A quirky place full of character! It has a great atmosphere and is lively and packed out even on a Thursday. We had to wait for a table but it was worth it, the food was delicious and generous servings. The staff are friendly and we loved the decor and the help yourself ‘honesty’ fridge!! This is a place which is a fun night out, there may be an occasional mishap but its all part of the charm!

Very quirky decor, staff, and menu combine to provide an awesome experience that is both memorable and enjoyable. Negative comments by some reviewers are unfair given the spectacular popularity of this establishment, when you are this busy some things will wane. But I cant fault the place, great casual dining concept , simple fresh home cooking style menu, a very enjoyable experience, I’ll be back with my staff for a meal soon!

Pipi’s is one of our favourite places to eat in Havelock North
- also very popular with our B&B guests; they love the food, casual atmosphere, great pizza and service; always plenty of choice in their other main dishes – my husband always orders the fish cakes!
Ist rate

Cool atmosphere and nice food. Classic, rustic, simple Italian. Tasty! service a tad slow and quite expensive wine – We had the Elephant Hill Rose which was almost $50!! Love the old fashioned fridge. Will be back

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. The Pizzas are amazing and the desserts are yummy. We ordered 3 pizzas and 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.

Pipi is a favourite with us – very relaxed atmosphere and very busy and buzzy so go early. Grab a table outside (they have great heaters if its cooler) if you’d prefer a quieter environment. The pizza is super-scrummy (cipolla, salsicci especially) and so are the pastas. YUM. The only thing i would wish for (being a regular) is to have the specials menu changed more often.

Having heard great things about the food, we travelled some distance to try it for ourselves. We sat at the last remaining table only to be told to shift to an outside table so that the larger group who came in after us could sit inside! Staff were so rude!! We left as I was heavily pregnant and didnt want to sit outside in the cold. We felt like they didnt care about giving a good experience – only on cramming as many people in as possible for the profit.

We have had a number of enjoyable visits to Pipi’s. With 10 other family members we have been again to-night.(April 6th)Our family of 4 from Kakanui, North Otago told us it was the best food we have had, in 5 days of celebrating a 70th birthday.

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 the pizzas are 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 the pizzas are 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 laidback, casual, eclectic eatery with great pizza and that’s exactly what we got.

Happy atmosphere with tasty plentiful food. Can definitely recommend the lamb pie – delicious!! —BUT!— We had to clean our wine glasses with serviettes dipped in water before daring to pour, the glasses were filthy and greasy – yuck!

On honeymoon in Hawke Bay last week, never having heard the “hype” about this place, my wife and I went to Pipi’s without any expectations. I can honestly say that we enjoyed one of the best meals of our lives. The food was absolutely delicious, the staff friendly and helpful, and atmosphere conducive to a very pleasant evening indeed. I would certainly recommend Pipi’s to friends and family.

Grubby, nasty, unfriendly and unhelpful service.Dont be fooled by the hype. This one is definitely not for returning to.

I wouldn’t rate this place at all! Agree with Jen and Michelle…No service. Crap food. Appalling wine. Dirty. Biggest rip off in Hawkes Bay. What a joke!

I love Pipi’s unique and warm atmosphere. Their pizza’s are amazing, very close to traditional Italian pizzas. And I always receive friendly and helpful service – even if their staff are run off their feet! One of my favourate aspects is the help-yourself retro fridges =)

The pizza we ordered was really good, the waitress was great (and child friendly) as was the atmosphere which is an important part of the dining experience.
But one waitress couldn’t have been more sullen and morose if she tried and seem hellbent on making everyone else miserable. Smile and her face would have cracked!!

I not only work here but this is the only place we take all our friends to for a treat.The managers and staff are the best,they really care about their food and service.As for being clean,all plates cutlery,and glassware are sterilized and polished,I know because im the dishwasher!But even I am made to feel special in this “unusally beautiful little PINK restaurant.

When pipis first opened the pizza was good, not quite like a real italian pizza but good, now it’s so busy and they’re trying to make them so fast they sometimes forget about the taste and presentation. Service was average and it is dirty, the menus, cutlery, tables all had food on them. I do like the help yourself beer fridge. Luckily they are the only pizzeria in town.

Great Place, these negative reviews obvious from people who need to feel loved and wanted when they spend a few bucks anywhere. Its basic transaction you turn up with or without some mates. Nock back some brewski’s + meat balls or a flounder. Chit chit and mingle share the strangers pizza next to you. Let the owners know how many beers you necked while you having a good nosh, CHQ SAV CREDIT

OMG.Why are people saying it wasn’t good????
I LOVE PIPIS
I live in havelock and go there loads. the food is AWESOME and the staff is so friendly to everyone that walks in the door.
Its the cafe you have to go to before you die.Its AMAZING

I don’t know where all the negitive reviews are coming from, I’ve never had a problem with the service or cleanliness at Pipi. For some people it could be a little claustrophobic but for most it just contributes to the unique atmosphere. Fanatastic food too!

New Zealanders are famous in not making a good pizza!!!! Pipi’s pizza is FORMIDABLE!!! Very similar with a real pizza. Bravo Pipi’s team!!!!! And the athmosphere… bohemian atmosphere!!! Sorry for my English!!!!

Food OK, not worth rating though. Very basic unfriendly service, infact no service would be a better description. I can understand why the lights are very dimmed to hide the unclean surroundings.

Although it’s the hip place to be seen at the moment – look a little closer and it’s very grubby, with unfriendly staff who rush you along, food is thrown down at you and barely a smile to be seen. Menus in nasty but apparently cool cheap plastic sleeves are rough and dirty. Food is fabulous but for me and a number of our friends, service goes a really long way. Won’t be going back!

I loved Pipi. Cute setting.. perfect cozy intimate but fun atmosphere.. delicious food.. love it!

Disgusting is the only word to sum it up! Table tops had more food in the cracks than we received in 2 hours. The menus were crusted in food (how hard is it to wipe a plastic sleeve or replace it), and we were given used cutlery that hadn’t even been washed! The food was average and the attitude of the staff appalling.

Worked for Pipi and enjoy every minute. The fantastic atmosphere and divine menu is a must to all. I was not a lover of pizza, until I tasted the tradition Italian pizza. My favourite being the cavelo nero with bacon and feta.

I would also recommend the Bacon Penne Pasta, followed by the Tiramisu and homemade feijoa icecream.