Ostend is Waiheke's everyday eating village, with 24 places that run from The 3 Fishes for fresh fish and chips to Cappadocia deli Turkish for mezze and Mint As for burgers and prawn tacos.
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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.
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.
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.
Markets · Ostend
★ 4.3 from 302 Google reviews
Come Saturday morning, the stalls spill out of the Waiheke War Memorial Hall and across Anzac Reserve on Ostend Road, and the smell of fried bread reaches you near the gate.
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.
Pubs and bars · Ostend · $
★ 4.4 from 155 Google reviews
Walking into the RSA on Belgium Street in Ostend feels less like a restaurant and more like a club that's been part of Waiheke since 1950, and the routine takes a minute to learn: if you're not a member, you sign in as a visitor at the bar, where they'll give you a free trial membership on the spot.
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 · Ostend · $
★ 5.0 from 67 Google reviews
Argentinian baking is what brings you down Putiki Road in Ostend, where a small food truck café turns out buttery croissants, cheesy scones, sugar-dusted palmeritas and facturas, all made by the two people serving them.
Chinese · Ostend · $
★ 5.0 from 62 Google reviews
The dumplings at this little Ostend counter are made by hand and steamed to order, which is why they arrive with soft skins and fillings that still taste fresh, and why there's a steady stream of people who've been told about the place by a friend.
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.
Bakeries · Ostend · $$
★ 4.6 from 65 Google reviews
At 30 Belgium Street in Ostend, this is the sort of bakery you build a Waiheke day around, with loaves, buns and pizza made from scratch and a cabinet full of sweet things.
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.
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.
Barbecue · Ostend · $
★ 4.8 from 27 Google reviews
The smell of smoke along Putiki Road is the first sign you've found this Ostend takeaway, and it's worth following if you're after proper low and slow barbecue on Waiheke Island without any fuss.
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.
Takeaways · Ostend
★ 5.0 from 12 Google reviews
Smoked barbecue and Asian street food come out of the same small kitchen on Putiki Road in Ostend, which is the sort of pairing that makes you build a stop into your Waiheke day rather than grabbing whatever's closest.
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.
Cafes · Ostend · $
★ 5.0 from 9 Google reviews
The pies are worth the trip here, flaky and crunchy with proper meat inside instead of a sad pool of gravy, and they've built a name as the best on the island.
Takeaways · Ostend · $
★ 5.0 from 7 Google reviews
Fresh pasta is made daily at this small takeaway kitchen in Ostend, and the menu keeps things simple with sauces like short rib ragu, carbonara and creamy fettuccine, all tossed through pasta that arrives properly cooked.
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.
The village centre is where you start, because Ostend stacks pizza, sushi, Indian, Turkish food and a cafe with a concept store along Belgium Street and the surrounding blocks. At Ostend Pizzeria you can order a butter chicken pizza or a mix kebab wrap and have it delivered, while Nami covers sushi, Nami bowls and fried chicken for a quick lunch. Kirans Indian Kitchen is the dinner takeaway for butter chicken and garlic cheesy naan, while Lily and Lotus concept store & Cafe does a Tikka Roll, a flat white and hand made clothing to browse.
Mornings are another good reason to be in Ostend: with early coffee, pastries and a Saturday market, you've got plenty of reasons to start the day here. Hotshot Espresso opens at 6.30am weekdays for Havana coffee, Mily's brings Argentine baking and Atomic coffee to Putiki Road, and Take a Bite, Café & Pastries opens at 7am weekdays for croissants and almond croissants. On Saturday, Waiheke Ostend Market fills the War Memorial Hall and Anzac Reserve from 8am to 1pm with crepes, Hungarian fried bread and coffee.
Ostend has 24 places, and they cover pizza, burgers, fish and chips, Turkish mezze, Chinese and Indian takeaways, sushi, dumplings, barbecue, pasta, bakeries and cafes. You can sit down at Cappadocia deli Turkish for a mezze platter, grab fish and chips from The 3 Fishes, or order a butter chicken pizza from Ostend Pizzeria and have it delivered.
Early coffee is easy: Hotshot Espresso opens at 6.30am on weekdays, Carpark Cafe & Bar Waiheke opens before 8am Monday to Friday, and The Loft opens at 7.30am Thursday to Monday. For pastries, Mily's does Argentine baking on Putiki Road, Take a Bite, Café & Pastries opens at 7am weekdays, and Island Coffee roasts beans on site behind True Blue.
The Waiheke Ostend Market is on every Saturday from 8am to 1pm at the Waiheke War Memorial Hall and Anzac Reserve on Ostend Road, and it's a fundraiser for the island's community childcare centre. You can start with a flat white, then work through crepes, Hungarian fried bread, sausage rolls, waffles and doughnuts, with gluten-free crepes available, and browse books, plants, soaps and vintage clothing.
