The Store @ Tai Tapu — Restaurant in Canterbury

I've been here a number of times and have always enjoyed the food and found the staff friendly. I usually go for the big breakfast!

However, the last time I visited a few weeks ago I wasn't able to order off the menu because apparently it had been a quiet day and they had closed the kitchen early. Please be aware that Tai Tapu is out of the way for most people and people generally drive a fair distance to get there. If you advertise that the kitchen is open until 2pm, then it really needs to be open until 2pm regardless of how busy it is. I do get it - it can be very frustrating standing around with no customers turning up on rare occasions, but if people can't rely on you being open they will stop going.

Anyway, so far that has been a one-off experience. Otherwise I've been very happy.

EDIT: In response to the owner's reply, of course it's completely understandable if a business closes early due to an emergency or bereavement. I would never claim otherwise. But your staff member specifically told me that the kitchen had been closed early due to it being...

I discovered these guys do a Vegan High Tea on Happy Cow!! The review was from 2020 so I asked The Store if they still do them and yes they do!!! They have a couple of price options, standard (with tea, coffee or OJ) or with bubbles (unsure if that’s as well as or instead of the other drink options). You can book and just decide if you’re doing bubbles on the day, as I did for a surprise high tea :)

As at Feb 2023 it's $44pp (minimum 2 guests) or $54pp with bubbles.

We were really impressed with the high tea content - the savoury and sweet options were both great, as was the coffee! The service was also great, from multiple staff.

Four stars though as there aren't many other vegan options on offer. More stars down the track if a vegan menu is brought on (and I'm aware of it).

The down sides are the road noise if you're outside, the high tea is lovely but pricey and, apart from the high tea, they only have limited vegan...

Wow, this place has nailed customer service, great coffee and tasty food. A friend and I went for a late brunch on a sunday. When we arrived I could see almost every table was full, there was a line at the counter and the kitchen staff were working in what looked like a small kitchen. The line didn't take long, the lovely lady behind the counter greeted us with a warm smile and promptly took our order. With 5 minutes our coffees had arrived. I had an almond flat white. Super impressed with how good the coffee was and how quick they came out. 5 minutes later our meals come out. They were the perfect size, very tasty and warm. I'm very impressed with this place - smooth operators. I will defiantly make the trip again...