For being a small town with less than 10,000 people, Wanaka truly has some amazing cafés.
If you’ve been to New Zealand before – or if you’re already here when you’re reading this post – you know how incredible the coffee culture here is.
During our recent visit to Wanaka, we went on a mission to find the best cafes and to try out all the good coffee in town.
So when we weren’t busy exploring this cute little mountain town or conquering one of the nearby peaks (there are a ton of amazing hikes in Wanaka)!
In this post, we’ve put together our favourite cafes and coffee shops in Wanaka.
For each cafe, we’ve included the address and location as well as the available parking, the wifi information, and a link to the different cafes’ websites so you can check out their menu beforehand if you want.
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Delicious Wanaka cafes you need to try
Scroggin Coffee and Eatery
Parking: Yes + street parking nearby
Location: 71 Ardmore Street, Wānaka 9305, New Zealand (5-minute walk from the lake)
Free wifi: Unlimited
Toilets: Yes
This is arguably the best coffee shop in Wanaka. Located just a few minutes walk from Lake Wanaka, Scroggin is perfectly placed in the town center.
At Scroggin, you get delicious barista coffee and yummy, Insta-friendly food such as avocado toast and Turkish eggs!
We love coming to Scroggin to get some work done because it’s very laptop-friendly and you’ll pretty much always find other people doing the same thing.
It’s not a bad spot to fuel up on caffeine before summiting Ishmust Peak or Roys Peak!
The only downside about this place is that it can get quite busy so sometimes you have to wait a bit to find a seat (especially on rainy and snowy days where you can’t really sit outside).
If you are able to receive texts (which we can’t do on an eSim), you can also order + pay from the QR code on your table so you don’t have to stand in line!
You can check out Scroggin’s website here and their Instagram here.
Bonus info: Regular milk can be replaced with oat milk at no additional cost.
The Coffee Dojo
Parking: Free street parking
Location: 1 Umbers Street, Wānaka 9305, New Zealand (3-minute drive / 20-minute walk from Wanaka town center)
Free wifi: 200 mb that works for an hour
Toilets: Yes
After spending 3 days in a row at Scroggin Coffee, we thought we’d switch it up and try out one of the other cafes in Wanaka since there are quite a few.
We found the Coffee Dojo on a quick Google search when we were looking for a place with good coffee and fast wifi.
They serve lots of different cabinet food such as ham & cheese croissants, breakfast muffins, cheese scones, and delicious desserts.
Their coffee is delicious (we had their Thunderbolt Black Coffee) and it was really nice sitting outside on the patio when the sun was out.
As for the wifi, you have to ask for a voucher. Unfortunately, you only get 200 MB which works for an hour (whichever comes first), so it’s not the ideal place to plan your next adventure or get some work done if that’s what you’re looking for.
A thing that may come in handy though is the fact that there is a laundry service nearby. So if you’re travelling through Wanaka and need to get laundry done, this is a good place to chill while you wait…
The Coffee Dogo and Liquid Laundromat Wanaka are less than 100 meters away from each other and are a good way to fill two needs with one deed.
Otherwise, Coffee Dojo is great if you want some good food and enjoy being outside of the (sometimes busy) town center for a little bit!
You can check out Coffee Dojo Wanaka’s website here and their Instagram here.
Fun fact: Coffee Dojo offers different workshops & tasting labs associated with coffee.
Relishes Café Wanaka
Parking: 2-hours free parking by the lake (across the street)
Location: 1/99 Ardmore Street, Wānaka 9305, New Zealand (right across from the lake)
Free wifi: No
Toilets: Yes
This is another cafe in Wanaka that is located right on the main strip and offers a beautiful view of Lake Wanaka.
If you’re looking for something local and authentic then Relishes Cafe in Wanaka is the spot. They’ve been around for over 30 years creating modern New Zealand cuisine from wild and wonderful ingredients.
And if you’re a coffee lover then you will absolutely love their coffee too. They roast their own organic fair-trade coffee.
Relishes Cafe is a place you want to go to if you want to enjoy a nice breakfast or brunch and just indulge in all the good food and beautiful surroundings.
It really is impressive how a 10.000-person town can have such high-quality food and coffee.
You can check out Relishes Cafe Wanaka’s website here and their Instagram here.
Big Fig Wanaka
Parking: 2-hours free parking by the lake (across the street)
Location: 105 Ardmore Street, Wānaka 9305, New Zealand (right next to Relishes)
Free wifi: Yes
Toilets: Yes
The very first things we noticed at Big Fig Wanaka were their cute decor and their love for the environment.
