Caramel; Pesto, Tomato and Feta; and Salmon and Cream Cheese offerings and await the day we see Rhubarb Curd or Black Forest toppings are on the menu (and haven't sold out). They cook them right and front of you, which is fun to watch and means they're fresh as can be.

Orphans Kitchen, Auckland
One of the popular breakfast menu choices at Auckland’s Orphans Kitchen are wedges of chef Tom Hishon’s thick, spongy crumpets, drizzled in burnt butter and their own roof-top honey. 

Field & Green, Wellington
Chef and co-owner Laura Greenfield developed her recipe from Felicity Cloake’s “How to make the Perfect...” column in The Guardian. Laura then created her own variation, “whereby I make a large crumpet (which is the size of my frypans) that is then cut into six wedges, sliced then toasted to order”. Later this year, Field & Green will collaborate with the Ritual Tea Company for a Tea & Crumpet pop-up featuring lemon curd, (English) marmite and smoked salmon mousse. Count us in.

Flagship Eatery, Gisborne
Simplicity is key at Gisborne’s beautiful Flagship Eatery – their house-made crumpets are slathered in either jam, cream cheese or honeycomb. Apparently they sell like hot cakes. No surprises there.

Loretta, Wellington
Marc Weir, the owner of Wellington's Loretta cafe, says it took time to refine the recipe many Wellingtonians name as their favourite. “We cook on a low heat, cooking on one side only, not flipping, until small holes appear on the top and it starts to dry. The small holes throughout the crumpet are vital to give it texture.” And to soak up the butter and bowls of lemon curd that arrive alongside them, of course.

If you're feeling inspired to make your own crumpets, find a recipe on page 81 of our latest issue.