Maranui Cafe — Restaurant in North Island

Was looking for a Cafe / Restaurant with a menu that used free range hen eggs as many in Kilbirnie do not in fact in the whole zip zone 6022. On the fore shore Beach Lyall Bay Parade not far from bus service facilities. In a building on the 1 st level with a steep set off stairs to climb. First impression was looks old, tired, and ragged, nearly gave it a miss. Decided to climb the uncovered wooded stairs inside with old Surf boat oars as hand rails. Different so gave me energy to carry on. Struggled with my walking stick and as I got near the entrance at the the top chattering voices hit the customer. Not just a few but dozens. Walked around to try and find a table but was quickly told by the young polite female matra "D" to join the que & she would in due course show me to a vacant table which there were not many. A choice of varing size tables, a couple of high bar ledges and out side balcony. As the chairs available where low chose the bar stool ledge that was empty with a wall to lean on as the stools did not have back support. The place was a buzz with all age groups plus children. Counted 40 there with 10 or more in the replacing que. People were arriving as fast as people leaving after eating. The staff observed were all experience as they handled the crowd, with politeness nothing seemed to bother them as they went about their tasks efficiently. Seating chairs were tired & old but that was quickly over looked by the surf lifesaving memorabilia on the walls, a preserved swordfish head in one corner & the light ceiling fittings shades made from rowing skiffs seats with holes in to allow the allumination through with plenty off other interesting used surf equipment, past boxing legends posters to make a interesting decore without it being cluttered or over done. Menu, with plenty of vegietairian choices, different from the norm bacon and egg, omelette style menus which their menu would Cater for most people's tastes with plenty off side dishes at very reasonable prices to add to any of the menu listings or order on there own. Build your own dish as big as you like. I had the scrambled eggs without the dough toast which was when I came to pay was treated as a side order of 2 eggs scrambled at $2.50 a egg. Cooked to perfection and not over done with to much milk to make them pale and running to try and make the serving larger causing it to slide from your fork when trying to lift to eat. Solid non flopping non milky, and not a wobbly mess. Did not have tumeric or other herbs or spices to add but said if you have your own to add that would be Ok. Garnished tastefully not like some places no garnish or a floppy parsley trig. Well cooked so no fear of raw egg side effects or contamination. Observed numerous dishes being delivered to other tables well garnished and presented Did not see any dishes being returned or customers complaining, in fact every person seemed happy. In a restaurant when there is plenty of buzzing noise, chatter rather than people sitting there quietly it is a sign of a happy cafe / restaurant and customers. They offer a loyalty coffee reward card which earns one a free coffee which the coffee menu contains approx 9 different style coffees. Excellent children's menu with healthy choices. Whole Prepared foods, rolls, wrapps in the cabinets with interesting choices with healthy greenery, sprouts, wrinkled lettuce, kale, meats, roast mushrooms, chicken, different cheeses rather than Colby cheeses using whole grain toast breads rather than the usual sandwich thickness breads cut in half. Totally recommend this place. Saturdays they said they are extremely busy which I found was true arriving early before 9.00 am thinking that their would not be many there. Not so as I found a que already happening. Whilst there the tables turned over another 30 or so customers and as I was leaving they were still arriving...

After seeing how much praise this cafe has gotten, I began to think I was the only one that’s ever had a bad experience (or two) here. But after filtering the Google reviews to show the lowest ones, there seems to be a common theme throughout: comments about the poor service. This review will be no different. This past weekend marked my second time coming here. The first was a few months back, where my mates and I enjoyed some hot drinks and a plate of fries to share, nothing too memorable about that trip, as the cafe itself was quiet and the staff that were serving us weren’t too busy tending to many others. During my second time, and for what will now be considered my very last time, visiting Maranui Cafe, ‘forgettable’ would be the last word I’d use to describe my experience there. It was unforgettable, but not in a good way. My partner and I arrived not long after 2pm on a Saturday, a noticeably busy time, especially considering the weather was immaculate; we were told upon arrival that the wait to order food would be no more than 40 min, which for us, wasn’t too bad, considering we’d come all the way from the CBD for the sole reason of eating at this specific cafe. We were seated, ordered drinks, and began to browse the food menu. To make an already long story short: the filtered coffee was room temperature, our food never came despite waiting well over 40 min (nearing an hour of wait), and there was no apology given by the wait-staff as we left the premises. During our wait, we had even called our waitress over to our table, inquired about the wait-time, only to be told that our food "should be coming out during the next round" – thing is, she had completely forgotten to put our order through the system. Many could say this was our fault for not being as attentive to the time or making sure the waitress had checked earlier, but I completely disagree. We allowed the initial 40 min to pass by (giving both the wait-staff and kitchen staff time to prepare the orders), we inquired about our food being delayed, and we even got up to check at the front desk's computer (where orders are entered and sent through to the kitchen). When our waitress had told us she “forgot to put the order through” it was a shock to us, and a simple ‘shrug of the shoulders’ from her. I know my review won’t matter to most, and that it won’t stop diners from going to Maranui, but I hope it is a cautionary tale to those that are eager to get a hearty meal, that Maranui’s wait-time will make them more hungry by the time they leave, than when they entered. Hopefully, if this review is read by those working at Maranui, it serves as a wake-up call to their...

It was worth the visit to check the view and see the vibe. The coffee is good, the healthy juices are good and the eggs benedict is standard quality.

Table placement is crammed. We moved in our seats to allow people to get to their table which disrupts the experience. Decor is american diner meets aussie surf club.

Placement of childrens entertainment in the window right behind our table is odd in itself. I would put this on the management for trying to get more headcount post covid. Too many chairs round tables obstructing servers.

The menu is visually busy and a mix of different cuisines. Mexican. Brunch. Breakfast. Savoury granola on a plate with harrissa scrambled eggs. (The Red rocks scrambed eggs is part if the new menu - if youre feeling adventurous and are not particular about food textures and mild spice give it a go but its a no from us)

There is a weekend menu thats seems to actually be available on week days! So definitely order from that the pancakes looked good. The kitchen seems to be pushing out one table at a time but we didnt have to be anywhere so that was fine.

Staff advised that the kitchen was closing in 30min as we arrived at 12.20 but kept seating people with menus after 1pm the place closes at 4pm. So seemed odd, probably an attempt to rush...