La Nonna — Restaurant in North Island

Summarised: The food is good but not typically Italian. I cannot recommend the coffee. Not a huge selection but it is okay. I would recommend take-away and going to a nearby park rather than dining in.

Details ⬇️

Advertised as an Italian bakery I must say I am not quite satisfied. The croissants really were usual croissants and no Italian Cornetti. Inside of the chocolate croissant you would expect dark bitter chocolate which tastes nutritious and generous but it tasted more like common light chocolate here.

I also tried the large Focaccia. Unfortunately the dough itself tasted like nothing really and was very dense. Not airy enough. Was very oily on the outside though and also tasted like rosemary and other herbs on the outside.

Personally I’ve also made the experience that coffee in Italy is usually very strong tasting and more bitter than sour. Both of which were not the case here.

Overall there were four different people handling my order (sometimes at once) which did not make me feel very cared for, they also seemed to be pretty stressed even though I was one of two customers in the store at given time.

The cashier and the coffee-lady were both very kind and made me feel welcome.

The store itself does not feel very welcoming and there are few tables and chairs, some of which have not been cleaned and were stained. The variety of products is not very big and they were out of stock or only had a scant stock available for many items...

Food looks good, but the pie I had was TERRIBLE! There was virtually only sauce inside, with about 2 small pieces of meat. I only had a couple of bites. I wouldn't take it back for that. However, the pastry was brown in the top, but not cooked through. I thought that I'd do them a favour, & let them quietly know. I didn't want a fuss. The staff member offered me another pie (um... no thanks!), but the manager - who was listening, took offence that I dared find something wrong. She informed me that if pastry was brown on top, the pie was cooked. I tried showing them that it obviously wasn't, but she yelled st the staff member to give me my money back, & I felt that I was no longer welcome. As I hadn't had breakfast, & was still hungry I asked my husband who was sitting outside to get me an Almond Croissant (my favorite). I could've cried when this turned out to be soggy. I'm NOT a fuss pot, generally not expecting too much from roadside eateries. I will only usually say something when pushed, but I will NEVER go back here, & will tell everyone I know...

Great eatery we stopped at for a bite to eat on our way on holiday. Very friendly staff that work there. Wide selection of pies and different sandwiches in the display cabinet and a big selection of freshly baked breads and rolls. They also have a barrista making coffee, which was great. We got two Cappuccinos, some sausage rolls, and pepper steak pies to eat. They also have different meals you can order to eat. We sat outside at one of the tables and enjoyed our lunch. Lots of parking spaces are available for customers. They were extremely busy while we were there and were a stop for locals, truckies, and tradies to get something to eat. Very highly recommend.

We stopped there again when we went back home a week later, had lunch there, and got some very fresh artisan baked bread.

Update: We stopped there again today, 31 / 3, and got an Almond Croissant and a Cream Doughnut, very fresh, and really enjoyed eating them. See you again soon, come and support our local...