Akin Cafe — Restaurant in Christchurch

I came to Akin Thursday 28th of March around 2:15pm for a coffee and some lunch. I was by myself, and when I entered there was just one other customer sitting in the corner on her laptop enjoying a coffee. I order a flat white & a vegetarian burrito from the cabinet from a very pleasant waitress with pink hair streaks. (I think?) Having been vegetarian for the better part of a year I was excited for the bean and rice filling, as indicated by colourful marker on the glass. As the cafe was practically empty I was unfortunately privy to the conversation five or six of the staff members were having behind the counter.

I was staring at them the entire time hoping one of them would make eye contact with me and realise the conversation was completely inappropriate to be having within earshot of customers. They were COMPLETELY slagging off a colleague of theirs, making no effort to be discreet and the conversation went on for so long that I actually got the attention of the waitress who originally served me and said "might I suggest your colleagues take their conversation out the back as I’ve been listening to them absolutely slate a girl who clearly works here for the past five minutes” The poor girl went back and relayed my message to who one can only assume was the manager, and the group scurried away like rats in a subway. No one even looked in my direction to offer something like a half smile as a 'sorry you had to hear that'.

Perhaps it was because my full attention was on this workplace gossip I was unwillingly being subject to, but I had been slowly eating my burrito during that time without paying any notice to its contents. Now, finally at peace I had saved this poor girl from the slanderous words of her colleagues, I began to focus on what I was eating. Turns out this 'vegetarian burrito' I was so excited for was, in fact, CHICKEN.

The chances of this happening after I had already made myself public enemy number one was genuinely comical. I get up and walk to the cabinet to check I wasn’t mistaken (I wasn’t) and called the girl over who originally served me (who, I might add seemed to be the only person working that afternoon not interested in being part of the conversation, she was drying dishes on the other side of the counter. Good girl!)

I was upset, naturally. I had been vegetarian since well before the new year and even before that chicken is my most despised meat- in fact prior to this experience I couldn't tell you the last time I had consumed it. They were VERY lucky I was not some fully fledged lifetime vego with 100,000 followers on Tiktok… thankfully I have eaten meat before and I understand mistakes happen.

I saw the chef being informed from afar and to her credit she did look very concerned, but the thing that annoyed me is NOONE in any sort of authoritative nature e.g. the manager came over to apologise to me and explain how something like this could have happened. Again, everyone disappeared into the shadows and the only person to speak a word to me was the poor girl who served me at the beginning that I took the veggie-turned-chicken burrito up to.

So, the moral of the story is: I love to gossip about my work colleagues as much as the next person, but some advice for the future would be: a) TAKE NOTICE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS, and become self aware- you should have been able to feel a customer staring at you for five entire minutes, even more so because you were doing something you weren't suppossed to. b) Take ownership of your mistakes. Had someone come up to me and apologised profusely, asked if I felt ok and to make sure I wouldn’t get sick from the meal, that would have sorted the situation there and then and I would not have felt like I needed to even write this review.

Other than that, I can imagine if the staff are actually doing their job and the food is in the correct places within the cabinet it would be a lovely place for lunch!! I had heard wonderful things prior to my visit and I’m sure it will become an iconic CHCH establishment in due course. I wish you...

I am a fan of Akin and come here often for a coffee and a bite on my lunch break, or as a suggestion for a coffee meeting spot. The coffee is excellent and consistently good. There are often good gluten free options in the cabinet which is hard to find in other places. The gluten free chicken wrap is amazing when they have it.

The architecture means it is a bit loud with echos, but it's a nice airy atmosphere and good for those who like the sound of a busy cafe. They are transient worker friendly, plugs on the ground with a big table if you want to stop and do some work on your laptop while you have a coffee....

Had learned about Akin recently and went for the first time today. Lovely, contemporary setting, with a relaxed atmosphere and great, central location. Staff were welcoming and friendly, and we arrived just before the lunchtime peak, so there were a few options to choose where to sit.

We ordered the fries and the crème brulée toast with kaya jam, as well as coffee, tea, and a couple of juices. Both dishes were great, and arrived in good time; prompt, but not rushed.

In all, a stellar experience all round. Definitely looking forward to coming back, and I wish Akin...