the bower & urban corner cafe

we would like to congratulate the owner of the bower for the great job they have done in bringing something so up market to the eastern suburbs, our first visit was so friendly and welcoming by alan, the landlord and duffy, one of the locals that my husband and i were definitely coming back.
our second visit (friday 3/05/3014) was a totally different story, i enquired why the prices of a pint cider was $10 as this is far more expensive than other local bars and restaurants in the area. the bar staff then proceeded to give me dirty looks. i went to the bar at two minutes to six as they have drink specials from 4pm-6pm expecting to get my $4 dollar wine as i wasn't happy paying $10 for a cider i was rudely told that i was to late, i then ordered a jug of beer and was so embarrassed by the way i was spoken to i forgot to pay. the bar manager came to our table and rudely said i owed $12.50 for the jug, i said sorry and said after being spoken to so rudely by her work collogue i quite simply forgot to pay the bar manager then said "if you don't like it, go and drink somewhere else" i simply could not believe what i had heard, i replied "well you wont be getting many people in here if that's the way you treat your customers" her reply was "we don't need you, we're doing very well".
i have never been treated so poorly, the bar manager humiliated me and seemed to enjoy it.
i was not the only person subjected to this treatment, on three different occasions we heard the bar staff rudely say to new customers "this is not the old bower" when questioned about the prices and why they don't serve jugs after 7pm
i would have been very happy to bring my family and friends to the bower but will not be doing this as there is no way i will subject anybody to this kind of treatment and poor customer service by the bar staff.

quirky décor, friendly and attentive service, along with beautifully presented, delicious food at reasonable prices. a real bonus was the early opening at 7am for breakfast, comprising perfectly cooked scrambled eggs with crispy bacon. encouraged by this experience, a second visit to the bower involved a smoky burger and hazelnut semifredo from the evening menu, both tasting as great as they looked. it's good to have a cafe of this calibre in the neighbourhood - a drop-in spot for coffee and tasty cabinet fare (i spied an afghan that would feed a family of four!), or to share a pizza or a platter of freshly baked in-house bread with dips. while the only niggle is the invasive soundtrack (lower the volume or change the selection please), an oasis it is, and well worth a drive eastside down new brighton road.

my husband & i would like to give these guys a big thumbs up! following a recommendation from a group that dined at the bower a few weeks ago, we called there this evening and to our amazement, the interior layout was nothing like we expected. we both agree that it was relaxing, the staff were pleasant (i totally enjoyed my scotch!) and our meals were well above our expectation, so well done to the chef. we will go back, more than likely take some friends and may even try out the cafe some time. there is only one thing we would like to see, a db product either draught or export would be more incentive to us :)

the food at this place is amazing so good to have a nice local place that is not only a cafe but a bar and restaurant as well!!

the bower has been an occasional visit for us because of their kids playground which is fantastic. if you have children 8 and under, this place is a great venue to let them run around while you enjoy a meal.

the bower is a post-quake product. designed from shipping containers it’s been in place for some time. one side services people preferring an afternoon beer accompanied by the occasional band, whilst the other side is cafe style with a large outdoor dining area with children’s playground.

the menu has changed since we first started going many years ago, with a more recent introduction of smoked meats.

on this particular visit i ordered just a half rack of ribs which was $20 and a kids menu pizza for my son. the meat is tender and definitely fall off the bone. it’s not absolutely layered in bbq sauce which was a bonus as that dan often be overwhelming. on its own, the smoked meat was probably a 4. a bit light on the seasoning and perhaps didnt get as much smokey flavour as i would have liked but it was still lovely.

the one downside is that the pub side must have a smokers area down the other end of the corridor that houses the toilets. cigarette smoke wafts down that corridor and fills it up. given the place hosts a lot of kids, it would be good if tye bower could ensure children weren’t exposed to the smoke. the one downside in this visit.

from what i have experienced the food is up and down,three passable and three substandard experiences so far.
the bar managers are good,but the female bar staff need to be more affable. they always look and act grumpy from what i have seen,it puts a real damper on things.
they have the odd good band on, but not a great choice of drinks.
another bar with a no show owner/publican/license holder,well i have never seen them anyway.

great new menu with smoked meats. some brilliant music on weekends, and bar staff always friendly and good for a laugh. great atmosphere!

after eating here regularly over the past year we have always enjoyed the pizza until tonight. living a fair way away we phone order our pizza for pick up, so tonight we get all the way home to find instead of the chicken pizzas we ordered it was seafood that we don't eat, so i called to say they had gave us the wrong pizza and all i got in return was "oh so you will be back then" no real apology or anything. my partner gets all the way back there and gets told the pizza was fresh out the oven, but when it was handed to her they were stone cold and the box was so soggy, she spoke to the manager and the server then denied saying they had just come out of the oven so all they did then was re-heat them they were burnt and tasteless after sitting for almost an hour and being re heated.  absolutely disgusted in the way they spoke to us after they stuffed up and still couldn't apologise and give us fresh pizza. i have recommended these to quite a few friends that will now all take our business to someone who actually knows what customer service is and know how to apologise when they screw up a paying customers order without lies..

a 10 out of 10 went for tea staff wore amazing really friendly food was amazing will definitely be back was a cold night so couldn't go out side with kids to play but they had toys inside for kids amazing family place

a nice wee cafe with a really great outdoor area for kids, something that you don't find in cafes often.
the decor was awesome and a really comfortable and friendly setting, the lady who served us was lovely and made sure we were happy throughout the night.
the meal me and my partner had was amazing, we took up the 2 for 1 pizza deal and was not disappointed.
the dessert however- chocolate mousse was a wee bit too rich and heavy which let us down.
all in all though, very happy with the service and will definitely be back.

nice cafe, good food, friendly staff and nice atmosphere with lots of cool artwork decorating the walls. i have come here a few times on my lunch work breaks and i will come again in future :)

awesome place to come with kids! don't know about the food yet, but a great play area and the coffees were good and served  promptly. a wonderful place for a family lunch. they had a very appealing $20 lunch menu. food wasn't labelled gf but they could do several of the meals gf on request. one drawback was the total absence of gf cabinet food, though. cool decor and friendly staff :)

went to the urban cafe today with my mum and son for a little coffee date. was very impressed by the friendly service although i thought the price of a kids fluffy is a bit expensive at $3. do like the little cup it came in though. my son (20 months) loved the play area. it's good to go to a cafe that is family friendly so you can enjoy your coffee while the kids play. will definitely be back :)

lovely food presented well. only thing i could fault was wobbly table. it was a nice meal nice people. i had the entree and a side . partner had pork belly looked good and tasted nice. would love to go again and would recommend it to anyone.

an oasis in the eastern suburbs of christchurch.
we went to the bower while visiting relatives nearby and were pleasantly surprised by our meal. the presentation of the food was excellent and the service was great. prices were probably about the norm. our main & breads were delivered promptly although there was a delay in getting our desserts. the décor and layout of the bower is interesting and as it has not been open long it is very clean & tidy - not bad considering it is made up of containers. it also has a bar & cafe.