pipi's cafe

i was told about this place by someone that it was good, thought i try it out and it was great. the pizza here is the best, it’s beautiful and the bacon pasta is also very nice. i recommend this place to anyone who is near havelock north in hastings. all of thepizzasare delicious. 100%

this place is very hyped up and is quite often very busy.pizzasare delicious but are quite expensive for how small they are. atmosphere inside the restaurant is very nice and cozy and if you are looking for something slightly more fancy than takeaways this is a good option.

went here for a friends birthday dinner and was quite nice although noisy and tables were squished together. thepizzaswere nice but definitely not worth the rave in my opinion.

excellent food, casual atmosphere where family/friends sharing food around big tables is the theme. you help yourself to beer from a fridge on an honesty basis. it is like you are sharing food in their family home. thepizzasare amazing! and they have a good wine list. highly recommend.

greatpizzasand not just the normal hum-drum flavours. great environment, feels as though you're in an italian's back yard with lots of vibrancy. wait staff are friendly and efficient. great meal and highly recommend.

wow.  what a great find.  we were walking around havelock north looking for somewhere for a drink and meal and stumbled upon this wee gem.  friday night 5.30pm and it was all but packed.  we ordered two half and halfpizzasthat were stunning.  even better was the feijoa bake for dessert.  i am not a big dessert fan and if it hadn't been for an exceptionally full belly, i would have ordered a second.  tis not a big place and it is very cosy when full.  a great place to bring the family any night of the week.  could have been a 4.5 star had it not been for a very sharp chip the size of a $1 coin on my dessert bowl and the 'dumping' on the table of the dessert without so much as a smile or utterance of any sort.  

will definitely visit again when next in the bay.

it has been 3 years since we first visited pipis and i am sorry to say it will probably be another 3 years before we go back. the staff are great but thepizzasare just average and the ambience is not good. must be the most over rated place in havelock north.

sitting amongst my dirty dishes, waiting yet again for someone, anyone, to come to our table, i wondered why i put up with the consistently worst service i've ever experienced. dish hands covered in flour deliver food, no one checks on meals, diners get up and down to fetch themselves more wine, glasses, cutlery all with not a whiff of the suggestion that it should be otherwise.

but the food is incredible. if you approach this place with the expectation that you're on your own, you'll have a great time. don't wait for service, just go demand what you want and enjoy the most deliciouspizzasaround. the food is as great as the service is terrible. makes me feel sort of affectionate about it, and why i can't keep away.

i love pipi’s in havelock north and will quite often go there with friends and have a laugh. the restaurant is quite basic with bench chairs with cushions, old household furniture such as side boards and kitchen tables and an assortment of not too expensive art on the walls. every table has candles and you are jammed in to a small but wonderfully busy, exciting, pumping, electric environment. thepizzasare amazing and the desserts are yummy. we ordered 3pizzasand a plate of penne pasta, 3 desserts, two bottles of montepulciano and 2 bottles of beer and it only came to $60 a head. oh by the way the beer you help yourself too out of the fridge. well worth it if you ask me was the large aloha pizza that i ordered. it was the size of a car tyre. i can assure you it did not taste like one, smothered in an amazing tomato based sauce with mozzarella, pineapple and bacon, it was delicious. check out the image
if you want a great night out, awesome pizza and want to go where the locals go then pipi’s should not be missed. if you are a bit fussy and like a clean sterile, quite environment with not much atmosphere then pipi’s is not the place for you. be prepared for average service which can require some self-help activity, great food and big crowds, but the locals will tell you that’s what it’s all about. pipi's reminds me of the many great family run restaurants in europe that i stumbled upon.

my family and i came to hawkes bay for family, friends, beautiful weather and lovely wine. but never did we excpect the food to be so good! pipi was the first resturant we went to...and the only one we went to, we ate there every night for our long weekend away.
my family and i absolutly loved the food, service and atmosphere, especially the help yourself beer fridge! all thepizzasare to die for and the flounder was one of the biggest, most delicious i have ever seen.
would highly reccommend it to anyone who likes to have fun!

we decided to try out pipi's after reading various reviews (good & bad)& hearing feedback from others. overall thepizzasare great, made in a traditional style, and generous sizes which my italian partner loved. so far they are best we've eaten in the bay. it reminded me of the hip, alternative eateries in melbourne- op-shopped furnishings, casual staff, art on the walls. the atmosphere was chaotic. the eatery is on the cramped side and was full of diners. i wasn't able to order desert with our pizza and there was a short delay before our table was cleared for us. however our waiter was very friendly, my wine arrived fast and the head of house remembered my desert and came back to check on us. we also liked the communal shared tables & help yourself fridge. overall we enjoyed the experience. we came to pipi's expecting a very laid back, casual, eclectic eatery with great pizza and that's exactly what we got.