Coffee lovers will find a choice of cafes dotted around Maraetai and Beachlands; here are some of the best cafes in the area:
A popular beachside cafe with very good coffee. Indoor and outdoor seating. Directly opposite Maraetai Beach and pier. Enjoy your barista-perfected flat whites, espresso etc. while feasting your eyes on the crystal clear blue sea.
Sierra Beachlands is a delightful cafe with good coffee. It’s in the block of modern shops surrounding the Beachlands Countdown supermarket and car park. Sierra is a popular cafe for both takeaway coffee for those on the run or a place to sit down and relax. Children have their own play corner inside the cafe.
Update 2020: Little Hinge is now Coastal Cafe (serving Kokako coffee).
Little Hinge is not where you’d expect to find a cafe; it’s hidden away in a block of local shops at 5 Maraetai School Road. It’s small, local, and friendly. Coffee generally served in takeaway cups. Hint: ask for a freshly baked croissant. If you can wait the 20 minutes it takes to bake from dough you’ll get to enjoy the freshest, tastiest croissant in the land!
Rosa is at 43 Wakelin Road, Beachlands. It’s opposite the original Beachlands shopping precinct, before the newer shopping centre popped up around the Beachlands Countdown supermarket. Browse some books or gifts, and for the fresh milk aficionados Rosa now stock Jersey Girl milk from Matamata in the Waikato Region. Once you get hooked on freshly-delivered Jersey Girl in glass bottles you’ll never go back to ‘supermarket milk’.
Post Covid considering a break in Tropical North Queensland? Check out the best cafes in Cairns