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$$$$ | Flaxmill Bay |
In addition to great food, this restaurant has a community-hub feel thanks to live music sessions, poetry readings, film nights, and a summer sculpture symposium. The dinner menu reaches beyond standard café fare, and there's also a great range of classic breakfasts and fresh baked goods. Be sure to check the on-site shop Eggstras for quality deli items to take on your journey. The café is about 1 km (0.6 mile) from the Whitianga ferry landing, with a free pick-up service if you don't fancy the 10-minute walk.
1049 Purangi Rd., Whitianga, Waikato, 3591, New Zealand
Known For
- Scallops, chowders, and other seafood
- Tasty desserts
- Community art and music
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and May–Sept.
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There’s a vintage retro feel at this unassuming café that belies the amazing fresh-baked goods produced within. Cabinets are crammed with pastries, breads, cakes, panini and other sandwiches, and some truly fantastic cakes like the passionfruit curd cake. Salads and lots of vegetarian options are on the menu, the coffee is consistently good, and tea lovers can choose from a list of organic, loose-leaf flavors. The place is loved by the locals and if you eat in you’re likely to get to know them at the big communal tables.
50 9th Ave., Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, 3112, New Zealand
Known For
- Great coffee
- Classic Kiwi sausage rolls
- Local vibe
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Like many places to eat on the peninsula, this casual café does a roaring trade with mussels and seafood. But lots of Kiwi café foods are also here, like full breakfasts, salads, and pies, while the dinner menu serves all the classics. Quiches, cakes, and sandwiches are handmade every day, and the coffee is fair-trade. You can enjoy your food and drinks indoors or alfresco. Nothing is deep-fried.
22 Wharf Rd., Coromandel, Waikato, 3506, New Zealand
Known For
- Fish and mussel chowders
- House-baked cakes
- Fair-trade coffee
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Salted-caramel, white-chocolate, and creme-custard donuts are among the decadent favorites at this central Whakatane café. However, sandwiches and savory pies are other options from the cabinet, and you can order from a full breakfast and lunch menu for something cooked freshly on site. The small lemon meringue pies are snapped up quickly, too, but you'll always have something to choose from in the house baking line. Indoor and outdoor seating is available.
93 The Strand, Whakatane, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Known For
- Central location close to shops
- House-made cereal for breakfast
- Great coffee
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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Jasmine vines cloak the front porch of this adorable 1890 miner's cottage. Folks come here for breakfast and lunch every day of the week, and you might have to wait a bit during holiday time, but locals think it's worth it. For breakfast, "The Classic" (bacon, sausages, eggs, fried potatoes, tomato, and toast) will set most people up for the day. At lunch you'll find hearty salads and seafood chowder, a staple for regulars. Cakes are seriously good, as is the coffee.
20 Victoria St., Whitianga, Waikato, 3510, New Zealand
Known For
- Classic breakfasts, including a great eggs Benedict
- Seafood chowder
- Lots of locals
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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Recently reopened just to the south of Coromandel Town, this restaurant is well sign-posted but also easy to spot by the historical mussel barge at the main entrance. It sets the tone for a place that makes the local delicacy the star of the show, including delicious half-shell mussels or mussel pots served with bread. They come naturally, or you can have them flavored with garlic butter and white wine sauce or spiced up with a green curry. Seafood souvlaki is recommended and includes scallops and prawns skewered alongside the mussels. Fish-and-chips, steak, and a salad selection are among the other items on the menu.
20 309 Rd., Coromandel, Waikato, 3581, New Zealand
Known For
- Fresh mussels in all varieties
- Seafood souvlaki with scallops, prawns, and mussels
- Both indoor and outdoor dining
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.--Wed. No dinner
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This café’s small shared plates feature an eclectic fusion of Asian and classic European flavors with a strong Kiwi touch. Try the tea leaf salad, Burmese-style, with roasted soy beans, peanuts, kawakawa (a pepper-flavored native plant), cabbage, and tomato; ostrich and beef cheek; or the braised octopus with nectarines. Sit inside in candlelight or under the trees in the buzzy garden with the locals.
