Cabbage Tree Cafe — Restaurant in North Island

I had drivenn up from Palmerston North heading to Auckland and thought the Cabbage Tree Cafe would be a good choice. to take a coffee break I ordered a 1 shot cappacino with Almond milk and cinnamon and a custard slice. I specifically asked to have the cappacino in a Medium Takeaway even tho I would be eating in the Cafe. The cappacino arrives in a cup. I took it back to the lovely young staff and said I specifically asked for this to be in a takeaway cup. Why, because I am slow at drinking and eating. The coffe gets cold in the cup plus, for hygene reasons, I like takeaway cups it keeps the coffee hotter for longer She took it back to the barrister. When it came back, I had 1/2 a cup of cappacino, 1/2 of that he had just re frothed some milk and the coffee was disgustingly bitter. It was like an expresso. So the coffee filled 1/4 of the cup with the remainder 1/4 frothed milk. I began to bite into the custard slice. OMG! This was not even custard. It tasted like it has been in the chillers for days. I couldn't eat it so after paying $12 I walked out. Its a long drive from Palmerston and this was supposed to give me the energy and wake-up to drive direct to Auckland. The 'I thought' good old NZ Custard slice was supposed to give me the sugar hit to keep me awake, instead it was like fake paste. Sorry Cabbage tree. But it is what it is and I was so miffed and disappointed. Tirau is a lovely town but you let it down that day. Thurs 25 August...

We stopped around the area for a lunch break on the way to the beach. The place was quite busy. It has an outdoor and indoor seating as well. We decided to eat here thinking that when a place is packed with customers, the food must be good! Haha. So we tried 6 dishes from a wide variety of options. Food was tasty but in small portions. The chips when served all slid off the plate because instead of going near my friend who ordered it, the staff tried to extend his hand 3 persons away from where he's supposed to place it. Thank God it was not the soup. He apologized and it was all good. He went to get another to replace it right away. The restaurant had this vintage vibe. You can even write a message on the wall. So cool! I was too hungry to take some photos...

Food five stars, service one star.

Really enjoyed the apple, cranberry and pork belly pie as well as two coffees. Unfortunately the cashier forgot to notify the kitchen and we waited 25 minutes until I felt compelled to mention it to the cashier... then another 5 minutes for it to be warmed. We were hungry and finished our coffees before our pie even arrived, totally bummed.

Cafe was not busy and they just seemed to drop the ball but weren’t incredibly remorseful and seeing as there are several other cafes in Tirau, I think I’d try them before returning to Cabbage Tree.

There are a couple steps to enter the cafe. Toilet for customers was clean...