Cafe 39 sits at 39 Tancred Street in the middle of Hokitika, Westland, and holds a 4.2 rating from 302 reviews. News and updates go up on its Facebook page.
A good small-town café on the West Coast does a few things quietly well: coffee pulled properly, a cabinet stocked for the breakfast rush and passing road-trippers alike, and food that makes the most of what's local. Timing matters, because cabinets thin out through the day and many town kitchens ease off mid-afternoon, so the best pickings go to early arrivals. In spring, watch for whitebait — the season runs September to October on this coast, and a well-made fritter is the region on a plate. And if the locals' table is full, that's usually the sign you've chosen well.
Cafe 39 makes a natural coffee stop on Tancred Street, handy for the middle of Hokitika and the Coast road beyond.