Must-see restaurants in New Zealand

Up a winding driveway framed by grapevines, Waiheke's newest vineyard restaurant and tasting room channels an Iberian ambience, but the savvy and diverse…

Hot in both senses of the word, this super-fashionable restaurant focuses on the fiery cuisine of the Isaan and Lanna regions of northern Thailand. The…

Journey across to Hamilton East to this bustling eatery in a former garage. Thoroughly unpretentious, Hayes Common's versatile menu stretches from…

Get pleasantly lost in the Refinery, a spacious showcase of 1960s and 1970s Kiwiana style including a turntable where customers are encouraged to play the…

No one in Auckland produces creative degustations quite like Sid Sahrawat. It's food as both art and science but, more importantly, food to fire up the…

Around 3km from town adjacent to surf beaches, Rock-It Kitchen combines rustic decor – it's housed in an old woolshed – with the area's best food. New…

Modern Filipino food is the star at Nanam in the North Shore suburb of Takapuna. Dine on innovative updates of traditional Filipino food that made UK chef…

Colourful and fun, the Frog is the best dining option in the Catlins, offering craft beer on tap and crowd-pleasing meals, often garnished with flowers…

Top-notch nosh is prepared at this friendly restaurant, making use of home-grown veggies, house-made pasta and Stewart Island/Rakiara seafood, such as…

Put yourself in the very capable hands of the kitchen wizards at this stylish vineyard bistro; simply inform the waiters of any dietary restrictions or…

The sweeter sister of Fergburger bakes all manner of tempting treats – and though most things look tasty with 3am beer goggles on, it withstands the…

Central Christchurch's new essential destination for travelling foodies is this superb multi-level market combining fresh produce stalls with…

Everything at this elegant restaurant is designed to be shared, from the cicchetti (Venetian-style bar snacks) to the pasta and substantial secondi (mains…

Crammed with retro furniture, superpopular Federal conjures up a 1950s corner-store vibe. Switched-on staff in dinky headscarves take your coffee requests…

There's a rumble-tumble look about it, but this tin-and-timber fishing hut houses one of the South Island's best – and most popular – seafood restaurants…

Sharing a fairy-light-draped courtyard with Snug Lounge, seductive Ms White serves trad wood-fired Italian pizza and a bedazzling range of 40-plus craft…

Perhaps the tables are a little tightly packed, and the open kitchen does take up half the space, but we're splitting hairs. This place is uniformly…

Luke’s Kitchen has a rustic surf-shack ambience, cold brews including hyper-local craft beer from Kūaotunu's tiny Blue Fridge Brewery and excellent wood…

Bringing cosmopolitan cool to Coromandel Town, Wharf Road offers the opportunity to ease into another day equipped with excellent coffee, interesting…

Greek cuisine is rare in Auckland, but Gerome's modern interpretation of traditional Hellenic flavours make it one of Auckland's best restaurants…