hamilton gardens cafe

are we sure we are talking about the same menu? they serve nothing like what they show in menu. it's like walking into a gas station to get food.

18 minutes in line to order. that’s okay it’s probably good. ordered 2 cooked meals and 5 items from the case plus a flat white, hot chocolate, milkshake and oj. (4 people) included was a cheese scone. there were 2 on display and the cashier physically checked all of the previous orders ‘to make sure one was available’. it was.
oj was not fresh but came in bottle from fridge.
went to table.
coffee (very good) arrived immediately. asked server for glass for oj.
7 minutes...cashier arrives to inform that the scones had sold out and requesting another choice. when this offer was declined cashier quite rudely agreed to give a refund. (when the refund arrived it was slapped on the table and there was no recompense for the extra butter that had been charged)
after 8 minutes the first hot meal arrived. asked again for glass. told to go and get one from the water cooler. hmmm.
1 more minute the next hot meal arrived.
4 minutes later, the milkshake and the got chocolate.
hot food almost eaten and we went up to ask where the salmon tart, the brownie and the other case food was. and there it was lined up on the bench behind the counter. told
... it will be out immediately.
joke.
poor male server swings past with a huge smile to ask if we were enjoying our meals?
he certainly did not expect a resounding no!!!
poor guy runs away and after another 5 minutes the food that could have been served first finally arrives. brought out by the unsmiling cashier who clearly regarded the debacle as our fault.
no suggestion of an apology or any sign of gracious behaviour.
the next time i come to hamilton gardens i will buy my food at couplands bakery in te rapa and eat from a brown paper bag.
a hugely pretentious and expensive disappointment.

this is a quaint cafe, with a beautiful atmosphere at the hamilton gardens. the service was very friendly, one of the waitresses complimented my outfit which was really sweet. it's reasonably tidy but could be improved, and the one thing that disappointed me was the wait it took to receive something from the cabinet. not only that, it was still wrapped in glad wrap and cold. we had to ask for our pies to be heated and removed from the wrapping.

was expecting good service as the owners themselves were running the function. the female owner was extremely rude to members of our party and had awful customer service skills, also just a sour demeanor that was very off putting at an elderly person's birthday party. clearly unpolished glassware and cutlery, the front of house staff don't seem to do much, as all orders are made through the counter, and they don't bother to take dishes to the kitchen. dishes are left dumped in big trays in the dining area, absolutely disgusting and terrible practice. food was below average, muffins are worse than what you get from the supermarket. all in all, terrible service, rude owners and below average food. bring your own food and drinks when you visit the gardens for a much more enjoyable experience!

amazing brunch out with my hubby! the lemon polenta cake was my favourite! my hubby loves his blat so much that i didn’t even have enough time to get a photo of it. he also enjoyed his savoury scone. my only thought is with the banana choc chip muffin was good but wasn’t sweet enough for my taste sadly. the staff were very helpful in cleaning tables quickly and it was good they informed us when they ran out of tables. we only had to wait three mins to get a table and then the ambience was lovely. looking forward to coming back.

amazing coffee with a beautiful view! unfortunately it was raining but i can imagine the views from here on a sunny day. service was friendly and quick.

the mocha we ordered was delicious and well presented. cabinet food looked yummy but we weren't hungry so didn't try anything.

can't wait to be back during summer!

love the brownies and other cabinet slices here, they also stock my favourite grapefruit flavoured san pellegrino that i can't find anywhere else. we stopped in on a busy saturday afternoon and staff seemed genuinely cheerful.

the toasted muesli with a berry compote was absolutely stunning to look at and to taste! full of flavour and very filling! unfortunately i can't say the same for the smoothies, they're rather unpleasant. the smoothie i has was quite watery and had barely any flavour. apart from the smoothie mishap, i was extremely satisfied with my breakfast!!!

has a wide variety of cafe food, good prices, a nice place to sit outside adjacent to the view of the gardens! but there's nothing that amazing about the food, that i can recommend.

absolutely one of my favourite places to go! very nice area so sit in with amazing views and quick, friendly service. will continue to visit frequently :)

stopped in to have eggs on toast and flat white x 2.
while looking in the food cabinet we spotted a dead fly on one of the cup cakes it was an hour after opening so not a great look. cost for us $30.00 meal looked okay tasted fine wife was happy although i felt for what you get per cost was a little high. lack of bread being toasted swimming in water from eggs 😣
seating was great being next to small lake.

service is good despite the busy weekend lunch. overlooking the turtle lake which is a big plus. food were tasty but nothing too exciting. my cappuccino on the other hand was really good. cabinet food looked delicious so might try them next time we come back.

popped in for a quick coffee before looking around the gardens - the drink itself was nice enough, but the service was incredibly unfriendly!!  

my lactose-free friend asked for almond milk but was told there was only soy available - something she's pretty used to, but this information is usually given with a smile and an apology, not a flat "no" with an equally flat expression.
i had a couple of queries about the drinks menu, all of which were responded to tersely.  when i ordered a regular size latte (as was advertised on their board, which i pointed out) i was told that actually no, there was only one size available.

the worst came when our drinks arrived and my friend asked for a side of hot water with her tea - this was followed by an audible sigh, and our waitress walked off - we could only assume to get the hot water as opposed to just walking off completely.  to her credit, she did bring back the water a few minutes later, which was plonked on the table in front of us without a word.

the food would have to be pretty spectacular to prompt me to return again, as opposed to just bringing my own picnic to enjoy in the gardens...

i have been here a couple times and the food is always pretty tasty! love the iced chocolate! service is usually fast, and the setting of it in the hamilton gardens is wonderful by the lake! saw some turtles the other day while we ate :)

i don't know why it only has 2.7 stars. the food was good and they served great coffee. but more importantly, it had the best customer service i've ever experienced in new zealand. the staff were friendly and helpful, one even brought my dog a bowl of water! would definitely recommend.