
Cable Bay: Cable Bay, near Oneroa village, looks back towards the distant skyscrapers of Auckland.

Cable Bay: The winery offers the perfect vantage point to lounge on a beanbag -- glass of wine in hand -- and gaze over the Hauraki Gulf.

Cable Bay: Cable Bay grows its own fruit and vegetables and says its dish "Angus beef in the garden" sums up its garden-to-plate philosophy.

Tantalus: Tantalus's owners Carrie Mendell and Campbell Aitken took an existing winery and gave it a complete overhaul.

Tantalus: A light-filled stylish interior sits behind a Spanish mission-style frontage.

Tantalus: The food is exceptional and beautifully presented.

Mudbrick: Mudbrick restaurant is Waiheke culinary royalty.

Mudbrick: The Archive is built around a sculpture of a wine bar that Mudbrick's owners spotted during the island's biannual Sculpture on the Gulf festival.

Mudbrick: Head chef Logan Coath uses words like "honest and approachable, ethical and sustainable" to describe the food.

Poderi Crisci: Poderi Crisci offers a six-course "Fiducia Dello Chef" (Trust the Chef) menu designed to transport diners' taste buds to Italy and fill an afternoon in Waiheke's vines.

Poderi Crisci: Initially a Sunday offering, the long lunch concept proved so popular that it's also available alongside the Monday to Saturday a la carte menu.

Poderi Crisci: The menu changes daily.

Casita Miro: Casita Miro's art nouveau-style "dining pavilion" is filled with bustle, culinary energy and what the restaurant describes as "lashings of good service."

Casita Miro: Describing itself as "inspired by the dining culture and delicious cuisine of the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean rim," the menu offers tapas and raciones but is not confined to traditional Spanish dishes.

Casita Miro: For diners who choose to climb to the Gaudi-esque mosaic garden above, the reward is a view over the vines and out to sea.



