Best pies I had in New Zealand and we haven't found a pie yet in Australia that compares.read more

This is my favourite ever bakery! They make their own pies and they are delicious! Their steak pies…read morehave big chunks of meat in it and the pastry is to die for. The cream donuts are also absolutely divine. I always make the effort to stop by this bakery on my road trips!

Our tour guide driver told us about this spot and said they had won a pie competition in New…read moreZealand. Works for me! When we stopped by, others were driving up to grab and go, so it seems to also be a local favorite. The pastry on my veggie pie was super flaky and the filling was hot and well seasoned. It was a curried type of veggie pie. I also got their port and plum pie, which was one of three sweet pies. I liked the filling - the port was prominent and the fruit was good. However, I didn't like the pastry on this sweet pie much - wish it had been the type on the savory pie, but it was more of a biscuit/cookie texture.

Loved the mince meat and especially the STEAK MEAT pies!…read more The other wonderful treat was the caramel slice and the passion fruit custard slice! They are so good!!

Love it! My friend brought us here for some fast food, and I have no problem eating the delicious…read moreand cheap (by US standards) meat pies. They also have cold sandwiches, pastries, burgers, hot dishes. My friend equates Ronnie's to kind of like a Denny's, but seriously, the pies are awesome, good quality, and cheap.

Self-service cafe and bakery with a very wide selection on the main Street in Rotorua. It opens…read moreearlier than the other cafes, so it's great for a quick brekky. Meat pies were really good.

My husband and I are traveling through the North Island on our honeymoon. We stayed in Cambridge…read morefor the night and stopped in the Deli on the corner for breakfast. We arrived when it opened. There was a diverse menu with pastries, sandwiches and full breakfast. We had delicious coffees (flat white and mocha. We both got the Kumara rosti (oddly we never get the same thing). It's a delicious stack of two sweet potato pancakes with avocado, perfectly poached egg, bacon topped with hollandaise sauce. It was the best breakfast we have had so far this trip!

Positives were the drinks and food didn't take long to come…read more Service was hit and miss. The hot chocolate was ok but the flat white was frothy and average. Big breakfasts were so disappointing. The bread wasn't even toasted and got soggy under the sloppy eggs and mushroom sauce. The sausages weren't hot and the tomatoes were barely cooked. The best part was the hash browns. Not eating in Cambridge again.

I called Sugarplum Cake Co. about a week before my son's 3rd birthday. The employee who took my…read morephone call was really helpful and helped me plan an order of mini cupcakes to take to my son's day care center for his birthday. We kept it pretty simple, vanilla cakes and chocolate icing, but the employee made the best suggestion - mini dinosaur sprinkles! My son loved them and they were a real hit with the kids in his class. I was very pleased with the helpfulness of the staff, the variety of cakes available and the prompt completion of the order (was completely ready for pick-up at our agreed upon time). I'm updating my review, as I've now ordered two birthday cakes from here, one for each of my son's birthdays. For the first, I saw a jungle themed cake on the company's Facebook page and asked them to create something similar for our party. I asked them to make it smaller, asked for specific animals and they were happy to accommodate the requests. The cake turned out more beautiful than I could have hoped for and all the guests commented on how great it tasted as well. On that occasion, I also ordered 10 cupcakes (because it was a party with a lot of 1-year-olds, so they each got their own cupcake). These were delicious as well. Finally, I've just recently ordered again for my other son's fourth birthday. We went into the shop and he got to pick out his decorations (Mickey and Minne Mouse). Again, we just asked for a "Mickey and Minnie" cake and it turned out beautifully. This one was again, super tasty and all the guests loved it. On this occasion, I also ordered one gluten-free cupcake for one of the children in attendance. He loved it! This is now my go-to place for cakes and cupcakes. I've ordered from them 3 times and haven't been disappointed on any occasion.

Great lamingtons, nice coconut latte, friendly staff, clean and welcoming cafe. Also had a good…read moreselection of retro kiwi snacks like pies and cream buns.

