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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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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