Hawke’s Bay is bursting with top-notch vineyard restaurants, cellar doors, wine bars, breweries, distilleries, restaurants, and purveyors of gourmet goods.
Consider this your go-to for eating and drinking well in one of the country’s only placenames allowed to keep its rightful apostrophe.
Cellar Doors
Swift
The newest cellar door on the block is in Fernhill; visit to taste and buy this boutique winery’s range including latest release Pipi, New Zealand’s first sparkling albarino, named for one of the winemaker’s three dachshunds you may well meet if visiting. You can BYO dog, too. If hungry, you can pick-a-platter from cheeses, charcuterie and kid-friendly items.
121 Mere Road, Fernhill, Hawkes Bay
Pask
The handsome new cellar door of this longstanding winery opened last year boasting a classy fit out by local interior designers Little & Fox.
1133 Omahu Road, Hastings
Elephant Hill and Clearview Estate
These Te Awanga cellar doors offer an iconic Hawke’s Bay view beyond the rim of your glass – vines stretching into an azure ocean met by chalky cliffs.
86 Clifton Road, Te Awanga
Askerne
Love a sticky? Askerne is home to the largest range of single estate dessert wines in the land, including a very good Noble.
267 Te Mata Mangateretere Road, Havelock North
Cellar Doors & Immersive Wine Experiences
These are all experiences that need to be booked ahead.
Church Road
The TOM experience (1.5 hours, $210) invites guests down below ground, through the fascinating winery museum (this is one of the country’s oldest, founded in 1897) to a private cave where a sommelier guides you through tastings of current and back vintage TOM wines, only made during outstanding years, paired with delicious savoury dishes from the restaurant. The winery offers two other tiers of focused tastings at different price points, the Legacy ($60) and Icon ($75).
150 Church Road, Taradale, Napier
Craggy Range
This two-hour, $175 journey begins with a seated guided tasting, with a prime view of Te Mata peak out the window, through three flights including some prestige and rare drops, with light bites delivered from the restaurant kitchen to complement the wines. A tour of the winemaking facilities and underground cellar follows, and an invitation to settle underground for a while, resting on cosy sheepskins with blankets for extra warmth, for a bonus tasting of some magnificent reds.
253 Waimarama Road, Havelock North
Smith & Sheth Wine Studio
This could be the most elegant tasting experience in all the land, one which brings guests on a sensory journey that stays in the mind and heart long after. In this theatre meets barrel hall, settle in and get comfy on leather chairs: your personal sommelier guide, along with beautifully produced film work, takes you on a discovery of wine regions including nearby Gimblett Gravels, the potential its stony soils first recognised by a few visionaries including the Smith & Sheth’s co-founder Steve Smith. It’s a uniquely Aotearoa experience that wows both local and international visitors. Options are Experience Aotearoa – 2.5 hours, $150, and Experience Heretaunga – 1 hour, $90.
#2 The Courtyard, Village Exchange, 4 Te Aute Road, Havelock North
Restaurants
Wallingford Homestead
The estate-to-plate degustation on Saturday evenings turns the dining room of this remote, historic homestead into a place where magic happens, thanks to Chris Stockdale and Jeanette Woerner, who bring years of experience running busy Sydney restaurants to this place of a very different pace. Chef Stockdale turns out stunning dishes using produce from the surrounding gardens and paddock. Visiting in winter, one of many standout dishes for me was Tora crayfish (fished off the nearby coastline) with tapioca, pork crackling, and Périgord black truffle.
Jeanette hosts guests, her affable yet gentle storytelling accompanying each pour of (interesting) wine – in the most impressive line-up of dedicated glassware I have seen in the country. At $150 with a wine match for $130, it is special occasion dining, but it’s also incredibly good value.
2914 Porangahau Road, Wallingford
Cellar 495
The world’s 495th Master of Wine Michael Henley lends his accolade to the name of this charming wee Hastings wine bar somehow serving seriously impressive restaurant fare from a kitchen the size of a pantry. Do not skip chef Carlita Campbell’s genius potato donuts topped with Ortiz anchovies and chermoula.
319 Heretaunga Street East, Hastings
Restaurant Ari
A latter addition to Hastings’ burgeoning dining scene, Ari promises “Bold, flavour-driven food inspired by the diverse cuisines of the Mediterranean” – and over-delivers, at pleasingly reasonable prices. Our party of five ordered everything on the refreshingly short menu and licked plates all round – these chefs know how to balance richness with a slice of acidity and sweetness.
103 Karamū Road South, Hastings
Madame Social
Asian fusion in Napier’s charming portside village of Ahuriri comes with a lively atmosphere. This is a place you find yourself lingering far longer than expected because the flavour-packed food comes with a generous side of fun.
CNR West & Customs Quay, Ahuriri, Napier
Central Fire Station
In a classic Napier art deco building (this will become a theme, sorry not sorry) Sam Clarke and Florencia Meneheim weave European bistro tradition with local ingredients and a balance of bold and delicate flavours. Think a hearty main of Matangi beef short rib, Te Mata mushrooms, black garlic Béarnaise and rösti chips, followed by a light dessert of lemon and chamomile cake, strawberry sorbet, goat milk yoghurt. Bistro perfection.
