John's Bakery & Cafe — Restaurant in Hawke's Bay

I really want to give John's Bakery a 3.5 star, but the system only allows for "whole numbers". The food there is quite tasty and moderately-priced, which means not cheap, not expensive. The staff I encountered were passably friendly, but not what I would call warm or engaging. A big plus is that they have their own toilets which, if small, are quite clean and serviceable (however the air vent in the toilet I used had clearly never been cleaned, judging by the large amount of dust hanging precariously from it). The cup of tea was OK but not hot enough, a common problem in a number of NZ eateries - better for it to be piping hot and let the customer deal with it than have it barely hot. Visually, the décor is OK, but the choice of music I encountered very much targeted to those under 35. That's fine I suppose, but at the time of day my mother and I visited there it's more likely that those over 50 will be there, so note to management: music should be appropriate to the majority of the clientèle, and at a volume that doesn't hamper conversation. Better yet, either have no music or just "ambiance" music that is generic. I mean, people don't go to a bakery / eatery for the music, right? I'm no stick in the mud, but I found the music sufficiently intrusive and annoying to be distracting, the result of which is the loss of a whole rating star for John's Bakery. Finally, cleanliness. Overall it's good, but more attention needs to be paid to the "nooks and crannies". Such things are often noticed subconsciously. I came away with the impression of things being just a bit grubby and unkempt, even though overall the shop appears clean and tidy at a quick glance. I will go back there, but I must say that the shop's reputation, for me, has been tarnished. I expect a place like John's Bakery, which is well-known in the area, to have a more stand-out experience, not the mediocre one I...

It was an amazing day, I woke up and decided that today was the day I would get a pie from the "famous" John's bakery, so off my work mate went to get us all pies to enjoy as a bonding activity for us all. But little did we know that we would have the worst pies of our lives. We had bacon and egg pies because who would want anything else from a pie for breakfast. My workmate came back with the pies and dished them up to us and as I took my first bite, I decided that today was going all down hill. The pie tasted worst than gravel and bird feces. I looked at my work mate and he looked back with tears in his eyes. Also I would like to add who the hell put tomatoes in a bacon and egg pie, i would like to personally thank them for making my life worst that day. I would never recommend this place to eat at as I would rather shag a sheep and eat it out. Thanks again for starting the great...

After struggling my way inside through the closed doors with a pram ( while staff at counter watched) I was disappointed to see they had no fish or seafood pie on offer (usually a staple in NZ bakeries and I have enjoyed trying out several) I was shocked at the price of simple sugar donuts being just shy of $5 a piece. Cafe prices not bakery prices. They did have mini size pies/tarts good for a toddler but it seemed like the prices were at least 10-20% dearer than other bakeries and the fact they don’t make it easy for pram or wheelchair users is a thumbs down....