The Village Cafe - Highfield Timaru — Restaurant in Canterbury

13 Jan 2023 (yup, it's Friday the 13th) - I was looking for a place to eat breakfast 🍳 but don't want to go too far from Trust Aoraki Athletic Park 🏞. Found this place on Google Maps and decided to give it a go. I couldn't find this place on my first try but saw it when I drive around New World Supermarket. The main entrance is from the carpark area accessible from Chalmers Street. Well, the breakfast was good. I've ordered a mango smoothie, a large latte, eggs Benedict ($18.50) and Berries & Cream waffle ($14). The Latte ☕ is good; no burnt taste in my frothed milk and the eggs 🥚 were runny (check out my video showing the runny egg yolk). The bacon 🥓was cooked to my liking, and the sauces were delish. My kiddo's mango smoothie was really good and will definitely get it when we come back again. As for the waffle, it is very sour because of the berries, and the cream couldn't cancel out the sourness (oh well, kiddo didn't enjoy it much 😅)

Good portion sizes.

This is a child-friendly cafe.

This is a non licensed (🍻🍸🍷🍾🍹🍺) eatery. There is a very limited outdoor dining area.

There is plenty of onsite parking 🅿.

They accept cash, EFTPOS with debit and credit card payments (Paywave is available, for those who want to know especially those using phones or smart watches to pay like me 😁).

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. It was delish and yummy 😋. Ambience: ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Cosy. Nothing fancy like Starbucks. Price: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Reasonably priced. Customer service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Friendly and attentive staff. If unsure what to eat, ask the staff or the chef to recommend you.

Would I go back? Ā definite YES 😊

Disclaimer: Please note that this review is entirely based on my experience at the time of the visit. You might have a different experience than me and also, the food may or may not...

Lovely setting, inside& out. Great choice offered to coeliacs like me. But I'm now not confident I'd want to try them. Crepes with banana, bacon, maple syrup was VERY disappointing. I'm crepe lover/ maker/ eater so was sad to see crepe arrive undercooked -so doughy. Definitely needs sharp crisping both sides. Crepes aren't seeing rolls and don't need to be rolled up, especially not busting with food. Bacon likewise underdone but this seems to be the culture if nz cafes. The bacon imo needs to be crisped up before it goes in pancake. And --- if you're only giving me one crepe for $20+ , please don't overbalance it with three slices of bacon, or even two large ones. Balance is name of game for pancakes. Banana was present but not super tasty coz a bit fresh. And maple syrup? Not tge best I've tried. It's so disappointing when everything looks so good- but the food isn't. 😪 There goes my $30 for Sunday treat. Coffee also unimpressive tho 3 shots. Naja. I wish the cafe all the best -wonderful selection. (Gf scones!!) but really need to sharpen up kitchen performance. Sorry can't report better. Obviously many pleased customers, the some of reviews very old....

This cafe really surprised me with their food quality and outstanding customer service. We ordered 2 coffees and 2 toasted sandwiches. The girl at the counter must have heard wrongly or keyed in wrongly for 1 sandwich instead. When we approach them for the 2nd order and offered to pay for it, they refused to collect our monies claiming it was their mistake and it's on them. When we insisted to pay later, they refused again outright. Really impressed with such service and beliefs they hold because you know you're getting quality food and service. The coffees were aromatic and packs a punch. The toasties were flavourful without having to add additional seasoning. Will come back for sure and please support them if you're...