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!

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!

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!

Yummy breakfast and lunch choices with eggs Benedict being a big deal. Flat white is beautiful and…read moreexcellent as well. Service is a plus and ambiance is wonderfully mid century modern. Open from 7:00 am for a proper tea or cafe mocha.

Food was good, but they forgot to add on one thing and instead swapped it. They weren't very happy…read morewhen i asked for it to be brought ~ i just asked for them to bring it not remake the order. It was quiet and clean, but there are other cafes with better service and choices.

I was travelling through a bit of the North Island with my family on a road trip and we stopped…read moreover in Taurange for the night. It's one of my favorite beach areas and we stayed on the Tauranga side (not the Mount side). With two little kiddos, we were up early and went to The Strand area in search of coffee (and breakfast, but mostly coffee). It was proably a little before 8:00 am and there were no souls to be found, except at the Dry Dock. We noticed that it seemed to literally be the only place open in the few blocks that we walked around. I was looking for something with a water view, but I was desperate for some caffiene and, with nothing else open, these guys had us as their captive audience. The good news is, it all turned out good. Really good. The staff were friendly and accommodating. We asked for a high chair and they just about fell over themselves with happiness to provide it (we later learned that they had just bought one for the cafe and we were the lucky first users of it). Breakfast was yummy and there was plenty of the standard NZ type breakfast options available, in addition to the goodies in the bakery cabinet. My husband had some yummy French toast with bananas and bacon. I had the mueli, which to be fair was a little different than I expected, but still good. It had a lot of fresh fruit on it (apples, bananas, etc.) which was all fine and dandy, but not as much meusli itself. So, if you find yourself in Tauranga with a need for breakfast and/or coffee (at an hour, really) swing on by and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

We were here for a convention with a decent sized group, staying at a hotel around the corner and…read morethis place became our home-away-from-home. We ate breakfast here every morning and were treated like family. The food was delicious, the helpings generous and the price totally reasonable. The service was excellent as well. Very much recommend and we will definitely eat here when we're in Tauranga next.

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.

We stopped in for breakfast and loved it…read more The special was waffles so I gave it a try. It was beautiful and oh so delicious. Two waffles were accompanied with crispy bacon and fried bananas, lightly sprinkled in powdered sugar with some lovely thick maple syrup as well. I'm sure there were no calories in this dish. I ate every morsel. It was so good. With my waffles, I had a creamy, hot latte topped with beautiful latte art. I also had a few slurps of Husband's berry smoothie. Oh was that good too. Everything was so yummy. Service was good. You review the menu and order at the counter. They bring your food and drinks to you. Lots of seating. Street parking was easy and they open a bit earlier than most other breakfast places. Great experience.

Great spot centrally located in downtown Rotorua for a quick eat in or take away. coffee,…read morepastries & , small bites, simple breakfasts & all delicious. Friendly staff to top it off.

Okay not a bad place. Not a huge fan of their coffee, it has been hard finding coffee here in NZ…read more We came in and placed our order, seems normal for two people to pay a little over $30 for each meal total. I ordered their egg meal which I ordered poached eggs (2) served over Vogel with bacon. Well the bacon was long pieces, not so uniform. But they were soft like ham, with a semi sear. Was thinking more of crispy strips. Hubby got the french toast which came with bananas and bacon. He also got a long black, which at one place we were told a long black is like an americano in the USA. It seemed to be espresso served with cream and water. There were sugar pots on the table. We were missing salt and pepper. Staff were friendly enough.

We had the best breakfast here. I ordered the menu special, corn fritters and they were made…read moreperfectly. The coffee (cappuccino) was so nice I ordered two. The staff were very friendly and it had a great atmosphere and you could choose to sit inside or outside on the footpath which was nice. Lots of other people when we were there, it is popular. Will definitely be going back!

I stayed 3 nights in Matamata while visiting various parts of the North Island and stopped here for…read morecoffee every morning. They had a great selection of pastries and the coffee was always on point. This is clearly a business that is run with passion and I highly recommend stopping here for your morning caffeine dose if you find yourself in Matamata.

From the owner: We make exceptional coffees and delicious Fresh fruit smoothies. All go well with our muffins,…read moreslices and biscuits.