Crop — Restaurant in Devonport-Takapuna

I visited The Crop with my mum for the first time today. I have to say the experience was so unpleasant that neither of us has any intention of returning. I have a multitude of allergies and The Crop was the only place in Milford that provided a lunch I could eat.

At the counter we ordered our meals alongside an English breakfast tea, a pot of hot water and an extra cup. The young woman who took the order was personable and friendly.

Our drinks arrived, brought by an older woman. The English breakfast tea and a teapot of hot water. I asked for an extra cup, there no response other than her leaving the table. She came back with a cup, saw me put a teabag I brought with me into the hot water and informed us that The Crop have a "policy" against bringing in outside food and beverage. Her delivery was abrupt, rude and she left immediately after saying it.

After the meal we spoke to the woman. She apologised for her delivery, in what came across as an insincere manner, and restated their "policy". A so-called policy that is written nowhere on their menu, near the counter, nor was it mentioned when we ordered. The woman stated that they are not a food court but are a restaurant and don't allow outside food and beverage which is standard across the industry. I have taken a teabag with me into every cafe I have been to across Auckland and not once has anyone objected to it. I have even taken food into cafes, and it was not objected to either. I am not sure what industry she is speaking of because it is not the same hospitality industry I have experienced as a customer.

The woman suggested that if I had had explained the situation, she might have been more understanding, as I am unable to drink the teas provided. I wonder at what point I could have said something, because she walked away after rudely telling us that my lone teabag was against "policy".

As for the food, well we lied to the woman ad said it was very nice... it wasn't. It was cold, my pancakes were gritty, and my mum's waffle had something that tasted like onion... The Crop... more like the Flop… 0/10 would...

Save yourself time and money and don't go to this place. I ordered avocado on toast and it didn't taste like real avocado. It was so watery. I asked them about it and was told it "comes in a bag" then asked the manager and he said they put lots of lemon juice and spices in it. Whatever they do it tastes watery and horrible. The egg was half raw too. Very disappointing. I asked what sort of chai latte they have and he said they have Monnai which is the cheapest one available with lots of additives and sugar in it. Therefore I asked for a tumeric latte, but it tasted absolutely horrible. Clearly these guys are trying to save money by cutting costs on food ingredients, but it won't work for them as it's horrible. The only reason I've marked the atmosphere as 2 stars is because it was pretty empty so it was a quiet place, I now realise why the cafe across the road from them is full and Crop eatery is empty. When I complained the manager said "are you going to eat it?" I said no. I wasn't offered another meal so ended up going across the road for proper food. I notice others have mentioned the bad smashed avo in other reviews. They charged us $25 for the meal and $7.40 for the latte, so a complete rip off. When my partner asked for a discount considering our horrible experience the guy offered a $7 discount! He ended up giving us a $10 discount. Overall the food was horrible and the manager didn't try to make it right so we left with empty tummies and $10 in our wallet. Don't waste your time here, these people have no idea about...

Good ambience, and nice coffee (happy they offer coconut milk) with beautiful design in the froth. We came in at about 1:30pm and were shown by two workers to a table in the back, which we thought signified that they were going to take our order from the table. We sat waiting for menus and someone to take our order for about 10 minutes. We finally went up and ordered at the register, but the cashier wasn't too friendly. I suppose it's normal to be tired after the lunch rush, so that's fine.

We chose this cafe because both Google and their Facebook page showed that they closed at 4pm, and we expected to stay until just before they closed to have a chat, a coffee, and some time to study. At about 2:50, all the chairs were put on tables in the front room. Then at about 3:10, after eagerly taking our dishes, a lady came out and told us that they didn't want to rush us but that they were closing in 10-15 minutes. We left in a rush and won't go back, at least not in the afternoon, if ever. I'm sure it's a great place for mornings, but I'd love to see this carried out until the real...