Taihape is a restaurant in the Rangitikei town of the same name, holding a 4.4 rating from 325 Google reviews. In a country town the local restaurant is usually more than a place to eat; it doubles as the after-rugby gathering spot, the birthday venue and the traveller's rest stop. Menus tend towards honest, generous cooking rather than fashion, and service often follows the town's rhythm: a proper lunch, a quiet spell mid-afternoon, tea served early. The surest guide when choosing is local habit, because if the six o'clock tables are filled with people who live nearby, the kitchen is doing things right. Travellers following State Highway 1 through the Rangitikei are wise to ring ahead, as small-town hours can shift with the seasons. For locals and the travellers moving through the Rangitikei, the numbers suggest Taihape is a meal worth stopping for.