Marine Parade Eatery — Restaurant in Wellington

Came here on a Friday morning with my dog and sat outside the front. Dog bowl there so she could have a drink was a nice touch. I ordered a flat white and Andy's Hash. The breakfast menu had some different stuff on there than the usual so I was pleased. Whilst waiting outside, I saw a blanket on my picnic table, so I laid it out on the pavement for my dog to lay on. I was quickly told by a staff member that these were not for dogs, which bothered me a little. I know they're not for dogs, but I didn't see the harm in letting her lie there. Anyway, I got her off the blanket and the staff member waited and watched and took the blanket from me, as if I was a naughty child about to do it again as she left.

My food came out and it was great. Highly recommend the hash and the poached eggs were great. However, my coffee was still nowhere to be seen. Pet hate of mine, but can let it go when things are busy. Unfortunately, I was one of 3 people in the cafe, and they had 2 FOH staff. The coffee finally arrived as I finished my meal and it was a pretty poor coffee. It was hot, but definitely burnt the beans.

In summary, I think the cafe has a lot going for it, but the customer service needs a big kick up the arse. I won't be bringing my dog back, and in a place like Paraparaumu you need to be...

I received my meal and not long after I started eating I noticed a long, black hair in my food and stuck to the mushroom. I brought this to the attention of their waiting staff and they took my food out to the kitchen. No explanation was given nor a sorry. I was ignored for the rest of the time I was sitting at the table with no food whilst my companion ate. At the end I went to the counter to complain about the food and the manager laughed it off as “it’s only minor”. That’s scary as what state is the kitchen in?! Again, no apology so I requested my $21 breakfast be refunded since I didn’t even eat a quarter of it. The manager again, seemed so reluctant and made me feel that I shouldn’t ask for a refund as ‘hair in food is acceptable’. I will NOT be back. Worst handling of the situation. I was embarrassed and had to request the refund instead of offering to refund the meal. A reluctant sorry was provided after it was obvious I wasn’t impressed....

I had booked a few days ahead for my family of 10 to dine for lunch on New Year's day at 12.30pm at this venue. They even responded confirmed. We arrived and the place was packed out and we could not see a reserved table for us. Anyway, in the line I wait and asked about our booking - the guy serving us asked the lady making the coffee - she said 1.30pm and I said no definitely 12.30pm. There were dishes piling up on the counter and I could see other tables were waiting for their orders. They only had 1 head chef and were 30 mins behind on orders. The guy went to clear the high leaner tables for my group and offered to put us outside at the front of the cafe on 2 picnic tables also. This wasn't going to cut either. By this stage, we decided to leave and headed to The Boundary in Raumati - where we received a much better reception, plenty of space, food was good and the service was great. We will not be going back to Marine Eatery...