The Raft - Sports Cafe & Bar — Restaurant in Bay of Plenty

We had really poor service from a waitress here at lunchtime today. When this waitress (she had her hair tied in a bun at the back) came to deliver our food to our table (we were on the low table with the couch) my husband accidentally knocked his coffee over in trying to clear a space for her to place his food. The coffee was half full and went all over the table surface puddling in the low lying parts of the wooden table plus went over a couple of magazines and newspapers. This waitress gave us no sense of friendliness, no smile, and dumped one saturated magazine on top of the pile of dry magazines, used one of the already wet newspapers to absorb some of the fluid up, as did my husband with the other wet newspaper, then with the newspapers dripping over the floor she disappeared with them without saying a word. We thought she was coming straight back with a cloth to finish wiping the remaining mess and puddles up but this was not so. She did not once return to us to check we were alright or wanted another coffee (which we would have quite happily paid for). I only wish I'd been braver and called her over as she passed by us several times more delivering food to other tables and asked her if she was ever going to finish mopping up the remaining liquid pooled on our table! We were left to finish our meal in a sea of coffee! We won't be back and we only hope someone cleaned up before the next lot of customers sat down at this table! What a shame this waitress spoilt our experience because the coffee and...

• Group Visit: I went for dinner with a group of 6 friends. From the moment we arrived, the staff made sure we felt comfortable and well looked after. It’s a great spot for group gatherings. • Service: The service was outstanding—friendly, professional, and always attentive without being intrusive. Every request was handled with a smile. • Bartender Highlights: One of the most impressive parts of the night was the bartender. Even though we weren’t drinking alcohol, they went out of their way to create special alcohol-free cocktails that were not even on the menu. Creative and delicious! This really stood out and made the experience memorable. • Food: The food arrived on time, hot and fresh. Every dish was well-presented and packed with flavour. You could tell the kitchen staff take pride in their work. • Atmosphere: The vibe of the restaurant was relaxed and friendly. It felt like the perfect balance between casual and special—great for both friends’ nights out and a nice dinner occasion. • Overall Impression: From start to finish, the night was fantastic. The combination of great service, delicious food, and thoughtful touches like the custom drinks made this dinner truly memorable. I highly recommend this place and will...

My wife and I went there for lunch yesterday. We'd been there once before and we recalled we had some difficulty finding a vegetarian option but we thought we'd try again after many months. We noticed again that there were very few options for vegetarians and even less for vegans. Almost ALL foods in the display cabinet had meat in them. So we asked for the salad option from the A la carte menu only to be told that it wasn't available! The waitress at the till suggested a Caesar Salad but I pointed out that it contained chicken! She said they could leave the chicken out. When I asked if they would reduce the price for a vegetarian option like that she said they couldn't/wouldn't do that: THEY WOULD CHARGE THE SAME PRICE as if it had chicken!!! When I asked if they could substitute avocado instead of the meat she consulted the chef and then she told me they couldn''t. No other options offered. VERY unhelpful. We cancelled our order then walked out. We'll never return. Rude, unhelpful, inflexible service and very limited options for vegetarians like us. We definitely will not recommend this to our vegetarian and vegan friends. In fact we will recommend they...