The Central Fire Station Bistro is housed in a striking Art Deco building in Napier. Photo / Ian Cooper
The Central Fire Station Bistro is housed in a striking Art Deco building in Napier. Photo / Ian Cooper
Napier’s Central Fire Station Bistro has been named the best regional restaurant in the country.
Teresa Cocktail Bar in Napier’s CBD also wowed the judges at the 2023 Cuisine Good Food Awards held on Monday night in Auckland, winning the Drinks List of the Year Award.
The annual awards night is widely considered the most prestigious within New Zealand’s hospitality industry.
Over 80 restaurants were also awarded the title of hatted restaurants during the event, reserved for the very best restaurants across the country.
Those restaurants were awarded either one, two or three hats - with three hats being the highest rating for establishments deemed to be “extraordinary and approaching perfection” or the “best of the best”.
Sarah Mitchell (left) and Andrea Marseglia opened Teresa Cocktail Bar in December 2021. Photo / Paul Taylor
Pacifica, in Napier, was again awarded three hats and was the only restaurant in Hawke’s Bay to receive that honour.
It was one of just six restaurants across the country to be awarded a three-hat status.
Meanwhile, both Central Fire Station Bistro and Havelock North’s Craggy Range Restaurant received two hats, and Havelock North’s Black Barn Bistro received one hat.
Craggy Range Restaurant was also a finalist in the Winery Restaurant of the Year category.
Pacifica owner and head chef Jeremy Rameka was a finalist for the Innovation Award, while co-owner Nat Bulman was a finalist in the Restaurant Personality of the Year category.
Hawke’s Bay’s recognition at the awards has again added to the region’s reputation as an outstanding destination for food, drink and hospitality.
Central Fire Station Bistro scooped a big award on Monday night. Photo / Ian Cooper
For the second consecutive year, Amisfield in Queenstown was named the American Express Restaurant of the Year and awarded a three-hat status.
Cuisine Chef of the Year went to Zennon Wijlens from Paris Butter in Auckland.
All the winning establishments were carefully assessed by a 40-strong judging panel comprising food writers and critics, chefs and hospitality-industry professionals.
“If ever there were a time for you to spend your dollars supporting restaurants across our beautiful country that deliver outstanding experiences, it’s now,” Cuisine magazine editor Kelli Brett said.
“Our hatted restaurants and category winners for 2023/2024 are absolutely at the top of their game.”
The last time a Hawke’s Bay restaurant won the Best Regional Restaurant of the Year was in 2019, when Pacifica scooped the award.
