Rotorua Dining
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The Rotorua dining experience is a mixture of New Zealand cuisine, traditional Maori feasts and international dishes. Rotorua has so much choice it has a whole street designated to dining. Beginning and at the lake end of the City and weaving its way through cobbled pavements and landscaped gardens “Eat Street” is a combination of cafes, bars and international restaurants of every kind. The street is closed to traffic making it a relaxed and friendly place to dine and there is live entertainment on Sunday nights. During the day, coffee shops in Rotorua provide a great choice of homemade pastries and freshly baked muffins with most items cooked on the premises and made ready to go. Rotorua is one of the best places in New Zealand to experience The Hangi.
This traditional Maori feast is cooked underground on a bed of hot rocks, using steam as the natural cooking process. The cooking begins early in the day with the preparation of the oven, then the adding of the cooking layers and culminating in the covering of the food. The feast is then left for many hours before it is uncovered and served. This is quite often a part of a cultural performance which combines the meal with traditional entertainment and is one of the most popular activities while on holiday in Rotorua. Many cultural performances are held at Rotorua Hotels so check availability when you book your accommodation. Rotorua has a good choice of award winning restaurants which specialize in the finest of New Zealand cuisine including venison, salmon, scallops and lamb. For a little romance, take the gondola up to the top of Mount Ngongataha for magnificent views of the Rotorua area and dine out in style. Of course dining is made all the more pleasurable when it is combined with New Zealand wine or beer and Rotorua restaurants will be happy to provide you with both. If you are holidaying with kids, nothing quite beats the traditional New Zealand takeaway of fish and chips which tastes especially good when eaten at the park or down by the lake. New Zealand fish include Hoki, Terakihi, Snapper and Gurnard. Rotorua has a good selection of family friendly restaurants and takeaway outlets to cater for holidays on a budget.
Rotorua tours offer all inclusive packages which include meals, transport and entry fees to attractions on some of their exclusive tours. When meals are not included in the price, they will guide you to the best places to eat for the day. The Rotorua dining scene is a large part of your Rotorua experience so try as much as you can while you are there.
