Flatwhite Waihi Beach — Restaurant in Bay of Plenty

A frequent customers in past 8 years but recently the Flat white has become poor and inconsistent, 2 of our last 3 visits had below average food and poor staff attitudes. Our most recent visit, we were seated in middle of floor with a cold sea breeze blowing in, but when we asked to move to a spare table, we were told no, even after complaining to manager, being told we had already ordered, yet there were a number of spare tables. It was embarrassing to be offered a blanket in the middle of summer when the obvious solution was to pull down the PVC blinds, which they did later, no doubt after others complained. Then poor food, vegetarian burger, was presented as just a large lump of patty coated in crumbs, tasted bland… also missing the pickled cucumber, relish, tomato, cheese, hummus, lettuce etc that the menu said. When I questioned this, a plate suddenly arrived with the extra bits on it. After experiencing both of these incidences, the staff then had the balls 15 minutes later to ask if we were enjoying our lunch when they clearly knew we weren't, we were told if not happy to speak with the manager, we felt an undercurrent of arrogance among the staff. Have read other reviews and note many poor ones in past 2-4 weeks, the manager appears to have a reputation as being rude. Some say it looks busy, but that is likely due to the small choice of cafes in Waihi Beach, maybe they just don’t care because they have had a monopoly for a while. Waihi Beach needs a competitor to open up. Has a lovely water edge view which is really what you are paying for, we won’t...

Location, parking, service and theme, all were great, easily the best in the area. The time passed quickly from the time our table for 8 was seated till we left. Stephanie, our table waitress was lovely and engaging, as were other staff that attended us. This is a busy place and it's obvious why. The ambience of the ocean is drawn in through the clear wide views and the theme is perfectly matched with the location. Food was served in good time and it was in keeping with the value range for this restaurant.

I ordered Ribeye steak with Mushroom Sauce, as did the lady I sat next to at the table and we ordered our steaks a little differently. We both thought the steaks were cooked to perfection, but the Mushroom Sauce was a little weak and the wafers of mushroom could be a little beefier, so we missed the earthy taste we were hoping for, never the less, we did enjoy our meals.

The lady opposite me ordered seafood chowder as a mains and it was too much for her, so another at the table finished off what she couldn't and they both had the same impression. Aside from the mussels in shells, they described the chowder as closer to a potato broth with a little seafood, so unfortunately, it failed to get their approval.

The place is stunningly laid out and the theme and ambience is their ticket to stardom, but I really think with their menu, especially in light of the seafood chowder, take your time to read carefully and query the wait staff on any element that is of importance to you...

Stressful Dining Experience

The facts of this dining experience are as follows: We entered the facility at 1:15pm We were told there would be a 15 minute wait to be seated, which we accepted It took them 10 minutes to take our order, and that was after I asked them too 35 minutes later our food still hadn't come, and I noticed it was moving slowly out of the kitchen so I asked how much longer it would be. I was told 5 minutes. 15 minutes later it still hadn't come so I asked if it wasn't on the grill to please cancel it (1:15 minutes later). The owner came out and stood right in my face; in and attempt I felt to intimidate me. He said his ticket was stamped 43 minutes ago, and I should feel glad I was on holiday because he didn't get one. The food came 5 minutes later The vegetarian options were good - well done! The serving staff where friendly - well done! The owner did come up to apologise to my male partner when I went to the bathroom. But I felt upset he would have a go at me, especially while holding a baby who was also upset. The experience was stressful and made worse by the tone of the owner. By the way... if you have an issue with working over this period, change professions. You'll make 80% of your revenue over this small window. Make the most of it! Give it your all, and a simple 'sorry you had to wait so long' goes a long way. After all, we're talking about a wait time of over an hour with two small kids......