3 Best Restaurants in Coromandel Town, Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty

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 pies, 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.

Recently reopened just to the south of Coromandel Town, this restaurant is well sign-posted but also easy to spot by the historical mussel barge at the main entrance. It sets the tone for a place that makes the local delicacy the star of the show, including delicious half-shell mussels or mussel pots served with bread. They come naturally, or you can have them flavored with garlic butter and white wine sauce or spiced up with a green curry. Seafood souvlaki is recommended and includes scallops and prawns skewered alongside the mussels. Fish-and-chips, steak, and a salad selection are among the other items on the menu. 

The standout restaurant in town showcases local produce, shellfish, fish, lamb, and beef. Lunch easily segues into dinner in the sheltered courtyard or in front of the fire, depending on the season. Service is swish and prices are up there, but you get what you pay for. All-day brunches and light lunches are also served.