Murray.
The coolest food truck in the country. Mexican-inspired food, Daily Bread pastries, great coffee, great music.
Saturday vibes done right.
About
Murray is one of those places that's hard to describe without sounding like you're overselling it. It's a food truck, technically — a seasonal Mexican-inspired operation run by the next generation of a family that's been in Piha for eons, working out of the remains of the village's old fish and chip shop.
It's the cultural anchor of a Piha summer. The food is properly good — not food-truck-good, properly good — and the family running it have the measure of everything that goes into a hospitality operation: the coffee is excellent, the pastries come from Daily Bread (one of Auckland's best bakeries, which means Murray is also one of the only places in Piha to get bread of that calibre), and the soundtrack is the background to summer.
Murray isn't trying to be cool — which is mostly why it is. The family run the operation with no pretension, no hustle, no upsell. You order, you wait, you talk to people in the queue, you eat, you stay. There's a particular pleasure to ordering at Murray on a summer afternoon and letting the next hour go where it wants to. It's a hospitality experience that knows exactly what it is.
The building has its own story. The old fish and chip shop burned down some years back, and the family kept the spot and rebuilt the operation around a food truck. Named after their late father who ran the chippie. Murray isn't a transplant from somewhere else doing seasonal Piha for the summer crowd. . It also makes Murray one of the four contenders in Piha's running fish-and-chip argument.
The season runs Labour Weekend (late October) to Anzac weekend (late April) — the warm half of the year. Outside that window Murray is closed and the building waits. Cameo appearances through the year at Kings Birthday and Matariki weekends, keep us begging for a bit more.
Locals greet the owners with long hugs and a real sense of community is felt here every weekend.
If you're visiting Piha in summer, this is the lunch — or the afternoon coffee, or the late-afternoon snack that becomes dinner. Worth the queue. Worth the wait.
Best for:
Summer afternoons, post-beach lunch, families, groups, anyone who appreciates great food, great coffee, and great music in roughly equal measure.
Worth knowing:
Best Breakfast Burrito in New Zealand.
Hours:
Vary day by day. Check Instagram for current hours.
Address:
25 Marine Parade South
Contact:
Instagram
