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. The kitchen serves solid pub food, with steak, egg and chips, glazed ribs, a slow braised lamb shank with mash and a beef cheeseburger that people order again and again, plus a specials board running alongside the regular menu. Lunch runs 12 to 2 and dinner 5 to 8 Tuesday to Friday, while Saturday and Sunday are dinner only and Monday is closed, so time your visit around the kitchen rather than the bar. The bar pours Waiheke wines and the club's own brewery beer, sometimes a stout on tap, and there's free pool and darts in the sports room, big screens for the racing, quiz nights, live music and Friday membership draws with meat raffles from the local butcher, so you get a cheap, genuinely local night out that's worth the trip.
Written from 159 Google reviews, every one we could get, on 12 November 2026. Rated 4.4 from 155 Google reviews.
It's a solid, cheap night out where the food costs less than you'd expect for the size of the plates, and plenty of people leave already planning a return visit. Come in expecting a community club rather than a restaurant and you'll enjoy it.
Order the steak, egg and chips, because steak is the dish that comes up most and it's served with a salad on the side. The beef cheeseburger and the glazed ribs are close behind, the pork belly with cauliflower and roast veg is worth catching when it's on the board, and the sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce is the dessert to finish on.
The staff are the highlight, friendly enough that regulars and first timers both get looked after, and someone will usually walk you through signing in rather than leaving you guessing at the door. Food is cooked to order, so it comes out hot but takes a while once the room fills up.
It's a proper old club, clean and tidy with a big lounge, a separate sports room and a relaxed local feel far removed from the island's vineyard restaurants. Two pool tables, dart boards, big screens for the sport and the only TAB machines on Waiheke give you something to do between drinks.
This is about as cheap as eating out gets on Waiheke, with generous plates, a bar tab that stays low, and free pool and darts thrown in. Membership drops the prices further, and the koha tea and coffee cost you nothing.
Bring the family, particularly for the Sunday roast, when feeding the whole crew costs a fraction of a single main elsewhere on the island. It suits a quiet beer and a game of pool, a quiz team, or a big group booking just as well.
You can't just walk in and order, since you need to be signed in as a visitor or take out a trial membership, and they've turned away visiting club members when their sponsor couldn't stay. The kitchen also shuts well before the bar, with no lunch on Saturday or Sunday and nothing doing on Monday.
Every fact on this page was checked on 8 November 2026 against Google, Waiheke RSA's own website and 159 of its Google reviews. The photo is from the eatout library, not taken here, and no venue pays to be listed or ranked. Something out of date? Tell us
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