Buzzy busy provincial town of Matamata in the mighty Waikato province!…read more As we are driving to East Coast from Auckland, this is our 1st stop. Hobbiton is nearby, Matamata has changed a LOT since I was last through 15+ years ago. Many dining choices, and we opt for EAT, a 4.5 star on Google after 200+ reviews. Mom n pop store, looks like 3 generations front and back of house....had to walk through Kitchen to get to the loos! Hive of activity, clean place putting out FRESH made on premises REAL food. Wife chose sausage roll, house chutney on the side, I went for power green salad. Both dishes were delish. She said a 4.5 for her filling choice, nice pastry, lotsa meat, a good cafe standard Kiwi favorite. My kale dominant salad, pricy @13nzd, too little for a lunchtime Main total food ingredient costs, at most, 3 bucks, flecks of salty goatmilk feta notwithstanding. Dressing lovely, greens tender (for kale) Forgot the nuts! 2 tablespoons of chopped roasted cashews atop, upon serving, would have rescued it imho. Lose a star for PORTION SIZE error, but a 'gold star' for creativity. Rated a 4 outta 5. Coffee by barista onsite was tasty hot and appreciated, a four again. Attitudes fair, they're working hard this time of year, a destination now HOBBITON brings many people through this formerly sleepy hollow. 3 on the Yelp scale. Value also a 3 on the yelpmeter. Impressive menu for a little place. Would return and recommend. 3.55 stars rounded up.

We loved our visit to Matamata and one of the our favorite parts was Eat Urban Foodstuffs! This…read morecute little cafe had wonderful staff and AMAZING food. In our two day stay, we ended up having three meals here. They have fantastic coffee drinks, raw juice and fruit/veggie smoothies, a deli -style counter with delicious salads, pastas, etc., a made-to-order menu with fancy breakfast and lunch items, and INCREDIBLE desserts / pastries. Can't say enough good things -- LOVE IT. *My only negative critique is that for first-time visitors it is confusing to understand all of the options available. The menus are oddly placed with drinks on one wall and the made-to-order food menu on the wall behind the deli counter. We witnessed multiple customers come in, look through the deli counter and drink menu, then go to leave without realizing that there is a whole other menu they had not discovered yet. Do yourself a favor and go here!

We came here after our tour at Hobbinton, which capped off the perfect LOTR themed morning. The…read moreambiance included Lord of the Rings memorabilia and the pizzas on the menu were named in honor of the trilogy. The service was great and our waiter asked for our names so she could address us personally. Food came out quick and hot. Portions are big enough to share so everyone can try each dish.

We arrived in Matamata to meet the bus for our tour of Hobbiton, but we had about an hour to kill…read morebefore the meeting time (and it was raining!) . Luckily, The Redboubt was open and was a nice warm place to kill an hour, have amazing snacks, and a few drinks. The Redoubt is located right at the I-SITE where you meet the bus, so you definitely can't miss it. It's decorated in all Lord of the Rings decor, down to the Hobbit hole style doorways/windows, getting you totally ready to get immersed in the journey you're about to take. We ordered a few beers to start and they arrived cold and crisp - definitely refreshing for a fun day in Hobbiton! Food-wise, we ordered the 3 Slider Selection, and picked the chicken, cranberry, burry, and brie sliders. They were super tasty and actually pretty large for "sliders" - and it even came with a small side of fries. We also shared the Redoubt's Famous Seafood Chowder, and it was super warming and hearty, but not too filling as it's seafood and not a heavier meaty base. With the delish food, awesome ambiance, and plentiful drinks - I definitely recommend stopping here if you're in Matamata for a Lord of the Rings tour, or for any other reason!

Food: tasty breakfast fare and inventive cold lunch dishes. Ordered the First Breakfast - standard…read moreEnglish breakfast with sweet sausages. The muesli yoghurt was amazing: sweet with just a hint of tart, excellent fruit preserves, and delightful muesli. Vegan grain mix: great mix of flavor and texture from the rice, nuts, raisin, and vegetables. The Chorizo + sweet potatoes: delicious, esp the NZ sweet potatoes. Service: excellent and prompt. The proprietress was great at suggesting options among her menu based on your activities. Atmosphere: cheerful little shop with different rooms flowing into each other: quaint cafe, small hobbit-themed backdrop, and the general store.

The nice place for quick lunch! Definitely play into the Lord of the Rings zeal in Matamata, but as…read morea fan myself I didn't mind it ;) Had a really good BLTA and would definitely recommend the blueberry smoothie!

I was visiting Mt Manganui the other day and trying to find a dessert place. Stopped by this one …read more Looks very sophisticated decoration inside and outside like post bank in old days. I chooses to sit by the door as almost all other tables all booked out. People dress well attending dinner in this place. I got myself a very good looking dessert enjoyed with nice tea( tea pot look nice too) . I like the dessert and whole atmosphere will come back again try their meal.

