Primo E Secundo — Restaurant in South Island

WARNING DO NOT GO HERE. I have been to many cafes up and down this country. I went to this particular cafe because it came up under a Google search for “Best Coffee”. However, this was by far the worst experience I have ever had in terms of customer service. I thought this sort of experience only existed in shows like Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares, but I guess not. The owner (older lady I presume is the owner) was extremely unpleasant. From the moment I walked in the door, her demeanour and attitude was very negative, condescending, and off putting. I considered leaving right then and there, even more so when she was condescending when I asked for takeaway. I figured we would just get out coffee and never have to see the place again. Admittedly, my coffee (standard milk latte) was fine. Sadly, the two soy milk coffees were absolutely vile. I don’t know what they did to the milk, but it was sour and bitter. My wife could not get past one sip and my brother-in-law felt very unwell.

The story doesn’t end there…

I returned and asked for a refund. Another worker there smirked as I explained the situation (why I do not know), and said we would “have a chat about it”. The Barista made reference to not having much experience with soy milk, which I find astounding. I honestly feel that the staff are afraid of the owner and wouldn’t work there if they could help it. The owner was ‘okay’ about it to begin with, but when I asked for a refund, exclaimed, rather loudly, “WOOOW” as she walked to the till. She asked me to explain “why” I did not want them to make another and said that this cafe does not have coffee being returned usually. I didn’t have the heart to refer to the reviews and the fact that customers are probably too afraid to complain. She was abrupt and abhorrent. She placed the money in my hand and walked away before I had even left the till. It would seem her customer service skills died at the same time as her ability to be a pleasant person.

I do not know what has happened in this lady’s life to make her so unpleasant, but she should reconsider if hospitality is for her, or anything for that matter, which puts her in a position where she needs to interact with a customer or any human being.

Go to Cafe 131 round the corner. It is...

My partner and I popped into Primo this morning for a quick takeaway coffee whilst travelling through since we were short on time. The cafe wasn’t super busy, there were about five people eating inside and a few in line behind us. We waited at the front of the queue for around five minutes, which wasn’t a big deal at first. After a couple of minutes, the old lady (assuming the owner) who was making the coffee called out to let us know she’d finish up some coffees and be with us soon which was fair enough. We waited patiently, just chatting, but after another few minutes the lady approached us at the counter, my partner asked her, very politely, how long a coffee might take. Her response was surprisingly rude she snapped that it was a “terrible question” to ask, gestured at us to look around, she was clearly stressed at the amount of people in the shop, she basically made it clear she wasn’t happy we even asked she then said in a very condescending way “if it’s a takeaway I will make it right away to keep you happy” The attitude was off-putting, to say the least. We decided to leave. It wasn’t worth sticking around after that kind of treatment. We were really looking forward to trying their coffee, but the poor service totally put us off. Good service is crucial, and sadly this place...

Firstly the place is drastically mismanaged or understaffed. It seems like everyone is trying to do everything. The barista is making coffee but also serving food. The chef is cooking but also making drinks and serving food and clearing tables as well. The person on the counter is in the kitchen helping to try and push stuff out of the kitchen so there’s no one taking orders.

It was 45mins before our order was even taken. We gave up on ordering a decent breakfast and ordered cabinet food instead. It’s disappointing when you come here expecting to have a great full breakfast but end up with a wait that is ridiculous.

We saw people in line give up and walk out. Customers walking away is a sign something isn’t working. Hopefully this was just a bad day for them. Highly suggest they get table numbers.

The flat white is good, the hot chocolate is okay. Bacon and egg toastie was nice, Chicken wrap was great with a good mix and balance of flavours, the cheese bacon veggie on toast was nice, the Croissant was burnt with thick char underneath.

This place must be great during the week, just too disorganised for the high demand of the 10am checkout from people staying the weekend looking for food. It’s a shame because the staff...