Napier
This long, floorboarded room with its green-tiled bar is the pride and joy of the Napier foodie scene. Hip and slick but not grossly unaffordable, with…
Must-see restaurants in Hawke's Bay
Hastings & Around
OMG! Baked in a 100-year-old oven, the organic, gluten-free, vegan, paleo-friendly, dairy-free loaves produced at this bakery/cafe are seriously high…
Hastings & Around
Blur the lines between breakfast, lunch and dinner at Havelock North's best cafe, inside a former post office infused with stylish retro Kiwiana decor…
Napier
Seemingly always busy when everywhere else is half-full, Hunger Monger is a funky seaside seafood diner with sheepskin-covered seats, quirky tablecloths…
Hawke's Bay
Halfway between Waipawa and Hastings, this retro cafe-gallery in a 100-year-old, aquamarine-coloured church serves excellent coffee, smoothies and…
Hastings & Around
Bright pink with candy stripes, chandeliers and mismatched furniture, cheeky Pipi thumbs its nose at small-town conventionality. The food focus is on…
Napier
Operated as a Kiwi diner serving steak and seafood for many decades, the National Cafe was reopened in 2017 by descendants of the original Greek owners. A…
Napier
Recently judged NZ'S top restaurant by Cuisine magazine, Pacifica showcases chef Jeremy Rameka's affinity with kai moana (seafood) and traditional meats…
Hastings & Around
Occupying a high-ceilinged heritage building – formerly the HB Electric Power Board – our favourite Hastings cafe serves up sophisticated breakfasts and…
Hastings & Around
This authentic American barbecue joint a couple of kilometres north of Hastings conjures up a Mex-Tex rancho vibe with Spanish hacienda architecture,…
Napier
Bistronomy is proof that NZ's regional restaurants can create high-end cuisine just as well as the spiffy eateries in Auckland, Wellington and…
Hawke's Bay
A surprisingly good little cafe on the riverside road in Wairoa. Expect great omelettes and chilli-beef nachos, pots of local honey for sale, local beers…
Napier
This stylish new bar and eatery below Criterion Art Deco Backpackers does easy-going bar food (burgers, pastas, beef short ribs and a mean crispy pork…
Hastings & Around
This all-day cafe enlivened by blue butchers' tiles segues to a hip bistro from Thursday to Saturday night. Try the Thai-influenced breakfast curry bowl…
Hastings & Around
Hotel restaurants can be hit-and-miss, but moody Malo at Porters boutique hotel hits the right notes. Harnessing sassy interior design (polished boards,…
Napier
Welcome to Hapī, where virtuous vegan flavours are also damn tasty, and earnest staff make meaningful eye contact. Breakfast bowls packed with açai, chia…
Napier
One of Ahuriri's top options, Milk & Honey combines ocean and boardwalk views with versatile day-to-night menus. Hawke's Bay beers and wines do their…
Napier
This stellar subcontinental outfit should really be charging more for its dishes than it does. Factor in one of the city's best selections of local Hawke…
Napier
Pizza by the slice (or the whole big disc) comes hot and fresh from this great little art-deco nook, with a skinny wedge of a window seat and punky retro…
Napier
We mourn the loss of our favourite Napier hippie cafe, but its buzzy and welcoming replacement is a more modern interpretation of East Coast cafe life…
Hastings & Around
Great things come in small packages at this rosy little tapas bar. The kitchen delivers sassy, locally sourced edibles such as pork belly with pomegranate…
Napier
The fab old Union Hotel has ceded part of its territory to Three Doors Up, a stylish restaurant serving classic fare such as risotto, eye fillet steak and…
Hastings & Around
At the bottom of an old art-deco office building, mostly full of lawyers, is this tidy little eatery with retro interior design, funky lighting,…
Hastings & Around
There's nothing suburban about this winery restaurant on the suburban backstreets of Hastings. The warm, wood-lined dining room is a worthy setting for…
Napier
An authentic Turkish cafe, adorned with suitably Ottoman cushions and wall hangings. The kebabby, falafelly, salady meals are fresh and tasty, but service…
Hastings & Around
A high-ceilinged organic cafe in central Hastings, Taste Cornucopia serves filling breakfasts, organic coffee, smoked fish pies, curries, vegetarian…
Napier
Crammed with Indonesian curios, this intimate space oozes authenticity. Lip-smacking Indo-Dutch rijsttafel smorgasbords are the house speciality (14…
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…
Napier
If you’re the type who needs cutlery, you'll appreciate the sit-down meals served in the dining room here. Otherwise, grab some takeaway fish and chips…
Napier
Fine dining on Marine Pde: a concise and tightly edited menu features the likes of confit duck leg with duck and blue cheese risotto. Sensuously shaped…
Hawke's Bay
A photogenic red-roofed cafe near Cape Kidnappers, good for a feed or a coffee before or after visiting the nearby gannet colony.
Hawke's Bay
There are plenty of sweet slices, pizza wedges and buns with luminous cream icing here, but what you really want is the steak-and-mushroom pie.
