Sideline Bar on Taradale Road is Onekawa's local sports bar — a place where Napier locals come together to share (not so) knowledgeable wisdom over a cold beer, where the banter is part of the furniture and the staff will happily send you to the sin bin if you argue that the bartender isn't always right. Originally known as The Onekawa, the bar was rebuilt in 1986 and reopened as Sideline, complete with onsite TAB facilities and an adjoining Onekawa Liquorland.
Sport is the heartbeat of the place. A massive HD projector screen heads the line-up, with screens through every area — the pool room, the TAB area and the large garden bar — so you're sorted no matter which direction you face. Add two pool tables, a dart board, 18 gaming machines (eight of them jackpots) and a full TAB, and you have a venue built for big fixtures and busy nights alike.
It's not all sport. Sideline has hosted acts including The Feelers, Katchafire, Jimmy Barnes, Dave Dobbyn, Ladi6, Six60, I Am Giant, Common Kings, Sean Kingston and Tomorrow People, with live bands back on the calendar and a gig guide worth checking before any night out. The kitchen keeps things simple and satisfying with a daily snack menu built around the bar's well-known mouth-watering pizzas, a rotating pizza of the week, and a members' deal pairing a jug of selected beer with a standard pizza every day. Private functions, large group bookings and sports teams are all welcome.
On Taradale Road in the Hawke's Bay suburb of Onekawa, Sideline Bar goes by a bold tagline — 'where it all happens' — and the regulars would tell you it earns it. This is Napier's local sports bar in the truest sense: a place where locals come together to share, in the bar's own words, not-so-knowledgeable wisdom over a cold beer, where the banter never stops and the staff are more than happy to send you to the sin bin if you argue with the house rule that the bartender is always right.
Behind the jokes is a venue that takes its role seriously. From local entertainment to NZ top chart hitters, competitive prices and mouth-watering pizzas, Sideline is built around the two things its crowd cares about most — live sport and live entertainment — both served up all year round.
This building has been part of Onekawa life for generations. Originally known as The Onekawa, the bar was rebuilt in 1986 and reborn as Sideline Bar. These days it runs with onsite TAB facilities and sits alongside the adjoining Onekawa Liquorland, which makes it a genuinely convenient one-stop destination for an afternoon or evening in the suburb.
The set-up inside explains its pull. A massive HD projector screen anchors the main space, and screens run through every area — the pool room, the TAB area and the garden bar — so, as the team likes to put it, you're sorted no matter what direction you face. Around them sit two pool tables, a dart board, 18 gaming machines (eight of them jackpots) and a large garden bar, which means the room can swallow a packed All Blacks test or a busy Friday night without anyone missing a moment of the action.
Sideline might be a sports bar first, but the food has a following of its own. The bar is well known for its mouth-watering pizzas, and a snack menu is on offer every single day. Alongside the standard line-up sits a pizza of the week — a rotating special that the team dares you to try, on the grounds that 'you be the judge'.
Members do even better. The Sideline Club Card unlocks a deal the bar runs daily: a jug of one of the selected beers paired with a standard pizza. For anyone settling in for a long afternoon of sport, it's the combination the regulars swear by.
Plenty of suburban bars claim a music pedigree — Sideline has the gallery to back it up. The venue has hosted acts including The Feelers, Katchafire, Jimmy Barnes, Dave Dobbyn, Ladi6, Six60, I Am Giant, Common Kings, Sean Kingston and Tomorrow People, a roll call most big-city rooms would envy. Live bands are back, and the bar's gig guide is the place to check who's playing next.
Entertainment doesn't stop at the touring acts, either. Sideline programs local entertainment alongside the bigger national names, so even an ordinary weeknight can turn into a night out.
It isn't all public nights. Sideline plays host to music events on a local and national level, and the team also welcomes private functions, large group bookings and sports teams. Organising an end-of-season do or a birthday with a difference? The staff invite questions by phone or email.
Hours are straightforward: 10am to 7pm on Monday, 10am to 8pm on Tuesday and 10am to 9pm on Wednesday, then 10am until late from Thursday through Saturday, with Sunday winding up at 7pm. Note the public holiday exceptions — the bar closes on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Christmas Day, and opens at 1pm on Anzac Day.
You'll find Sideline Bar at 110 Taradale Road, Onekawa, Napier, or reach the team on (06) 843 4355 ext 2 to check what's on. Whether it's a crucial fixture on the projector, a pizza and a jug in the garden bar, or a touring band turning a humble pub into the best room in Hawke's Bay, the formula is the same: pull up a seat, pick your screen and enjoy the game.