New Zealand Food

Seasonality matters more than in most countries. Whitebait runs in spring, roughly September to November, and the best fritters are on the West Coast around Hokitika and Westport. Bluff oysters arrive in autumn, and the Bluff Oyster and Food Festival is held in May. Stone fruit, cherries and berries peak from December to February in Central Otago, and feijoas fill every garden and supermarket in April and May.

Green-lipped mussels are the seafood to eat everywhere. They are farmed on long lines in the Marlborough Sounds, and the small town of Havelock, between Picton and Nelson, calls itself the green-lipped mussel capital of the world; its restaurants serve them steamed in white wine, grilled in the half shell or in chowder. You will also find them on menus in Auckland, Wellington and every coastal pub.

New Zealand raises far more sheep than people, and lamb is on every pub and restaurant menu: a slow-roasted shoulder, a rack with kūmara mash or a lamb shank pie. Venison from farmed red deer is the other local meat, often served rare. In supermarkets a leg of lamb is good value for a campervan barbecue.

The meat pie is the real national dish. Every small-town bakery sells mince-and-cheese, steak-and-cheese, mince, potato-top and bacon-and-egg pies from a heated cabinet, usually for NZ$6 to 9, and the annual Bakels Supreme Pie Awards are reported like a sporting result. Eat one with tomato sauce, which is ketchup.

A hāngī is a Māori earth oven: stones are heated in a fire, placed in a pit, covered with baskets of meat, kūmara, pumpkin and stuffing, then wet cloths and soil, and left to steam for three or four hours. The food comes out smoky and very tender. It is cooked for big gatherings at marae, so visitors usually eat it at a cultural evening in Rotorua, such as those at Whakarewarewa village, Te Puia, Mitai or Te Pā Tū (formerly Tamaki), where it is served after a pōwhiri (welcome) and a concert. Expect roughly NZ$130 to 260 for an evening with transport, depending on the operator. At Whakarewarewa some food is also cooked in the geothermal steam boxes.

New Zealand’s café culture is among the best in the world, and Wellington claims more cafés per head than New York. The default order is a flat white: a double espresso with finely textured milk in a small cup. A flat white costs NZ$5 to 6.50, and alternative milks add about NZ$1. Long blacks (espresso over hot water) are the black coffee; drip filter is less common.

Cafés open from 7am, serve brunch until about 2 or 3pm and shut by 4pm outside city centres. Cabinet food (muffins, scones, savoury slices, sandwiches) sits at the counter; you order and pay there, take a number and the food is brought out. A cooked brunch such as eggs benedict or a big breakfast costs NZ$22 to 32. Look for local roasters such as Havana and Flight in Wellington, Allpress and Kokako in Auckland, and Atomic and Coffee Supreme, which supply cafés nationwide.

• Marlborough: more than two-thirds of the country’s wine and the home of the gooseberry-sharp Sauvignon Blanc that made New Zealand famous. Base yourself in Blenheim and cycle between cellar doors in the Wairau Valley, where tastings cost about NZ$10 to 25, often waived if you buy.
• Central Otago: the world’s most southerly major wine region, known for Pinot Noir. The Gibbston Valley is 25 minutes from Queenstown; Bannockburn and Cromwell are further on, near Wānaka and Arrowtown.
• Hawke’s Bay: the oldest region, around Napier and Hastings, producing Syrah, Chardonnay and Bordeaux-style reds from the Gimblett Gravels. Flat, easy cycle trails link the wineries.
• Others: Martinborough in the Wairarapa for Pinot Noir an hour from Wellington, Waiheke Island a 40-minute ferry from Auckland, and Nelson.

Self-catering saves the most. Pak’nSave is the cheapest supermarket chain, Woolworths and New World have more range, and Four Square is the small-town store. Hostels and holiday parks have shared kitchens, and many towns have weekend farmers’ markets. Food courts and Asian restaurants in Auckland and Christchurch are the cheapest sit-down meals, from NZ$15.

Prices include 15% GST, and there is no service charge, so tipping is not expected. Leave a few dollars or round up for exceptional service if you like. On public holidays many restaurants add a surcharge of about 15%, which must be displayed. In cafés and many pubs you order and pay at the counter; in restaurants you often pay at the counter on the way out rather than waiting for the bill.

Dinner is early, roughly 6 to 8pm, and kitchens in small towns can close by 8.30 or 9pm, so eat on time on road trips. Tap water is free and safe. Some restaurants are BYO (bring your own wine) for a corkage fee of a few dollars a bottle. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are standard in cafés; vegan, halal and kosher food is easy in the cities and thinner in rural areas. Book popular restaurants in Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown for Friday and Saturday nights and over the Christmas to February holidays.