Experience authentic cuisine through guided food tours in New Zealand.
New Zealand offers dramatic landscapes ranging from volcanic peaks to pristine fjords, vibrant Maori culture, and world-class adventure activities. From the cosmopolitan cities of Auckland and Wellington to the stunning natural wonders of Milford Sound and Mount Cook, this island nation delivers unforgettable experiences for every type of traveler.
The best guided culinary experiences.
A guided walking tour through Wellington's vibrant culinary scene visiting the Wellington Night Market, local bakeries, artisan cheese makers, and craft beer spots along the Te Aro precinct. Wellington has more cafes and restaurants per capita than New York City, making it the perfect food city to explore on foot.
Explore Auckland's culinary diversity through Ponsonby's cafe strip, the Otara Flea Market's Pacific food stalls, and the Britomart precinct's fine food shops. Tastings include whitebait fritters, hokey pokey ice cream, Bluff oysters in season, and artisan chocolate.
A guided market and cultural food experience in Rotorua learning about Maori food traditions. Visit a local geothermal cooking demonstration, taste kai Maori (Maori food) including rewena bread, watercress, and steamed puddings, and visit Rotorua's Eat Streat market.
A full-day guided tour of Central Otago's acclaimed Pinot Noir wine country visiting Felton Road, Amisfield, and Carrick wineries. Cheese pairing lunches at each cellar door and a scenic drive through the Gibbston Valley gorge combine world-class wine with spectacular landscape.
Napier and Hastings' Hawke's Bay region is New Zealand's food and wine heartland. This guided tour visits cheese factories, olive oil producers, specialty food makers, and winery cellar doors that make Hawke's Bay the country's most food-intensive region.
Choose based on your culinary interests.
Wellington Night Market (Friday), Auckland Night Markets (various nights), and Rotorua's Eat Streat (Thursday evenings) are the best street food destinations. Self-guided crawls cost NZD $20-40 for multiple tastings.
Saturday morning farmers markets at Otago (Dunedin), Matakana (Auckland region), and Riccarton (Christchurch) are excellent self-guided food markets with 50-100 local producers. Free entry, tastings often available.
Pre-set tasting menu experiences at Auckland's Clooney, Wellington's Hiakai, or Queenstown's Amisfield offer guided multi-course journeys through New Zealand cuisine. NZD $120-220 per person.
Wine tours in Central Otago and Hawke's Bay, whisky tours at Thomson Whisky in Auckland, and craft beer tours in Wellington are popular specialty food experiences.
Tour recommendations, DIY routes, and local recipes.
Learn to make local dishes yourself.
Learn the art of traditional Maori hangi cooking — using volcanic earth to slow-cook meat and vegetables — at Mitai Maori Village in Rotorua. The class includes preparing the kai, understanding tikanga (custom) around food, and sharing the meal communally.
A hands-on cooking class at Wellington's New Zealand Food and Wine School focused on modern New Zealand cuisine: cooking lamb rumps, preparing whitebait fritters, and making hokey pokey ice cream from scratch. Classes held Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings.
Learn to shuck and prepare Bluff oysters — the world's most celebrated oysters, available May to August — and cook fresh Southland blue cod and paua (abalone) with a local chef. Available during oyster season at Invercargill's Seriously Good Chocolate Company venue.
Create your own culinary adventure.
Wellington is New Zealand's best self-guided food city. Start at the Wellington Night Market (Friday) or the Harbourside Market (Sunday), then walk Cuba Street for cafe-hopping before ending at Mojo Coffee, a New Zealand institution.
Stop 1: Harbourside Market (Sunday 7:30AM-1PM) — fresh produce, artisan bread, and local honey from 100+ stalls beside the waterfront
Stop 2: Commonsense Organics on Wakefield Street — browse specialty NZ food products, local cheeses, and artisan preserves
Stop 3: Floriditas on Cuba Street — iconic Wellington cafe for brunch featuring local seasonal produce and house-baked pastries
Stop 4: Regal Chinese Bakery on Taranaki Street — authentic Chinese BBQ pork buns and egg tarts at NZ-local prices
Stop 5: Moore Wilson's Fresh on Tory Street — Wellington's beloved gourmet food emporium for local cheeses, wines, and specialty goods to take home
Get the most from your culinary adventures.
Bluff oysters are New Zealand's finest, available May to August from fishmongers and restaurants nationwide — don't miss them if visiting in season.
Whitebait fritters are a New Zealand delicacy made from tiny fish caught in West Coast rivers. Try them at any Westland or South Island cafe during the whitebait season (August to November).
New Zealand lamb and venison are among the world's finest. Rack of Central Otago lamb or Canterbury venison at a local restaurant outperforms imported equivalents everywhere.
Hokey pokey is New Zealand's most beloved ice cream flavour — vanilla with butterscotch toffee pieces. Tip Top and Lewis Road Creamery versions are both excellent.
Wellington has more restaurants per capita than New York City. The suburb of Newtown and inner-city Te Aro are the best areas for diverse, affordable, and innovative dining.
New Zealand's cafes are world-class — the flat white was arguably invented here. Never skip morning coffee at a local cafe rather than an international chain.
Farmers markets happen every Saturday in major cities. Christchurch's Riccarton Market, Auckland's La Cigale Market, and Dunedin's Otago Farmers Market are all outstanding.
New Zealand's fish and chips shops (chippies) are an institution. Fresh snapper in crispy batter with chips, salt, and vinegar is the quintessential NZ takeaway meal.
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