SURF ROAD

Food was superb ! Acai bowl much bigger than expected, while i went basic with scrambled eggs & side of salmon, they were the best scrambled eggs I've ever had! It was a weekday and while near full, meals & coffee were out much quicker than I'd expect! Reading few reviews seem little harsh or unjust? It's walking steps from beach, in a brand new building which lease I'm sure won't be cheap, it's beautifully appointed and pumping out better food than most around and in my experience, quicker than your average wait time anywhere else. I'd happily head back !

This is a really great café with a modern yet welcoming vibe, friendly staff, clean toilets, plenty of space, amazing food, and excellent coffee. However, the one downside — and the reason I probably wouldn’t return — is that there are only two power points in the entire café. I often choose cafés not just for the food and atmosphere, but also as a place to study or get some work done, and that’s hard to do without being able to plug in my laptop. If you added more power outlets, it would honestly be the perfect spot. I’d love to come back — just please consider calling an electrician!

Flavours of Plenty (March) Tiramisu French Toast dish entry, for Plates of Pleeeeenty - so clever, utilising the 'Sweet Sesh' hot honey 🍯 combining kumara + blueberries, with usual satisfying marscapone lashings over French toast. This brunch will ensure you get new local flavours on your generous serving on the plate, with the chefs/kitchen starting to show their creative side. Fullest marks Casey, keen to ensure that you have it as intended, construction was beautifully presented. *** *** *** Original Visit | We had our first taste, on a rainy Tues afternoon, of the sunny warm "California dreamin" personality of Omanu's latest Barista import to serve one of our oldest Cafe patrons...they were a "HIT" with valet assistance to comfy seating and table service WOW. Ratings were given, for; 'fresh /clean / space' and the cheesecake was declared "Beaut" (no higher Kiwi praise than that). Possibly trying to create a memberoable 1st impression, the record 5+ marshmallows with hot chocolate enabled a 10/10 rating for someone who loves being spoiled - why NOT? The picture says it all, a new place to call home with respect for service, genuine care and friendliness to locals.

About half an hour wait for breakfast. Not the best value but not terrible either in terms of price as most cafes are sitting around this range. Cabinet food was not priced... Overall the food was good. I would say definitely above average effort. I would go back again if someone else I was with really wanted to go here.

I’ve been looking forward to trying Surf Road. But with the excesses of Christmas (well, 2024 as a whole really) January is a lean month. As in no alcohol and slamming on the brakes in order to try to fit back in some clothes. Any clothes really. So it was with some excitement when the Favourite Husband and I decided we deserved a treat so today was the day. A cafe was always destined to do well in this prime spot and we were fortunate that it wasn’t too busy. There’s a small sunny courtyard at the back, some shaded outside tables on the road and ample additional seating inside. The interior is really nice, all wooden tables and a neutral decor. Not sure how that will come across on a cold and wet winters day, but that didn’t matter today. Because today was the day we’d waited for. We’d dieted, dried out and dusted off some clothes that now fitted. Still trying to err on the side of angelic, and make the Favourite Husband look bad, I ordered bacon eggs Bene, but without the English muffin and a side of mushrooms instead. I was so excited I was salivating. The Favourite Husband, true to form, went with his usual big breakkie. He declared his flat white as “very good” which is high praise indeed from a coffee snob. His big breakkie was also “really good” which meant that he liked it, was tired and was running out of words. He commented on “all the different flavours” which was positively floral language for him. I got to have a nibble of his sausage (boom boom) and it was super flavourful and actually, not that common, definitely of a high meat content. And then my little kiddie plate came and my joy bubble deflated. What I’d ordered was eggs bene without the muffin and a side of mushrooms. What I got was bacon and eggs and 3 mushrooms. I’d waited a month for this. I’d lived on a diet of steak and water since Christmas. I’d lost 7 kgs. I’d earned that bloody hollandaise sauce. I felt duly robbed. I’ve ordered my eggs bene this way multiple times and usually the mushrooms are on the bottom in place of the muffin, then maybe some baby spinach, bacon, poached eggs and HOLLANDAISE. Meh. I didn’t mention it, I didn’t ask for my missing sauce, I didn’t channel my inner Manu. And what I did have was delicious. I paid $26 plus I think $7.50 for my three mushrooms, so it felt like a really expensive dish. The 2 meals, plus one coffee and a sparkling water were $81. I know when my step-daughter came she had the granola that didn’t come with any milk, so I think we can assume little errors are teething problems and cut them some slack. The young staff were so beautiful and polite and smiley that I will go back and try again.