Mondays on Waiheke don't have to mean a closed door, with 52 places trading, from The Heke in Onetangi to Akito Eatery in Oneroa for brunch and Ostend Pizzeria when nobody wants to cook.
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Pubs and bars · Onetangi · $$
★ 4.8 from 947 Google reviews
You can lose a whole afternoon on these four acres without moving far from your table, starting with lunch under the trees and finishing with a beer flight, a whisky tasting and a turn in one of the golf simulator bays.
Cafes · Oneroa · $
★ 4.8 from 944 Google reviews
The coffee hits you before you've picked a seat, and there's a seat for every mood: a small terrace out front on Ocean View Road, a bar top facing the street, and a few tables inside where the road noise drops away.
Seafood · Oneroa
★ 4.5 from 1,395 Google reviews
You'll be looking out over Oneroa Bay from the verandah, and on a good day a dolphin or two goes past while you work through oysters that were in the water off the Te Matuku farm that morning.
Pubs and bars · Onetangi · $$
★ 4.2 from 2,107 Google reviews
With your feet still sandy from Onetangi Beach, you cross The Strand and settle in at a table that looks straight back out over the water, because that view is the whole reason this place has been part of the island since 1987.
Pubs and bars · Onetangi
★ 4.3 from 1,594 Google reviews
The driveway climbs off Onetangi Road between vines and olive trees, and it finishes on a hillside veranda looking across a valley where horses graze on the far slope.
Italian · Oneroa · $$
★ 4.5 from 1,020 Google reviews
Start your day with eggs benedict and a flat white on the terrace, then come back at night for a glass of Waiheke red beside the fire, because Fenice runs from 8.30 in the morning until late, seven days a week.
Rocky Bay · $$$
★ 4.4 from 1,184 Google reviews
You're 200 metres up on Waiheke Island, at the highest vineyard on the island, with a 360 degree sweep from the Hauraki Gulf across to Auckland and the Coromandel, and the whole point of a table here is to sit in that view for a long lunch.
Mediterranean · Onetangi · $$
★ 4.7 from 675 Google reviews
You climb the hill from Onetangi Beach, turn into Brown Road where it forks into the vineyard, and find a Spanish restaurant with Gaudi-style mosaics on the walls, looking over 4.2 hectares of vines to the village and the sea.
Onetangi · $$
★ 4.4 from 992 Google reviews
You step off the bus at Onetangi and there it is, a glass-walled dining room looking straight out over the sand and surf of Onetangi Beach, with the sea right in front of your table.
Pubs and bars · Oneroa · $
★ 4.4 from 812 Google reviews
The deck looks straight over Oneroa Beach and the bay, close enough that you can watch the water change colour while you decide between a glass of Waiheke chardonnay and an Argentine malbec.
Winery restaurants · Onetangi
★ 4.7 from 489 Google reviews
You climb the drive off Onetangi Road and Waiheke falls away into vines and olive trees, with the original farm goatshed now the cellar door.
Winery restaurants · Oneroa
★ 4.0 from 1,183 Google reviews
The ferry from Auckland takes about 35 minutes, and from Matiatia it's a two-minute drive or a 15 to 20 minute walk along the coastal track to a hilltop, where the restaurant's floor-to-ceiling windows look out over the Hauraki Gulf and the Auckland skyline across the water.
Pubs and bars · Onetangi
★ 4.4 from 611 Google reviews
The bus from the ferry drops you right at the gate, and before you've ordered a thing you're looking at vines, a playground and an archery range laid out across the lawn.
Ostend · $
★ 4.6 from 327 Google reviews
You'll find it in the small run of shops on Belgium Street in Ostend, a takeaway counter turning out pizza, kebabs and fried rice for pickup or delivery right across Waiheke Island.
Winery restaurants · Eastern Waiheke · $$$
★ 4.5 from 370 Google reviews
Drive to the quiet end of Waiheke, down a gravel road that feels like it leads nowhere, and you arrive in a valley that looks a lot like Tuscany: gardens, vines on the hills, ducks and geese on the lawn and a restaurant looking out over the whole thing.
Burgers · Ostend · $
★ 4.9 from 223 Google reviews
A little burger caravan sits on Putiki Road in Ostend, right beside the RAW market, with outdoor tables and a menu that runs from smash burgers to tacos, chips and thick shakes.
Oneroa
★ 4.6 from 321 Google reviews
The walk up from the Matiatia ferry takes about half an hour, or five minutes in a cab, and at the top of Church Bay Road you find the Archive on the relaxed side of Mudbrick, with vines running downhill, the Hauraki Gulf spread out in front of you and Auckland's skyline across the water.
French · Oneroa · $
★ 4.9 from 186 Google reviews
Doors open at 6.30 in the morning, which tells you plenty about how Oneroa treats Island Frenchie: it's a breakfast and lunch cafe first, and an early ferry or a day at the beach both start better with coffee and something baked here.
