Surfdale's seven places to eat run from Floating Cafe KOKO on the marina, where the whole cabinet is gluten free, to On Fire Waiheke for steaks off the grill and Bisou Cafe for crepes and pastries.
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Pubs and bars · Surfdale
★ 4.3 from 290 Google reviews
This family-run spot on Hamilton Road in Surfdale does thin-crust pizzas and slow-cooked curries, and that combo is exactly why you'll want to stop in on your way through.
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.
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 · 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.
Pubs and bars · Surfdale
★ 3.3 from 180 Google reviews
You know the type: a worn-in Irish pub with a proper Guinness tap, a pool table in the corner, and locals who'll talk to you whether you're from the island or just off the ferry.
Surfdale · $$
★ 4.1 from 21 Google reviews
Smoke and open flame are the whole idea at this Surfdale steakhouse, where the meat is cooked over a wood fire and arrives at your table simple and full of flavour.
Surfdale's bakery, coffee bar and local restaurant handle the everyday: SURFDALE BAKERY & CAFE has the pie warmer going from 6am on weekdays and 7am at the weekend, HR SIXTEEN keeps things simple with Island Coffee and cheese toasties on organic local sourdough, and The Middle Restaurant and Bar Waiheke Island has fed locals for more than a decade with smoked baby back pork ribs, wild goat curry and thin-crust pizza in a room with a proper bar and a garden out the back.
Malones Irish Pub on Miami Avenue is the village's proper Irish pub, where the Guinness is poured with care, the pool table and dartboard get a workout, and the garden and pergola make the spot for an afternoon pint in the sun. Everything's within an easy walk of the marina and the car ferry, so you can eat well without leaving the village.
SURFDALE BAKERY & CAFE has the pie warmer going from 6am on weekdays and 7am at the weekend, HR SIXTEEN opens before 8am for Island Coffee and cheese toasties on organic local sourdough, and Bisou Cafe opens before 8am six days a week for crepes, galettes and pastries.
Floating Cafe KOKO at the Waiheke Marina is entirely gluten free, with bread and rice bagels baked on site from rice flour, so coeliacs can relax because the whole cabinet is gluten free. Bisou Cafe on Miami Avenue also has gluten-free options alongside its crepes and galettes.
The Middle Restaurant and Bar Waiheke Island has a garden where kids disappear into a game of hide and seek, and it's kid-friendly and good for groups. On Fire Waiheke is kid-friendly too, and Floating Cafe KOKO has a pontoon swim deck where kids can swim while you eat.
