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There are many dining options across the Coromandel and Bay of Plenty. You can buy everything from fruit from roadside orchard stalls and take-out fish-and-chips joints to cafés serving sandwiches and espresso coffee, right through to fine-dining affairs. Even when restaurants are formal in appearance, diners and hosts tend toward a relaxed country-casualness. Restaurant owners make a point of using the region's abundant resources: the fish is likely to have been caught that morning from a nearby bay, and shellfish are from local mussel and scallop farms. A huge community of artists lives in the region and their work is likely to be for sale even though it adorns restaurant walls.
Dinner service begins about 6 pm in the winter and around 7 pm during the summer months, though many places have "all-day menus." In peak season most places keep serving until at least 9 pm. For many restaurants reservations are a good idea, especially in the summer around the Coromandel. In winter, phone ahead to check if the restaurant will stay open.
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 pizza, 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.
Homemade slices and scones are among the decadent favorites at this central Whakatane café. However, sandwiches and savory pies are other options, and you can order from a full breakfast and lunch menu for something cooked freshly on-site. Indoor and outdoor seating is available.
At the base of Moutohora (Whale Island) Sanctuary Tours, run by Ngati Awa Tourism, this breakfast and lunch spot is right by the water. The café serves a full Kiwi breakfast menu, with omelets, eggs, and french toast, and also a range of fresh-baked pastries to go with your coffee.
Named for the origins of one of the owners (the other is from Thames) this café is as cool as you would expect being that it's Melbourne inspired. The high stud ceiling and communal courtyard create a welcoming space to enjoy a diverse menu with dishes ranging from falafel to bao buns and paella. There's also a great selection of pastries and cakes. Café Melbourne is part of The Depot, a restored heritage building home to a number of small specialty stores worth browsing post coffee.
The tropical-inspired courtyard of this restaurant adds a welcome splash of color to Thames, and the menu has a lot of good options. Choose from small sharing plates or tacos with creative fillings like lamb tzatziki or crispy cauliflower.
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 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.
The Bayfair Shopping Centre may seem an unlikely place to find one of the area's most innovative restaurants, but this is well worth seeking out. Izakai combines Māori ingredients and cooking styles with Japanese cuisine, so you'll find hāngi-style pork belly and watercress with ramen; squid with horopito (a peppery native herb); and creamed paua (local shellfish) and prawn gyoza (dumplings). The centerpiece of the restaurant is a long curved bar, but you can also sit at high tables near the window or in a more intimate booth-like setting.
This café’s small shared plates feature an eclectic fusion of Asian and classic European flavors with a strong Kiwi touch. Try the ostrich tataki (seared) or tuna fillets with beetroot, orange, and horopito (a pepper-flavored native plant). Sit inside in candlelight or under the trees in the buzzy garden with the locals.
Found in the tiny village of Kūaotunu, this rustic seaside restaurant started out as a caravan and is now a lively spot where you can enjoy wood-fired pizzas, seafood, and local organic coffee. Over the summer months, there's often live music and regular barbecue nights, adding to the community feel. There's also a café and art gallery adjacent to the restaurant.
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 "herbivore" (grilled portobello on a potato rosti stack with house beans and whipped avo). Standard fare like loaded wedges, burgers, 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.
Located on a corner of Whangamata's main street, this café is perfectly positioned to catch the morning sun. This makes it an ideal spot to grab coffee or breakfast either outside in the sunshine or inside the airy, wood-accented café. Lunch is served from 8 am to 2 pm, and features the classics (mushrooms on toast and Turkish eggs) alongside more creative options, like the loaded toast with buttermilk fried cauliflower, hummus, and haloumi.
