This was a short drive from the town centre, but worth the effort. It's right at the end of the…read moreroad by an old concrete silo. I tried the local caught Tarakihi Fish burger and my wife had Steak sammy. Both dishes were a full plateful. I had 4 big pieces of fish on my plate, and was quite stuffed by them alone with the burger bun and chips that accompanied them. My wife also said the same about her meal. It's a shame for such large portions and we could not finish such a lovely meal. I loved the wooden and nautical decor both inside and out. The staff were very friendly and helpful. It's such a shame about it's location, being out on it's own, but that is also the attraction, far enough from the crowd to be worth the effort.

The food and service was good. However, I was deeply disturbed by the "shims" toilet sign. There…read morewere two toilets, one marked "Her" and one marked "Him". A third door had a sign that I assumed was a joke about gender neutral toilets. But when you opened the door titled "shims" it was a sink and basically a utility closet! This joke was disgusting and as a visitor/tourist I am a bit disappointed with how this sign reflects the rest of the town. Maybe I am missing a "kiwi-ism" and it means something else...but I think it is a poorly made joke. I would not recommend this place as family appropriate.

After a great surf along the coastline, stop off at Rock-It-Cafe and Surf Shop for Raglan's local…read morebreakfast and surf shop. The plating presentation of the food was breathtaking. The Staff was friendly and responsive. And baked goods (muffins and banana bread) and pastries (cronut) was delicious. Poached eggs were over done and Creamy Portabello Mushroom Turkish plate was very salty. Chai Latte and Flat white was delicious with great foam presentation.

This was my second visit to Raglan from Hawaii and the Rock-it Kitchen was a must on both…read moreoccasions! I love the food and the coffee. And the service is always friendly. Their menu online is a bit unclear as to when they stop serving breakfast (which when you call they say noon, but it's really more like 11:30am). That was the only thing I found bothersome with many of the restaurants in NZ in general. If you say you're going to stop doing breakfast at a certain time then it should be at that time. I would come again and again, thank you!

I waited an hour to receive my food and the restaurant was not even slightly busy. When I finally…read moregot my food it was completely cold and the flavors were awful. One of the worst plates of food i've received at a restaurant. I got the spinach and ricotta ravioli. The view is great though.

The fries and fish had a nice crispiness to them. The salad had a good dressing. I feel like, for…read morethe price, it could have had more flavor overall. The service was nice. And we ate outside, which was nice. Overall it was fine. Not the best, not the worst.

Came here for some simple fish and chips and a quick dinner. Space by the water is nice, and…read moreprotected even when it's blowing a gale. Fish was fresh and the grilled option was very nice with the lemon. However the chips were kind of limp, and the tomato sauce on offer wasn't that good (and you have to pay extra to get sauce). Overall, decent but not a destination in itself.

Super fresh fish and chips. A basic menu, but you know it's really fresh when the Fishmonger is…read morepreparing the fish at the counter, and there is a fisherman tending the lines right up front on the dock. The snapper was tender and nicely complemented by the fresh lemon wedge and the Kumara fries ($12NZ). There is a one dollar up charge for the Kumara fries, compared to the regular chips, but totally worth it. Two types of sauce are available, tartar sauce and a tomato based sauce (Ie ketchup). It was nice to sit on the patio and see the harbour area, including watching the sea gulls and a seal splash in the waves.

You wouldn't expect a simple store would produce some of the tastiest fish and chips I've ever had…read morein my life. The Hoki is so juicy and tender with a fantastic crunchy batter. The chips are outstanding. I've sampled a lot of chips aka "frites" in Belgium where they were invented and sorry my Belgie friends. These are much better than Belgian Frites. Crunchy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. Add some Watties Tomato Sauce and you've got a fantastic meal wrapped Kiwi style in paper.

I had the Sourdough toast with portobello mushrooms and my wife had the Eggs Benedict with bacon…read more She really enjoyed hers, I thought my mushrooms were a little undercooked for my liking. Still we both enjoyed out breakfast. My coffee was OK, a shame as I was quite looking forward to it. There was a minor issue between diners over the opening of a window, one of the staff gave the go ahead, the group opened the window fully, and it took another diner to go up to the group and request the shut the majority of it. I felt the staff should have spoken to the group or requested a limitation when it was opened.. There was a marked chilliness on the fully opened window. Apart from that it was a pleasant breakfast.

For lunch my sister, her husband and I checked out this cute cafe in Raglan…read more I ordered the Hoki Fish Burger which came with French Fries and a sweet Aioli sauce for the fish burger which came on a seed bun. Everything would have been perfect if they served it on a soft bun. They toasted the bun too long that my burger was practically a cracker bun making it very difficult to eat so we had to eat it seperate. Other then that, the fish was very soft and tender. My Sister ordered the Seafood Chowder and her husband the Fish and chips with poached eggs. They seemed to have enjoyed their meals, besides the two milkshakes they ordered in Mango and Caramel flavor. Took one sip and pushed to the side of the table. Cafes are suppose to be pretty much perfectionist at drinks they offer.. Guess they need more work on their shakes.

