Te Korōria — Restaurant in Wellington

I am so so sad to have to give this review. But after the desaster of my daughter 4th birthday "party" today I can't leave it unmentioned.

We had my daughters 3rd birthday party there and it was so easy and amazing we decided to do it again. Unfortunately the management has changed and that was heavily felt. When we arrived they put us in a room far away from the play area in a different building as apparently they don't do birthdays anymore at the cafe, this was in no way communicated prior (I checked all my emails). Meanwhile a diffrent party arrived and got to do their celebration next to the play area in the cafe. We eventually got moved to a room downstairs. Our party was scheduled to start 1:30, the food was ordered for 2pm. The last arrived 2:30, most coffees took 30 to 45(!!!) minutes, the coffee for my mum has yet to arrive. Some of the staff was friendly but they all were SO overwhelmed. Some of the fruit on the fruit platters were rotten and the food was overall not amazing. When I finally made peace with the whole situation one of their staff came down and asked me to come up to the manager (surely an apology I thought) I told him I would like to do my daughters cake first but he insisted in me coming asap. So I went up and the manager was puzzled why I was there (lol?) She then told me I had to be out of the room by 3pm, again this was NOT communicated prior, I checked all my emails. I then asked when the birthday group at the cafe has to leave and the lady said 4pm. So I asked if I cam just come up with my guests (there was enough space) to finish the party at 4pm as well and she said no. At this stage I was absolutely shocked by all this attitude, horrible communication, service and condescending behaviour throughout all interactions. I used to love te Korōria, but honestly never again. They ruined my daughters 4th birthday party for me, the party I organised weeks prior and I didn't even get an apology. I don't often give bad reviews, I know hospitality is tough but this is just...

Family suggested te kororia as they'd been here before and had a fantastic experience. This occasion was memorable, but for the wrong reasons. It was a busy Saturday morning and the playground was a huge hit for parents with young children, so if you're wanting a quiet place to eat, this is not the place. There is outside seating, but it was raining so it wasn't an option.

Drinks were served quickly and food ordered off the menu several minutes after. My party commented their scrambled eggs were creamy and bacon delicious, as was a beetroot hummus? dish served on sour dough bread. However I ordered the bunless burger - I'd recommend NOT ordering this. It was served on a huge lettuce leaf that dwarfed the petite "burger". The meat pattie was seasoned with extra charcoal, so was dry, and I was glad the portion size was small, but definitely was not worth the $16 price tag. The rest of my party of 5 enjoyed their meal, so I've given a 3star rating, my meal would have...

Just sharing our birthday party experience, which was excellent. Having the seperate room (usually used by the after school SMASH CLUB) for a larger group of children worked really well, it gave us our own space where we could do activities, play music/make noise and bring our own food (we mainly did our own snacks and ordered cheese rolls from the cafe). The kids could go to the soft play area and run around outside as they wanted to. There is a venue hire charge for the room, then you pay for the soft play per child and can order food from the cafe (this can include coffees for parents!). Then at the end all there is to do is vacuum and take rubbish away. It was an easy location, it is worth going to see the room and maybe bringing your own decorations/party games...