Great vibe, friendly staff, coffee was excellent - some of the best I've run across in NZ so far…read more We ordered a bacon and cheese pasta basket, ham and cheese croissant, and the Wicked Caramel Slice, and would order them again. Highly recommended!

Doesn't look like much when passing by. I stopped out of hunger and had a simple wrap that was…read morepassable at best but it wasn't rancid so I guess that's good.

My wife and I went to Bodyfuel and had a coffee, a flat White. It's the best Flat White we've had…read moreso far after one week in New Zealand and about 20 well done Flat Whites. From the first sip to the last drop, the balance of well roasted beans and perfectly creamy steamed milk delivered great satisfaction. It's not often that the quality, high quality, of the bean roasting and flavor comes through. The beans were roasted brilliantly for a Flat White, not so dark that that all of the origin flavors are gone, not so light that my face puckered from wild green beans. The coffee flavor was strong, balanced and nicely tempered with perfectly steamed milk. A sign in front of the shop said something like Try our award winning espresso made by our award winning barista. We're very happy we did. Sorry we haven't tried any of the food yet, it looked great.

Amazing menu, fun atmosphere, friendly staff! Great food and priced well. Will definitely go again.read more

Two of us came for breakfast as we were passing through from Napier…read more We both ordered Poached Eggs, Streaky Bacon and Sourdough Toast. Everything was perfect and cooked beautifully. Gave a rare five stars as a cafe. It was busy so a bit noisy but discounted that as it was, afterall, a cafe. The staff were very genuine, warm and friendly.

Amaaaazing food! Avocado toast was super yummy with perfectly poached egg and yummy sourdough…read morebread. Lake Taupo? Bowl with blue coconut milk was absolutely delicious. Became my favorite and I love these kinds of nutritious bowls. The granola was perfect as well. The little nephew loved the blue coconut blend. Cinnamon roll was yum too. Nice outdoor seating with kids toy for play. Hehe cute cafe with delicious food, ample space, and great accommodations for all ages. Would highly recommend and revisit next time I'm in Taupo again!

We read great reviews for this place so we had to include it as one of our breakfast stops on our…read moretrip. We were here during winter so there wasn't anyone outside, but we did notice their adorable outdoor patio seating with a fenced in yard complete with picnic table. The inside was bright and cheerful with lots of natural lighting from the large windows and fun mint paint. We ordered at the counter while salivating at all of the delicious looking items in their display including fresh creme brulee, regular and gluten free sandwiches, and yummy looking salads. We went for some coffees, a gluten free sandwich, and of course..the creme brulee! Everything came out beautifully presented and tasted delicious. We relaxed and enjoyed our meal before heading off on more adventures. Great place to stop for a coffee and a quick bite.

My husband I drove here to try Spoon and Paddle after seeing the great reviews. BUT, it apparently…read more4-5 years ago according to a local resident.

Friendly service!…read more We walked here from our hotel on the lakefront path. Coffee was great. Gorgeous view, right on Lake Taupo.

Had lunch indoors on a drizzly day…read more The best part about Espresso Cove is the view of Lake Taupo. I thought the layout design was quite smart, maximizing the diners' views of the lake, seen clearly from almost every dining location. We were fortunate to be seated right next to a window, a coveted spot! The food is decent. I tried the eggs benedict with salmon over toast, benedict over potato pancake, as well as the asparagus special. The prices seemed a little high for the portions. The coffee was also pretty good. Service was good. Some of the servers seemed pretty new, but they compensated by being extra attentive, helpful, and friendly, which I appreciated. Parking was not too difficult to find, though a bit of maneuvering is needed to fit right into their spots.

Incredibly friendly and sweet staff, lots of indoor and outdoor dining space, and plenty of…read moreappealing sweet and savoury options. The spinach and feta spanakopita was perfect and beautifully plated; the merry berry smoothie wasn't too sweet.

Tasty raspberry and white choc muffin today. Coffee good but not great - decaf still a bit weak.read more

Great little self serve cafe with a super selection of baked goodies! It is quick, delicious, and…read moreinexpensive. The first problem is trying to choose what to have; everything is displayed right in front of you looking so enticing! I had the fabulous mincemeat pie. The crust was flaky, crisp, and tender. The filing was meaty gravy goodness. We took sweets to go - a caramel brownie and the ginger bar. The ginger bar was almost like lemon curd, but ginger instead of lemon, spread on a shortbread crust. The brownie was so chocolate-y it was almost a sugar overload! Is that possible? Both were superb.

We came too late for what looks like a delicious lunch menu. Instead we ordered counter food which…read moreturned out to be really good! The friendly, helpful staff were very attentive. The muscle fritters are full of good chunks of muscle and I enjoyed these with both my kids. We also shared a burrito and enchilada. The salads are impressive value for money and full of great vegetables. I'm glad we chose Replete after a good recommendation.

