Cafe 39 — Restaurant in West Coast

Super rude. This afternoon, we drove a few hours to Hokitika and needed lunch and the loo. Nothing in the cabinet took our fancy so we went to use the toilet. The old lady at the counter followed us into the toilet and asked us if we were going to buy anything and I said no and that we just needed to use the bathroom. She proceeded to gesture me out of the bathroom and said ‘well then there’s public toilets down the road’. I let my mum know (she was already in the toilet) and walked away. The lady continued with a foul attitude to say that she thought it was obvious and it was considered polite to buy something. We are from Australia and this kind of thing is very rare over there. Using the bathroom is a basic human need and therefore we are not required to buy anything to use it. If there was a sign stating this rule, we didn’t see it. We would have appreciated a friendly ‘just so you know for next time, it’s preferred that only customers of the Cafe use the bathroom’. I don’t think that is too hard. I’m sure the other staff are nice but this lady was nasty and we instantly didn’t want to be there. Wouldn’t count on her for hospitality or customer service. We’ve been all over NZ and she was the only person at the only place that has come at...

Lovely service from the staff here. The food was good although it would be nice to have some more healthy options for the kids, e.g. the Kids Platter in this cafe is actually like a fish and chip shop's fried food basket, with chips, hit dogs, fish bites, etc.

The menu doesn't specifically mention gluten free but when my wife asked, the staff said they can accommodate her with gluten free options if she just let them know what she wanted. There was also a gluten free stack in the cabinet.

The kids enjoyed their toasties and the staff kindly split a smoothie in two for them as one full one would have been two large. Pies were also good.

The atmosphere and decor was a struggle. It has a cheap canteen vibe and was quite gloomy in the front room, while the back room was brighter but not inviting. Hokitika would really benefit from a nice warm, trendy cafe.

The café was redeemed by the nice service from the ladies that work there. They obviously take pride in their work and enjoy...

This Cafe serves great home-style meals with love and care. BAH HUMBUG to ALL you naysayers that left a bad review for the 1st of January. DID you ALL even KNOW that they were the ONLY cafe open in town?? DID you even CONSIDER the damage your reviews can do to Julie and her team?? Clearly you are lacking empathy and perspective.... why don't you visit on any other day so you can CHANGE your MINDS ... and RETHINK your comments?Thank you to Julie and the team for yummy, yummy breakfasts during our stay in your lovely...