North Island's West Coast Restaurants

North Island's West Coast Restaurant Reviews

Throughout western North Island, city restaurants and small, tourist-town cafés alike feature an overall sophistication you might not expect away from major cities: think wholesome and hearty food, good espresso and loose-leaf teas, and wine lists with high-quality local wines. Counter food will generally be fresh salads, paninis, focaccia, filled rolls, quiche, pies, and homemade winter soups.

Dinner menus in the higher-end restaurants will likely be the chef's latest creations using high-quality New Zealand eye fillet of beef (beef tenderloin), fish, salmon, lamb racks, pork fillets, and chicken. The best focus on fresh regional and seasonal ingredients. You will also find Indian, Thai, Malaysian, Japanese, Mexican, and Italian restaurants, even in smaller provincial centers. "Smart-casual" is about as formal as attire gets. A legacy of the more basic cafés and hotel restaurants lives on, particularly in some smaller towns; check the guidebook to avoid anything less-than-professional.

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