Picnic Cafe Rotorua — Restaurant in North Island

My Favourite Husband was running the Rotovegas marathon today. Which meant I had many hours to kill, alone, on one of the busiest days for the town. Picnic was on the sunny side of the street and right next to the finish line for the event so I assumed it was going to be packed and consequently slow. I was mistaken. Mistaken, because I am never wrong. Ask my Favourite Husband. I don’t generally like eating alone, but I didn’t fancy a generic hotel breakfast where we had stayed the night before. So I channeled my inner brave grown up, and ventured in. Friendly staff, plenty of tables and very reasonable prices. I sat outside in the sun. And within minutes my almond milk chai latte came in a decent sized mug. Not long after, my eggs Benedict arrived. I’d thrown all caution and dietary requirements to the wind, I was part of a marathon by default after all, and I ordered it as it came. Bread and all. Look, I’ll be honest, my expectations were not high. Dammit, I’ll admit it, I actually was wrong. This was perfect. Very generous on the bacon and cooked to crispy, yet succulent perfection. Perfect eggs. Delicious hollandaise. But people, the piece de resistance … the little side of garlicky, basil pesto. Perfection. Next time my Favourite Husband does something silly in Vegas, I’ll be back. Great work. Great value....

This is a lovely place to eat the food was very tasty and nice, big ups to the tomato chutney, but I felt like I was being overcharged on certain food items. The girl who took my order behind the counter understood me perfectly when I first asked for two flat whites then asked to just have one flat white. But when it came to the food I clearly said one of the bacon eggs and hash brown dish. Somehow I was charged for two. When I checked the order on the screen it said one. Both plates of food came out to the table and was confused. In the end we ate it anyways but for future customers who come here in a large group please triple check your order. Another disappointing factor was the outside table wasn’t equipped with salt pepper and sugar for our coffees. I had to go inside and make a few trips bringing them out. They only gave us the cutlery with napkins. And the shop didn’t look busy so there was time to service our table a bit...

Walked into this café as Google had it as one of its suggestions when I was looking for a place with WiFi. The staff were very welcoming the moment I walked in, greeted me with a smile, and handed me a menu. As soon as I sat down, water was placed on my table. They proceeded to tell me they'd take my order in a few minutes which they did. I asked for their suggestion when a person came to take my order, I got the "Picnic Breakfast" and a cappuccino. When the food came, holy hell was it massive. Safe to say I am truly well fed after that meal. Coffee was great too.

The vibe of this place is also magnificent. It definitely has a reputation as being one of the best in the area as people constantly walk in and out, either to enjoy a cup of coffee or have food. The playlist playing in the background was also brilliant, playing a mix of old and new songs, as well as classic Spanish music.

I definitely recommend...