Lovely garden area and restaurant style with good cafe food as well. Garden locked from car park…read morebut dogs are allowed if u lift them over the gate. Arrived at 10am and had a delicious still warm strawberry muffin. Coffee was good also and the barista remembered our order from yesterday - always a good sign. Big fire place inside for cold evenings, and also one outside for functions. Best place in Hawera

This restaurant left my wife and I astonished…read more Arriving in to town last night my wife and I were hoping to find a nice place to eat before settling down for a quiet night. What we were treated to was a dining experience that exceeded almost all other dining experiences we have had in New Zealand. The atmosphere, food and service was sublime to a point of astonishment. From the warm fire, to the wonderful horses who attended to us, we were left in a state of pure bliss after the last morsel was savored and the plates were cleared away. In the three years I have lived in New Zealand there hasn't been a single fine dining establishment in Auckland that has left me feeling as happy and satisfied as this little restaurant has. This restaurant is truly a hidden gem that I would recommend to any one who appreciates good food and good people. Thank you to the wonderful staff and amazing chefs that made this a truly remarkable experience for my wife and I.

This neighborhood eatery is owned by the folks who run the Night Owl Restaurant, Owl's Nest Motel,…read moreand some other local businesses...I think they pretty much own the entire of 400? Regardless of the near monopoly, the Fat Pigeon serves up wonderful meals and bakes up perfect pastries...all for very reasonable prices. $21 Fat Pigeon breakfast $2: eggs cooked the way you like, crispy bacon, breakfast sausages, mushies, fried potatoes, roasted tomato & toasted ciabatta...a Hobbit's perfect breakfast $18 Bacon Banana Waffle Tower...a true tower representing breakfast! $21 Green lip mussels: savory steamed mussels in a delicious chorizo & tomato sauce, and garlic ciabatta...go good! We enjoyed some other divine dishes as well..be sure to eat here if you're nearby!

Still great. Friendly staff. Excellent array of food. Lamination especially good and beautifully…read morepresented.

Really good menu with plenty of choices and very efficient, polite service. I had (I think) a…read morenumber 68 on the special menu, something with mixed seafood and vegetables. I don't know what I was expecting, but it arrived in a tinfoil flower. Being unsure how to eat it, I just dumped it all on a plate, which was probably the wrong thing to do..? Anyway, it was very tasty. They also do a decent breakfast, which kind going to sample tomorrow before we leave town.

The Thai food was very good! It really did taste authentic! They have a different Thai menu than…read moreWhat is up on the board. The service was outstanding. I took leftovers with me and she gave me the containers, cutlery, napkins, a bag to carry the containers and even breath mints! They definitely give big portions! They have it decorated a lil for Christmas which was very nice!!! Definitely you should stop here and eat!

My husband I drove here to try Spoon and Paddle after seeing the great reviews. BUT, it apparently…read more4-5 years ago according to a local resident.

We read great reviews for this place so we had to include it as one of our breakfast stops on our…read moretrip. We were here during winter so there wasn't anyone outside, but we did notice their adorable outdoor patio seating with a fenced in yard complete with picnic table. The inside was bright and cheerful with lots of natural lighting from the large windows and fun mint paint. We ordered at the counter while salivating at all of the delicious looking items in their display including fresh creme brulee, regular and gluten free sandwiches, and yummy looking salads. We went for some coffees, a gluten free sandwich, and of course..the creme brulee! Everything came out beautifully presented and tasted delicious. We relaxed and enjoyed our meal before heading off on more adventures. Great place to stop for a coffee and a quick bite.

My husband absolutely adored or breakfast at Ciabatta Cafe while in Rotorua…read more Service was fast, and friendly with plenty of open seating in the cafe. The food was outstanding, and we were blown away by the focaccia breakfast sandwich. The passion fruit Cronut was delicious as well!

We loved this spot so much we visited twice during our trip. They make the most delicious…read moresandwiches with fresh ciabatta bread. There's also a big selection of pastries and coffee on their menu. The location is in an industrial area but can be easily found with google maps. There's a few spots of parking outside and plenty of seating inside. The food comes out quickly and staff are nice. Very casual spot for top notch sandwiches. Highly recommend visiting if you're from out of town.

