The Nocturnalists series shines a light on Auckland after dark. Chefs, comedians, performers and punters – Nocturnalists are spirited members of Auckland’s nighttime scene. In this series, they take us on a tour of their favourite spots and all this city has to offer after 5pm. Today: the interviewer becomes the interviewed.

Photos by Sophie Miya-Smith shot on location at Four Shells Kava Lounge and Lorne Street.

Emma Gleason wears quite a few hats. She’s a Spinoff contributor, hosts a show on bFM and pens the weekly, independent culture newsletter Crust. She’s also the writer of this series. In this instalment, Emma tells Liv Sisson what she’s learnt from the passionate Aucklanders she’s interviewed and where you’re most likely to find her after dark.

Liv: How long have you lived here? What’s your origin story?

Emma: I’ve lived here since 2000. We moved here from Australia when I was 11, and other than a couple of years backpacking overseas, I’ve always been in Auckland. I’ve lived in the central city for over five years, and another couple of years before that too. I live right in the CBD, near the uni.

Where do you like to hang out around there? 

The park by Old Government House and Albert Park. And I just walk around the city as a hobby, wandering around to see what’s changed, at any time of day.

Even at night? 

Even at night. I love it. Walking around the city after dark, you see students out for dinner, people going to the theatre, getting takeaways. I always wonder where everyone’s going, what they’re doing. The other night we went to Basement for a show and the city was packed. We walked down from our place to the theatre, which takes like 10 minutes, and got some fried pork buns on the way.

Where did you get those?

Little Panda Takeaway, it’s at the library end of Lorne Street.

Is that a regular spot for you?

Yeah! The prices are excellent, they’re open late and have friendly staff. The dumplings are really good, and the fried pork buns are too. 

Do you usually go to Lorne Street for food?

Yeah, the energy is great and it’s become a really buzzy spot. It’s been interesting watching it evolve over the past eight years.

How has it changed?

Every new lease is usually a food business opening. And the whole street has really gone all out with lights and displays. And it’s always busy, I think because prices are a little bit lower; you’ll pay maybe $17 for spicy beef noodles at Master Pig, or $10 for fried pork buns at Little Panda. I think it also benefits from its location, being situated near the university, so it gets students and people who live in the city.

You said before you love that feeling of walking around the city and seeing all its characters. What are some spots where you like to people-watch? 

Any place with outside seating, like Le Chef on Vulcan Lane. If there’s an option to sit outside, I always will. Karangahape Road is good for that too, you see so many characters, and people you know. I always bump into Sam Te Kani, or Tony Downing from Bad News vintage (a legend).

I know Chris Parker said Sam was Auckland’s Fran Lebowitz. Who are some other nightlife characters?

I see Melodownz all the time. We go to the same kava lounge, Four Shells in Victoria Park Market. I’ve been going there since about 2021. I stopped drinking for like a month, went there and, yeah, never really drank again. There’s a really nice community of people; l’ve made heaps of friends just from going there. It’s quite unique and special in that sense. You’d be hard-pressed to find a bar or a restaurant where you can just make friends with strangers. At Four Shells, it’s very normal and encouraged. It’s also just nice vibes. So many different people go there, Melodownz, and other musicians like Sam V and Diggy Dupe. Politicians go there, artists, lawyers, builders, poets, tradies, a couple of journalists – it’s a real microcosm, I love it. So that’s where I’m most likely to be found at night.

So you go to Four Shells and what do you order?

We usually get a kava bowl to share. If we’re meeting a few people, we’ll order a bigger one. You sit around together, have a shell, talk about all sorts of things – heavy things, funny things, or you can sit there and switch off, which is nice. It’s also one of the safest places in town I think, that place and Victoria Park Market, at night. It’s busy down there, because you’ve got Shy Guy, and Dice and Fork, the board game bar, which is a really good time, and always heaving.

What else is down there?

There’s i-Village, the Indian restaurant. I like the tandoori chicken and the Rogan Josh. They also do really good naan.

Where else do you like to go for food after dark? 

I’ll go down to the bottom of Anzac Ave and get Xi’an, which does some of my favourite noodles in town.

What’s your order there?

In winter I get the spicy beef noodle soup, number 301, and in summer I usually get number 25, the hand-pulled noodles with spicy chilli oil. Hobson Indian is down there too, and also great – you’ve got to get the samosa chaat, and a lassi. And then, what I’m excited about is Navat Uyghur Cuisine has just opened on High Street.

You mentioned Basement before, are you there a lot?

I’m not a regular there, I wouldn’t say l’m a Chris Parker. But as a venue, I think the kaupapa is really cool. It creates a space for performers to put on their work and it’s quite accessible. And the fact they’ve created this amazing ecosystem and community is really, really special. It’s like this little cultural creative oasis in the city – you can read Chris’s  Nocturnalists interview to hear about that beautiful little block.

What’s it been like working on the Nocturnalists series? 

Honestly so enlivening. I’ve always been a cheerleader for Auckland. When I got the opportunity to work on the series, I was so excited because I love talking to people about the city. When I catch up with friends, we always just end up talking about Auckland, because everyone is interested in it and cares. It’s where we’re all living our lives, so we’ve all got a vested interest. And the whole premise of Nocturnalists is that Auckland after dark actually is cool. There are misconceptions about the city, but you do just need to go out; it reminds you of what’s nice about being part of society. It’s that sense of community I really love. I’ve lived in town for a long time and I wouldn’t live anywhere else.

What do you say to people who think that there’s not much happening?

Oh, there’s so much happening – almost too much. There are things happening every night at venues all around town. I read them on the air on bFM every Thursday, and there are like 20 things happening on any given Friday.

How can people keep their finger on the pulse?

You just need to make the effort to get out there. And plug in, find a few venues you like and just follow them on Instagram, or get their newsletters. The K Road one is a really good way to know what’s happening. If you tune into the right frequencies, you’ll know what’s going on. And it’s way better than sitting at home on your phone.

So you’ve interviewed five different Aucklanders for this now, any themes that kept coming up?

Themes that have come up repeatedly are that everyone really loves the city, even though it’s a work in progress – as it always will be, cities are always like that. There’s always construction, always something changing; a lot of people love that, it’s a sign of growth and progress. There’s also a real sense of community; people supporting each other, passing it forward. People have made all these friendships, and that’s really incredible.

What about favourite places?

EVERYONE mentioned Lorne Street, which was interesting, because l’d felt it was having a moment, so hearing the same from Michael and Jono and Chris, that was cool. And everyone loves K Road. I love it too; it’s always been one of my favourite places, and it still is. It was nice to see a lot of common threads, hearing what these people love, and also their suggestions.

What were the suggestions?

That we should continue this series! Places could be open later. More outdoor dining. And more people could be lighting up the Sky Tower, à la Chris Parker.

What about reactions to the series? Have you had any?

Really nice feedback from friends and strangers. I’ve had a few people slide into the DMs asking how they can be part of it. So I told them: watch this space.