The Mess Tent — Restaurant in Manawatū-Whanganui

We are now stopping here each time we drive from Waikato down to Palmerston North.

The cafe is located inside the Army Museum. If you don't want to go see the army museum but grab something to eat in the cafe, you can.

But the Army Museum is well worth a visit!

The cafe has quite a unique army theme in the cafe, using enamel camp plates for meals and enamel cups for hot drinks. Knives, etc, are served in bully beef tins. Theres also coffee tables made from army kit lockers.

I actually love it!

The cafe is modern and expansive, there's are booths plus tables and chairs, clean clean toilets, with ample parking right outside. In the car park, there are also 2 EV charging stations.

The food is incredible. Reasonably priced, large portions. There is plenty to choose from the menu and there's scones and muffins available also. Hubbie had chips, gravy, and sausages, and he said it's the best meal ever. High praise indeed . I had a scone. Delicious! Iced coffees were...

The Mess Tent Café was a nice spot, perfectly situated inside the National Army Museum.

It was really convenient to have a place to recharge and relax after exploring all the exhibits. I had the mince and cheese pie—while it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, it was still good and satisfying enough to hit the spot.

The café itself had plenty of space for dining, which made it a comfortable place to sit and unwind. I also noticed they offered a good variety of food options, which would easily cater to even the pickiest of eaters.

Overall, The Mess Tent is a great little café that adds to the overall experience of visiting the museum, and definitely worth a stop if you’re...

I would say 4.5 stars as the coffee was ok. The food however from what we ordered was generous for the price and tasty. The children fish and chips was crispy and pretty on point. It was the weekend so the fish was fresh enough. The mac and cheese was exceptional. Yes there was mac and I was expecting a white sauce with a smattering of cheese. Instead the cheese sauce was rich, tasty amd stringy. The bacon was enough to add the saltiness. My only opinion that could have elevated it would be caramelized onions. Staff were friendly and helpful even when busy. Wheelchair accessible and the museum is worth...