Eat Your Way Around Rotorua

Where are the locals going? Turns out, here. Their beautifully rich, authentic phở broth is simmered for more than 48 hours, and you can tell. They’ve got noodle salads, bánh mì and all your Vietnamese favourites made fresh in-house too, and there’s plenty of flexibility if you like to customise.

These guys have been part of the lakeside community for decades. Today, the country store is stocked with local produce and groceries, alongside the craft beer garden and café. You can get house-roasted coffee, burgers, toasties and cakes, plus plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. A great pitstop before or after a day of walking.

Around here, there’s more than one bakery worth detouring for!

Ciabatta Cafe & Bakery: fresh bread, pastries and seriously generous cabinet food. They’ve got cronuts, ciabatta, focaccia, sandwiches and heaps more, all of which get rave reviews.

Patrick’s Boutique Bakery: here, they take more of an old-school artisan approach. Patrick himself has spent more than 40 years honing his craft, and everything is made by hand using traditional techniques. The almond croissants, lemon meringue pie, mille-feuille and vanilla bean cheese tarts are just a few of the favourites among the regulars.

Pantry d’Or Boutique Bakery (201 Ranolf St): small-batch breads, catering and packed lunches, all baked with New Zealand-grown ingredients. They’ve got all sorts of artisan loaves coming fresh out of the oven every day, as well as beautifully curated platters and cakes for special occasions.

Few restaurants can compete with the view from here. Sitting within Te Puia, home to the world-famous Rotorua geysers, the Pātaka Kai dining room looks directly out across the beautiful Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley. The kai revolves around manaakitanga and contemporary Māori cuisine, and traditional hāngī is the heart of the menu. Proudly owned by local iwi, the connection to the whenua really shapes the experience, adding a memorable sense of where you are, as well as what’s on the plate.

A restaurant designed to feel like you’re walking into someone’s home. That makes sense, considering the lodge started out as exactly that. Owner Jamie and her late husband Ron raised their family on this private peninsula overlooking Lake Rotorua before opening it to guests in 2004. There’s breakfast, brunch, lunch and their fine dining dinner service available, including a ten-course tasting menu built around premium New Zealand ingredients. If you’re there on a sunny day, take a look around the property’s beautiful gardens and fruit trees or say hello to their free-roaming chickens at The Mains.

This spot is all about nailing one thing: proper low-and-slow barbecue. Owners Shaun and Alia started on the competitive barbecue circuit after Shaun got hooked on American-style barbecue at Meatstock in 2017. They picked up a trophy at their first competition, then just kept going and going. In 2022, they went on to win TVNZ’s Cooks on Fire. Today, their restaurant is a relaxed, family-friendly place to get stuck into a reliably delicious, mouthwatering barbecue.

Taking inspiration from the Mekong Delta region, their menu is built around Asian-fusion sharing plates. They’re popular for their soft-shell crab, laksa, duck curry, pad thai and chicken satay dishes, perfect for big groups or those of us with big eyes who want to try a bit of everything. Plus there are great cocktails and vegan options too.

Not sure what you want? Eat Streat is pretty much always the answer. This covered little dining precinct at the lake end of Tutanekai Street has a great line-up of restaurants and bars all within a short walk of each other. The walkway is heated too, which is excellent in winter. There’s plenty of variety, from your classic steaks and pub fare to Indian and Italian options, plus an ice cream parlour to swing by if you’ve got room on the way home.

Fish and chips with a bit of a twist. This little family-owned eatery is all about fresh seafood and sustainability. They’ve got lots of their own Filipino options alongside your classic fish and chips; the adobo fish tacos in particular are a hit. They’re also part of the Rotorua Sustainable Charter, working with local suppliers and using compostable or biodegradable packaging. A family favourite for Friday nights.

This four-hour culture and kai experience is designed to share the history of tangata whenua alongside a feast, drawing from both kai moana (food of the sea) and kai whenua (food of the land), using traditional cooking methods and ingredients. The kai is woven into a beautiful evening of storytelling, deepening guests’ understanding of who and where it comes from. Highly recommended for tourists and locals alike at Te Pā Tū.

Where should I eat in Rotorua for a special occasion?
The Mains at On The Point for a ten-course tasting menu overlooking Lake Rotorua, or Te Pā Tū for a four-hour culture and kai experience.

Where can I try hāngī in Rotorua?
Pātaka Kai at Te Puia serves traditional hāngī overlooking the Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley, and Te Pā Tū weaves a feast cooked with traditional methods into an evening of storytelling.

Where are the best casual eats in Rotorua?
Phở at Saigon ’60s, barbecue at Black Label Barbecue, fish and chips at River’s Catch and the restaurants along Eat Streat.

Where are the best bakeries in Rotorua?
Ciabatta Café & Bakery, Patrick’s Boutique Bakery and Pantry d’Or Boutique Bakery.

Travelling with the family? See our 10 Things to Do with Kids in Rotorua.