Asked for vaccine passes today, although Didnt two days ago. staff not consistently wearing masks…read more Food looks excellent. Good muffin and coffee!

We yelped this place before we came to eat. 2 things made us go here, location and star ratings…read more Not sure why it was rated so high. First thing you notice is the service. It's very clear from the start that we won't wait on you, you will do it yourself. I won't call him a waiter as he did don wait, but the guy behind the counter gladly told us where the menus were, allowed us to sit where ever and said come back when ready to order. It was a freezing morning so we opted to sit by the fake fire, which is located right next to the freezing windows. So it was A waste of time lol We returned to the counter to order our breakfast and took our number. We both ordered our fave, eggs benny. 1 with salmon the other with bacon I'm the salmon lover to I was really looking forward to my breaky, look very presented and fast delivery. It would have been perfect if it weren't for 2 things. 1, the salmon was cold, like ice cold. I had beauty warm eggs, bread, crispy spinach and cold salmon. My husbands eggs were not runny and he was a bit crushed. Other than that the sauces were delicious. I ordered a latte and asked if they do it with double shots, like lattes is made and it came with a single. No biggy but not what I asked for. Not 5 star. Only a 3

Never judge a book by its cover. Everything about this restaurant seemed great but In the end it…read morewas a huge disappointment. The service was extremely lacking. We waited for our food for half an hour before asking how much longer it would be, and were told food takes 25-30 minutes to prepare, but then 10 minutes later we were told by a different waiter it would be another 15 minutes till we got our food. At this point, we were in a time crunch because we had to check out from our hotel in 20 minutes, and the food was not in sight. Another waiter said we could come back after checking out and our food would be ready, so we did just that. We got back 20 minutes later and still the food wasn't ready. It should be mentioned the restaurant wasn't even that full when we were there, easily less than a fourth of the tables were seated. Then after another agonizing 20 minutes the most basic food you have ever seen gets to our table. Poached eggs came with dry toast that looks like something from a school cafeteria nightmare. My bagel with salmon, cream cheese and avocado was alright but was ruined by a cream cheese that appeared to significantly sweetened. The BLT another at the table ordered seemed pretty good, but it's fry's we're flavorless grease bombs. The crowning jewel on an already frustrating meal were the straws. Straws are really just a huge pet peeve of mine that always brings down a restaurant in my eyes, especially when they bring them opened from the package in the drink with no prompting from the customer, because even if you say you don't want them at that point, their just going to throw them out anyway because they have your drink all over them. They really show a restaurants inability to get with the times and though serving plastic straws isn't enough to bring down a restaurant completely, it certainly doesn't help. The one good thing I can say about this restaurant was the view. The patio looks out on the beautiful lake Taupo and it is well shaded. I really wish our experience could have been better, Maybe the restaurant staff were just having a rough day, but in my eyes, a restaurant that makes you wait over an hour for basic uninspired breakfast food has some serious issues.

Good good feed!! Tasty chicken.. good burgers.. not amazing…read moreto die for.. but hearty and filling. I would've like it served in traditional American baskets or plates but everything is served in paper containers. Still, guys are cool and even served us extras after their closing time.

Finding a place to eat in Taupo proved to be quite difficult. After the morning out at Wairakei, we…read morewere ready for lunch. We'd passed Pauly's Diner the day before and it looked promising. It's right next door to The Juice Station. We dropped in on a Wednesday afternoon (around 1:30pm). They've got tables both inside and out. The guys working inside are super chill and friendly. They explained the menu and then let us take our time deciding. Hilarious that they're closed Tuesday but on the hours sign, it says Pub Day! Work hard, play hard right? The menu is small but it's all about the burgers. They also have fried goods, shakes and a kids menu. There's a lunch deal (11:30am to 3:00pm, weekdays only). You get a burger, fries and either a can or water ($15.00 to 17.00). - L&P (lemon & paeroa) can - not too sweet. Hint of lemon. - Roast chicken sub ($12.00 NZD) - with gravy cheese and mustard. Lucky for my dad, they had a batch of cheese-less gravy. He really enjoyed his sub. - Fish lunch deal ($17.00 NZD) - fish of the day, herb oil, lettuce, jalapeño mayo and pickled red onion. Forgot to ask what type of fish it was but everything was delicious. Perfectly battered, flaky and the herb oil (almost like a basil pesto) was tasty. - Chicken lunch deal ($16.00 NZD) - Southern fried chicken (SFC), coleslaw and honey butter. The fried chicken was perfect; crispy, tender and nicely seasoned. The slaw was nicely balanced (little bits of celery added a nice texture). I don't go for burgers much but Pauly's Diner hit it out of the ballpark. We were delighted with their version of American burgers! Better even.