nectar cafe & restaurant

looking for a place to eat on our way through to the far north, this place looked like just the ticket. a menu that offers healthy, wholesome options is very welcome when you are on the road. located on one of the main streets of whangarei, parking can be tricky and be aware that on the weekdays, it is pay & display.

we entered the restaurant from the street and realised it was vastly bigger than it appeared on first take. a main feature of the decor has to be the large feature window to the rear of the restaurant. greenery and landscape paintings give a nod to the cafe's organic, wholesome values. there was a consistent crowd dining - it would be interesting to see what it was like at non-peak times - but we were seated relatively quickly.

my husband ordered the corn fritters off the menu and i ordered a spanish lamb pie out of their cabinet. we also ordered a fruit salad to share with our little boy. a lot of cabinet food had already been purchased so i suggest heading in by late morning if you want a quick or takeout meal. lunch service took around half an hour with coffees taking about fifteen minutes so bear that in mind. the corn fritters arrived with house relish as they were out of sweet chili sauce but this did not detract from the dish. the pie was well-crafted and the fruit salad had a good mixture of seasonal fruit.

child friendly? sort of. they have baby-change facilities in the wheelchair accessible bathroom. they provided us with a high chair but it did not have a tether from seat to tray which may be a concern for some with smaller children. the main seating area is up a few stairs, not so ideal for strollers if you having a sleepy bub but there are a few tables on the main level.

i'd definitely return, but probably when we didn't feel so time-crunched for a leisurelymealwith just my husband and i.

simply my favourite watering/nourishing hole. fair trade coffee and it is always the right temperature, strength, and swiftly served. great friendly staff, and the best carrot cake in town (sensibly downsized from the first year of operation!), moist, served with optional yoghurt. all menu items are delectable, menumealor displayed snack. in summer i go alfresco, watching the world go by - in winter i choose a window, musing on the world outside and admiring nearby parihaka's splendour.

having just dined on the 5th of january at nectar cafe, i was disappointed with the poor service, not enough staff on.
i tried to order two meals, but was told the chef had run out of cream?

the owner turned up, and asked me what he could do to differentiate from lunch to diner,

good servce, white table clothes, candles would be nice, training staff on how to serve out, food, wine and top shelf, properly.

the music needs to be in the back-ground.

owner needs to have amealat kermadec in auckland, then he will see what he needs to change?

overall the food was very good, when we finally got it.

i have worked in the restaurant industry for many years, and have dined at some of the top restaurants in auckland, sydney, brisbane etc.

i like the owner/operator, but if he wants to hold on to his recent cafe award, will need to improve in all areas..

jeannette

went in mid-november last year to try out breakfast in this award-winning cafe in mid-november. lovely modern setting, lots of morning sunlight and pleasant views over a park. unfortunately, there were issues with the service. having given our order to the pleasant waitress we were approached some time later to re-check our order. this we did although we thought it strange given that we were the only people in the restaurant. we had an interminable wait for our meals and had to ask several times to check how they were coming along. unfortunately, when the meals did come mymealwas not the one i had ordered and wasn't one that i really could get by on. the correctmealwas eventually provided although my wife had to watch each other eat our respectivemealwhich took away any gloss about us having a special breakfast to start off my wife's birthday on a really positive note. instead from start to finish our breakfast took one and a half hours. the food was fine, tasty and well-presented. the person who appeared to be in charge significantly reduced the bill and we got an apology from the waitress. judging by other comments on the website our experience may just have been "a bad day at the office". we will probably give this cafe another try, but the eating out experience is not just about the quality of the food.