Heard from Google that this place was great! Definitely loved the location, staff, and food!…read moreEnjoyed the organic ingredients, scenery. Great for morning stop on the way to the beach or back. Enjoy!

Love Shack coffee stall at the Matakana Farmers Market (every Saturday) and Matakana Indie Markets…read morewhich is every third Sunday of the month is the only spot to enjoy a delicious brewed cup of coffee while enjoying time at the artisan markets. Superbly crafted cups of coffee based on international sourced top grade beans. Not only do they sell amazing coffee to go, but also packaged coffee to take home and keep enjoying. The food is also delicious, my partner let me have a sample of his BLT, the bread was divine, a type of wholesome Turkish flat bread, with lots of bacon, aioli and yummy fresh lettuce. If you are after something sweet, they have muffins, biscuits and slices to entice. The first time I tried Love shack coffee I was impressed by the flavour and aroma and this impression has stayed with me over the years. I know they are a super busy stand at the markets, and well respected in the community.

Love Shack Coffee is one of the busiest stalls at the Matakana Farmers Market, the line for coffee…read moreoften spills out the entrance. The reason; it's damn good. The Mochachino is my choice of poison, some may argue that's not a 'real' coffee, but they're wrong. Anyway Love Shack do a lovely Mocha. You don't just have to wait until Saturday for your Love Shack fix either, they have been open every day during the summer. A mid week visit is nearly the complete opposite of a Saturday. The markets are empty and it's dead quiet and peaceful. There are some lovely outdoor chairs to relax into, it's a good place to sit for a chat

Super delicious. Even more delicious when you've been hiking continuously for about four weeks. You…read morego right by it on the Te Araroa trail and it's an excellent place to stop in even if you are just driving past. I stopped in late one afternoon after hiking all day and downed an amazing milkshake and I had some other tasty snack too. The service was great. I actually stopped in again the next morning before continuing my journey - originally just to get a hot chocolate but I ended up ordering a full breakfast which turned out to be an excellent choice. No doubt my body needed all the calories it could get but it was a good-sized serving, well-cooked and super tasty. I had another milkshake because the last one was so good. Yum. I would totally stop here again on my way through next time I'm heading north.

So you've dropped into the Warkworth Honey Centre to learn all there is to know about bees. Your…read moremind is probably whirring from all your fresh learnt knowledge. Your tongue tingling from the tastings; bags over flowing with honey inspired gifts. Time for a coffee! And why not a little piece of cake? The cabinet is FULL of gorgeous looking home made goodies. I went for the passion fruit, coconut meringue slice. Tangy and sweet it was. There was also a parsnip cake, beetroot and chocolate mud cake (!) along with all the usual favourites. The homemade meat pies looked good too, just like Nana does. There's plenty of seating, inside and out as it can get pretty busy when the tourist buses roll in. The Honey café is a nice little stop off, especially with the kids or grandparents.

Manuka honey ice cream is delicious! The store has lots of cool honey products, from jams to…read moredressings to meads and liquors. The staff is very friendly.

The BEST food we've had in the South Pacific thus far! This place is busy but you're able to find a…read moretable, they have a chocolate shop on one side and a cafeteria on the other, and please stop here! We ordered the CB Big Breakfast and it was very country style. The sausage is some of the best I've ever tasted and the bacon had such a great flavor! The vibe is very laid back and the staff is SO polite! What a breath of fresh air!

Excellent coffee and food The coffee at this popular cafe is…read moreexcellent - nice and strong! On Friday nights, Chocolate Brown does the catering at the Warkworth Bowls Club. We had a delicious grilled tarakihi and very good spinach and ricotta cannelloni with a fantastic vegetable buffet! This was a great and reasonably priced Friday night dinner!!

