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. You order at the counter from a cabinet and warmer doing pies, sandwiches, fish and chips and fries, and there's coffee all day too. It's cheap, unfussy food that keeps a small island town going.
Pies are the main event, and the range is wide enough that you'll find something whether you want a steak number or a chicken one, with chips or a sweet slice from the cabinet to round it out. Everything is made fresh daily, which is why locals get in early and why it stays busy when the ferries come in and the beaches are busy.
If you're staying on Waiheke, you can order ahead on the bakery's website or app and get it delivered to your door. The fee depends on where you are, set by zone, and there's a note asking you to keep the dog inside or on a lead when the driver arrives.
Written from 141 Google reviews, every one we could get, on 12 November 2026. Rated 4.2 from 140 Google reviews.
The pies are the reason this place gets talked about, and they're as good as any you'll find on the island. It's cheap, it's consistent, and the doors open at six most mornings, which is exactly what you want from a bakery you rely on.
Start with a pie, since the range is wide and they're what the place is known for, and add chips if you're making a proper lunch of it. The sandwiches are worth a look too, and the coffee is very good, so it's worth getting a cup alongside your pie.
The staff are quick and friendly, and even with a queue you'll be served with a smile and sent on your way in good time. It gets busy in the mornings, but the counter keeps moving.
It's a clean, tidy bakery with a cabinet full of sandwiches and sweets and a warmer doing steady business, and it's the kind of place where the queue out the door tells you you're in the right spot. It's a short walk up from the beach, which makes it easy to stop in when you're coming off the sand.
Prices are low across the board, and you get plenty for what you pay, which is why the same faces keep turning up. There's the odd grumble when a bigger order adds up, but mostly it's the kind of cheap eat where you order more than you planned and still come out fine.
It's a breakfast and lunch spot, best for an early feed before work, a quick takeaway lunch, or something to eat down at the beach. Order a spread for the group, since the range covers pies, sandwiches and fried bits, and everyone can take what they want.
Some pies come out bland or only warm rather than hot, so it pays to go with the ones the staff are restocking fastest. The coffee has had the odd off day too, and the doors shut mid-afternoon, so don't bank on it for dinner.
Every fact on this page was checked on 8 November 2026 against Google, SURFDALE BAKERY & CAFE's own website and 141 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
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.
Pubs and bars · Surfdale
★ 3.3 from 180 Google reviews
Temporarily closed
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.
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.
Oneroa · $
★ 5.0 from 6 Google reviews
Wednesday to Sunday nights, the bowling club down Marama Avenue in Surfdale opens its doors, and the kitchen turns out food that's way better than you'd expect for the price.
Takeaways · Oneroa · $
★ 4.3 from 271 Google reviews
Just a minute's walk from the sand at Little Oneroa Beach, on Goodwin Avenue, this is the kind of takeaway you build a beach day around, with a menu that runs from snapper and chips to burgers, hot dogs and deep-fried Moro bars.
Pizza · Oneroa · $
★ 4.8 from 53 Google reviews
Wood smoke, bare feet and a pizza box carried across the grass to the beach: that's lunch at Little Oneroa Reserve, where a food truck parks beside the playground and cooks wood fired street food from late morning.
