Market St is a modern Napier bar and eatery shaped by a full refit of the venue once known as the Cri. The result is polished without becoming formal, with a lively indoor room and an outdoor garden under string lights. Daily service and flexible function options allow the space to move between lunch, drinks, dinner and larger gatherings. Its stated preference for being fun rather than fussy comes through in a menu that combines local ingredients with broadly travelled flavours.
The shared plates are designed to make a table range widely. Baked camembert comes with fig jam, chilli-roasted walnuts and hot honey, while pork or vegetable dumplings are paired with chilli oil and roasted-sesame soy. Harissa-braised pork fills crisp birria tacos, and grilled steak crostini adds horseradish, onion jam and feta. Sesame calamari and a broad tasting platter, including Waipawa sausages, popcorn chicken and cheese balls, keep the selection sociable and varied.
Lunch balances local staples with more playful comfort food. Hawke's Bay-caught fish and chips gives provenance to a familiar plate, and Scotch fillet is finished with local red-wine jus. Duck ragout with hand-cut pappardelle and sausage takes a slower, richer direction, while fried-chicken waffles bring hot honey, bacon and vanilla crème fraîche together. Loaded burgers and potato gnocchi with artichokes, capers and preserved lemon ensure the menu also works for a quick midday choice.
Dinner introduces pork belly with kumara and apple, whole roast snapper with garlic-dill butter, mozzarella-stuffed chicken and slow-cooked lamb made for two. Dessert remains closely tied to New Zealand ingredients through Whittaker's dark-chocolate lava cake and local strawberry cheesecake, alongside a blueberry-almond tart. Cocktails, wine and tap beer complete the bar side of the venue, giving diners enough flexibility for a shared snack, a structured meal or a longer evening in the garden.
Address: 8 Market Street, Napier South, Napier 4110, New Zealand
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