Cafe Jerusalem — Restaurant in Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community

My husband and I were in Kerikeri for a family event. We were staying in the Bay of Islands Country Lodge just on the outskirts of Kerikeri and went exploring on the last morning of our stay. We visited a number of attractions in the area and chose Cafe Jerusalem to have a meal before we headed home. We both thought the experience was fabulous and here's why.

You know how when you want to experience something new and you order something and it comes with options you know nothing about and you get confused and often the person behind the counter gets impatient and short with you because you can't decide quick enough? Well that did, and didn't happen. We got confused and she explained the relevance of each option with a lovely smile. Makes you glad you chose them.

I had Shislik and my husband had Schwarma (as meals) and they were both herby/tasty, the salad was fresh, the condiments were perfectly balanced and the bread was warm. It was so delicious I finished mine before my husband finished his. That doesn't happen. I felt like I inhaled it. One minute it was all there and the next it was gone. My husband laughed and said he preferred to savour the tastes. Each to his own.

The cafe is tucked into an alcove with other food establishments. It's quite an intimate setting with each establishment offering its own slice of the courtyard for outside dining. We will go back there and maybe try something else but Cafe Jerusalem is on our list of 'musts' for the area.

As an aside; we had to drive 9 hours to get home (Auckland motorway issues). The meal sustained us for that journey and at no time did we feel like we shouldn't have eaten so much. We can't wait to go...

Food is good, service - not so much. We waited for our food for way too long. Appetizers came quickly, but then we waited for over an hour for the main. People behind us came after us, and left before we got our food. They had their mains. Sure, we may have arrived earlier than our reservation, but the main course still came out 50 minutes after our reservation time.

It would have been nice to at least let us know halfway through that there's a delay, but we got nothing. Disappointing

Food was good, but not spectacular to be worth the wait. May consider for take away in the future, but...

As my frustratingly annoying highly-restricted diet continues, I search for places (while on vacation) whose offerings are even close to what’s required. Cafe Jerusalem was tonight’s venue. And we struck gold. The food was outstanding- we had the chicken shish and felafel, and multiple salads. Michaela, who took our order, was SO kind and patient- and she was trying so hard to think of alternatives for me to eat. An absolute angel. In this lovely courtyard setting, the meal was a delightful feast. We are customers for life. And can’t wait to return when I can eat more of...