Piha on the West Coast by Robdaz
Piha is one of the most beautiful beach in Auckland and has a unique feature of a peak in the middle of the beach as you can see from the photo.When I climbed up there sometime ago, I found a carved wooden Maori Statue there looking down at the surrounding areas. It give you a great view of the surrounding areas.
It's a surfing beach so the wind and surf can be quite strong. There is no cafe that I know of but there is a fish and chips shop selling drinks ,ice-cream, sausages near the main car park.
My recommendation buy some nice food and drinks in the city before you make the 30mins drive there.