Nice setting with large interior, coveted balcony and lovely garden area. Right on the main read…read morenext to Alexandra Hotel and Five Stags restaurant. With the awning around the balcony down it looked closed and sign hard to see. Worth stopping to make sure. Very bubbly friendly staff. Delicious banana and fudge muffin and good coffee, but could have been hotter. Recommend it as a good stop off. Opposite is the small heritage and visitors centre. And just along the road is a walkway down to and looping back along the river (45 mins) taking in the remains of the Redoubt (fort)

On our way from Karuma to Waitomo, we stopped for breakfast in Pirongia on Franklin road…read more We tried the first roadside cafe, we came upon (don't remember the name), but we weren't impressed with the menu or the seating. It was only then that we noticed "the Nest" next door. Not a very attractive building, we would have easily overlooked it and we were hesitating to enter. But once inside, we were pleasantly surprised by the cheerful, slightly hipster vibe. The seating areas with ample room for small and bigger groups, comfy chairs and couches for having espressos and a pleasant sunroom. There even appeared to be some kind of picnic area complete with blankets and so on. We ordered our food at the counter and then seated ourselves in the sunroom. With the decor between antique, vintage and eclectic, the statement piece was definitely the giant antique copper / brass espresso machine by Elektra. A real beauty that I wouldn't mind owning myself. The business owner himself served at the counter and was good for conversation and interested in his customers. My husband ordered the scrambled eggs and I had the poached egg with avocado and the most delicious hashbrowns I have ever had. We both had capucinos too. The only thing I would have liked to see is a little more generous servings of bread. Maybe 2 slices per person instead of one. But, I have to say that when my husband asked for extra bread, the owner didn't charge him for it. The breakfast was served on warm plates (YES!!!!), tastefully plated, capucinos presented with coffee art. Both eggs and bread fresh and flavorful. We wanted to come back here the next morning, before driving back to Auckland to catch our flight, but why oh why weren't you open yet at 8 AM??? I had so much looked forward to a repeat of the day before, but alas, it was not in the cards..... Perfect breakfast place!

We had an adequate dinner here. Nancy very much liked her arugula salad (I didn;t get a taste) and…read moreher pumpkin risotto. I had whjat purported to be a Thai beef salad, and although the greens where very nice and the beef well prepared, it was not discernibly Thai -- no lime juice, no fish sauce, no spiciness, and no cilantro. Nice salad, but not an accurate menu listing

We stopped here to get a bite to eat after touring the caves. They were completely booked but were…read moreable to take an order for takeout. We ordered the chicken pizza and arugula salad. It was probably the best pizza we've ever had. It was perfectly cooked and had a fantastic flavor with interesting spices and the caramelized pears pushed it over the top. The woman who took our order was very friendly and accommodating, which we had not experienced in several places we've been to, so it was a welcome change. I would happily eat here again.

We had lunch here today before our caves tours. They offer an all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet…read moreplus a selection of bbqd protein....white fish, salmon, steak or chicken. Nancy was ok with her fish, the steak was well grilled but a tad small considering the price. The buffet options included two kinds of mac and cheese, a reasonable vegetable curry (but overcooked vegetables), some pretty good roasted potatoes and nice coleslaw slaw. Nice desserts including a to tie for pavlova, carrot cake and anzac cookies. We were in and out in 45 minutes

This was a really great place for lunch near the caves that is kinda off the beaten path. We found…read moreit when looking up restaurants on tripadvisor and decided to give it a try instead of eating at the touristy cafes at the attractions themselves. We were almost positive we were lost as our navigator took us off the main road and out into the wilderness. We drove up a hill for sometime wondering if we had missed it when suddenly we pulled into a large gravel parking lot with a little sign that said Roselands thattaway. Due to the climb you took to get there, Roselands boasts unbelievable views of the countryside with its large windowed dining room. Their dining room is a large open space with a buffet and lots of long tables and chairs suggesting they draw quite the crowd in the summer months. Unfortunately most of the items on the BBQ themed buffet I couldn't have because of it containing gluten, but I did sample the salad, potatoes, and rice and they even went through the trouble to cook me up something special without the BBQ sauce on it. The husband enjoyed the BBQ as well as the plate of desserts they brought out to us. Overall it was a beautiful place to lunch and I really appreciated the extra effort they took in accommodating my gluten allergy.

Went to Alpino for dinner. Very friendly staff and quick service! We ordered the margarita pizza,…read moreoctopus, burrata, the 200g tenderloin, and the fish of the day (which was snapper). They were all really good! Location was quite good as well with parking a one minute walk from the restaurant. Seems like a very popular place so I would recommend getting a reservation before going. There is also an Italian gelato shop just across the street if the desserts at Alpino don't suit you. Overall, really good and highly recommend for anyone in the area!

Great food and amazing service. Can be loud when busy, but a good atmosphere. And price wise food…read moreisn't to bad