19 Captain Cook Rd., Waikato, 3591, New Zealand
Known For
- Great pizzas
- Selection of fusion dishes
- Dessert platters
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and Wed.
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The meat and produce in this café and store all come from the owner’s very own farm, Kairaumati Hereford Stud. The meat is processed on-site, the sausages are made from an old family recipe, and the free-range eggs, honey, vegetables, jams, and pickles are all homegrown. For lunch, there’s a range of burgers (regarded widely as the best on the peninsula), toasted sandwiches, hot chips, muffins, and cakes, plus real fruit ice cream. You can dine in the garden, then pick up some farm-fresh meat and condiments to enjoy later.
2318 Colville Rd., Colville, Waikato, 3584, New Zealand
Known For
- Pure homegrown Hereford beef burgers
- House-made baked goods
- Pickles and chutneys
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This spacious, centrally located café–restaurant can get busy with both visitors and locals. Breakfast kicks off at 9 am with all the standard Kiwi options. Salads, burgers, and fish-and-chips come on the menu for lunch; dinner is still casual but with slightly more upmarket fare with a good range of lamb, steak, salmon, pork, and vegetable dishes on offer. If you arrive during the day, pop into the adjacent Manaia Gallery, which sells jewelry, art, and crafts.
228 Main Rd., Tairua, Waikato, 3508, New Zealand
Known For
- Woodfire pizzas
- Breakfast waffles
- Art and craft store next-door
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Just off the road but with a backdrop of fruit trees, this is a fitting place to stop for breakfast or lunch in an area known for its fresh produce. A tasty vegetarian choice is the "Figotten Shroom" (balsamic mushrooms on a potato rosti stack with spinach and a dollop of fig jam). Standard fare like loaded fries, nachos, and "fush and chups" (a gentle jibe at the Kiwi accent) can be found here too. Dine inside, or take advantage of the park surroundings and settle at an outdoor table.
603 State Hwy. 2, New Zealand
Known For
- Plenty of off-road parking, with room for campervans and motorhomes
- Early closing (at 3 pm)
- Good children's menu
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues. No dinner
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The standout restaurant in town showcases local produce, shellfish, fish, lamb, and beef. Lunch easily segues into dinner in the sheltered courtyard or in front of the fire, depending on the season. Service is swish and prices are up there, but you get what you pay for. All-day brunches and light lunches are also served.
31 Kapanga Rd., Coromandel, Waikato, 3506, New Zealand
Known For
- Mussels (steamed or in chowder)
- Other Coromandel shellfish like oysters and scallops
- Signature prime rib steak
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At the base of Mauao and across the street from the beach, this bustling café is a great place for breakfast or lunch after a climb or swim. Grab a table (there are more outside than in) for a blueberry muffin, blue cheese scone, a falafel, a salad, or a dense chocolate brownie. Or get a huge sandwich and a smoothie to go, and head off to a quiet spot on the trail that rings The Mount.
1 Marine Parade, Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty, 3116, New Zealand
Known For
- Tasty muffins and pies
- Smoothies to go
- Excellent coffee
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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This café boasts of being the friendliest place in town, and the day-long crowds support the claim. Inside, you'll find good coffee, fresh pastries, and a paper roll menu (as they call it) listing fresh, wholesome breakfasts and lunches like house-smoked salmon, salads, and classic burgers. Dinner is served in December and January and over long weekends. There's a generous selection of gluten- and dairy-free options, too. It's the sort of place where surfers might be seated alfresco next to older folks out for a balmy afternoon coffee.
646 Port Rd., Whangamata, Waikato, 3620, New Zealand
Known For
- Spiced breakfast bircher museli
- Quality Kokako roast coffee
- Alfresco dining
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Wed.--Fri.
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A consistently good community café, Sola offers an all-vegetarian menu but it’s no health food bar. Counter food includes tasty risotto cakes, Florentines, and fresh fruit shortbreads. Try a breakfast of potato-and-fresh-herb frittata or pan-fried polenta with smoked field mushroom, spinach, and feta for lunch. They also cater to wheat and gluten-free diets. Local cheeses and chutneys from the deli counter make great picnic fixings.
