Tala
Last updated September 23, 2026
At Tala, contemporary Samoan cooking is given the full tasting-menu treatment: the Chef’s Journey and Fāgogo Journey reinterpret familiar dishes through a sequence that includes umu, the open-fire cooking central to Samoan food tradition. Some courses are designed to be eaten without cutlery, and the meal begins with a non-alcoholic welcome drink, small details that make the service feel deliberate rather than theatrical.
Tala was awarded One MICHELIN Star in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide New Zealand 2026, making it the first Michelin-starred restaurant centred on contemporary Samoan cuisine. Henry Onesemo, Tala’s executive chef and co-owner, was also named Chef of the Year at the 2026 Cuisine Good Food Awards.
The experience is ritualised to the end. Meals conclude with apa fafano, a traditional ceremonial hand-washing, and may close with Aunty Tommy’s Koko Samoa drinking chocolate or coffee. It is precise, personal cooking, rooted in Samoan practice without treating tradition as static.
