Restaurants in Hastings New Zealand. Hastings sits in the middle of Hawke’s Bay, ringed by vineyards and orchards, and its dining scene reflects that setting. The central streets hold wine bars, cafés, bistros and restaurants covering a wide spread of cuisines, and much of it is concentrated around the Heretaunga Street East strip, which makes an evening out easy to plan on foot.
This guide pulls together named venues with published details, so you have a realistic shortlist to work from rather than a vague sense that there is food somewhere. Opening hours in Hawke’s Bay do shift with the seasons and with staffing, so treat everything below as a starting point and confirm directly with each place before you turn up hungry.
What Hastings Brings to the Table
Hastings celebrates diversity, and its dining scene reflects it. That is how the Hastings City Business Association describes the city, and it is a fair summary. You can move from Thai and Indian to Italian and European without leaving the centre, and the mix runs from gastro-pubs through to laid-back bistros. Central Hastings is also open seven days a week for cafés, breakfast, brunch and lunch, which matters if your visit lands on a weekend.
Café culture is a large part of the appeal. Coffee shops and bakeries around the town make it easy to settle in for a leisurely brunch or an afternoon tea, and the atmosphere is part of the experience. Zoom out and the wider region matches the city. A November 2024 guide to the best Hawke’s Bay restaurants described the region’s dining as vast and varied, with a raft of exceptional food and beverage destinations for hungry visitors.
Restaurants in Hastings New Zealand at a Glance
These are venues with published addresses, hours or contact details, which gives you something concrete to build a day or evening around.
Venue | Where | What to Know |
|---|---|---|
Cellar 495 | Heretaunga Street East, Hastings | Wine bar, bistro, tasting room and wine shop. Lunch and dinner. Menu covers European, New Zealand and Pasifika dishes, salads and seafood, with dairy free, gluten free, vegan and vegetarian options. Sharing platters available and the venue is family friendly. |
No.5 Café & Larder | Hastings | Open seven days a week, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Breakfast, brunch and lunch with fresh coffee. Table bookings by phone on 06 871 5644. |
Sazio | 215 Heretaunga Street East, Hastings | Dinner Tuesday to Saturday, 5pm until late. Phone 06-6507717 or email info@sazio.co.nz. |
Charm Eatery and Bar | Hastings City | Café and fully licensed restaurant in the heart of the city, offering dine in, takeaway, functions and catering. |
Restaurant Ari | 103 Karamu Road South, Hastings | Lunch and dinner services across the week. Phone (06) 222 7100. |
Cellar 495: Wine Bar, Bistro and Tasting Room
If you only book one table in Hastings and you care about wine, Cellar 495 on Heretaunga Street East is the obvious starting point. It is described as the perfect getaway for a relaxing lunch or dinner, and as the place for great wine lovers, and the format backs that up. It operates as a wine bar, bistro, tasting room and wine shop all in one, so you can eat, taste and take a bottle home without moving the car.
The venue is led by Michael Henley, the world’s 495th Master of Wine, which is where the name comes from. Every wine on the menu has been selected by him. Alongside the wine, the kitchen works across European, New Zealand and Pasifika cooking, with salads and seafood featuring on the menu. Dietary needs are reasonably well covered, with dairy free, gluten free, vegan and vegetarian options listed. Sharing platters suit a group, and the venue describes itself as family friendly, so it works for a long lunch as well as a date night.
The combination of neighbourly warmth and hospitality with serious wine expertise is the draw here. It is the sort of place where you can ask a question about a glass and get a proper answer, then order something entirely different with your main.
Breakfast, Brunch and Coffee in Hastings
No.5 Café & Larder is the easiest breakfast and brunch option to plan around because it keeps simple, reliable hours. It is open seven days a week from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, serving great food, fresh coffee and a welcoming atmosphere. The café side is built around gathering, eating and playing, which tells you it welcomes families and groups rather than treating them as an inconvenience. You can book a table using the form on its website or call 06 871 5644, and gift cards are available if you are buying for someone local.
Beyond that one, the wider café scene in central Hastings runs seven days a week for cafés, breakfast, brunch and lunch. Coffee shops and bakeries are scattered through the town, and the local business association points visitors towards them for a leisurely brunch or afternoon tea in the town’s distinctive atmosphere. If you are driving through Hawke’s Bay on a road trip, a Hastings brunch stop is an easy one to slot in before you head for the vineyards.
Dinner in Hastings: What to Expect
Dinner service in Hastings leans towards a Tuesday to Saturday rhythm, so plan around that rather than assuming every night is covered. Sazio at 215 Heretaunga Street East serves dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, 5pm until late, and takes bookings on 06-6507717 or by email at info@sazio.co.nz. Restaurant Ari on Karamu Road South also runs an evening service alongside its lunch offering, with contact details published as (06) 222 7100. Cellar 495 covers both lunch and dinner, which gives you flexibility if your plans change during the day.
