The Porch Kitchen and Bar — Restaurant in Bay of Plenty

Never have I seen such careless service in hospitality.

Upon entrance to the acclaimed wheelchair accessible eatery in the Waihi Beach township, my group consisting of six adults, one of which is in a wheelchair, one child and one toddler came into a near-empty 'Porch', where three staff members turned cheek while we struggled to arrange furniture to accommodate all of our group members into the small space available inside. While there was plenty of space further into the restaurant, this was down a small step, and therefore non-accessible.

Arriving at 11.20am, with a breakfast menu closing at 11.30am and a lunch menu starting at 12pm, we were already on the back foot. The Belgian waffles looked a good option, as most everything else on the menu or in the cabinets looked too heavy for an early lunch, but this was immediately refused.

While everyone tossed between what else may appeal, one of us ordered coffee. This, being ordered at the front of desk (as not once we were approached), was the first thing to be served. Not only was the order incorrect, the waitress who was handling the matter offered no apology, putting the replacement coffee down on the table and disappearing so hard and fast, half of the coffee spilled out and onto the table. Even with the crash of the saucer hitting the table, this was neither noticed nor replaced by staff.

Shortly following this, a handful of sausage rolls arrived. These are the chicken and bacon rolls in the cabinet, and are so dry that after the first bite the lack of sauce or relish is painfully obvious due to the sudden inability for those who ordered them to swallow. Only two clean glasses were available by the water station, which we were required to search for. One of our group finished a beer and filled up the bottle with water from the jug, the others feeling as if they had to order drinks.

One of our party went to the bathroom. He came back completely disgusted, warning others to hold their bladders, unless they were privvy to end-of-the-night club bathrooms. He approached the waitstaff to quietly inform them, who treated him like a timewaster for mentioning it and proceeded to ignore the issue.

The Tandoori pizza and a plate of 'Porch' fries were ordered, both of which were thankfully palatable and reasonably priced. If these orders were not our third options, the eatery may have earned a generous second star on this review.

Before we left, our wheelchair dependant member needed the bathroom. The sign on the bathroom (let alone the entire establishment) should have read "Wheelchair Inaccessible". The entrance to the bathroom was blocked by a large decorative surfboard, which was required to be moved out of the way (again by our party) to the disapproval of staff. Even once this was awkwardly packed to the side of the eatery, the narrow corridor and doorway into the mobility bathroom was a real difficulty.

Not one for writing bad reviews, this experience could not justify non-action. Beyond appalled.

My recommendation after visiting The Porch Kitchen and Bar, is to eat absolutely anywhere that is not The Porch...

Came on New Year’s Day, the coffee was scalding hot, we waited an hour for our meals - no wait time was advised when we ordered, and then only received 5/8 meals ordered, they had lost one whole order which contained the last three meals. Nobody checked how our meals were- if they had we would have notified them that the spinach had an off taste and thus made the poached eggs and bread taste like expired vegetables. One kids waffles we asked for no fruit and lemon curd and they brought it without bacon as well and we had to ask where the bacon was. When we asked for a refund for the missing three meals there was no apology and they still expected the surcharge for public holiday to be paid on those orders even though we didn’t get the food. No apologies were given, no discounts, no accountability and no wait time advised. Over all very disappointed. Kids and...

Upon walking in, did not feel welcome IMMEDIATELY. Bar one other table, we were the only diners in. We were sitting down catching up, and we were approached 4 times in 9 minutes which would normally be great, however on the fourth we were still not ready to order and were told they have other tables to serve and to basically hurry up. The drinks were half filled, and tasted absolutely trash. Took 45 mins for food to arrive, once the food arrived, we were served supermarket garlic bread for $10. Two of us are pregnant and were served chewy, undercooked pork belly, with mushy frozen vegetables from a watties bag for $30. The only edible meal our table got was a salad, which a long hair was found in. Overpriced for something I could cook myself...