Omarunui Garden View: boutique hotel style accommodation, Napier

05/02/2024

We’ve given our guest patio area a bit of a refresh; I think it’s looking pretty good!

27/01/2024

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay. Yesterday we lunched at Casa Ahuriri, a new Italian restaurant in Ahuriri. Have to say we were really impressed. Authentic Italian cuisine, simple flavours done really well. Favourite dish of the day for me: the lardo. Check out the menu, and do give Casa Ahuriri a go if you’re looking for a place to dine.

12/12/2023

Our Goldie girl. What a happy pooch. She’s been part of our family for three months!

03/12/2023

Out and about in Hawke’s Bay. Friday lunch Black Betty BBQ. Rosebud cocktail, Betty Fried Chicken burger, toastie special (char siu pork belly), and brisket loaded fries. Yummy!

09/10/2023

Our new Director of Cuddles! Meet Goldie, she’s a three year old Westiepoo, and the latest addition to our happy home. Ready to welcome guests for the coming season.

11/07/2023

28/06/2023

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay. Last night we found ourselves unexpectedly enjoying the delights of Viet Thai in Hastings. What a treasure! Bao buns and Pho to die for. A wonderful meal! Will definitely be recommending Viet Thai Cuisine to our guests in the future.

18/03/2023

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay. What better place to the end the week than at Black Betty BBQ? Zingy Margaritas and a combo tray with brisket, pork ribs, pulled pork and all the fixings. Everything was great, but the brisket was to die for! So delicious. Thanks Black Betty team!

02/01/2023

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay. Today we visited Oak Estate Kitchen for lunch. It’s been a few years, and the standard is as good as ever. They were very busy today, and the staff coped admirably. Food was the Oak platter, sweetcorn pancake with kimchi and tonkatsu sauce, plus sides of green salad and delicious roast potatoes, with beautiful homemade bread. More than enough for three.

02/12/2022

Love this time of year! Two massive $5 “best seconds” strawberries and 500g of monster blueberries from Bay Blue - Delicious Hawke's Bay Grown Blueberries. The best $30 I’ll spend today!

08/10/2022

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay! Last night, with dear friends from the big smoke we visited Matisse Wine Bar, Hershell St, Napier. Had one of the best platters ever, and the cocktails are to die for. Great service, and atmosphere. Be sure to visit soon, or put it on your list if you are visiting The Bay!

10/09/2022

Out for a drink at Matisse wine bar in Napier matissewinebar with . Look at this smoking cocktail!

06/09/2022

View of the ranges this morning. Was pretty chilly overnight and the helicopters and frost fans were going hard out in the nearby vineyards. Looks like it might be a nice day. As it’s currently below zero outside, I will wait until it is a balmy one degrees before I go for a run! Happy hump day everyone!

04/09/2022

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay. Friday night at Mary's for Golden Hour (that’s happy hour for you old skoolers). Great service, a good drinks list, and fab food. What else would you expect from the same crew that owns the acclaimed Craggy Range restaurant? Definitely worth a visit. Pictured: aperol spritz, oysters, fries, and sweet and sour broccoli! All together, delicious!!

26/06/2022

This post incorporates two visits to Asian Diner; a great pan Asian cafe in Hastings. Pictured; Korean burger, half and half Karage chicken and KFC, deep fried cauliflower. Piping hot, well cooked and generous portions. Put Asian Diner on your list!!

26/05/2022

Last night we were celebrating at the consistently excellent Central Fire Station Bistro. Its win last year as HB’s best restaurant is evident throughout.

Here’s what we had: a beer for Mark and a Yuzu fizz cocktail for moi. Then a shared charcuterie plate to start, followed by FOD (gurnard)for me and beef fillet for Mark, washed down with a glass of Albariño from Red Metal winery, and a local Pinot Noir from Osawa winery.

There was a smidgen of room left, so we said yes to dessert, and glad we did. I had the amaretti and espresso semifreddo with prunes (OMG) and Mark went off piste as the menu options didn’t fit with his allergies. He ended up with a passion fruit curd, yuzu granita and torched meringue thing that he really enjoyed.

Thanks CFSB, we’ll be back again soon.

06/05/2022

Leo and Archie at Perfume Point, Ahuriri.

21/04/2022

Recent rainbows; the short one is from this morning’s dog walk. The second over Easter weekend at Ahuriri. Beautiful!

09/04/2022

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay. Friday lunch at Birdwoods in Havelock North. Not only a very nice cafe, but also a homeware store and gallery, a sculpture garden and olde fashioned sweet shop. Something for everyone, and well worth a look.

20/02/2022

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay. A late lunch last Friday at Black Betty BBQ In Hastings. We’d been wanting to go for ages, hence the massive tray, to try everything at once! Highly commended the beef short rib and the pork spare rib. Great atmosphere.

18/01/2022

Incredible moon this morning; and a beautiful sky too. Ah, paradise! Have a great day, everyone!

13/01/2022

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay. A visit from Mother would not be complete without a fix of champagne and oysters; it’s our thing! We are enjoying both at Black Barn Vineyards! Superb!

12/01/2022

Dining out and about in Hawke’s Bay. Dinner tonight was at the always excellent Central Fire Station Bistro, Our region’s top restaurant of the year in 2021. We dined on duck terrine, snapper raw fish, and venison carpaccio for our entrees, and for mains our choices were eye fillet and lamb rack. All wonderful. Be sure to put this on your list if you come to the Bay!

02/01/2022

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay. On NYE we lunched at Three Wise Birds Cider in Hastings. Friendly staff and good tucker. Pictures are the chicken sliders and pulled pork loaded fries - both very good. We washed it down with zero Zeffer cider. Only note for improvement; the onion rings (not pictured) should be actual onion rings and not processed. That detracted from an otherwise fantastic experience. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in town.

27/12/2021

Nativity scene in our neighbourhood.

07/11/2021

Consequences of the rain…this our local river, one minute’s drive from our place.

17/10/2021

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay. Sunday roast at Black Barn. First a shared entree of arancini balls and house made bread. Then the main event. $35 for beef fillet with all the trimmings. A very generous serve and very tasty it was too! Great value, that’s for sure. Was our first BB Sunday roast, it won’t be our last!

02/10/2021

This morning’s efforts. Berry jam made with home grown raspberries and boysenberries. Plus a batch of guest cookies. I freeze the cookie dough, and bake from frozen as needed. This batch is cranberry and dark chocolate. Recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction, chewy oatmeal raisin cookies, with my twist. Makes 21 cookies using an ice cream scoop to portion them. I’ve been making these for guests for the past couple of years and they go mad for them. Wishing you a great Sunday, wherever you are!

01/10/2021

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay. Friday night dinner at Emporium Eatery & Bar , Napier. Drinks first, pictured is a h**p gin cocktail which was very enjoyable. Then off for dinner in their stylish lounge. On our table tonight, Asian dumplings with a side of Mac and cheese, a gnocchi salad with goats cheese and chick peas, good old fish and chips, and a porterhouse steak (my choice) which was beautifully cooked and rested, served with mushroom ketchup and a truffle butter. That steak ate as good as it looked. It’s nice to see Emporium open again, and we’ll be back for sure!

24/09/2021

Eating out and about in Hawke’s Bay. Visit to Brave Brewing for Mark’s birthday. Pickle dog with a $2 side of fries and Southern Fried chicken wings. The Dog was fantastic, didn’t enjoy the chicken as much. A good lunch out.