Cafe Zest

I really enjoyed the lunch at Cafe Zest. The cafe is deceptive. It looks really small, but they have a great private courtyard. So, on a fine day this is a good place to eat.

The food was nicely presented, easy to locate, with a reasonable range. When you enter, you get the impression of a clean, open, and inviting place to eat.

The food came out to us quickly, and well presented. The salad was fresh. The other food was hot and it was very nice.

Overall, I really enjoyed myself here. It is child friendly, and on a fine day, is hard to beat. I give it 8/10. Recommended.

Milk & Honey

My son recommended that we go to Milk and Honey in Ahuriri. Since he is a chef, it would be a good recommendation, so I was looking forward to going. 

This was the view from our table. The restaurant is  close to the beach, and you can see the sea from some of the tables. The day we went it was raining slightly. I can imagine in the summer, when they throw open the doors, that it is amazing under the shade cloth. 

There was seating for about 40-50 people at a range of tables. There is a mix of two and four person tables, and one tall table for eight. We were seated by the door, with a great view out to the sea. 

The menu is italian based, with a good range of hot and cold dishes. We were there for a quick lunch, so I opted for the eggs and bacon, while my wife had the soup with cheese on toast. 

I call it bacon and eggs, but really, it was much more than that. The eggs were not greasy or oily, and they had sun-dried tomatoes set into them. I think the eggs were panfried, but finished off in the oven, as the bottom was not hard. The sun-dried tomatoes were set into the eggs and cooked along with the eggs.  The bacon was local, and well smoked. The toast was ciabatta made in the restaurant, and very nice, with deep flavor. 

My wife ordered the soup, which was pumpkin, with cheesy bread, which she really liked. The soup had a great pumpkin flavour, but it was not heavily seasoned. 

I have heard that the chef tries to use no salt to season his food. This is a good thing if you are worried about your blood pressure. 

I really enjoyed Milk & Honey, and I give it 9/10. Highly recommended.

The Farm, at Cape kidnappers

For my birthday treat, my wife took me to The Farm at Cape Kidnappers.This has to be the best place of ever eaten. It's not cheap, but it is fantastic. In terms of value for money, even though this is an expensive place to eat, I would say it is still great value for money.  This is not a café this is not a restaurant  you go for a quick meal, this is a restaurant that you go to for real experience.

 The farm is way off the beaten track. There there is quite a drive to get there, but it is a special place and it is well worth.

The view from the farm this stunning. From the loggia, you look to the North over the whole of Hawkes Bay. As you can see from the photo it was a fine day when we went. The loggia as large sliding doors that they can open in the summer. The day that we went, it was sunny but there was a cold wind so they kept the door shut.

The day we went, the menu included some of my personal favorites. Every day the menu changes, so when you go the food will be different from when I went. I photographed the menu so you see what I had.

The quality of the food was stunning. I've never eaten such lovely food. The presentation amazing. The tastes, well, I've never had anything like it.

Here's a picture of my main. A beautifully prepared lamb, surrounded by vegetables, with a wonderful sauce.

In all, we had 5 courses. Starting with bread, we then an amuse, then an entrée, a main, in a small special desserts just for us, and the main desert.


If you wanted to take someone for a romantic dinner or for a romantic lunch this is the place.  If you want to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience this is the place to go.

I rate The farm at Cape  Kidnappers 10 of 10.

Cafe Ahuriri

It was a great day to go the Cafe Ahuriri for lunch. The cafe a little hard to find, because off the beaten track, in Mahia Street in Ahuriri. But this café is really worth a visit.

They serve fairly standard cafe food, but they do have some nice pies, coffee, and pastries. I did make a mistake when I went because  after I had chosen all my food, I then found that they had a great salad bar at the end by the checkout. I wish now that I have waited until the end, to choose my food.

I had a great pie, really yummy, good crust, and a rich meat filling. I also had a latte, which was good. The desert I had a small pastry called a madeline.  This was made with sour cream, and it was very nice.

There are 3 places to eat. You need inside. You can eat in the enclosed balcony,  or you can eat outside. We chose to eat  in the enclosed balcony. This is a great place. It enclosed in clear plastic screens, so you feel like you're outside, but you don't have to put up with the wind. I imagine the summer better to eat right outside but we went in the spring and there was still a cold wind. 

The service was quick, and friendly.

I would recommend this  café for a quick lunch, but not for romantic setting.

I scored this café 8/10.

Espresso Garden Cafe

The Espresso Garden Cafe is attached to the Mitre 10 Mega store in Prebensen Drive. I chose this cafe because I needed a quick lunch that was close to home.

The outdoor location was pretty, the cafe is actually tucked into the garden area at Mitre 10 Mega. Because the garden area is roofed over you can happily sit outside even if it's raining. However, because it is close to Prebensen Drive, there is a bit of road noise.

The food was nicely presented it was typical cafe food, panini,  pies, muffins, and so on. I wasn't in the mood for a pie, so I chose this gigantic muffin, which I really enjoyed.

The food was nice, the service was friendly, so overall, it was a good experience. This is a cafe not a restaurant, so don't expect restaurant food. But for a quick lunch in the sun, and feeling like you're outside this is good.

the prices were not unreasonable, they were not cheap but they were not really expensive, there are the same prices as many of the other cafes.
I would give this 7/10 for a cafe

The.Factory

We have been to Ahururi a few times now, and I wanted to try out The.Factory it looks like a nice little restaurant. When I have seen this restaurant previously I thought it was a small place, but when you walk through the doors, you realize that it is much bigger.


We went for lunch at 1:00pm and we found that the place was very quiet. It had been busier earlier on. There were plenty of table to choose from, and a variety of seating type as well. When you walk through the seating area, there is a view into the kitchen, where you can see the chefs hard at work. 

They have two menus, one for the a la carte menu and one for the pizza. Because this was lunch, we didn't want to have too much to eat, so we shared a Pizza. What a pizza. Freshly cooked with chicken.  I should have taken a photograph of the whole pizza, but it was so nice, that it wasn't until the end that I remembered to photograph it.


This is a great place for quiet chat, or a romantic lunch.


score 9.5/10