Revisiting this lovely historical tearooms, they are a…read moreTreasure for the quaint village of Puhoi, situated On the main road after You have passed the main part of the village And drive around the corner, and next door to the brand new Puhoi Fire Station. My family and I, consisting of three adults and two children enjoyed amongst us, Devonshire Tea, Cornish Pasties, Toasted Sammie's, and homemade steak Pies, a delicious assortment of food, lovely tea, coffee too. The gardens are my favourite part after the food, having willow trees, old fashioned roses etc are just perfect setting in the countryside you Could Almost be in old time England even.. I found that we were well catered for, having even lots of games available to use For free for the kids and big kids.. Come On a Sunday for a nice chilled Sunday family time. Congratulations to the new English owners

Great service and best food. Really cool location out on the country. Open in off season also.read more

This is a very busy local hangout. Large space offers plenty of seating…read more There is a large menu of hot and savory items, in addition to the regular sweets. Large outdoor patio overlooking the river provides a nice setting.

When we went to the Farmhouse Cafe today at around lunch time, there was quite a lot of competition…read morefor a seat outside - definitely have to be onto it to nab a table during the busy lunch hour. It is quite obvious from the setting of this place why this competition takes place though - most of the seats look out to the placid Mahurangi River and the attractive boardwalk next to this, with ducks ocassionally quacking as they wander past. The service was mostly pretty good, however they were not so flexible with adjustments to the set menu; for example my mum wanted an extra tomato instead of a hash brown and they said they could only do this if they charged her extra. The food itself was also pretty disappointing - the pancakes I ordered were quite small with a total of 5 berries on top and two small slivers of banana, and my mums poached eggs came with supermarket sliced bread and hash browns that were obviously commercial ones that had previously been frozen. My 'smoothie' was also pretty average; $5.50 is quite pricey considering it was just syrup and milk. The coffee was good, but I don't think we will be coming back here just to enjoy that and the idyllic setting.

Had lunch here the other weekend, having dropped some people off at Sandspit. This place lacks…read morecharacter, it seems to me, both in terms of decor and food. It's nondescript from start to finish; not unpleasant, but just completely lacks flair, which is a pity given it has the best locale in Warkworth. We sat outside, overlooking the beautiful reserve/stream area. A very calm, cathartic place, good spot for a heart-to-heart over coffee and a light lunch. Speaking of which, neither of us being all that hungry, we decided to split a plate of potato wedges. We were surprised by how small the portion was ~ near half of what we'd expect. The flavours were there (esp. nice seasoning on the wedges themselves), but the size just seemed teenie-tiny, even given how neither of us was inclined to gorge ourselves. Plus it lacked flair or 'love', as did everything else about this place. Coffee was very good though. Staffers were adequate in their service but otherwise complemented the (non)ambiance of the establishment. On the whole, a place with heaps of potential by virtue of its great locale... hence it's especially a pity to see it not being taken full advantage of.

Cafe Sandspit is now under relatively new management, meaning there have been quite a few changes…read moresince October last year. The friendly new owner, Justin, excitedly told us about the plans to put a trellis out the front to protect customers from the wind on the sandspit, and also about the cafe's decor, such as the boat out the front with herbs and baby Pohutukawas in it which was an abandoned boat found in the harbor outside. His talkative manner made the experience all the more enjoyable, and we got great table service from our little seat which overlooked the beautiful harbor. The food was great - nice coffee, fresh muffin, and fries cooked perfectly. There are breakfast, lunch and dinner menus available; all mostly the standard kiwi restaurant fare. This is also a kid-friendly joint, as there is a cute little kids corner with seats and a TV inside the restaurant. Definitely will be back for more next time we are up North

Had lunch here the other day. Wet, windy day, but great place. The view is amazing - if you're at…read morethe closest table to the water, you can't see the sand, if the tide's in, I guess! Food was fine, prompt, friendly service.

Dragonfly is a nice outdoor escape, a little bit out of Warkworth on the way to Matakana. They…read morecater quite well for groups, as there are heaps of tables and chairs and you are away from the traffic in a really peaceful setting next to the river so its easy to have an audible conversation with friends. The food I've had whenever I've been here has always been really nice, today I had a roast vegetable frittata that came with salad and relish and my grandma had a plum and almond tart with yoghurt, which we both shared. The rest of the cabinet food also looked really great, with a good mix of vegetarian and meat options. Dragonfly also have a cool selection of gifts at the front of the shop, and a gallery room to the side where you can sit and enjoy your coffee amidst art from local artists and designers.