Foundation Cafe — Restaurant in Christchurch

I had the worst experience of my life at The Foundation Cafe in Christchurch, please never support this cafe.

I am coeliac and was treated so badly.

One of the senior ladies, was so rude, yelling at me for asking for my bread to not be buttered/olive oil as I've had cross contamination there before. I checked once after I ordered to ensure they would toast my bread in baking paper.

My food was delivered, I asked if this gluten free, yes they say.

The women then came and grabbed my plate, said wrong meal. Came back and threw two slides of bread not toasted at me across the table on one plate and gave me back my eggs on the plate that had the non gf bread on it.

She was unbelievably rude and unsupportive of my needs.

I was so shocked and embarrassed having food thrown across the table at me.

I was on a high table and the others on the table could not believe her behaviour.

It was shocking, upsetting and extremely disappointing.

One of her staff gave me a cuddle when she delivered my coffee.

I am reporting this to MPI and Christchurch Council. I am not one to complain or write bad reviews but this behaviour and lack of care for a person with an auto immune disease is...

I visited this quaint part of Christchurch while staying in the central city area and needed a place to grab a coffee to kickstart my day and get some work done. There are other café options, but they are a little further away.

Foundation Café is located on the ground floor of the library, making it easy to pop by for a quick break while you browse or get some work done.

We came here around 9 am on a Thursday and were pleased with the options on offer. My only gripe was that the items were quite pricey for their portion size. The drinks were quite nice, with no complaints there. We got a hot chocolate with oat milk and a mocha. They were nicely presented.

We also got some sweets from their cabinet and found them to be a bit too sweet, but I could see the appeal if you have a sweet tooth. I got a cookie, which was quite a mouthful for a cookie. I was expecting it to be more like a donut, and the staff didn’t seem entirely sure about it either when I asked.

Not a bad option if you are working in the library or passing by. There are other options that are more exciting and a little cheaper in the area. Their service was pretty quick, so I was...

Service was pretty good. The coffee was also pretty good. Ordered the big breakfast but hashbrown was actually a patato cake made from mash and panfried so no crunch or coating, the meal came with two breakfast sausages, two rashers of bacon, two eggs but only one piece of toast! The beans were hot, the rest just warm at best and the eggs were overcooked. Wifes meal similar story.

Finished with a pot of tea but it had an odd taste as if someone had used the hot tap to fill the kettle so did not finish it. It was not a particularly busy morning either. Had the wait staff checked in to see if we were happy with the meal I would have mentioned these things politely but that didn't happen and with covid protocols still in place we just had to leave after rather than explain through a mask at the counter. The flavours were good and I will go back again to make sure it wasn't just an off day but..... Not the best especially considering we went there for our anniversary meal....(wife prefers to go out for breakfast/brunch rather than dinner) Sorry babe, I will pick...