Traveller reviews are another useful signal when you are deciding. A Tripadvisor listing of restaurants near the Hastings TOP 10 Holiday Park shows Star Of India Authentic Indian Restaurant rated 4.8, St Georges Restaurant at 4.5 and Off The Track at 4.4. Ratings like these move around over time, so use them as a rough guide rather than a ranking, but they do suggest Indian food and bistro-style dining are both well represented in the city.
Whatever you choose, book ahead for weekend evenings. Hawke’s Bay draws visitors for wine and events, and the better-known tables in the centre fill quickly.
Beyond the City: Hawke’s Bay’s Wider Dining Scene
Hastings is one part of a broader food region, and it is worth knowing what sits around it. The Denizen’s guide to the best Hawke’s Bay restaurants, published in November 2024, covers the region’s standout food and drink destinations and features venues such as Central Fire Station Bistro, Mary’s Wine Bar and Bar Teresa in its photography. The region also appears in the Cuisine Good Food Guide’s Hawke’s Bay listings, which track the best restaurants, chefs and innovators of the year across New Zealand’s culinary scene, from Restaurant of the Year through to regional and metropolitan awards.
That wider context is useful because Hastings makes a sensible base. You can eat in the city on the nights you want to stay local and drive out to a winery restaurant or a Napier venue on the others, without relocating your bags.
Practical Tips for Eating Out in Hastings
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Check hours directly before you go. Published times change with the season, and some venues close for a stretch over winter or public holidays.
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Book dinner ahead, particularly Friday and Saturday, and especially if you are a group of more than four.
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Ask about dietary requirements. Several Hastings venues list dairy free, gluten free, vegan and vegetarian options, but confirming in advance saves a difficult conversation at the table.
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Stay central if you want to walk between venues. Heretaunga Street East puts a wine bar and a dinner restaurant within a short stroll of each other.
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Match lunch to wine tasting. A lighter lunch works better if you are heading out to vineyards afterwards, and Cellar 495 covers both food and wine in one stop if you would rather not drive.
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Use lunch as your main meal if you are on a budget. Breakfast, brunch and lunch menus are generally the friendliest entry point into a city’s food scene.
Making Hastings Part of a Hawke’s Bay Trip
For campervan travellers and families, Hastings sits comfortably inside a Hawke’s Bay itinerary. The city has holiday park accommodation on its doorstep, and the Tripadvisor listing of restaurants near the Hastings TOP 10 Holiday Park gives you an idea of how close the dining options are to where budget travellers tend to stay. That proximity matters on a self-drive trip, because it means you can park up for the night and walk to dinner rather than repacking the vehicle.
A straightforward plan looks like this: breakfast or brunch in the city, a morning or afternoon among the vineyards, then back into central Hastings for dinner. If you want a quieter version, swap the wineries for the cafés and bakeries and spend the day grazing instead. Either way, confirm the details with each venue before you commit, since Hastings restaurants adjust their hours through the year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I get breakfast in Hastings?
No.5 Café & Larder is open seven days a week from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, serving breakfast, brunch and lunch with fresh coffee. You can book a table through its website or by calling 06 871 5644. Central Hastings also has cafés, coffee shops and bakeries open seven days a week, so there is usually more than one option within walking distance of where you are staying.
Do Hastings restaurants cater for vegan and gluten free diets?
Several do. Cellar 495 on Heretaunga Street East lists dairy free, gluten free, vegan and vegetarian options on its menu, alongside salads, seafood and sharing platters. Other venues may also be able to help, but they do not all publish their dietary options online. The safest approach is to call or email ahead with your requirements so the kitchen can plan for your booking.
What time does dinner start in Hastings?
Dinner service generally begins in the late afternoon or early evening. Sazio on Heretaunga Street East serves dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, 5pm until late. Restaurant Ari on Karamu Road South also runs an evening service. Because individual venues set their own hours and these shift with the seasons, check directly with the restaurant before you travel.
Do I need to book a table in advance?
Booking is sensible for dinner, and close to essential on Friday and Saturday nights or when a Hawke’s Bay event is on. Sazio takes bookings on 06-6507717, and No.5 Café & Larder takes them on 06 871 5644. For cafés and casual lunch spots, walking in is usually fine outside peak weekend brunch hours.
Is Hastings a good base for a Hawke’s Bay food trip?
It works well. Hastings has a diverse central dining scene ranging from Thai and Indian to Italian and European, plus cafés, bakeries, bistros and gastro-pubs, and the wider Hawke’s Bay region adds winery restaurants and destination dining within a short drive. Staying in Hastings lets you eat locally on some nights and explore the region on others without changing accommodation.
