Songbird — Restaurant in Papakura

I rate this café a high three out of 5 stars for the following reasons;

Equity & inclusivity; Rating of two based on overall inclusivity and equity and feedback from others.

Friendliness; Upon entrance, we were greeted by the friendly and efficient cafe staff member. However, they should have alerted us towards placing our order at the counter - we waited too long , then realized it was not a café that does table orders.

Cleanliness; clean tables, interior and lots of floor to ceiling glass in the cafe, enabling you to bring children to the cafe, watch them play, while you enjoy a bite to eat.

There is a playground outside for Mother's and toddlers and their families to enjoy, During the warm weather, people dine outside on the balcony or during the colder months there are plenty of tables inside.

Parking; I came during the week around the afternoon, and I got a car park straight outside the cafe. However, locals have told me that over the weekend, parking can be a little bit more challenging to find. - 1st in, 1st served.

Food and drinks; We ordered eggs benedict, with salmon as well as the corn fritters. The eggs Benedict came out on a Crostini, rather than the traditional, toasted, english muffin. In my opinion, the Crostini elevated the dish. The corn fritters came out with sour cream and sweet chili sauce, as well as a small green salad. The fritters ( 3) were pan-fried and had a lovely caramelized base, we all agreed, and this dish is also a winner.

The only negative is the lack of equity and inclusivity i.e. not receiving a reply to my requests ( for a quote email), this is the main reason I didn't book for a relative's birthday. I suggest a template menu is crafted and sent out to the public in a timely manner, social media Fbk page is monitored...

For those who care about fresh high quality ingredients this is not the correct place. It was a bad start with the table service that was never meant to be. They should have stuck to people coming up as they just don't have the training for it. One of the first things you get normally with table service is menus and water. I would know in done it. We received neither. It was a very long before we could order. Now we past that when we got our drinks they were disappointing in size. The coffees we're fine but the milkshakes were so small and half of it was foam. For almost $7 I expected more. Eventually we got our meals. The two I will be talking about will be their cooked breakfast and the burgers. Now the cook breakfast was mediocre at best. The eggs and bread was okay, done as how you would expect eggs to taste, the highlight was certainly the hasbrown which really had that extra crunch. But the sausages; they were not what was expected. We were told it was pure pork, it tasted like a precooked sausage you would get from countdown. I have had better quality sausages at a school sausage sizzle. The worst I have ever had from somewhere asking for premium prices. Then there was the uneatible burger and chips. The chips had this horrible old oil after taste that make you feel gross eating it. The same taste that's also on the buns. Then the so called ',high quality beef' had so much oil dripping off it that it ruined the salad in the burger. The burger was more fat that real beef and not the quality that was desired and expected. This is a hard pass for me, perhaps this might be alright if you enjoy a cup of coffee while watching your kid on the playground. But for someone who is looking a good breakfast it's not the right place. I may be full but I'm...

What a beautiful cafe! Could not fault the awesome food, beautiful decor and friendly service. Will most definitely be back, 5/5! ⭐️

Food: Overall, a little bit pricey for a cafe however the quality surpasses the cost. Most cafes skimp out on the portion sizes but Songbird does not! The buttermilk fried chicken waffles were my favourite, and the sauce is to die for. My partner enjoyed the beef burger however he did mention that the patty could have had a bit more flavour. The wedges and chips were warm and crispy - the best sides we have had in a while.

Drinks: The peach iced tea isn’t anything special. Something neutral for the palette. The chocolate frappe tasted almost like a protein shake but with heaps of yummy whipped cream on top. The pomegranate breezer was DELICIOUS. A way better version of Wendy’s summer spritzers (if you know, you know!).

Service and Atmosphere: Greeted by a lovely lady at the door. The service by both cashier, waitress and the male who bought our drinks over were friendly and helpful. Not too busy when we went at lunchtime on a Sunday. Definitely the place to bring the young ones as there is a big playground out front. There is a dog bowl near one of the outside tables for our furry friends. Wheelchair accessible too. Not that many car parks however plenty of street...