Had a great meal here on a Saturday morning in January 2025. Open at 7:30am - coffees, pastries,…read moreeggs, waffles, breakfast... Large friendly place with warm vibes. They even had a little play area for small children.

A welcome haven on a wet, cold Wednesday. Wholemeal cafe is on the main street of Takaka and seems…read moreto be situated in an old town hall or community hall, which has been vamped up with some serious bohemian vibes, bright colours on the wall, yummy but simple food. I ordered the carrot cake and my friend the orange and almond cake, which were huge slices, enough for a doggie bag! Lots of vegetarian options too.

If you're in Takaka, chances are your pants have already been completely charmed off. But if you…read morecan handle one more ounce of charming, head to The Brigand. You'll walk through a garden of outdoor seating and into a cozy bar/cafe/music venue that, with open fires roaring and booze flowing, feels more like your best friend's living room than a restaurant. That is, until the food arrives. With a heavy emphasis on fresh Kiwi produce, it's an embarrassment of riches with lamb, sirloin steak, fresh fish, spare ribs, cheese, wine, really, I'm not sure why you're still reading and not simply heading here immediately. My only regret is not getting to try the apricot schnapps cheesecake as it was sold out. Welp, I guess I'll just have to head back...

Great place for a really damn good dinner! Good craft beer selection, amazing food and desserts…read more So nice to sit outside and have a drink with amazing food.

Toad Hall Cafe is a gem! Beautiful and slightly rustic restaurant with a lovely country store…read moreattached. Excellent menu for breakfast and lunch (my boys LOVED the Biscoff French Toast, I enjoyed the eggs Benedict on sour dough and excellent coffee). Outdoor play area for kids, some lovely outdoor seating too. We may actually eat here all 3 days of our trip to the area!

Excellent. Very happy the guide at Wilson's mentioned it when I asked where I could get a quick…read morecoffee. Pastries are top notch and a cooler full of prepared foods and salads looked absolutely delicious and healthy. Hard to imagine there's a better place to eat or stock up on the road to Abel Tasman.

Approaching Plan B from the street, you might think it was someone's house. Make your way past the…read moreoutdoor tables, and you'll get to a simply decorated restaurant and bar with covered outdoor seating. The staff was super-friendly and more than willing to find out the answers to our foodie questions. Check the chalkboard, or ask the owner/chef, and you'll discover the answer to why it's called Plan B. I had an open-faced steak sandwich with fries, and my wife had the chowder. Both were very good - fresh and flavorful. But save room for the desserts: mine was a chocolate brownie with iced cream, hers was an Adult Sundae, both were excellent, but the surprise delight was getting to sample the dessert chef's newest experiment, a mini molten lava chocolate cake sort of thing which was incredible. Who knows what he might be experimenting on when you visit...!

Really great! The food was exceptional and way larger portions than we could eat! Good service and…read morea decent craft beer selection. I highly recommend this place for dinner.

This is a little fast food cart quietly tucked behind the Take Note store/ post office /Kiwi Bank…read morebuilding on a side street serving a variety of healthy salads to take away in a mason jar you can return and reuse over and over. They have scrumptious wraps and sandwiches as well as baked goods and coffee. I really liked finding some heathy and affordable options to lunch on the go. Something for everyone's diet preferences. They also offer a place to sit and read the newspaper if you prefer. The owner is very nice and friendly. I recommend giving 'em a go.

From the owner: Healthy Options, Takeaway salads, wraps, sandwiches, bacon butties, fruit salad, bliss balls, coffeeread more

Overall great vibes and great flavors. They put a lot of care into changing up their menu regularly…read moreto showcase different local or seasonal items which makes for a fun experience. The service is a little hit or miss at peak times, and they seem to forget about us after we get seated, so prepare to be a bit assertive to get attention.

