Rialto Centre

With a home store, Kathmandu, sock shop, candle store and massage parkour (the Rub) downstairs and a good court and cinema upstairs, this is one of the most utilized spaces in Newmarket. Parking is available on nearby streets and carparks, and if you can’t find what you are looking for here, there are plenty of other stores nearby.

Located in the heart of Newmarket this is home to Rialto Cinemas a few shops and a small food court. Clean and tidy with a good selection of food options makes this one of my favourite places to see a movie in Auckland

Movies and food. What more do you need? A Kathmandu you say, well it just so happens… It is less of a mall and more of an arcade with a movie theatre and food court upstairs. The shops which are on the ground floor really just blend into the rest of Broadaway. It doesn’t feel like whole of the Rialto Centre is a place in it of it self, but instead that you appreciate it for all of its seperate parts. With a cinema that always shows good movies and a food court which is not just filled up with chain store eateries, a visit to the Rialto Centre actually makes for a worthwhile evening.

I used to always pop in here for the Baci Lounge — the inspiring book store and café on the first floor. They used to stock a book I wrote so I would often pop in to see if it was still for sale. Sadly that has closed down now so I would only really pop in here for the Rialto Cinema. As far as I know, Auckland doesn’t have any other arthouse cinemas so this is where I come if I want to get a bit of culture. We normally eat in the Nandos if we do go as the rest of the eateries in the Food Court do not look all that appealing. There is a good store for the home on the ground level — it’s got some nice stuff but is pretty pricey. My wife says that the mall was busier years ago but it’s lost some its vitality in recent times. I suppose at least it’s not as busy as some of the bigger malls and has an arty angle which you certainly don’t get in the Westfield shopping malls.

French romantic comedies are my favourite movie genre, the male lead is normally a clumsy fellow that is a no hoper in the love game, and the female lead is normally a pixie like woman strong in character and rich in looks.
My art house cinema of choice is at the Rialto Centre, and there is more to it than just the movie on show. If it is a matinée showing, then you can go for sushi and ice cream and in the evenings there’s the coffee shop and Nando’s.
My wife loves art movies, so it is no problem to convince her to enjoy a night out in Newmarket. The whole atmosphere of the centre is relaxing, and even the few shops downstairs offer the shopper a wide variety of gifts and fashion. The only negative is the size, it is just too small.

I do not like shopping in stores, maybe it is malls and the amount of people they seem to attract, so Rialto Centre is actually okay from the perspective it is so dead. Slowly over the years it has gotten sadder. Despite the fact it is on Broadway, Rialto does not get the foot traffic that the majority of Newmarket attracts. I used to come here all the time for the coffee lounge that was up on the second level opposite the cinema but they are no longer in business and the place is still up for lease. If it weren’t for the cinema, Nando’s, The Home Store and Euro Style I don’t think Rialto Centre would exist. There are meant to be over 25 stores, I haven’t counted but they probably need to update their website. Not sure if the sock and hat stall counts.
The food court is sub par and the toilets should be avoided. (I cannot speak for the male toilets though). Really you’d only come for a specific purpose, for a specific store like Euro Style or to go to the Home Store because they have no other Auckland locations. It is tough for retail and this mall is representative of that. Osbourne, Nuffield and Teed Street really became the place for boutique retail to set up brick and mortar locations and the mall has suffered. Rialto is a ghost town, but there are a few good reasons left to come, for how long though, that is the question.