720b Pollen St., Thames, Waikato, 3500, New Zealand
Known For
- <PRO>excellent vegetarian menu</PRO>
- <PRO>tasty berry friend (a small, sweet cake made from ground almonds and egg whites, often topped or filled with fruit)</PRO>
- <PRO>lots of teas</PRO>
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., Credit cards accepted
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Mellow jazz might be playing in the background, local art graces the walls, and the retro couches and armchairs are great spots to chill out and enjoy a coffee, which is freshly roasted every day in the café. Snack options include bagels with any filling you desire, egg and bacon rolls, sandwiches, cakes, and slices. Alfresco dining is available as well.
72 The Strand, Whakatane, Bay of Plenty, 3120, New Zealand
Known For
- In-house coffee roasting
- Quirky and arty decor
- Excellent bagels
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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Within one of the few hotels remaining from the gold rush days, you'll find classy pub grub in a convivial atmosphere. The Grahamstown Bar Diner (GBD) is the main restaurant bar, serving everything from breakfast and lunch to bar snacks and pizzas to evening main courses. On weekends, it gets pretty packed late night thanks to music gigs. Down the back is a more casual bar with pool tables; upstairs, there are some basic but clean and excellent-value accommodations.
700 Pollen St., Thames, Waikato, 3500, New Zealand
Known For
- Decent burgers and fish-and-chips
- Great tapas menu
- Late night music on weekends
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Hidden down a side street (look for the sign on the main street), you'll find this gourmet home-cooking surprise. This café gem serves breakfasts, muffins, scones, cakes, and shortcakes alongside build-your-own bagels and counter "sammies" crammed with choices of grilled meats, haloumi (salty cheese of goat and sheep's milk), and vegetables. The focus is on free-range, organically grown ingredients. Set in a 1914 heritage building that was originally a bank gold refinery, they also offer a boutique one-bedroom accommodation, the Refinery Guard’s Cottage, and an adjacent open plan Miner’s Cabin. Prices are from $99 per night.
5 Willoughby St., Waikato, 3600, New Zealand
Known For
- Best bagels in the region
- Cornbread Reuben grilled sandwiches
- Historic building
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues.
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The 1876-built Talisman Hotel offers quality pub fare, with a focus on using local produce where possible. You’ll meet the locals here, be it over brunch, lunch, or dinner, where your meal could be anything from crammed-full burgers to confit duck leg. Suggested wine matches for the evening mains suggest more care than your standard pub grub.
7–9 Main Rd., Katikati, Bay of Plenty, 3129, New Zealand
Known For
- Wood-fire pizzas
- Twice cooked ribs in sticky sauce
- Impressive wine pairings
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This restaurant is "nautically themed" and really means it; the bar and kitchen are both housed in shipping containers. The atmosphere is casual to the extreme, so come in your swimwear if you feel comfortable doing so, and order some locally inspired pizzas. Burgers and salads are also available. Although there's seating inside, on a sunny day you are more likely to be seated outside under a shaded umbrella.
35b Captain Cook Rd., Waikato, New Zealand
Known For
- Kahawai Keeper, which is topped with smoked fish, capers, red onion, and few other goodies
- Good burgers and salads
- Plenty of outdoor seating for sunny days
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed May--Sept.
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At the base of Moutohora Island Tours, run by Ngati Awa Tourism, this place specializes in breakfast and lunch. The café opens up from 7 am to 2 pm, and its right by the water, as good an excuse as any to try the delicious seafood chowder with its mix of prawns, calamari, fish, and mussels. Also recommended is the potato and kale soup with red roasted almonds. The café serves a hearty Kiwi breakfast and also specializes in fresh-baked pastries.
15 The Strand E, Whakatane, Bay of Plenty, 3120, New Zealand
Known For
- Great coffee
- Selection of egg dishes
- Tasty scones
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
