Sandbar Mana is a locally owned and operated sports bar and restaurant at 103 Mana Esplanade, Paremata, Porirua, positioned on the waterfront looking out over Porirua Harbour to Mana Island. It holds a Google rating of 4.3 and is open every day from 11am until late.
### The venue
The site combines a fully licensed restaurant, a bar with live sports coverage, a gaming lounge with TAB, and a courtyard with harbour views. Menus are split into breakfast and lunch, dinner, kids and drinks, with the food positioned as pub cooking — pizzas, bar snacks and standard mains rather than a chef-driven menu. Live music runs on Fridays.
One practical restriction for organisers: under the venue's liquor licence, minors under 18 who are not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian cannot dine in.
### Group dining and functions
Sandbar runs a dedicated functions offer and handles catering in-house with its own staff. The venue states it provides event facilities and services and manages the detail of the event on the client's behalf. Bookings and enquiries go through the functions form on the website or by phone on 04 233 1397.
The venue also has an established record of hosting structured group events for local organisations — quiz nights, raffles, golf days and poker nights are cited as formats it has run in support of charities, sports teams and community fundraising. That is useful signal for anyone planning a social or team-building evening rather than a formal dinner.
Specific function room capacities, minimum spends and package pricing are not published, so these need to be confirmed with the venue directly.
### Drinks
The bar stocks an extensive range of alcoholic, low-alcohol and non-alcoholic options, with a specific low-alcohol and low-carb beer and wine range — relevant for corporate groups managing a responsible-hosting position. Happy hour runs 4pm to 6pm daily. A loyalty programme is available at the bar.
### History
Property coverage of the site reports it was built around 1997 as a retail liquor store, then refurbished and redeveloped into a bar and restaurant in 2001, operating continuously from the location since.
### Suitability for events
Sandbar suits informal group functions on the Porirua coast: a team social, a quiz or fundraising night, a post-activity meal for an incentive group, or a sports-viewing function. The harbour outlook and courtyard give it a setting advantage over an inland suburban pub, and in-house catering keeps organisation simple. It is not a conference or presentation venue, and the gaming and sports-bar element means it will not suit every corporate brief.
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