Restaurants in Waikato
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Orca
A day started at Orca’s window seat, looking over the water, with some eggs Benedict and a superb coffee is a day well launched. Come back in the evening for seafood paella, wine appreciation nights and live music.
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Red Cherry
With happy staff and a cherry-red espresso machine working overtime, barn-like Red Cherry offers coffee roasted on-site, delicious counter food and impressive cooked breakfasts (perhaps oat hotcakes or a breakfast risotto). It’s Cambridge’s best cafe by a country mile (it’s actually a country 4km out of Cambridge on the way to Hamilton). There are a couple of tables outside, too, if you feel like sniffing the bucolic splendour.
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Boatshed Cafe
The Boatshed Cafe on the lakeside (take Gorton Rd from SH1) sells mainly homemade food, some of which is gluten- and dairy-free. The rowing boat of Olympian Rob Waddell is part of the decor – he used to practise here. Basic kayaks can be hired for $20/40 per half-/full day or better ones for $25/50. You can paddle to a couple of waterfalls in around an hour.
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Singer HaBARdashery
A classy operator on the Hood St strip, Singer is a moody tapas and wine bar occupying the oldest stone building in Hamilton – a former haberdashery. Expect a dizzying selection of wines and beers, great coffee, satisfying brunches and zingy tapas (try the ‘Needle’: eye fillet, mushroom, scallop, chorizo, and haloumi skewered on a knitting needle).
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La Commune
La Commune Vegetarians and ecowarriors rejoice! Not only does this bohemian place deliver fresh, well-presented meals, it has a selection of vegan wines, good magazines, funky 1950s furniture and a commitment to recycling and ecofriendly products. Special treats are the Thursday buffet ($10) and live music on the weekends.
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Scott’s Epicurean
This gorgeous joint features swanky leather banquettes, pressed-tin ceilings, great coffee and an interesting and affordable menu: try the sweet orange breakfast couscous or the ever-popular spaghetti aglio e olio. Service is friendly, it’s fully licensed, and a charming outdoor area beckons in the warmer months.
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Vinnie’s
Run by a long-lost New Yorker, Vinnie’s looks like a truck stop from the outside, but inside it’s all Hawaiian prints, reggae tunes and surf movies flickering on the walls. On the food front it’s burgers, salads, wraps, cheese-steaks, pizzas and its ‘famous’ meatloaf. Free wi-fi is available, too.
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Workman’s Cafe Bar
Truly eccentric (one wall is lined with art-deco mirrors while another holds an impressive collection of busts of African women), this funky eatery has built itself a reputation that extends beyond Matamata. The poached salmon Benedict is quite possibly the best in the country.
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Hydro
On the east side of the river (you can walk here along the water’s edge), Hydro has converted an old block of neighbourhood shops into a fun cafe with tables spilling onto the pavement. Great for brunch and light meals with novel taste combinations.
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River Kitchen
Heralded as Waikato’s ‘Best New Cafe’ by Cafe magazine, hip River Kitchen does things with simple style: cakes, gourmet breakfasts and fresh seasonal lunches (angle for a slice of the Spanish duck pie), and a barista who knows his beans.
reviewed
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Onyx
All-day Onyx occupies a lofty space, with onyx-black furnishings and a warm-toned timber floor. Wood-fired pizzas are the mainstay, plus salads, tortillas, sandwiches, steaks, cakes and good coffee. At night it’s almost urbane.
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Palate
Given this restaurant’s deserved status as the best in the central North Island, it’s surprisingly reasonably priced. Chef/owner Mat McLean delivers an innovative mod-NZ menu and free tasters between courses.
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Canvas
The restaurant in the Waikato Museum offers classy dining with a lovely outlook. If you're just taking a sightseeing break, the light meal options ($16 to $18) are delicious – try the pumpkin ravioli.
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Aloha Market Place
It’s takeaway without the grease, Japanese surfer-style. Grab some delicious rolled-to-order sushi, some udon noodles or a donburi rice bowl and head for the harbour. Reduced hours in winter.
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Behr Burger
Awesome gourmet hamburgers are the go at this buzzy main-street nook. ‘The Chief’ (NZ rump steak, honey-smoked bacon, a free-range egg, cheddar cheese, salad and aioli) will plug any hungry gaps.
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Redoubt Bar & Eatery
The sister establishment of Te Awamutu’s Redoubt, Matamata’s version is just as good: thin-crust pizzas, chowder, steak sandwiches and live music every Friday. Oh, and plenty of Monteiths!
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Zephyr
With Che Guevara's noble face gazing from the wall you can expect great Cuban coffee. Settle in for tasty counter food ($6 to $8) or a mix of Cuban, South American and Mexican dishes.
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Cafe Oasis
It’s a strange combo – from the name you’d expect felafels but instead you get blaring FM radio and a menu that’s half authentic Thai, half classic European. Fusion be damned.
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Rangiriri Hotel
Next to the Rangiriri Heritage Centre is the historic, elaborately wallpapered Rangiriri Hotel, a cheery spot for lunch or a beer at sunny outdoor tables.
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Redoubt Bar & Eatery
A relaxed little place to eat or drink, with cheap but potent cocktails, old photos on the walls and a decent menu stretching from pasta to curry. Try the chicken bagel.
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Berlusconi on Whitaker
We know the Italian PM has fingers in many pies but surely they don’t extend to this upmarket wine, tapas and pizza bar in Te Aroha. Mind you, it is suave enough.
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Rata
Sit in either the funky old shopfront or the courtyard garden for, as the local media described it, ‘robust food – nicely cooked and plenty of it’.
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Indian Aroma
Brightening up the town with a saffron-yellow glow, this attractive restaurant with orderly glass-topped tables serves all the fragrant favourites.
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Metropolis
A global and varied menu is offered at this casual and popular café, which covers all the bases and has a chirpy atmosphere.
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Aqua Velvet
This airy ‘kitchen and ballroom', open to the road and rafters, serves up generous brunches in a bustling atmosphere.
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