New Opening: Happy Boy Eatery, Royal Oak

Happy Boy in Royal Oak. Picture / Errin Cerna

If your social media radar is switched on to the latest happenings in the Auckland food scene, you would have noticed a tease for a new eatery featuring fun cartoon graphics in your various feeds over the past few months.

The day has finally arrived for the big reveal of the latest eatery from the clever people behind Balmoral hotspot Kiss Kiss, and this explosion of neon colour is your first look at Happy Boy which opens at the Royal Oak shops next week.

The "super futuristic and otherworldly" new restaurant from Jasper and Ludo Maignot, Celeste Thornley and Louise Chapman — with its strong branding created in collaboration with Meide Studio — will be serving simple food mixing American diner classics such as cheeseburgers with Asian flavours. A small range of burgers will be made using steamed buns.

RECIPE: Pork Bao Buns

Desserts will be unique interpretations of diner classics too: think warm chocolate brownie and icecream topped with a miso butterscotch sauce. There'll be a great beer and wine list, and a slushie machine will take care of both the children and the adults, with a few alcoholic versions also available.

"We wanted to create an eatery that was suitable for the whole family, a meal that wouldn’t break the bank, but on top of that it was extremely important to us that the experience was something completely out of the norm in terms of the space and the environment we created," Celeste says.

Only free-range meats and local suppliers will be used, and all packaging will be eco, making this Happy Boy a Sustainable Boy too.

• Happy Boy Eatery opens at 705A Manukau Rd, Royal Oak on Monday July 17. Visit Happyboyeatery.com