Kia ora!

Opening hours are updated monthly - please see our June hours below. Please note there are a couple of variations to our standard hours.

Our food is flavourful and flexible. Share some dishes, share everything or nothing - it’s your choice! Scroll down to see the current menus. There are also specials boards that change regularly.

On the meat board is our well known house smoked aged Sirloin of NZ Prime Beef. Choices of sauce are the old New York style garlic butter or Ming’s Hong Kong style pepper sauce. Our Matariki dish this year is a fusion ‘Boil-Up”! Tonkotsu broth (made from pork bones), salted Pork Belly w/ 5-spice & miso, pork mince, bacon & fennel meatballs, roast purple kumara, local watercress & Māha fried bread.

On the fish and seafood board a popular choice is the chargrilled Octopus with pickled cucumber, coconut, coriander & house pickled ginger dressing. And back on board is sashimi - while good fish stocks last! New is a fish & seafood Malay style curry. Ming made the curry paste from scratch - it’s light in body but full of flavour with just enough heat!

New on the dessert menu is a classic Tiramisu made with Marsala & Amaretto. Try our Sicilian style affogato with house made saffron & almond gelato or stay with the tried & true vanilla gelato option! Choose a liqueur from our selection.

When you reserve your table let us know whether you would like to dine out on the covered deck to enjoy dining in the subtropical garden. We still have a few tables outside - dogs are welcome there. To contact us click on the link below to send an email and we will reply as soon as possible or call us 09 945 6551.

Our menu format - izakaya style - is designed to share because: “The way to the state of Māha is through sharing great kai” (Chef Ming). The Māha experience = warm & friendly service+tasty innovative food+great drinks, including many non-alcoholic options!

Scroll down and click on the menu link to see the current menu. Many of our dishes are either gluten free or can be made GF for you. We are able to customise most of our dishes to suit you as an individual rather than listing menu items as GF, vegetarian etc. When you book you’re welcome to state any dietary requirements.

*A reminder that we sell vouchers so give us a call or email us to organise it!

Our space is well ventilated, we have table service, and well distanced seating. Our covered deck offers a stunning garden vista guaranteed to delight and relax diners that’s also great for casual drinks & nibbles.

Ngā mihi nui Diane and Ming x

“Earthy and esoteric elements meld in a pan-Asian menu. Māha prides itself on using fresh, local and seasonal products in their delivery of unpretentious, clean and honest food. A menu made with love and calm consideration – by grown-ups for grown-ups.” (Cuisine Magazine 2023).

MENU

Māha utilises a seasonal approach to food, so our menu is ever-changing and evolving. Below you’ll find the current food menus, along with our Northland and New Zealand-focussed drinks menu.

Booking

Click on the tab below to send us an email and reserve your table. We will respond as soon as possible. Please be advised we have a lot of email going straight to the spam folder right now so please call if you haven’t heard back from us.

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About

When you come to Māha you are welcomed into ‘our place’ or our ‘whare’ where our manaakitanga means you are cared for in body, mind and spirit!

The owners are the operators - Ming is the chef and Diane is the front of house person. We met in Sydney when we both worked at a little restaurant in Woolloomooloo. Over classic Martinis one night in a variety of Paddington establishments we made the choice to be together, following each other over the next few years around several cities and countries as work and life choices dictated. We decided to make New Zealand home, specifically Wellington. Ming was the opening executive chef at Chow, Dojo and Ancestral and my first job back in NZ was at Brasserie Flipp. Together we opened a little restaurant called The Orange Dining Room (ODR) in Swan Lane, off Cuba St. It was actually orange! Ming won Chef of the Year and Best Dish of the Year.

Like many people, for us Northland was a discovery made by chance that has become our home of choice. There’s something about it that nurtures the soul - the light, the colours, the diversity.

ODR is essentially reborn at Māha Restaurant in the Wharepuke Subtropical Garden - light, spacious, modern and eclectic in decor and flavours. We are seasoned hospitality professionals serving you creative and inspired food and curated beverages. We have put together a space that is truly ‘us’, even to the point of accommodating many dietary intolerances. I know myself, for example, how hard it is to find food without onions all through it - the adverse reaction I have makes dining out simply hard work! We enjoy offering you a customised experience.

Wharepuke is now a creative hub for enjoying art, dining, relaxing and learning - with walks, workshops and accommodation all within a private family owned and operated subtropical paradise. Discover it for yourself!

Photo by Jill Lancaster, October 2023

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