Divine Patisserie — Restaurant in Howick

Entering the indoor/outdoor mall, there is one place that draws every passerby's attention; Divine Patisserie. With it's cherry blossom pink colour scheme matched with white marble, gold and neon white, it's truly a visual delight to behold.

Walking towards this pastel pink paradise, our eyes satisfied but our tummies craving fulfillment.

It was boxing day Sunday at lunch time so it was populated but not overly crowded. There was a clearly defined entrance and exit, which may be because of Covid, or to just attract people to where all the desserts and sweets are displayed.

After scanning our passes, Our party of 3 (7 later) were seated in a booth that is surrounded in pink flowers 🌺. There is a mirror high up on the ceiling bouncing the light, colours and expanding the already spacious area. The booth was comfy, with a smart area to store bags or purses in the corners.

After a brief wait our waiter took our order using a tablet which ensured our order would be correct and also looked professional.

During our wait we were offered a high chair for our baby daughter and some colouring paper and crayons. Which was unexpected but very thoughtful. The staff going above and beyond to make us feel welcomed and cared for.

We noted that from the pepper and salt to the wooden spoons used for marking table numbers, that everything seemed beautifully homemade and fit into the floral theme. Obviously a lot of thought and love going into everything.

Our sweets and drinks arrived quickly, and served with gold cutlery. As you can see from the photos, they were elegantly plated.

As expected everything was divine, the Iced Chocolate was the best iced chocolate I have ever had (I have had many), and the Passionfruit and Chocolate Gateaux was the perfect combination of sweet and tangy.

The rest of our party arrived and the staff were very quick to offer moving another table over to the booth so we would all be together.

We ordered our lunch and enjoyed the spectacular ambience. It has a large open plan with a central pink tree, carefully decorated in all manner of femininity. Which for a wedding reception, baby shower or girls birthday party, would be the perfect place.

Most of us ordered the new crumbed chicken and as the cafe's name suggests, it was divine. Crunchy exterior coating a moist chicken with a creamy garlic butter filling 🥰. This was accompanied by 2 selected side salads which were also fresh and tasty. Recommend the walnut and apple salad.

We stayed for almost 2 hours trying different things. The different flavoured gateaux were the biggest hits, but if you have the time and hunger, try as much as you can.

With the quality of the dishes, we were very happy the value was high, as the cost was lower than expected.

Overall the experience was amazing, so we booked again for today.

If you are in Auckland, whether a tourist or local, I recommend this unique patisserie experience. The girls in your life will love it, maybe...

Today we came for the Mother’s Day High Tea experience. First impressions was that it is a lovely and beautiful atmosphere from looking inside and seeing all the floral decor and desserts displayed nicely in the windows.

However.... we did receive poor service during our 40min dining window... as we received luke warm tea twice! the first time was basically cold and then again had to ask for a refill just to get some hot tea... at this point the cafe wasn’t even half full.. which was a disappointing start.

Unfortunately the waitresses serving the sandwiches could not tell us which sandwich had a which toppings when we asked, and they did not know the set menu options very well when we queried what was on our table, however, we do understand it’s a newly opened business and also new staff so that’s alright...not a biggie.

We felt that the set menu was not really great value for money having the high tea with tiny circles of bread with gerhkins and spread on top?? I guess we were expecting something different for the price of the menu... perhaps like club sandwiches ?

A lady came back to top up my mum’s tea and literally gave her half a cup of tea towards the end of our dining experience?? I am guessing she wanted us gone as she came back twice reminding us how much time we had left on our table, which made us feel unwelcome and rushed and certainly not a hospitable feeling being put on edge when your desserts arrive then being told you have “this much time left”.. although in all fairness we were late to our booking by 15mins which is why we phoned ahead to advise.

Also it would be nice to see some inclusive paleo and keto options in the future, as the only thing I could have was a cuppa tea and some cream on the set high tea menu. 😔😔😔 (when I enquired a few days prior they did say they would try their best to cater to my dietary needs which sadly was not possible when we arrived as confirmed by the manager, so we were not charged for 1 high tea luckily as I could only drink the tea..)

I guess overall we left feeling disappointed by the service and food. The manager however was understanding and took our complaints onboard around our suggestions which was good and he even apologised for not giving us the salmon sandwiches option which everyone else had on their tables, which we appreciated him doing that for us .. but I’m just not sure I would recommend high tea service to any friends and family as it doesn’t feel like it’s much value for money....

We may return in future if there is menu items suited to our dietary needs on the menu .. as we do like to give a second chance 🙏😊

All the best of luck with your new...

We've been seeing so many Instagram posts about this gorgeous patisserie so when we visited Auckland we knew Divine Patisserie had to be our first stop.

As soon as we entered the mall, the beaming floral pink hue drew our attention, and the experience from beginning to end exceeded all our expectations.

We loved the warm inviting decor, and pastel pink colour scheme with white marble and gold highlights. The flower booths with the neon writing, mirror on the ceiling and plush seating were comfy and breathtaking. Group selfie taking was made easy. A tree sits near the center of the cafe, which adds to the ambience and makes it feel like you really are sitting in a manicured garden. Many homemade touches were noted, particularly the humble wooden spoon which was transformed into beautiful table number holders. There are circular pink sound absorbers on the ceiling which are not only visually appealing but allowed for good conversation even though the cafe was very busy. The visual delight only foretold the food experience that we were about to embark on.

Our group had breakfast and ordered a hazelnut latte, cappuccino, rose latte, chai latte and a hot chocolate. It was the first time I've had a rose latte and it was delicious and floral... very fitting given the surroundings! We had eggs benedict, poaches eggs, omelette and the chicken panini. All meals arrived with pink and floral themed mugs and plates, flanked by gold cutlery. All guests were thrilled and fulfilled by their meals. I highly recommend adding the creamy mushrooms to your meals, it was delectable melt in your mouth goodness, the cheeses and flavours complemented each other so nicely.

The desserts were a real standout. We ordered a selection of macarons, tarts, eclairs, slices, and cakes. The almond praline eclair, raspberry cheesecake and chocolate brownie were our favourites. The pastry was very fluffy. We were told they are made fresh in-house everyday by a very talented pastry chef, and this is self evident. We particularly liked the fact that the desserts weren't overly sweet so we were able to indulge and enjoy more than we usually would! There are also dessert display cabinets alongside the glass wall of the cafe which is also visible from the mall side, and we selected some desserts to take home from there.

In summary everything was truely divine from the atmosphere, ambience, friendly staff to the food and Insta opportunities. I highly recommend you visit this pink floral oasis and experience this...