Cafes · Oneroa
★ 4.8 from 200 Google reviews
Follow the smell of hot batter down Ocean View Road in Oneroa and you'll find a silver vintage caravan with a small crowd waiting at the window, which is exactly what a crepe stand should look like.
Japanese and sushi · Oneroa · $
★ 5.0 from 158 Google reviews
There's a little sushi counter in the middle of Oneroa village, a short walk from the beach, where you'll find some of Waiheke's freshest fish and a very easy lunch.
Cafes · Oneroa · $$
★ 4.0 from 591 Google reviews
The view hits you first: Oneroa Bay, the boats below and, on a clear day, Great Barrier Island on the horizon.
Seafood · Oneroa · $
★ 4.0 from 572 Google reviews
Down the stairs between the wine centre and the Four Square in Oneroa, The Local opens onto a deck looking straight across Oneroa Bay, and that view is half the reason to make the trip.
Takeaways · Oneroa · $
★ 4.9 from 162 Google reviews
You'll find this little takeaway stand up a side street behind Oneroa's main shops, with a few outdoor tables, a relaxed soundtrack and a resident cat who likes to wander past.
Cafes · Ostend · $
★ 4.6 from 212 Google reviews
The view from your table is a car park and the back of the PlaceMakers building, which tells you everything about what this place is: a cafe that puts its effort into the food rather than the scenery.
Cafes · Ostend
★ 4.9 from 149 Google reviews
Ostend's Turkish deli sits on Belgium Street, a few steps from the bus stop and with parking round the back, and it's the kind of place you spot from the road and then keep thinking about.
Takeaways · Oneroa · $
★ 4.3 from 271 Google reviews
Just a minute's walk from the sand at Little Oneroa Beach, on Goodwin Avenue, this is the kind of takeaway you build a beach day around, with a menu that runs from snapper and chips to burgers, hot dogs and deep-fried Moro bars.
Pizza · Oneroa · $
★ 4.4 from 236 Google reviews
From the outdoor tables you look down over Oneroa beach and out across the Hauraki Gulf towards the Coromandel, which is the kind of view that has you ordering a second flat white before you've finished the first.
Cafes · Surfdale
★ 4.7 from 147 Google reviews
Bisou sits on Miami Avenue in Surfdale, a short drive from the car ferry and about half an hour's walk from Oneroa, and it's the sort of small French-leaning cafe you build a morning around.
Fish and chips · Ostend · $
★ 5.0 from 104 Google reviews
A walkway slips through beside the Woolworths in Ostend and comes out on Putiki Road, where a small kiosk has built a serious reputation for fish and chips, the best on the island and, for plenty of eaters, the best they've had anywhere from England to Melbourne.
Cafes · Ostend
★ 5.0 from 102 Google reviews
Follow Tahi Road past the Ostend industrial units and you come to a little room that feels less like a cafe and more like a friend's living room, with plants crowding the shelves, locally made furniture, a wall of books and board games, and a CD player you're welcome to choose the music on.
Cafes · Ostend
★ 4.8 from 111 Google reviews
On Belgium Street in Ostend, a family-run concept store and cafe shares its space with a little yoga room upstairs, so your coffee stop can easily stretch into an hour of browsing.
Cafes · Ostend · $
★ 4.9 from 96 Google reviews
Follow the smell of freshly roasted beans down the side of True Blue and you'll find this little roastery and café tucked behind the shops in Ostend, a short walk from the Countdown car park and the Saturday market.
Indian · Oneroa
★ 4.4 from 169 Google reviews
When you're in Oneroa and the movie at the local cinema is about to start, or you've just stepped off the ferry and want dinner sorted, you'll find this one in the Artworks Complex on Korora Road, a short walk from the theatre and the library.
Cafes · Oneroa · $
★ 4.6 from 125 Google reviews
The doors open at 6.30am on weekdays and 7am on the weekend, so this is where Oneroa wakes up, a small coffee shop on Ocean View Road in the middle of the village with Havana beans going through the machine and home-made sweet and savoury food at the counter.
Chinese · Ostend · $
★ 4.2 from 168 Google reviews
Fish and chips, burgers and a full Chinese menu all come out of the same small shopfront on Belgium Street in Ostend, which is exactly what you want after a swim or a long day out on the island.
Cafes · Surfdale
★ 4.9 from 70 Google reviews
You'll spot this little cafe floating at the Waiheke Marina on Donald Bruce Road in Surfdale, a short hop from the car ferry and a world away from a standard island pit stop.
Fish and chips · Surfdale · $
★ 4.2 from 140 Google reviews
On Miami Avenue in Surfdale, a couple of minutes' walk up from the beach, this bakery opens at six on weekday mornings and seven on weekends, and shuts by mid-afternoon, so it's made for breakfast, smoko and lunch rather than dinner.
