Where to Eat This Weekend

We break bread. We swap stories. We gossip. We put up the 'back in 10 mins' sign at the retail coal face... and enjoy the hospo places open in our hood. This is WestSide.

To the biz owners, the managers, the staff and the people who spend more waking hours on this strip than almost anywhere else. You already know where to eat. But sometimes it's useful to see it written down... to be reminded that what you've got on your doorstep after the pandemic... the global wars... the inflation and now the fuel crisis... is actually pretty remarkable.

We come together on WestSide. We swap stories across counters, we catch up in the carpark, we debrief over coffee after the rush. The food on this street isn't just fuel — it's the social infrastructure of the whole place. So here's the guide. Block by block. Morning to night.

John's Bakery & Cafe has more seats than it needs... until you see them fill up inside and out. Sunny all day (No shade to locations less blessed). Try and skip on the fresh cream donuts... I triple Cabana bar dare you. Or get healthy with the gluten free salmon option if you've got the discipline and the time. If you haven't... ask for the crumbed chicken roll and some fries and own it. John's is the 300 block's anchor, the place that greets the coming four-lane highway from our Napier fam. It's been here. It will still be here.

For the office workers upstairs at 200 West, Collab Cafe is just a staircase and short walk away. Grab it quick and head back to the desk to get the work done... or stay, because the energy in that room on a Thursday is worth an extra ten minutes. Cops, judges, legal beagles, tradespeople, students... all at the same counter. That's WestSide doing what it does.

Organic Farm Butchery is the 300 block's organic option — quality-first, intentional, the kind of pick up you make when you're shopping for dinner later.

Dinner at VietThai Cuisine means everything cooked from scratch. If you enjoy bone broth and clean living, the Pho bowl — chicken or beef — is a night you can skip cooking without breaking your nutrition limits. The family recipes are the real thing. The regulars came back once and never stopped.

For the Flex Fitness gym bunnies, there is a limitless supply of boiled eggs at Dax, even peeled for you. And the Woolworths deli counter has sandwiches ready to go seven days a week — or make your own with some Champagne Ham and Coleslaw if you've got a bench nearby.

Dax Cafe keeps a range of baked goods, but the go to is the sandwiches. Always chicken, or ham... or egg. All fresh. Every day. For the regular workers, Dax is the kind of place that makes sense even if you never bring your lunch in to work... and the espresso in the morning means half the street has already been in before 9am.

OMGoodness has built its following on baked goods alone... the kind of loyalty that can't be manufactured. He bakes 'em as good as he builds homes... so if you haven't been yet, ask someone who has and watch their face melt.

Asian Satay Noodle House is one of those lunches that needs no explanation to anyone who's had it. If you haven't.... walk a block from wherever you are. Kami Sushi is right there too, fresh and fast, the kind of roll-and-go that the whole street seems to know about except the people who've somehow never tried it. Between those two, the 200 block does lunch better than anywhere else on the strip.

Sutto Cafe across from Dax means the 200 block has two independent cafes running at pace.... both busy, both earning it. The lattes at Sutto are reliable, the staff stacked two deep so regulars never wait. Before 9am you get a little thank you discount. That's the alpha.

For the RSE workers, there is literally a queue up the street for what some say is the best chicken and chips in the Bay at Heretaunga Super Mart in 400 West. The welcome is warmer than a hot handshake from the Incredible Hulk. Seven days, long hours, a product range the workers depend on — you can't work the orchards of Hawke's Bay on an empty stomach, and these are the people and places that power the WestSide economy whether the wider city notices or not.

Thai Orchid has the classic green and red curries, along with a beautiful smile from the owner's hometown in Phuket, Andaman Sea, Thailand. Learn your pleases and thank you's in Thai while you're there. It'll get you a better table next time.

Charm Eatery & Bar anchors the evening offer at the western end of the street. It's the reason to stay at the end of the workday or return at sunset — the 200 block at night has a different energy, and Charm is the reason for it.

This is WestSide. You work here, you eat here, you know the people behind every counter. Support each other. Come together. The weekend starts now.

Every business mentioned is listed in the WestSide directory. Find opening hours, contacts and more at hastingscity.nz.