We ordered a takeaway coffee and got these cute little reusable cups in order to avoid single-use waste (you had to pay a deposit for it).
Apparently, it’s an initiative a bunch of coffee shops around New Zealand have taken to use fewer single-use cups.
You can return the cup at a lot of other cafes and coffee shops around Wanaka and NZ and get your deposit back – or buy a new coffee and reuse it.
Pretty cool if you ask us and it’s the first time we saw it here in New Zealand so we’re pretty impressed.
Let’s talk about the cafe a little bit because they serve some pretty awesome food too – not just yummy coffee.
They offer a more buffet-style way of choosing food. Depending on the size of the plate you order, you’ll be able to choose “X” amount of dishes to fill up your plate.
Big Fig has a really good variety of healthy, tasty, and filling food. Honestly, the food is the reason to come to Big Fig and the coffee is just a bonus.
You can check out Big Fig Wanaka’s website here.
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Kamino – Coffee Shop & Eatery
Parking: No. You can park by the lake and walk 5 minutes
Location: 28 Helwick Street, Wānaka 9305
Free wifi: Yes
Toilets: Public toilets available next door
Kamino is a little hidden gem in Wanaka. It’s one of the few coffee shops that feels like it’s not on the main street in Wanaka.
Instead, it’s tucked away between shops and buildings and can be a little hard to find unless you go looking for it.
This is another Insta-worthy type of coffee shop where coffee is their specialty and beautiful, minimalistic decor. As for food, they have a variety of sweets, croissants, and sandwiches.
They have a good variety of both indoor and outdoor seating including a stunning rooftop that overlooks Wanaka and the lake!
It’s a cute little spot tucked hidden from what can sometimes be a quite busy small town with the influx of tourists that come here. If you want some quiet time away from the main street, you can come to relax at Kamino for a bit.
It’s also a great place if you want to bring your book and read or laptop and get some work done for a bit. It’s easily one of our favourite cafes in Wanaka!
You can see Kamino’s website here and Kamino’s Instagram here.
Fun fact: You can rent out Kamino’s rooftop for birthdays or events.
Doughbin Bakery
Parking: 2-hours free parking by the lake (across the street)
Location: 123 Ardmore Street, Wanaka 9012
Free wifi: No
Toilets: No
I feel like we haven’t talked about pies enough in this post and what is a “best cafes” in New Zealand post without sharing some of the best pie places!?
This isn’t your typical sit-down, stunning food type of cafe. Instead, it’s a “pick your favourite pie” and maybe a coffee and go enjoy it out in the sun.
We love a good steak and pepper pie and the one we had at Doughbin was really good. Maybe it’s us but for some reason, we also love the steak and pepper pie from the New World Grocery store.
However, the one at Doughbin takes the cake! (No pun intended). It’s probably no surprise since they’ve won multiple awards for the best pie in New Zealand!
Doughbin Bakery in Wanaka has been recognized many times for different pie awards and you’ll see all the awards hanging out the main window in the shop.
So maybe give Doughbin Bakery a try and let us know what you think. If you like pies of course! 😉
You can see Doughbin’s Tripadvisor reviews here and Doughbin’s Instagram here.
Curbside Coffee & Bagels
Parking: Street parking available nearby
Location: 42 Brownston Street, Wanaka 9305
Free wifi: No
Toilets: Yes
The name says it all! It’s a Bagel and Coffee cart that operates at the Food Truck Stop in Wanaka.
Again, this isn’t a traditional cafe. It’s a little food cart that’s parked up in this beautiful little garden area with a bunch of other food trucks in Wānaka (the Mexican one is seriously good!).
Curbside is great if you’re looking for a smaller breakfast or lunch as you can grab a bagel and a coffee and enjoy the park.
It’s quite a lively place and especially on a nice sunny day it’s a great spot in Wanaka to enjoy a local bagel and coffee.
You can find more information about Curbside Coffee & Bagels here.
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Recap of the best cafes in Wanaka
For being a small town on the South Island of New Zealand, Wanaka really has a great food and cafe scene.
We hope this list helps you figure out where to get some delicious food and coffee during your visit to this beautiful little mountain town.
In case it wasn’t clear enough already, the coffee scene in New Zealand is incredible! Expect some yummy cappuccinos with chocolate powder on top!
If you have any questions related to Wanaka – hikes in Wanaka, things to do in Wanaka, where to stay – feel free to reach out. You can DM us on Instagram or leave a comment below.
Enjoy your time in this beautiful lake town. Wānaka is one of our favourite places in New Zealand and, hopefully, you’ll see why!
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