Good value bakery…read more Great selection of pies sandwiches cakes etc. Had a ham wrap that was packed full and tasty. Small meat savoury pie great. Chicken roll had a good amount of filling also Quality of ingredients equal to the price.

Another place where we liked it so much, we came back for round 2 while on vacation!…read more They just offer a really simple thing, we put delicious filling into our flaky golden yellow pies. They also have sandwiches, fries, and other things but you come here for those pies! It's a cafeteria style service where you get a tray and just slide down from each heated display window to the next. You can pick out the delicious goodies that you want to eat and then pay at the end. We absolutely adored their flaky crispy pies that had all sorts of different fillings. A lot of classic combinations such as chicken and mushroom, steak & kidney, smoked fish, sweet lamb curry, and butter chicken. It's hard to have just one. I think my favourite thing I discovered there was their double happy roll. What makes it double happy? It was filled with ground beef on one side and creamy mashed potatoes in the other. Yum yum! There's nothing fancy about the food but it's just great great comfort food at a great value. It's bound to make you smile.

We had an outstanding dinner this evening here, Hello Beasty aside the best meal we have had during…read moreour first five days in New Zealand. Began with a bottled stout beer (too few beers on tap, sad to say). First time trying rewana bread, a Maori sourdough. My garden salad was rich with interesting greens as well as julienned strips of carrot and tomatoes. Nancy was pleased with her salt and pepper squid, almost as good as the first rate calamari of Capetown, the standard by which we judge calamari. My main was Lamb 'N' Vege, tender medallions of lamb shoulder in a stew of cubed potatoes, squash and beets, with a nice gravy. We were too full to think of dessert (Nancy liked the look of her chargrilled broccoli but was too full to do anything but take it home)

Service was excellent. The Thai mussels were tasty every though they were breaded and fried. The…read morelamb shoulder was good and the burger was tasty although the beef was more dense. Good spot in Te Kuiti for dinner that was open to 8:30 pm.

Amazing menu, fun atmosphere, friendly staff! Great food and priced well. Will definitely go again.read more

My wife and I went to Bodyfuel and had a coffee, a flat White. It's the best Flat White we've had…read moreso far after one week in New Zealand and about 20 well done Flat Whites. From the first sip to the last drop, the balance of well roasted beans and perfectly creamy steamed milk delivered great satisfaction. It's not often that the quality, high quality, of the bean roasting and flavor comes through. The beans were roasted brilliantly for a Flat White, not so dark that that all of the origin flavors are gone, not so light that my face puckered from wild green beans. The coffee flavor was strong, balanced and nicely tempered with perfectly steamed milk. A sign in front of the shop said something like Try our award winning espresso made by our award winning barista. We're very happy we did. Sorry we haven't tried any of the food yet, it looked great.

We had an adequate dinner here. Nancy very much liked her arugula salad (I didn;t get a taste) and…read moreher pumpkin risotto. I had whjat purported to be a Thai beef salad, and although the greens where very nice and the beef well prepared, it was not discernibly Thai -- no lime juice, no fish sauce, no spiciness, and no cilantro. Nice salad, but not an accurate menu listing

This was a great place for us to stop at while visiting the Waitomo Gloworm Caves. We got here…read moreright as the cafe was opening, which was probably a good thing since we didn't make a reservation but we were still able to get a table since we were early. I would recommend either making a reservation, or getting there early because it's a pretty small cafe and the dining room can fill up really quickly. Their parking spots out front is also pretty limited, so getting there early ensures that you have a place to park without having to circle around and find street parking. We got one of their salads and their fish and chips and both were absolutely divine. I loved the freshness of their salad and their flavor combination. The citrus dressing really tied it all together. The fish and chips, as a staple in NZ was so fresh and crispy here! I truly enjoyed it. The table next to us got the mini lamb burgers, and if I had more stomach space, I would have loved to try that too since it looked juicy and mouthwatering. The views in this place was also really great and and I truly enjoyed my visit.