Hill House Cafe — Restaurant in Puketāpapa

Truly a mediocre cafe that is Managed poorly. Do not believe the current hype around this place. In a city of 3870 cafes ( figure.co.nz) being overpriced for a mediocre experience is just not good enough.

Hill House Cafe feels like a squandered opportunity, that has gained popularity and in doing so is now unapologetically going for a cash grab from the wave incoming folk with little regard of the experience Patrons have.

The place is not properly set up for the scale they are now trying to take advantage of. Folks who arrive can't sit down due to little metal table toppers asking Patrons to see the host first, which can only be found through the front door even though one can enter the cafe area from the gardens at the back.

The dinning experience is uncomfortable with horribly small wobbly tables and uncomfortable wire frame metal chairs. Do not recommend for seniors or folk with back issues. There is little help if it starts dripping or raining, which it did, no words from management or wait staff, no offer of moving inside, the only contingency is 3-4 umbrellas that cover 3-4 tables out of the 20 or so outside tables.

I give sympathy to the bottom level staff (waiters, dishes, etc) as it is very evident that Hill House's management is the epitome of not knowing how to lead a team. Staff wander around aimless yet frantic. We overheard them 'loose' two tables' orders and not know what to do. Little to no evidence of management leading the team.

The digital system used for ordering appears to be half baked as staff were unaware if we had ordered, and once we did what we had ordered. To top that their system isn't fully set up to send receipts, my partner inputed her email address to ensure it was correct and had even hit send, thus showing the system just isnt ready (no offer of physical which I think is a good direction to go so long as you're able to actually ensure digital is working) Do not recommend this place for any business client meetings or for folk who claim on GST.

More evidence of poor management is that the staff do not appear to be assigned to cafe zones or a set number of tables to care for, thus leading to not 1 person ever really tracking the experience of the table. No one checks in on the dinning experience or if the food is correct or enjoyable.

The food and coffee it's self. There is a good number of alternative milk options which is great for Dairy free or vegan folk. It's a shame that the coffee comes burnt with little difference between a cappuccino and a flatwhite.... The food is .. fine, it's nothing to write home about but definitely overprice for quality of what you're getting.

Overall just would not recommend.

If you want amazing coffee go to Dear Deer in Onehunga

If you want amazing food go to Kreem (just down the road)

If you want an good dinning experience go to Wander Bristo and Cafe in the...

First time visiting their new site in Hillsborough, so glad we reserved a table because these guys were busy as. Located at Pah homestead, it’s super cute with outdoor seating as well.

We ordered The Ponsonby and The French kiss (the crepes…thinks that’s what it was on the menu). The Ponsonby - sourdough topped with smashed avocado, chargrilled capsicum, tomato salsa and herb whipped feta. The crepe - strawberries, ice cream and mascarpone. Both were filled with fresh ingredients and seasoned well. Would definitely have either again…and again. Everything was light, fresh and delicious.

We also HAD to try the cinnamon scrolls, how can you not they’re literally hyped up everywhere. They look and smell delectable, generous serves. We had these later on in the day, popped them in the microwave for a bit and omg the smell was amazing. They are soft, fluffy and creamy. We thought they were going to be crazy sweet but they were perfect, not overly sweet where you’re left feeling a bit icky and need to brush your teeth immediately after. Seriously perfect, not overhyped.

I felt we were slightly forgotten as the cafe was pretty busy with custys ordering cabinet food at the till etc. and staff were servicing them first. Ka pai all good but staff had let us know to take a seat and that we’ll be served. Table next to us were waiting to be served as well and they had been seated longer than us. Was potentially 10-15mins before I went up to the till to order and someone then served us. Otherwise our server was awesome! Anyone we eventually interacted with was attentive and helpful. All staff were friendly! They’re finding their feet at a new site so can’t fault them for that.

Would 1000% be back!

Edit* Visited again not too long after first visit and service had improved immensely. Service was efficient and sufficient. Staff constantly let us know how far away everything was. You’re able to pay outside as opposed to walking back in....

This review comes from a fan and a place of love -

Whenever I travel through South Auckland, I often come off the motorway to visit Hill House. I think they've done an awesome job establishing a cute spot for the area, and the baked goods are scrumptious. Dine-in experience either by myself or with others were always on point too.

I stopped in for breakfast earlier this week, and here's what can be improved. Breakfast for one was around $35 for what I ordered - a cup of coffee and a sourdough dish with extras (poached eggs). I have no problem with the pricing, as there is a #costofliving crisis.

A. the poached eggs came in a translucent state. I appreciate runny yolks, but there was a fair bit of egg white mucus from what seemed like undercooking. For $2.90 an egg, most patrons would expect a perfectly poached egg. I could have returned them of course, but had somewhere to be (see points below) and couldn't afford the wait.

B. You can't get in or out of the place when it's busy and that's a problem if you have places to be - the single point of ordering for walk-in customers that also takes payment from dine-in customers is largely the issue. A separate wireless payment terminal would greatly improve the queue

C. The workflow can be improved. There were enough hands on deck on the day, but when it's busy you don't want your cashier to also fulfil orders on top of greeting customer and taking orders.

Again, all of the above come from a good place, otherwise I wouldn't have taken the time to write this.

We'll be back, but maybe...