Best Places for Food & Drink Waiheke Island
Stay & Eat - New Zealand | 5 minutes

BEST PLACES FOR FOOD & DRINK WAIHEKE ISLAND

Waiheke, like the rest of New Zealand, has awesome food that focuses on fresh ingredients. These are just a few of my favourite places.

There are tons of reasons to fall in love with New Zealand and Waiheke Island and one of the reasons is the food. We found everything there to be really tasty and wholesome, as all the restaurants we visited featured recipes featuring locally sourced, fresh ingredients. One morning we had a delicious pie at Double Shot Espresso and the beef was sourced from a local farm and then prepared by the butcher next door; it doesn’t get fresher than that. Everything is as fresh as you can get it; and as they say- good ingredients make great food.
“New Zealand has amazing food that is focused around fresh, local ingredients. We had some absolutely amazing meals during our trip.”
- Lindsey Farrah
We also loved that a lot of places offered unique, progressive menu items. They took a lot of classics and put their own twist on them, making them both tasty and interesting. These are just some of our favourite places that we ate during our trip, but I’m pretty sure you can’t go wrong with anywhere on Waiheke.

The Archive Bistro & Bar

This is an absolutely amazing place to come to for a meal. The views are stunning, the property is romantic and the food is out of this world. My partner and I both agreed that the dinner we had here was one of the best meals we’ve ever had. We would put it in our ‘top 10’ of all time lists, which is huge. They offer breakfast, lunch and dinner - and if you are looking for something even more high end then you can try their sister restaurant, Mudbrick, which is located right next door. Read my full review about our experience here.

Address: 126 Church Bay Road, Oneroa, Waiheke, New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 372 9050
Open 7 days a week from 9 am – breakfast, lunch & dinner

Island Gelato Company

This adorable, open air gelato shop is located right in downtown Oneroa and you absolutely must go there during your trip to Waiheke. It’s such a cool place, as it’s just a storage container converted into a small shop. I worked at a gelato shop during high school and I also live down the street from Melbourne’s best gelato shop- so it means a lot when I say this is the best gelato i’ve ever had! The reason it was so amazing was because of the unique and interesting flavours they offered. I got two specials which were dark chocolate, easter honey & almond praline; and spiced easter cake with cream cheese and white chocolate. OMG they were amazing. My partner had the yoghurt, lemon, thyme and shortbread; and the bourbon, banana, walnut. Yum!

Address: 124 Ocean View Road, Oneroa, Waiheke Island
Email: info@islandgelato.co.nz
Sunday – Thursday
8am - 6.30pm
Friday - Saturday
8am - 9pm (late nights during Summer only)

Dragonfired

We loved this place because its owned and run by three brothers and they offer tasty, simple pizzas & calzones. This restaurant is also an open-air set up which was created from an old storage container. It’s a great place to go after a long day at the beach to grab something quick & easy. We tried their margherita wood-fired pizza and it was delicious.  The open-air location we went to is only open during the summer season; but don't fret because their main location in Little Oneroa beach is open year round.

Address: Little Oneroa Beach Reserve
text orders 021 922 289
SUMMER 7 days 10am - 8pm
WINTER Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11am - 7pm
WEATHER DEPENDING

Casita Miro

This restaurant offers spanish tapas and tasty cocktails, so it’s definitely worth checking out. We only came here for a snack, but everything on the menu looked amazing. Based on the bartender's recommendation we got the Baked Goat Cheese Croquetas served with honey and toasted almonds. O-M-G they were amazing! I would definitely go back here for a proper lunch or dinner. We didn’t try any of their wines here although it's nice to note that they also make their own spirits which is unique for a vineyard.

Address: 3 Brown Rd, Onetangi, Waiheke Island 1081, New Zealand
Phone: 09 372 7854
Lunch: 7 days from 11:30am - 3pm
Dinner: Friday and Saturday from 6pm
Wine Tastings: Daily from 11:30am - 3pm

Cable Bay Vineyards

Cable Bay has the ultimate al fresco dining experience as the views from this property are spectacular. We grabbed two bean bag chairs on the top of the hill overlooking the vines, the water, and in the distance-Auckland, and we had some wine & snacks here. The food is tasty and the wine is nice, however the highlight of eating here is definitely the view and the ambiance. Grab an outdoor seat here if you can!

Address: 12 Nick Johnstone Dr, Oneroa, Auckland 1840, New Zealand
Phone: 09 372 5889
Email: info@cablebay.co.nz
Open for lunch Thur-Sun from 12pm
Open for dinner Fri-Sat from 6pm

Double Shot Espresso

This tiny, open air restaurant is located right in downtown Oneroa and it’s a great place to go for brekkie. We had two flat whites and a amazing home-made pie which was locally sourced beef which had been prepared by the bitcher next door. It was awesome! 

Address: 114 Oceanview Rd, Oneroa, Auckland 1081, New Zealand
Phone: +64 27 236 8253
Mon-Fri 6:30am - 4 pm
Sat-Sun 7 am - 5pm

Man O’ War Vineyards

We had lunch at Mon O’ War and it was delicious. We loved our meal here not only because of the food, but also because of the views and the ambiance. We grabbed a table on their property which overlooked the beach and ordered their charcuterie. They not only offer dining options from their in-house restaurant, but they also have a food truck that is parked on the property where you can order Mexican inspired dishes. We really wanted to try this food truck however it was cash only. It’s also great to note that they offer free tastings of their wine; 3 per person, so it’s nice to have a little, free wine with your lunch if you come here.

Address: 725 Man O' War Bay Rd, Waiheke Island, Auckland, 1971
Phone: +64 9 372 9678
Opening Hours:
During Winter open: Monday - Sunday: 11am - 4pm
* Closed Christmas Day    

Island Grocer

So this is definitely not a restaurant but it’s worth mentioning because they sell tons of amazing fresh baked breads and pastries. They have everything a traditional grocer would have but with more locally sourced, handcrafted options. We decided to have a simple picnic on Oneroa beach one day so we came here and got a freshly-baked baguette, some locally sourced cheese and honey. It was lovely! Definitely stop in here if you want a simple, tasty meal. It’s a convenient location, right in downtown Oneroa.

Address: 725 Man O' War Bay Rd, Waiheke Island, Auckland, 1971
Phone: +64 9 372 9678
Opening Hours:
Monday - Sunday: 8am - 6:30pm 

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