33 Best Restaurants in Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

It might be way out in the bush, but this restaurant could stand proud in any big city. Dine inside or out, beneath the trees, and watch the chefs in the open kitchen adding wood to the pizza oven or creating contemporary cuisine with organic-farmed beef and lamb and vegetables straight from the garden. For flavor and innovation, try the chef’s choice of three seasonal tasters. This is a great option for family dining---there’s so much space and a little playground---and it’s actually only about 10 minutes away from either town, Waihi or Paeroa. Accommodation is available too, from $180 per night.

In addition to great food, this restaurant has a community-hub feel thanks to live music sessions, poetry readings, film nights, and a summer sculpture symposium. The dinner menu reaches beyond standard café fare, and there's also a great range of classic breakfasts and fresh baked goods. Be sure to check the on-site shop Eggstras for quality deli items to take on your journey. The café is about 1 km (0.6 mile) from the Whitianga ferry landing, with a free pick-up service if you don't fancy the 10-minute walk.

There’s a vintage retro feel at this unassuming café that belies the amazing fresh-baked goods produced within. Cabinets are crammed with pastries, breads, cakes, panini and other sandwiches, and some truly fantastic cakes like the passionfruit curd cake. Salads and lots of vegetarian options are on the menu, the coffee is consistently good, and tea lovers can choose from a list of organic, loose-leaf flavors. The place is loved by the locals and if you eat in you’re likely to get to know them at the big communal tables.

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.

Salted-caramel, white-chocolate, and creme-custard donuts are among the decadent favorites at this central Whakatane café. However, sandwiches and savory pies are other options from the cabinet, and you can order from a full breakfast and lunch menu for something cooked freshly on site. The small lemon meringue pies are snapped up quickly, too, but you'll always have something to choose from in the house baking line.  Indoor and outdoor seating is available.

Jasmine vines cloak the front porch of this adorable 1890 miner's cottage. Folks come here for breakfast and lunch every day of the week, and you might have to wait a bit during holiday time, but locals think it's worth it. For breakfast, "The Classic" (bacon, sausages, eggs, fried potatoes, tomato, and toast) will set most people up for the day. At lunch you'll find hearty salads and seafood chowder, a staple for regulars. Cakes are seriously good, as is the coffee.

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. 

Mediterranean food and ambience are the focus at this quiet restaurant tucked away on the edge of town. The finest local produce, organic where possible, is matched with quality international and local craft beers and wines.

The meat and produce in this café and store all come from the owner’s very own farm, Kairaumati Hereford Stud. The meat is processed on-site, the sausages are made from an old family recipe, and the free-range eggs, honey, vegetables, jams, and pickles are all homegrown. For lunch, there’s a range of burgers (regarded widely as the best on the peninsula), toasted sandwiches, hot chips, muffins, and cakes, plus real fruit ice cream. You can dine in the garden, then pick up some farm-fresh meat and condiments to enjoy later.

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 (noodles); smoked kahawai with cabbage fritter, Tokoyaki sauce, and pickled red onion; 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 spacious, centrally located café–restaurant can get busy with both visitors and locals. Breakfast kicks off at 9 am with all the standard Kiwi options. Salads, burgers, and fish-and-chips come on the menu for lunch; dinner is still casual but with slightly more upmarket fare with a good range of lamb, steak, salmon, pork, and vegetable dishes on offer. If you arrive during the day, pop into the adjacent Manaia Gallery, which sells jewelry, art, and crafts.

The high prices set this restaurant apart from other local options, but then again so does the food: in the open-plan kitchen, nationally renowned chef Stephen Barry fuses quality indigenous meats, seafood, and produce with Pacific Rim flavors. À la carte menu choices range from small tapas to share and appetizers (which can also be requested in a slightly larger portion size) to full main courses. For those who inevitably want a taste of all the desserts, there's a tasting platter. The street-side restaurant looks out onto Mauao (Mt. Maunganui).

Come to this indoor–outdoor bistro for casual evening dining loosely billed as Italian with pizza, pastas, and risotto on the menu. There's also a great range of Kiwi-modern mains that feature salmon, steak, pork, and the local fish catch. There's a good range of New Zealand wines and all kinds of beers.

One of Thames's newest cafes, this place comes with a good pedigree (having been opened by the team who previously ran another popular dining spot in town) and has quickly gained a local following. Rainbow vegetarian tart with pesto and ricotta, butterscotch scones, and sticky bao buns are available alongside more traditional offerings such as cornish pasties.

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 "Figotten Shroom" (balsamic mushrooms on a potato rosti stack with spinach and a dollop of fig jam). Standard fare like loaded fries, nachos, 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.

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.

The modern fusion menu has chapter-like descriptions, a nod to the quiet, library theme of this stylish eatery in the historic Postbank building. In what is undoubtedly one of the resort town’s premier dining experiences, the dishes blend Mediterranean and Asian influences with top New Zealand produce. Dine in the vintage dining room or enclosed courtyard.

Put a slightly upscale yet still casual restaurant in a popular local hotel, with a waterside location in a vacation town, and you've got this can't-miss dining spot. There is casual pub dining in the bars, but Salt, with its alfresco dining by the palm-edged marina, is the star. The menu changes with the seasons, sometimes offering free-range pork belly with prawn dumplings, lamb backstrap, or grass-fed eye fillet with béarnaise sauce. Bar snacks include lots of fresh seafood such as Coromandel mussels. Reservations are recommended in summer.

At the base of Mauao and across the street from the beach, this bustling café is a great place for breakfast or lunch after a climb or swim. Grab a table (there are more outside than in) for a blueberry muffin, blue cheese scone, a falafel, a salad, or a dense chocolate brownie. Or get a huge sandwich and a smoothie to go, and head off to a quiet spot on the trail that rings The Mount.

This café boasts of being the friendliest place in town, and the day-long crowds support the claim. Inside, you'll find good coffee, fresh pastries, and a paper roll menu (as they call it) listing fresh, wholesome breakfasts and lunches like house-smoked salmon, salads, and classic burgers. Dinner is served in December and January and over long weekends. There's a generous selection of gluten- and dairy-free options, too. It's the sort of place where surfers might be seated alfresco next to older folks out for a balmy afternoon coffee.

A consistently good community café, Sola offers an all-vegetarian menu but it’s no health food bar. Counter food includes tasty risotto cakes, Florentines, and fresh fruit shortbreads. Try a breakfast of potato-and-fresh-herb frittata or pan-fried polenta with smoked field mushroom, spinach, and feta for lunch. They also cater to wheat and gluten-free diets. Local cheeses and chutneys from the deli counter make great picnic fixings.

Mellow jazz might be playing in the background, local art graces the walls, and the retro couches and armchairs are great spots to chill out and enjoy a coffee, which is freshly roasted every day in the café. Snack options include bagels with any filling you desire, egg and bacon rolls, sandwiches, cakes, and slices. Alfresco dining is available as well.

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 breakfast and 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.

Hidden down a side street (look for the sign on the main street), you'll find this gourmet home-cooking surprise. This café gem serves breakfasts, muffins, scones, cakes, and shortcakes alongside build-your-own bagels and counter "sammies" crammed with choices of grilled meats, haloumi (salty cheese of goat and sheep's milk), and vegetables. The focus is on free-range, organically grown ingredients. Set in a 1914 heritage building that was originally a bank gold refinery, they also offer a boutique one-bedroom accommodation, the Refinery Guard’s Cottage, and an adjacent open plan Miner’s Cabin. Prices are from $99 per night.