Janus Bakkerij — Restaurant in North Island

Janus Bakkerij, a beloved fixture in Lower Hutt, is more than just a bakery; it's a living piece of local history. Established in the 1950s by Joe Janus Senior, a highly decorated pastry cook from Holland, the bakery brought the fine European tradition of baking to the region. It's not just a local bakery but a piece of history, and according to their website, upholding a family tradition that dates back many generations to the days when the Janus family lived in Holland.

Joe introduced many innovations into the local market, most notably in the 60's when Janus was the first bakery in the country to produce sliced, wrapped bread. For 25 years, the bakery, as we know it on High Street, was run by Joseph and Angela Janus, and the family name became synonymous with quality fresh bread throughout the lower half of the North Island. Now under the ownership of Arna and Jason Wnek since 2022, Janus Bakkerij continues to be a popular hub for both locals and visitors. This current management is carrying on the foundation of a modern bakery and eatery at 700 High Street and aims to do so for many years to come.

On this visit, the coffee and my little sweet treats were spot on. I have found their coffee to be usually good, and I can vouch for the increasing variety of cookies and cakes that they offer. However, it’s worth noting that consistency can sometimes be a challenge - they might occasionally drop the ball and deliver a less-than-perfect cup. Service can also vary, so it’s best to approach your visit with the understanding that it might not be uniform every time.

Beyond the cafe fare, Janus Bakkerij remains a go-to for fantastic breads and custom birthday cakes. The atmosphere here is truly buzzy and uplifting, the kind of lively energy you'd expect from a well-loved community hub, though some might find it a tad noisy. The bakery also has outdoor seating, which is a definite bonus on a warm day.

Overall, Janus Bakkerij remains a great option in Lower Hutt, blending its historical roots with a modern offering, just be prepared for the possible inconsistencies in service, which is well worth it when...

Atmosphere and decor nice and buzzy but had to wait quite awhile for coffee even when there were not alot of people. Food is okay.

Thought I would try this cafe again to see if things had improved as I heard they were now under new management. There were quite a few people as I had arrived at the lunchtime. Although I was sitting in the cafe I found it frustrating that even though there was a queue, staff were just calling out who wants to order and people from the back were pushing up to the counter and being served while people who had been waiting still had to wait, so not that well organised. We found a table, which had no cutlery and had to go looking for that, the food arrived and what a disappointment. I had a mushroom and bacon tart, the pastry was so hard my fingers were indented trying to cut it, there were big squares of tasted like ham but mostly fat on small amount of meat, not particularly nice, then onto my muffin which was uneatable, dry and tasted strange like the butter was rank. Coffee was okay. I have to say the counter food was not great, will I be back for seconds...I...

I came in with my family later this afternoon with still 45mins till they were due to close. I was shocked by the abruptness of the lady that served us. My husband started off by trying to order our drinks and was shot down by the lady asking if we wanted to order food and only after we had ordered, was he able to give her the drinks order again. I thought I had better check that she had our coffee orders correct - large takeaways. Just as well I did. She had our orders wrong so she had to manually get the orders changed at the barista station. The raspberry and almond tart was lovely and my husband said that his cream donut was good too. I also thought it strange that I had to go up to the counter to get my cutlery. My coffee was fine but my husband wasn’t too impressed with his - too weak. I was really quite disappointed with my initial experience of Janus. I had been looking forward to coming into this cafe for a while and then when I do, I was very dissatisfied with the...