Don't visit this place during busy times. They take on way too many customers/tables than they can…read moreservice. We ordered just two dishes. Oysters, which doesn't require cooking, and one hot dish. The oysters came out after 10 mins, as expected. But after more than a hour, and no second dish, we walked out as they repeatedly gave untrustworthy wait times. When we ordered, we were told a 30 minute wait. After 50 minutes of no dish, we enquired. Waitress talked to chef, came back with an exact 7 minutes needed. 12 minutes later, still no dish. Waitress goes to kitchen again, comes back with 2 minutes. Guess what happened when 2 minutes later passed... No offer to comp dishes or drinks while waiting, no sincere apologies. Just an excuse than "it's busy at the moment, food will take longer". So yeah, just don't go during busy times. Clearly too popular and they're treating it like a cash cow now. Oysters weren't actually that good. Small oysters, not juicy and tasty. We had oysters at another place in town the same day, and it was night and day.

As the first reviewer for Totos I have to say that this is a MUST visit place, even if you are not…read morehungry the views are atmosphere are incredible. The pizza is out of this world. Could do with a better craft beer selection but overall this place is 10/10

Great ambiance. Friendly waitress. Looked clean and stylistically decorated. Bathrooms nice and…read moreclean. Food was above average, excellent sized proportions. My hubby had the burger - it was massive and he loved it. Daughter had the chicken and waffles which were a little spicy for her taste. I had the brisket and eggs. Perfectly poached eggs and great bread. Unfortunately the brisket wasn't great, a little tough and lots of fat. Overall I would recommend and would return to try other items. They had a nice looking outdoor area also.

I can't believe I haven't made a review for this place yet! I spent a lot of nights and hungover…read moremornings here haha. In my final few months in New Zealand I lived in a super small town, less than like 7k people small. It only had 1 main street and this was one of the few highlights of it. This restaurant is popular for the bbq, the inside of it gives off a USA vibe too. It had a big old looking front of a farm truck that they used as their cafe order window, barrels everywhere(hence the name) felt like I was somewhere in the middle of America eating here. As far as the food goes, it's a versatile place. The BBQ is their specialty but they also have some fun breakfast items and, a fantastic gourmet donut selection. I've had the pork ribs and lamb ribs, I loved both equally as much. Can't go wrong with either choice. If you're there for lunch give the brisket burger a try! And for breakfast try out the donuts or get the smoked slamon eggs benny on a bagel with a Chai Latte! Chai in New Zealand just hots different. They also have a carnivore brunch platter which is something I would expect in the deepest parts of Texas haha. So if that's your thing go for it. Sausage and bacon are really the only meats I can do for breakfast. The nice thing about their breakfast menu is it's all day! The prices are pretty high here, but it's one of the only "nicer" restaurants within about 20km, so I guess it's understandable that you pay for some quality food and a nice night out dinner. I enjoyed this place a lot. All the memories with friends, the friendly staff, great food at any time of the day. It kinda reminded me of home and that was comfy. It's a 5 star from me!

Delightful and delicous!!! What a gem of a place! I had the coconut lemongrass mussels with the…read morebest toasted bread- side order of fries! Tender and succulent with a slight zing of spice! Holy moley amazing! My hubby had the white wine and garlic mussels.. mmmmmm mmmmm!! Wow!! Sis-in Law had the fish and chips- BLUE COD!! Wowzers!! Excellent wine list and a view that cannot be beat! Service was excellent!! 5 stars!

We stopped in for some Green-Lipped Mussels that everyone…read moresaid we need to try. They are apparently the featured item in this part of NZ. This place is right on the water and the wait staff was very helpful. We tried an order and they were outstanding! I'm glad we tried some. We visited in Mar 2017

We love the friendly staff and the coffee and pizzas are awesome…read more There is seating both inside snd outside, that comes in pretty handy with NZ weather.

Great coffee and gourmet pizza (5-8pm, Tuesday-Saturday). The cafe seems to close at 4 pm and…read morereopen for dinner at 5pm. Cosy courtyard and across the road from the beach