WellingtonEat & Drink
The exterior of Maranui Café, inside the Lyall Bay surf lifesaving club. The building is white with red accents and cars are parked outside.

Maranui Café

  • Location

    Level 1, 7A Lyall Parade, Lyall Bay, Wellington

  • Website

    Maranui Café

Hearty breakfasts come with a side of incredible views and retro décor at this seaside café.

On the top floor of Lyall Bay’s Maranui Surf Life Saving Club, Maranui Café is a quintessential Wellington experience. The red and white building is a beacon on the beach, having stood in the spot since 1911. While the café isn’t quite as old (it opened in 2003), it has established itself as a firm local favourite and a “must-do” for visitors to the city.

With sweeping views across the popular surf beach below, a roomy deck outside, and funky retro decor indoors, there’s no such thing as a bad seat at Maranui. Head in on a weekend and you might have to wait for one of your own. But as the steady line of hungry customers down the stairs will assure you, it’s worth the wait.

A red rectangular sign with blue and white lettering. It says "Maranui Cafe new members welcome".
Two people enjoy drinks and a pastry on a patio table with a beach in the background.
A barista making a coffee at Maranui Café.
A hand using a fork to cut into a mini-cake dessert topped with pink icing on a small white plate at Maranui Café.

Like the colourful furniture and old-school art, Maranui’s menu is fittingly retro. Owners Bronwyn Kelly and Katie Richardson serve up healthy, wholesome, and hearty food. Tasty salads, melt-in-the-mouth baking, and some of the best fries in town. The milkshakes are famous in Wellington and almost a meal in themselves. Served in the shaker, they’re super thick and super delicious.

They’ve got brunch and lunch classics and plenty of dietary-friendly options. Scrambled tofu is one of their signature dishes. If you’re looking to fuel a big day on the beach or cruising around the city, the Big Bay Breakfast is likely to tick the box.

“Coolest spot in town’’, says a sign above one table. After a meal or a coffee here, you’ll be nodding in agreement.

The interior of the iconic Maranui Cafe in Lyall Bay, Wellington. The bay, overcast sky and flying gulls are seen through the three-pane bay window. There are four tables with two patrons sitting at each.

Looking for more?

At start of items
The interior of Seashor Cabaret, a diner located on The Esplanade and Sidney Street in Petone, with four vintage arcade games, two taxidermy deer heads on the wall, two large tables with eight chairs each and three wood booths with eight customers seated.

Seashore Cabaret

Eclectic and quirky, Seashore Cabaret serves up fun and fast diner food with views across the Petone foreshore.

An open doorway connects a garden courtyard to a busy tavern.

Cuba Street Tavern

Part bar, part café, and part community hub — this tavern with a secret garden is an oasis in the city.

Different tables with people dining and drinking wine at Astoria in Wellington.

Astoria

A downtown Wellington classic, where deals are made over great coffee and great food.

The rustic outdoor dining area of Fidels with a customer sitting down and drinking.

Fidel’s

At the top of eclectic Cuba Street, Fidel’s Café is a Wellington institution serving Cuban coffee, “good, honest food” and a bohemian atmosphere.

Wide view looking into the interior of August Eatery in Wellington. With people sitting at tables talking and the barista filling the coffee beans.

August Eatery

From the glow of its walls to the menu, August serves up a warm Mediterranean twist on flavour and feel.

A chef from Scopa making pizzas with their back turned, wearing a yellow Scopa shirt.

Get a taste of Italy at Scopa

Owned a run by a pair of brothers, this Cuba Street institution serves up wood-fired pizzas and old-school charm.

The front counter at Twenty Eight Cafe, located at 28 Cornwall Street in Lower Hutt, with two people working.

Twenty Eight

Twenty Eight specialises in modern brunch and lunch dishes that showcase the changing seasons.

Two people sit at a counter drinking coffee at The Hanger café.

The Hangar

Run by self-proclaimed ‘coffee nerds’, Flight Coffee’s flagship café is all about the details.

The interior of Prefab Eatery, a restaurant located on Jessie Street and Ebor Street in Te Aro Wellington, is filled with people enjoying food and drinks.

Prefab

Go where the locals go at this stylish inner city café and bakery.

A server delivers coffee and food to a table of three outside Picke & Pie.

Pickle & Pie

A Kiwi version of a New York delicatessen brings classic Jewish tastes to an inner-city eatery.