Moeraki Boulders Cafe — Restaurant in South Island

Firstly we didn't get around to going down to the beach to 'experience' 'the boulders' too much to see, too little time, so this review relates specifically to the Boulders café. A huge car park..was almost full when we arrived at 11:00am. and two trip buses left as we arrived, to be replaced by two medium sized tour buses..a fair proportion of these visitors visited both café and the well stocked gift shop. So to the café: We arrived and joined a short queue, just ahead of the two bus loads and a couple of elderly american couples..(more of them later). Our coffees (both well up to expectations..I.e. good👌) arrived pretty promptly and we enjoyed watching other (more youthful) visitors on the beach leaping on and off the boulders..which like the rocks at Castle Rocks seem to call out to be climbed. Entertaining as the tide was approaching it's zenith, and more than one overconfident youth got a soaking. Our order arrived after another 10 minutes or so. My wife's muesli arrived without a side of yogurt, and as the café was filling up, I popped inside to ask for a side of yogurt. I stood behind a 60something American woman who was loudly berating a young and embarrassed server about the 10 minute delay in the arrival of her coffee. The server pointed to the barrista who was working flat out, and I could see had a full (10+orders) on her pass, explaining she (the server) was only a server. Then another similar aged American interrupted and started agitating about his coffee. I felt for the young server, who was clearly doing her best and trying to remain cheerful. Given that the café has probably over 100 covers, was serving around 25+ and had a queue of more than 10 customers at the order point. I felt the staff (a single cook in the kitchen, a server, a barrista and a receptionist on the till.) were coping well not to say (wo)manly with a very busy situation. So our order, eggs bene. and cereal arrived. My wife's cereal, quite frankly enough for a family of 4, quality muesli, only minor issue cornflakes in the muesli mix ( but that's a personal taste issue). I tried (and failed) to finish her bowl full and can confirm it was a nice mix of dried fruit, nuts and grains. My own bene, two perfectly cooked poached eggs, on wilted spinach, and two very tasty hash browns (in my opinion a better option than either toast or toasted bagel) and a generous heap of tasty local smoked salmon was not showy , but dead on target. So all in all I'd heartedly recommend it as a...

I like this cafe. However I was a bit disturbed this time round to find it not as welcoming as previous visits. They have a great cabinet of well presented and delicious looking sandwiches etc. I went to grab one to discover the cabinet securely secured with ties so the doors could not be opened. And yet plates, bags and trays were ontop of the cabinet. Next door cabinet is a different story - its help yourself with all the cakes, slices and muffins you could want. Why is this one not secured? The roll down sheet of menu in the middle of the walkway - is both interesting and a nuisance blocking the way into the restaurant. Nothing really stood out on here on the day. I was looking forward to some juicy salmon but not to be. But good they change their menu. I opted for a croissant with spinach, salmon and cream cheese. Milk shake and a bowl of fries. Got my wish of juicy salmon. The croissant was heated through. It was a good choice on the day. It also came with a small salad garnish - which complimented the whole plate. Well done.The side of fries were plentiful, hot and crisp. Slightly oversalted for my liking. And a pottle of tomato sauce. A very enjoyable meal. Again, the bizarre - the toilet in the restaurant was locked off. Sign saying use the ones at the front - where the masses of coach loads go. Again didnt think this was welcoming especially for a paying customer. I did hear a female staff say she was going to open them but a male staff told her not too. Several other guests went towards the door only to be challenged by the sign. Service on the day was good. There is a good range of food on offer here - free range and locked behind a glass door. There is plenty of parking out front. This is a tourist spot so heavy traffic and crowds of people. so plan your visit. There are tourist brochures on the wall as you enter. A souvenir gift shop opposite. Inside and out side tables and chairs. It is a good place to have lunch. You certainly can't complain about the view. My meal cost on the...

Unpleasant experience with wait staff and manager at the cafe. Going into detail just to show how appalling and unreasonable the service was.

2 of our five drink orders were incorrect and 3/4 filled. We asked for them to be remade. It was clear by the face and tone of the server that she was not pleased she had to remake the order. Milkshake was also not filled and at room temperature so I asked for a refund. Manager was called and I was ready for a civil conversation but he was immediately condescending and rude, insinuating I was not telling the truth, rolled his eyes, scoffed and said I must be joking if I wanted a refund for a drink that had been half drunk (took only one sip and stopped after being put off about the temperature). He said he had security cameras and I told him I was happy for him to bring up the footage, I also asked him to bring up the bill to show we weren't lying about our orders (he had implied they were doing US a favour by remaking the orders that they got wrong). His final argument was that we should have brought the milkshake back immediately and not wait ten min - but he also forgot that we had to wait ten min because our initial orders were wrong!

He refunded the milkshake and walked away from the conversation accusing me of just "wanting to start something". I would have rather not had an unpleasant experience but I didn't think what was going on was right. Standing by your staff is one thing but to the point of being closed minded is another. One of the wait staff was lovely and the coffee wasn't bad - but the experience was ruined by the bad attitude of the others. Boulders and beach were beautiful but don't tarnish the experience with going...