We've had a lot of pies while driving around the North Island; when we arrived in Hamilton, I asked…read morea local kiwi in the grocery store where to get the best to-go pies nearby. She told me to drive 15mins away and eat at Hillcrest. I am so glad I ran into her. These were the best pies of our journey. We tried the Mince Curry, Mince and Cheese, Chicken Cranberry, and Lamb Pepper Yum-Maz-Ing. These pies had more filling stuffed into them than anywhere else. The buttery, flaky crust created a warm pile of goodness. The Curry Mince was by far the most unique, spice focused, hearty pie we've had. We wished we got more than one because we didn't want to split it in half and share. The cheese was gooey, but not overwhelming like some pies from elsewhere, the cranberry felt like they picked it fresh from a garden and baked it in what I ordered to stay natural tasting, and the lamb was seasoned well.

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.

I have yet to find a good coffee between Tauranga and Auckland. It's a barren wasteland of…read moresuperettes and truck stops (don't even 'Copper Kettle' me). Today I decided to give Waihi township a quick look through. I have to admit - usually we're making this drive at unusual hours, and we're ready to go full throttle and crank some KFC by the time we hit Waihi. But not today! A) because it was 8:30am and B) because I was driving solo and thus not tormented by peer pressure and my innate weakness for chicken. There weren't many places open this early in the morning (on a public holiday, no less). But a few cars were parked outside an unassuming 'German Bakery' on the main drag. I pulled up, stepped past the quaint round tables with checkered cloth that huddled together outside trying not to fall prey to the torrential downpour. I entered the chain-drop curtain thing to find a tidy, warm and wonderfully aromatic bakery. A quick peek behind the counter revealed - tah dah! - an espresso machine. Golden. I ordered a double shot mocha with soy ($6.50 - they charge for soy), and sat down while the lovely German fellow (who had emerged from a back room somewhere at the 'clink' of the chains) prepared my caffeinated dream. While I waited, I read the brief info sheet that lay on every table - it detailed the process of preparing and baking sourdough, and the nutritional benefits of it versus other breads. Though I only wanted coffee, I was now convinced that I needed some sourdough in my life. There was a huge variety of freshly baked loaves, but I decided to be traditional and bought a classic white ($6). The coffee was lovely. Very much better than I usually get on this drive (although the sugar factor was probably at play in this one - will order a flat white next time to double check). I haven't eaten the sourdough yet - I'm saving it for dinner. But if you're heading through Waihi I'd definitely give the German Bakery a look through - it's a neat little find! P.S. My coffee came with a bite of something delicious. I could not begin to tell you what it was, but it appeared to contain nuts and fruits and was fresh from the oven.

Best coffee I have ever tasted and the sourdough breads best ever - so full of flavour and not full…read moreof air, will last for days in pantry, poppy cake lovely too.

We stopped at 3:23 right as they closed at the end of the day. Many of the flavors were gone, but…read morewe shared the best steak and mushroom pie. For $7, it fed two people after we had a visit to the thermal pool park a few blocks away. Quick in and out parking and tap to pay. Best ever service.

Great place to stop to pick up a quick bite to eat for the day. Great selection of savory hand pies…read moreand sweet desserts. We are only in town for a few days and plan to go back a second time! We enjoyed the sweet lamb curry and the steak and mushroom pies

Amazing bread- I love sourdough and Volare does not disappoint…read more The whole meal and fig+Walnut are my faves. The fig+Walnut is particularly good with Bleu cheese and brie pairings. The cafe space is a bit small, but great coffee also. Good for a snack or light lunch.

If you are a lover of breads, this is the place to get bread in town. There are a number of…read moreofferings, include San Francisco sourdough - reminds me of California! Usually, I attend more often for the cabinet food rather than loaves of bread, and my favorite is always the jalapeno cheddar scone. Sadly, you can't find much in the way of jalapenos in New Zealand but now that I've found this scone, my craving for the jalapeno and cheese combo is more than satisified. There is a sister shop in the south end of Hamilton (Kaihikatea Drive) with similar offerings. There are also other cabinet foods, including sweets, sandwiches, etc. And of course, you can just stop in for a very reasonable flat white.