Delicious food!! I ordered the vegetable filot and creamy pumpkin soup, kids ordered strawberry milkshake, choco milkshake and mango smoothie. Everything was soo delicious! The gentleman at the counter was very pleasant and helpful. I'm glad we stopped by here to grab lunch! read more

We ordered Sausage Roll, Ginger bar, Cappuccino & hot cocoa - all the savories were scrumptious! We also ordered Pork Belly Roll to go. Service is excellent and ambiance is laid back. read more

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Delicious pumpkin soup, so warming on a wet and blustery day. Excellent aioli and curly fries. Lovely flat white. Good cheese scone. A fun place to stop on the way to or from Auckland airport. Write your name on the wall for posterity ;-) Friendly and fast service, and clearly a place some locals stop, too. read more

Stopped in Tirau on our road trip from Taupo to Auckland to get some snaps of the infamous corrugated iron sheep and dog and grab some lunch. Cabbage Tree Cafe has a gorgeous exterior, lots of customers (but still lots of free tables) and is on the main road- so you really cannot miss it! The inside of the cafe is covered in messages and signatures of travellers scribbled all over the walls, although is still spacious and well designed. Great menu with something for everyone- gourmet burgers, delicious sounding salads, fries, wedges, sandwiches and fish and chips, as well as kids menu with three options. They also have a great breakfast menu which runs all day, as well as a cabinet full of options, and a drinks fridge with a huge range. I chose to order the 'Rustic Seasoned Wedges (served with bacon, melted cheese, sour cream and thai sweet chilli sauce)', and we chose to sit at a barrel style table on the front deck overlooking the main road. It wasn't too loud, and it was nice to be able to look out on the town and enjoy the sun. Food came out promptly, and was absolutely delicious! Large portion size, and the wedges were definitely big enough to eat as a main and not a side (unless sharing!). Would definitely come back here again if driving through again! read more

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Stopped for a quick bite on way through Tirau, recommended chicken salad, and pancake tower. Enjoy!

Stopped in and had a mochaccino on the way to Matamata from Rotorua. Nice friendly staff and atmosphere. Oh yeah, the coffee was pretty good too! read more

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Located in the corrugated iron capital of N.Z., The Cabbage Tree Café is pretty decent pit stop for those road-tripping to/from the East Cape of the North Island. We recently stopped here on our way back from the sunny Hawkes Bay in need of refreshments and a stretch of the legs. They had plenty of sun-soaked outdoor tables and were busy - always a good sign. Not keen to lose too much time, we made a quick order of curly fries, wedges with sour cream, bacon and cheese and a coupley beers (bar the driver, of course) to share - although next time I wouldn't mind trying one of their gourmet burgers! . Both our fries and wedges were crunchy and well seasoned. The only thing irked me was paying an extra $2 for aioli which was packed full of raw garlic and v.runny. In saying that, it was a public holiday and they had no surcharge... Easily the best part of the pit stop, however, was chatting to the owner who was having a beer with his mate at the table next to us. In typical small-town kiwi fashion it didn't take long til he had sparked up a conversation, asking about our trip and where we were from. Gotta love this about getting out of Auckland! read more

First breakfast to start our trip and this place kicked it off with a bang. Great presentation and the location is perfect. Small town with a homemade menu. Would come back every week if we could. read more

Best mocha latte(mochacino per the menu) in all of New Zealand, finally found a place that can make coffee. And great dessert too, I had the lemon custard bar and it was superb. Breakfast could have been a little more accurate, just got toast instead of the said ciabatta bread and the cashier was walking in the front door with a can of Raid roach killer in the middle of my meal so I assume it's not the cleanest but I will sacrifice a lot for good coffee and desert. read more

We stop often for lunch in Tirau. I think the designation of restaurant & bar has put us off in the past making us think too much and too lengthy. This time we noticed the signs saying cabinet food and warm inside. We both chose from the cabinet which held an interesting selection. I had the chicken enchilada which came with a salad. This worried me a bit as it was such a cold morning. It came promptly and heated and the salad was warmed roast veggie which was a delicious and pleasant surprise. Mr had the steak pie with fries and salad. It was nice they arrived together and amazing that it was quick enough to beat the very good coffee. Even burgers were served quickly and looked substantial. Decor was fun. We sat at repurposed school desks with a selection of magazines hidden in the top. read more

Perfect place to stop on our drive back to Auckland. Food was great, decent portions, nice setting and best of all licensed so we could sneak in quick beverage. read more

We stopped here without having read any of the reviews, and were so pleased by our chicken sammies. Absolutely delicious! Chicken had been cooked to order and was perfectly done. The veggies were fresh and interesting. The service was great. The room is fun. We wish all of our lunch stops were as successful. read more

Amazing food! The owner was extremely friendly! He was genuinely interested in our adventure to New Zealand and offered us some good tips for our travel! The meat pie was spectacular, never tasted anything like it before! And it was the best eggs Benedict I've ever had, will for sure be returning for more!!! Thanks again! read more