An old favorite when wanting something a bit more fine dining. Great atmosphere and great food…read more Definitely one of the best restaurants in the Mt.

Had dinner here with a friend after she recommended it. Food was great. Cocktails were fab and the…read morestaff were lovely. Atmosphere was quite relaxing, no loud music and bright lights. Cannot comment if there was a kids menu or not as didnt have the kids this time.

So delicious. We frequently come to Hamilton and this is my number one choice for dinner. Very…read moreauthentic Italian, have never been disappointed by anything on the menu. My favourite is the carbonara, the lasagne, melanzana parmigiana and gnocchi are also amazing, and the bruschetta and lamb are great as well. There is another Italian restaurant next door, but don't be fooled, caffe centrale is where you want to eat

This ice cream was amazingly good. The shop itself was adorable. Cute pink walls. The service was…read moreexcellent. We weren't sure about what we wanted, so they let us taste test as many flavors as we wanted. Super nice and good service. Wish I could get this in the United States.

There's not any way around the fact that Duck Island is excellent! It's easily better than many…read moreindependent ice cream establishments I've been to in the US and overseas. What sets Duck Island apart from its competitors in New Zealand is its selection and range of ice cream. Not only does it have many varieties of ice cream but it has a range of options for the more discerning palate, gluten free, sugar free, vegan, etc. This also implies that Duck Island really does care for its customer! There's no doubt that they do. Employees take great care to ensure that customers are treated well and that the establishment is spotless. It's likely the cleanest ice cream parlour I've been to in my life.

Absolutely a delightful surprise. We came here as part of an excursion and didn't expect much, but…read morethe experience exceeded expectations. The food was incredibly fresh and flavorful, the restaurant has a unique and well-suited style, and the staff were warm and welcoming. It was a wonderful addition to our trip.

This restaurant deserves 5 stars for the ambience and quality of the food. I ordered the prime rib…read morewith the mushroom cream sauce, mashed potatoes, and grilled vegetables. The steak was cooked to perfection l, was bone-in, and was a large portion that I shared with my partner. My partner ordered the beef bolognese and he said it was delicious, but the portion size was not as large as the prime rib. Service was so-so. We arrived without a reservation and was only offered outside seating, although there were several tables available inside. We were out of water halfway through our meal and had to request a refill of our carafe. No big issues, and the place still deserves 5 stars. We are visiting Matamata from United States, and we so enjoyed this restaurant for our first meal after arriving. I highly recommend making a reservation first and ordering the prime rib.

Delicious meal. Fresh ingredients. Courteous staff. Cute little shop with local made goods inside…read moreas well! Definitely worth stopping in when looking for a bite in Rotorua.

Best breakfast in NZ! We were on our last week of a 4 week trip starting on the South Island in…read moreQueenstown. We had decided up until we got to Rotorua that breakfast is not a NZ strong suit. That is until we walked into to Capers before our kayak adventure. The bagel & eggs Benedict with bacon was fantastic and had us coming back. Everything thing from the pastries to the entrees had a little extra care in its preparation and presentation. Later that day we ordered takeaway Vegetarian lasagna & chicken curry & rice. No disappointments here, both were on point. The left over lasagna was better the following afternoon. Over course we were back for breakfast before we left Rotorua. The coffee was excellent, we had spicy chai lattes, lattes & long blacks in our many visits. Order anything, you can't go wrong!

Delicious food!! I ordered the vegetable filot and creamy pumpkin soup, kids ordered strawberry…read moremilkshake, choco milkshake and mango smoothie. Everything was soo delicious! The gentleman at the counter was very pleasant and helpful. I'm glad we stopped by here to grab lunch!

We ordered Sausage Roll, Ginger bar, Cappuccino & hot cocoa - all the savories were scrumptious! We…read morealso ordered Pork Belly Roll to go. Service is excellent and ambiance is laid back.

Snowtown is a new-ish addition to the CBD dining scene. Located near Collingwood and Alexandra…read moreStreets, it's not in the "usual" locations (Victoria St or Hood St). The atmosphere is trendy and modern, but relaxed. One of my friends had come here for dessert with her family and recommended it to me. It's the first time I've been to an ice-dessert sort of place. I'm not even exactly sure what to call it, other than yummy. There are a number of menu items to choose from, and I chose one that had a dome of ice, chocolate sandwich cookies and cream. It was a bit more than I was expecting but the size was certainly plenty enough for two people to share. It was lightened by the shaved ice (rather than ice cream). There are also a number of tea drinks to choose from. I would definitely go back again.