New Plymouth
This New Plymouth newcomer is your first stop for health-oriented drinks (beetroot latte, anyone?) and lush salads. Egg-centric breakfasts are the top…
Must-see restaurants in New Zealand
Bay of Islands & Northland
This relaxed eatery does a mixture of French and Kiwi cafe fare by day and more refined French classics at night. A five-course degustation menu (with…
East Cape
Decent coffee and excellent savoury pies make Cottle's an essential stop on Tologa Bay's main drag. The bacon-and-egg pie is deservedly popular all around…
Taranaki & Whanganui
Inglewood is a noteworthy stop for a pie at Nelson's, and if you're about to head up Mt Taranaki, you're gonna need some fuel in the tank. The classics…
Dunedin
Popular with students, Governor's does a nice line in early morning pancakes and other light meals. If you’re feeling a little off the pace after the…
Wellington
Time for tea? This quaint little tea room offers club sandwiches, cakes, freshly baked scones with raspberry jam and cream, and tea in fine bone china…
Hastings & Around
A high-ceilinged organic cafe in central Hastings, Taste Cornucopia serves filling breakfasts, organic coffee, smoked fish pies, curries, vegetarian…
Queenstown & Wanaka
Breakfast here comes with a real French flavour – croissants, pains au chocolat, baguettes – with 17 different crêpes and galettes served throughout the…
Ponsonby & Karangahape Rd
This friendly and stylish Italian restaurant covers all the bases, with a fireplace in winter and a courtyard in summer. Speaking of bases, there's a…
Buller Region
Westport's most popular cafe has a cabinet full of sandwiches and pastries, and a counter groaning under the weight of cakes and cookies. An all-day menu…
Parnell & Newmarket
Rosie is a swish spot for a cooked breakfast, an inventive bistro-style meal, or coffee and cake after a stroll around the rose gardens. Service is…
Coromandel Peninsula
Housed in a cute little wooden building with punga-shaded outdoor seating, Ti-Tree serves fair-trade organic coffee, cooked breakfasts and delicious fruit…
Banks Peninsula
This is a suitably salty seaside location for tucking into blue cod, scallops, oysters and other deep-fried goodies. You can eat in or take your prize…
Wellington
The hottest thing in coldness is the gelato and sorbet made by Graham, who grew up in a fruiterer's shop and sure knows his apples (and raspberries, and…
Wellington
In need of a mid-evening gap-filler? Roll into this long-running, no-frills Lebanese joint for authentic falafel, shish and shawarma (and equally no…
Bay of Islands
Set back from the street in an old wooden house, this dependable restaurant offers a massive list of subcontinental favourites, including lots of…
Central Otago
Take a break from the Rail Trail at this friendly spot festooned with old radios. Cafe treats include all-day breakfasts, toasted sandwiches, pies and ice…
Banks Peninsula
This award-winning cheese factory has a small store attached where you can taste its cheesy goodness and pick up supplies for seaside picnics. Large…
North Island
This very ‘Wellington’ cafe delievers both light and substantial meals made with relish: fishcakes, BLTs, salads, sandwiches, colourful vegie options… The…
Wellington
This is not your average curry joint. While a tad more expensive than its competitors, Great India consistently earns its moniker with its distinctly…
Bay of Islands & Northland
Filled with expectant divers in the morning and those capping off their perfect day on the water in the evening, this cafe-restaurant-bar, with a tropical…
Westland Tai Poutini National Park
Stretch your legs on the drive between Haast and the glacier towns by grabbing a smoked salmon bagel, sashimi or chowder. Still not enough salmon? Gaze…
Coromandel Peninsula
On a corner facing the harbour, this informal restaurant offers good-value seafood meals in a prime location. Steamed mussels, smoked seafood platters and…
Queenstown & Wanaka
With courtyard tables adjoining a grassy square, Stables is a good spot for an alfresco lunch. Later at night, step inside the 1860s stone-and-wood…
Napier
Crammed with Indonesian curios, this intimate space oozes authenticity. Lip-smacking Indo-Dutch rijsttafel smorgasbords are the house speciality (14…
Queenstown
A pair of food trucks squeezed into a lane between buildings – order your hoki, monkfish or blue cod from one, and eat inside the other. Ever fancied a…
Hastings & Around
Rush Munro’s is a Hastings institution, serving locally made ice cream since 1926. Our favourite is the manuka honey flavour, best licked among the…
New Plymouth
Expanding waistlines since 1972, this is an easy pull-over off the main road through town. Hefty pies, buns and sandwiches, as well as calorific slabs of…
Buller Region
Refuel after tackling the Cape Foulwind Walkway at this convivial rural pub. Options include lamb shanks, fish and chips, sizeable steaks doused with…
Dunedin & Otago
Surprisingly upmarket for a restaurant attached to an SH1 motel, Northstar is a common choice for Oamaruvians with something to celebrate. Expect robust…
Queenstown
Framed by exposed-stone walls, the Captain is both a sailor and a landlubber, with a menu of fish and farm favourites – steak, Mt Cook alpine salmon, lamb…
Taranaki & Whanganui
Housed in a very slow-moving 1917 railway carriage set back from the main street, this is an unusual stop for good-value breakfast stacks, bacon-and-egg…
Te Anau
Efficient little pizza and pasta joint with South Island craft beers on tap and local wine served by the glass. Pick from vodka and bacon penne and a host…
The Far North
Locals dismiss this place as overpriced and full of tourists, but there's no denying the appeal of downing fish-and-chips and a cold beer on the deck…
Bay of Islands
Locals flock to this casual cafe-restaurant-bar for good food – including lots of local seafood – and live music from 3pm to 6pm every Sunday afternoon…
Bay of Islands
In summer it does a steady trade in ice-cream cones, smoothies and milkshakes. In the depths of winter, this humble coffee counter is the prime local…
Christchurch & Canterbury
This cheery restaurant on the main drag presents Asian cuisine from Beijing to Bangalore, although the emphasis is more on the Indian. All dishes are…
St Arnaud Alpine Village Store
Nelson Region
The settlement’s only general store sells groceries, petrol, beer and possum-wool socks. It has tramping food, sandwiches and pies, with fish and chips…
Christchurch & Canterbury
Don your big-eatin' pants for brunch, lunch or dinner at the Wobbly Kea, which offers a short menu of simple but tasty home-cooked meals, such as meaty…
Wanaka
A spin-off from Wanaka's evergreen Francesca's Italian Kitchen, this food truck sits in a rental-car yard among a trio of other food trucks – burritos,…
