Chef Josh Phillips is the Head Chef at Little Aosta and is associated with Destination Unknown Restaurants. He was recognized as the Clyth MacLeod Rising Talent of 2025 at the Cuisine Good Food Awards. Beyond...
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ItalianSteakhouseSeafoodBakeryVegan-friendlySeafoodModerateBreakfastLunchDinnerAll Day
Last updated: 7/2/2026, 4:29:16 AM
Key Information
The Blue Door is a beachfront restaurant in Paihia, offering a delightful fusion of Asian-inspired and Kiwi flavors. It boasts stunning views of the Bay of Islands and provides a casual, friendly dining experience for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Customers consistently praise The Blue Door for its delicious food, excellent and friendly service, and inviting ambiance. Many highlight the quality of the seafood, the unique Asian-Kiwi fusion dishes like Lamb Roti, and decadent desserts. The beachfront location and welcoming staff contribute to a highly positive dining experience, with several reviewers expressing a desire to return.
Additional Details
The Blue Door features a full bar, offering a variety of drinks including mocktails and sharing 'fishbowl' cocktails. The owner is noted for providing a warm welcome to guests. The restaurant is also mentioned as being available through 'First Table', suggesting potential deals for early diners.
The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, making it suitable for any meal. Reviews suggest it can be a peaceful spot for lunch, and popular for dinner. Its beachfront setting makes it ideal for enjoying meals with a view throughout the day.
A lovely place for dinner. The waiter was wonderful, friendly and kind and made effort to ensure we were comfortable. Our orders were taken fast and drinks arrived quickly. The food took a while as we arrived the same time as another fairly big table but when it came out it was incredible. I couldn’t believe how big the kids fish and chips portion was, I was sure it was the adult size. My husband ordered the chowder that smelled incredible, my son ordered pork belly and he didn’t let me taste the pork he loved it too much he said, the sides were so tasty. I loved my chicken burger. Desserts were also outstanding. A wonderful meal to celebrate the end of our holiday.
Very friendly, casual beachfront restaurant, full bar. The owner gave us a very warm welcome. Excellent food, Asian fusion and Kiwi favorites. We enjoyed calamari, fish & chips, lamb roti, drinks, dessert, US$79 total for two people. We enjoyed dinner so much that we returned for breakfast the next morning. Full English-style plus fresh fruit, mango lassi. Lots of vegetarian and GF options.
Dont be fooled by the simple look of the restaurant. The food was amazing! We had seafood chowder as entree and prawns with muscles. Very good! Im picky about chowders and this one was great! For the main we had market fish (snapper) and eye fillet. Snapper came with curry and muscles on rice. Was amazing! Eye fillet was done perfectly to medium. Soft, juicy and full of flavour. Food quality is above 5 star rating for sure!
Atmosphere is quiet and soft which is what we prefer. All in all would recommend anyone who wants to dine for a great food not too expensive. 6 outta 5
Fantastic dining experience ⭐️ We had the Carnivore Platter to share and finished off with the Banana Spring Rolls. Could not fault anything. The staff were attentive, friendly and welcoming. Thank you for a wonderful evening 😊
Easy parking across the road and a peaceful Friday lunch spot—just us there mid-afternoon.
I had the Pan-Seared Eye Fillet, cooked medium-rare and served with red wine jus, seared vegetables, and mild garlic mash with prune jam. Well-balanced and flavorful.
My daughter loved the Seafood Combination—creamy, cheesy, and packed with perfectly cooked shellfish. Her highlight of the meal.
We shared the Chocolate Bomb—rich, decadent, with a surprise berry sorbet centre. Definitely recommend sharing.
The passionfruit mocktail was fresh, minty, and not overly sweet.
Friendly, relaxed service and beachy décor made it a great experience. Thanks to First Table for making it even more affordable. Would return.