Cafes · Ostend
★ 5.0 from 52 Google reviews
The croissants coming out of this Ostend oven are the sort people compare to a good French bakery, and more than one local will tell you they're the best on the island.
Cafes · Oneroa · $
★ 4.6 from 72 Google reviews
Half past six on a weekday morning and the doors on Ocean View Road are already open, with Oneroa's locals queuing for a flat white before work, which tells you a lot about how the coffee is made here.
Indian · Ostend · $
★ 4.6 from 58 Google reviews
There's a small curry shop on Belgium Street in Ostend that Waiheke has quietly taken to its heart, and the butter chicken is the reason most people first walk through the door.
Fish and chips · Onetangi · $
★ 4.3 from 80 Google reviews
Onetangi Beach has its own store a few steps back from the sand at the end of Fourth Avenue, and it's where a Waiheke day tends to start: coffee and something from the cabinet before your swim, fish and chips once you're out of the water.
Japanese and sushi · Ostend · $
★ 4.8 from 42 Google reviews
You pick your base, your protein and your sauce, and the Nami bowl comes back loaded with prawn, salmon, chicken or tofu alongside whatever vegetables and pickles are in the cabinet that day, which makes for a filling lunch that keeps you going all afternoon.
Cafes · Surfdale · $
★ 4.9 from 37 Google reviews
There's a little cabin on Hamilton Road in Surfdale where the menu is short and clear: Island Coffee and toasties made on organic local sourdough.
Onetangi
★ 4.9 from 35 Google reviews
Rows of olive trees, a wide courtyard and a low, modern room looking out over the grounds: that's what you walk into at the end of Gordons Road, where Allpress has built a bistro beside its groves and tasting room.
Burgers · Oneroa · $
★ 3.8 from 84 Google reviews
The view is the main draw, and it's a good one: from the outdoor tables on Ocean View Road you look out over the bay at Oneroa, with the village walkway behind you and the water out in front.
Cafes · Ostend · $
★ 4.5 from 33 Google reviews
Six thirty in the morning is when the first shots get pulled, which tells you plenty about who Hotshot Espresso is for: anyone on Waiheke who wants a proper coffee before the day gets going, whether that's a ferry to catch or a job to get to.
Fish and chips · Onetangi
★ 4.2 from 44 Google reviews
What this Onetangi Road counter does best is fish and chips wrapped in paper, and you can eat them a short walk from the beach.
Cafes · Ostend · $
★ 4.0 from 31 Google reviews
Six in the morning is when the doors open on weekdays at 2 Tahi Road in Ostend, so you can have a warm pie in hand well before most of Waiheke has thought about breakfast, and the cabinet keeps going until 3.30pm, with a later 8am start on Sunday.
Bakeries · Oneroa · $
★ 4.6 from 13 Google reviews
The building used to sell flowers and now it sells cakes, pastries and pies, which tells you most of what you need to know about this little bakery in the middle of Oneroa.
Bakeries · Ostend
★ 4.7 from 7 Google reviews
If you're passing through Ostend, this little bakery on Tahi Road is the sort of stop that sorts out lunch in a couple of minutes.
Oneroa
★ 3.4 from 16 Google reviews
You step off the ferry and the coffee machine is right there, which is the whole idea behind Shed 36.
Pubs and bars · Oneroa
★ 3.0 from 2 Google reviews
On Ocean View Road in Oneroa, the main village on Waiheke Island, Spice Cafe & Wine Bar opens at seven every morning and closes at three, so breakfast and lunch are the windows you're working with.
You'll find Monday openings all over the island, from Oneroa and Ostend through to Onetangi, where Charlie Farley's and Ki Māha sit a few steps off the sand, and out at Eastern Waiheke for Poderi Crisci. The winery restaurants do a proper Monday too, with Casita Miro pouring Miro wine alongside its Fiesta menu, Stonyridge running a set lunch from 11, and Batch serving from its ridge top above the Onetangi Valley. If you'd rather eat with your hands, The Local on the Oneroa deck, Little Oneroa Takeaways by the beach and The 3 Fishes in Ostend all keep Monday hours.
On Mondays you can go from a 6.30 breakfast at Island Frenchie to a long lunch at Poderi Crisci, so it's worth checking the hours on each listing before you head out. The tags narrow it down too, with dog-friendly tables, kid-friendly menus and sea view seats all marked, and our how we check page explains where every detail comes from.
You've got 52 places open on Mondays, and between them they cover most of what you'd want: Casita Miro, Stonyridge, Batch, Te Motu, Cable Bay and The Archive for a long winery lunch, The Heke in Onetangi for the whole family, and Ostend Pizzeria when you want it delivered.
Early risers get Island Frenchie from 6.30am beside the Oneroa bus stop, Carpark Cafe in Ostend from 7am, The Loft off Tahi Road from 7.30am, and Akito Eatery in Oneroa opening before 8am for Turkish eggs, with Wai Kitchen starting at 8am.
