Highly recommended is Rasa (Malaysian) on Cuba Street. Take your own bottle of wine (BYO) for a cheap, but delicious dinner. Also, the Matterhorn where you can listen to local bands while eating delicious food and drinking cocktails. It's a funky place (but popular!).
Matterhorn:
www.matterhorn.co.nz/splash_flash.html
Matterhorn is great (it was my salvation on a particularly quiet Monday night) but if you're drinking stick to the restaurant rather than the adjoining cocktail bar - there's more room, and fewer ties.