Tauranga has a good cafe and restaurant scene for a New Zealand city of its size. The waterfront strip along The Strand has several options, and the Mount Maunganui precinct across the harbour is worth crossing over to — the beach suburb has developed a concentration of good cafes and casual restaurants that benefits from the holiday crowd year-round.
Kiwifruit and avocado from the surrounding orchards appear on nearly every menu in season. Bay of Plenty seafood — particularly snapper, crayfish in season, and green-lipped mussels — is excellent and widely available.