Before I start, let me share a lesson I learned in New Zealand menu terminology. What we, in the US, call appetizers are called starters or entrées in New Zealand. What we call entrées in the US are called mains in New Zealand. Finally, what we call snacks are called nibbles in New Zealand.

Kerikeri and the surrounding area has no shortage of very good restaurants. In the short time I was there, I had the opportunity to try everything from green-lipped muscles to tofu at the following restaurants. 

Waikokopu Café

Hughie Blues and Amanda Turner offer an imaginative menu at at Waikokopu Café on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in Paihia. They obviously had fun naming their creations: Sweet Corncoction (corn & coriander fritters served with guacamole, sour cream and tomato salsa), Squidly Didly (pan-fried calamari tossed in garlic, lime & coriander served with a chili dipping sauce), Country Pumpkin (smoked mushroom, roast pumpkin and Puhoi feta tossed amongst a mesculin salad drizzled with balsamic dressing), Baa Baa Ganush (dukka rubbed loin of lamb served with char grilled vege salad and hummus nestled between foccacia), and A Load of Bull (smoked garlic infused fillet of beef wrapped in nori rice served with a daikon remoulade and sesame seed jus) are just a few examples. There is some serious cooking behind the lighthearted names. Waikokopu Café was runner up for the Northland region in the Café awards 2000. We ate on the deck that overlooked lush vegetation and The Bay of Islands. I had the Oriental Salad (pictured at right), a warm salad of tofu, cashew nuts, wilted greens, toasted sesame seeds and a light lemon dressing. It was fabulous! I also tried the Simply Squeezed Spirulina Juice Drink. Other than the fact that I managed to spill most of it on one of my companions, it was delicious. I blame my wee bit of clumsiness on jet lag - the only symptom of it I had.

Café Jerusalem

Café Jerusalem is tucked back from Kerikeri's main street. You have to walk through an inviting outdoor café to enter. The night we were there, we ate inside and tried a variety of middle eastern dishes. They were all quite tasty. The most memorable part of the evening was at the end when they brought out the hookah (see picture at right), lit an incense-like disk containing fruitwood (I forget if it was apple or cherry), and passed the pipe around. Great fun!

Fishbone Café

Fishbone Café is a somewhat starkly decorated café on Kerikeri's main street. We were there in the middle of the afternoon. On the blackboard was a notice that they would be showing the rugby playoffs in the evening. It made me wonder if they just clear the floor of furniture to handle a large sports crowd at nights. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to test my theory. However, the food was quite good. The Fishbone Café won the Northland's Top Café Award in 1999. I had a veggie-filled panini, but they also offer things like seafood chowder, prawns and scallops sauteed in garlic butter, antipasto platter, spring rolls, herb beer battered terkihi, pan-fried snapper, sirloin steak and burgers.

Waikokopu Café in Paihia

Oriental Salad at Waikokopu Café

Smoking a Houkah after dinner at Café Jerusalem in Kerikeri