Westshore Beach Inn is Hawke's Bay's oldest pub, pouring on the beach at Westshore since 1851 — when James McKain's accommodation house on the Western Spit was granted its bush licence, gazetted in the New Munster Gazette on 22 August 1851. Today the 'Westie' remains the local for Westshore and Bay View: a front bar with big screens for the footy, a pool table and the TAB; a bistro doing the classics properly; and a garden bar that catches the afternoon sun.
The kitchen's motto is fresh food, not fast food — sourced locally and cooked to order at lunch and dinner, seven days, with takeaway available. The bar list runs to thirty-three beers and ciders, tracked live on Untappd so you can see pours, prices and ratings the moment something new is tapped. Alongside sit Hawke's Bay wines by the glass, 0% options in the fridge and the usual top shelf.
Two function spaces — the indoor Function Room and the outdoor Garden Bar — host birthdays, work dos, wakes, prizegivings and Christmas parties, with platters, set menus or a private bar. Out the back are fifteen easy-on-the-wallet studios with parking at your door, five minutes from the airport and port and a short hop over the bridge to Ahuriri and town. One hundred and seventy-five years young, and the beach is still just across the road.
Right on Westshore Beach, with the sand just across the road, the Westshore Beach Inn holds the oldest licence in Hawke's Bay. The story begins on 22 August 1851, when James McKain's accommodation house on the Western Spit was granted its bush licence — gazetted in the New Munster Gazette and traced, unbroken, by the pub standing at Meeanee Quay today. One hundred and seventy-five years on, the 'Westie' is still the local for Westshore and Bay View: front bar, bistro and garden bar up front, fifteen studios out the back, and cold taps pouring seven days a week.
Like any pub with this much mileage, the inn has worn a few names. Through the 1860s and into the 1900s it operated as the Ahuriri, The Ferry and Ferryman's, serving travellers crossing the inner harbour in the days when the ferry was the only way over. Around 1925 fire destroyed the Ferry Hotel at the Spit bridge; a long court battle saved the licence, and a new hotel rose at Meeanee Quay and Embankment Road — the Westshore Beach Inn of today.
The ground itself carries an older story still. The legend of Ruatangahangaha tells of the traveller Mahu Tapoanui resting here at Rangitira, his dog scratching at the earth until a spring rose, and in it the fish Te Tangahangaha. A waterhole stood behind the hotel site well into the 1900s. Framed archive photographs — McKain's accommodation house, the Ferry Hotel's veranda days, the rebuilt inn, the Westie mid-century — line the pub as proof of it all.
The bar list runs to thirty-three beers and ciders, and it's kept honest: the menu lives on Untappd and updates the moment something new is tapped, with pours, prices and ratings visible before you front the bar. Alongside the taps sit Hawke's Bay wines by the glass, 0% options in the fridge and the usual top shelf.
The kitchen's philosophy is posted plainly: fresh food, not fast food. Everything is sourced locally and cooked to order — the classics done properly, served at lunch and dinner, seven days. Ordering is refreshingly simple: take a seat, order at reception with your table number, and the food arrives when it's ready. Takeaway is on offer too, handy for a beachside night in.
The Westie is arranged the way a good New Zealand pub should be. There's a front bar with big screens for the footy, a pool table and the TAB; a bistro turning out honest plates; and a garden bar that catches the afternoon sun — the spot to settle into on a fine Hawke's Bay afternoon. Dining in, grabbing takeaway or booking the whole garden bar for a do, the crew will look after you.
Two function spaces cover most occasions. The Function Room is the indoor option; the Garden Bar is the outdoor one; and both can be taken together for a whole-venue event. Birthdays, work dos, wakes, prizegivings and Christmas parties are all regulars on the calendar, with platters, set menus or a private bar arranged to suit — send an enquiry through the website or ring the pub directly.
Out the back sit fifteen studios, easy on the wallet and easy to find. The standard studio pairs a super-king bed with an ensuite, unlimited WiFi, Sky TV, a heat pump and a microwave — quiet, peaceful and warm, as the inn puts it. The two-bedroom studio sleeps up to five, with two kings or a king plus singles, kitchen facilities and standard or deluxe configurations; it's the pick for teams, families and touring groups. Parking comes right to your door, the airport and port are five minutes away, and Ahuriri and central Napier are a short hop over the bridge. Book direct by phone or email, or take the 360° tour to look around first.
Doors open seven days — Monday to Thursday from 3pm, Friday to Sunday from midday — with the kitchen serving lunch and dinner throughout. Whether it's a cold one after the beach, a long lunch in the garden, a function with the whole crew or a bed near the airport, the Westshore Beach Inn has been in the business since 1851. As the sign says: 175 years young, and the beach is still just across the road.