The Suter Cafe — Restaurant in Nelson

The staff were all lovely except older woman who I presume to be the manager or owner, unfortunately she targeted our table for most of our visit. After ordering a salad she came and checked as to whether everything was ok, after I told her everything was alright she got extremely defensive and passive aggressive saying things along the lines of "JUST alright?!!" "SOME people like their food that way" which I found extremely rude considering she had literally asked me my thoughts on the meal and continued to interrogate me until I assume she realised I wasn't going to give in to complimenting what I stand by being an extremely average, bland and overpriced meal. I also ordered a a small lemon curd which was enjoyable but definitely not up to the standard presented. I grabbed a dinner fork from the cutlery holder placed on our table and before I had the chance to start eating she grabbed a desert fork from our table and placed it in front of me saying "you're welcome" as she walked past. Extremely unprofessional, unpleasant behaviour, I came to eat and relax, not be given etiquette lessons from somebody who clearly needed to learn some manners themselves. I also cannot write this without mentioning the few times I saw her interacting with other staff, who were working extremely hard whilst she sang and danced all over the place, she spoke down to them in an extremely demeaning and hostile way, most of them did not speak english as a first language either. Overall I'm just extremely disappointed about the lack of respect from one staff member creating such an unpleasant vibe, especially considering what a beautiful spot it was located right next to an amazing gallery, beautiful...

I recently visited this café with a friend, and we were among only a couple of customers present. Initially, we were politely asked to move to a smaller table, which was completely reasonable. However, what followed was a surprisingly unwelcoming experience. We felt pressured to order quickly and were reminded several times that we couldn’t just “sit there,” with the owner firmly stating, “You can surely understand I am running a business here, and I get very busy around lunch time, so you’ll have to leave unless you order.”

As someone with experience in hospitality and fine dining here in New Zealand, I was shocked by the pushy approach, which lacked the warmth and customer-centered attitude essential for a memorable café experience. A relaxed, inviting atmosphere encourages customers to return and share positive experiences, but this was overshadowed by an insistence on rushing us along.

It’s a shame because the café itself is beautifully set up and has potential to be a cherished local spot. However, such a forceful approach toward customers, particularly in a quiet, unrushed setting, doesn’t cultivate a welcoming environment. I hope this feedback encourages the team to reconsider their approach to customer interactions, as it could truly elevate the experience to match the lovely space...

Have been coming here for years and years and have always found the owner a bit of a trial, however after discussing and reading some other reviews it seems that many of us share the same views. The owner came up to us to take our order and was asking us "how could you come in at this time, don't you know I finish at 2?" as if coming in at 1:30ish was unreasonable for lunchtime! She was joking, but it came off as confrontational, unprofessional and OVER-FAMILIAR. She then went on to tell us this long story that the chef was having a meltdown because he'd been told to make an extra batch of hollandaise sauce and he was super grumpy and the kitchen was closed early, but she's the owner of the business and she'd have a go at him because if she wanted hollandaise she'd get hollandaise - AGAIN, incredibly unprofessional badmouthing your employees to your diners, presumably the chef would be horrified to hear this! She told us we could order to cabinet food and - even though toasties are on the cabinet food section of the menu, apparently I couldn't have one. I ordered the spinach and vege/feta pie and was expecting at least a small full quiche to myself (for $16 cabinet food) but a tiny, slightly shrivelled slice of pie arrived with a tiny dollop of relish!...