163 Tennyson St Napier South
Vineyard restaurants
Black Barn Bistro
Lively with locals, bathed in natural light with art-adorned walls thanks to owner Kim Thorpe’s enviable collection and an eyeful of vineyard, Black Barn Bistro is pure joy. Pablo Arrasco-Paz (formerly of Madame George in Auckland) runs the floor, and in the kitchen chef Regnar Christensen and team make the most of the bespoke open woodfire grill.
34 Black Barn Road, Havelock North
Craggy Range
The friendly and knowledgeable service weave together chef Casey MacDonald’s superb cuisine, famously good wine made onsite, and spectacular surroundings with the iconic view of Te Mata peak. Lots of the produce comes from the significant biodynamic garden, a stone’s throw from the restaurant – take a wander through it with a glass of wine in hand, and you might even be accompanied by Casey collecting some fresh picks for service.
253 Waimarama Road, Havelock North
Shed 530
The whole area in which this architecturally restored and extended wool shed and park-like grounds perch was buried by up to a metre of silt after Cyclone Gabrielle ripped through in 2023. Today, toast to the hard graft that’s gone into resurrecting this cellar door and restaurant (vineyard rebuild also underway) with a chardonnay from destroyed vines and a hearty pizza.
530 Puketapu Road, Puketapu, Hastings
Casual bites
Vinci’s
Don’t leave Napier without wrapping your laughing gear round an oversized slice of pie (pizza pie, that is) from this wee by-the-slicery. Pick up a slab of focaccia, too – the kind gluten-y dreams are made of.
29A Hastings Street, Napier
Hapi
This clean kai eatery inside Chantal Organics is open seven days and always humming, its counter a rainbow of interesting and generously portioned dishes ready to eat. If you’re seeking kai that’s organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian, paleo or keto, Hapi is your happy place. Excellent juices and coffee, too.
45 Hastings Street, Napier
Libations – coffee, beer, spirits and more
Rosina
Opposite the historic Opera House in a beautifully restored space of its own, Rosina serves some of the best coffee around.
306 Eastbourne Street East, Hastings
Brave Brewing Co.
Order a pint of the brewery’s signature Tigermilk IPA and soak up the sunshine in the courtyard of this friendly microbrewery taproom.
205 Queen Street East, Hastings
Hastings Distillery
Sophisticates look no further – this boutique biodynamic distillery makes gin, aperitifs and vermouths, and boasts a seriously sexy tasting room and bar in which to explore them. Kick back with a cocktail and bite to eat, opt for a walk-up guided tasting of three products, or book ahead for a 90-minute bespoke tasting with the master distiller.
231 Heretaunga Street East, Hastings
National Distillery Company
Tastings and tours of the distillery are on the cards at this gin specialist housed in a handsome Art Deco building in Napier’s Ahuriri.
1 Ossian Street, Ahuriri, Napier
Smith & Sheth Wine Lounge
Enjoy great wine, craft beer and food from neighbouring restaurant Malo at this cute hidden courtyard filled with olive trees in Havelock North Village. Live music is a regular feature.
#2 The Courtyard, Village Exchange, 4 Te Aute Road, Havelock North
Supplies
Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Market
One of the country’s oldest and largest farmers’ markets takes over the showgrounds in Hastings each Sunday. A bounty of seasonal fruit and vegetables add a rainbow filter to the place, and a wide range of artisan products beckon. Stock up on essentials and taste and buy treats such as Te Mata Figs’ preserves and Hōhepa organic cheeses (a regenerative farm and cheesemaker providing work and services to the intellectually disabled) to the incredibly moreish Maud & Harry’s walnut brittle (blame me).
Tomoana Showgrounds, Kenilworth Rd, Hastings city, Hastings
Bellatino’s
Fine foods from all over the world in Havelock North and Napier branches – a saviour for keen cooks who are self-catering.
2a Treachers Lane, Havelock
Black Barn Growers’ Market
After a hiatus due to the 2023 cyclone’s impact on growers in the region, this much-loved market is back at Black Barn each Saturday starting November 29 through till late February. Beneath the ring of Plane trees, browse a curated lineup of produce from small-scale growers and makers including Billy Scott strawberries (possibly the best in all the land) and Ya-Bon baked goods.
34 Black Barn Road, Havelock
Chantal Organics
The cup overfloweth here for anyone wanting to stock up on wholefoods and organic goods. It’s an Aladdin’s cave crammed with everything from bulk dried goods, snack and treat foods and organic meat to fresh local fruit and veggies, including rare finds like huge Kyoho grapes from a boutique local Japanese grower.
93 Austin St, Onekawa, Napier
More Hawke’s Bay food & drink
Jesse Mulligan Restaurant Recommendations: Where To Eat In Hawke’s Bay And Auckland’s Best Raw Bar. Viva’s resident dining-out editor shares advice on where and what to eat in Hawke’s Bay.
Hawke’s Bay’s Award-Winning Wine Tourism Vineyards and Experiences. The best of Hawke’s Bay’s wine scene in a glass and on a plate.
There’s Never Been A Better Time To Visit Hawke’s Bay’s Diverse Wineries. Wine editor Jo Burzynska pays a visit to Hawke’s Bay’s wineries, which are bouncing back after a tough year and very much open for business
Road Trip: Where To Eat & Drink In Hawke’s Bay This Summer. Drip-down-your-chin stonefruit, a hidden cocktail bar and a seafood lover’s dream.