The sausage rolls with chutney are great. The service is incredibly poor. These guys need to get their act together as great sausage rolls won’t keep people coming back. Firstly, sharpen up your act at the counter – for goodness sake, stop making people wait until you have MADE the coffee – take the order and deliver it to the table like every other place does! That way, there won’t be a queue of people waiting 10mins or more to take their order. Go get a coffee at Barista in Palmerston North and you’ll get an idea of what good and efficient service is like. Secondly, get some staff who look as if they are enjoying their job. Snobby disinterested staff won’t make for repeat customers. Going by some previous views, perhaps the grouchy disinterested staff problems stem from the management. Who knows – but my friends and colleagues have all had the same issues with this cafe – and I think it is wise that you read the feedback and start treating your customers with good friendly service. It’s unlikely that I will be back – despite the tasty sausage rolls.

Absolutely lovely place to stop on a sunny day. Although it is alongside Sh1 the garden setting makes you feel like you’re in the country.
Berry pikelet stack and corn fritters were both very good. Nice selection of cabinet food too.
You can have to wait a bit in the queue to order but I’m usually on holiday mode when I visit so this isn’t a big deal for me.

We have stopped here many times, and it is average. Same type of Kiwi food you can find anywhere else with a bit longer of a wait…average service. My husband really liked this place until he just told me that they will sue anyone that has the word “Sugar” in their business….even if it is Pink Sugar or Yellow Sugar…it appears they think they own all the sugar in the world. We will not ever, EVER stop in this place again.

We stopped here en route to Wellington, the staff were efficient and friendly and the toilets were clean.
We had the corn fritters which were ample with good quality bacon and a nice fresh salad garnish. The ham cheese and tomato panini was good and perfect for our son.
Really child friendly with heaps of toys and activities.
Coffee was of a high standard and we will definitely be stopping here next trip to Wellington.

How can you get scrambled eggs on toast wrong? Just ask the Brown Sugar cafe to make you some. something must have changed here recently as i always used to get good food here…but those days have passed.

I visited Brown Sugar Café today with my family. There was parking to the rear of the café (which was helpful) and the café is visually quaint. Inside it has the old fashioned charm of a crammed, bric a brac filled eatery. The cakes looked home- made and the chalk board menu enticed us with deliciously described food and drinks. The service however was completely cold, not bothered and non – communicative. Indeed when I did order it was quite clear that customer service was not on the list of priorities.
The fact is I agree with the statement ‘if you’ve not got anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all’…however if a café (in this current economic climate) thinks they are doing a good (better than their competitor) job – it is the consumers responsibility to comment and offer reviews in the hope that the owners will improve their service which will result in greater success for their business.
The room in which we ate was ‘again’ quaint – however the table next to ours had an abandoned tray full of dirty dishes stacked up and ash trays with smouldering cigarette butts wafting an odorous smell around the café. There appeared to be plenty of staff to clear up, but the clutter was left throughout our visit.
I ‘do’ hope that the owners improve on the fundamental basics of – Are my customers happy? What more can I do for my customers? Is the service we provide to everyone, the very best we can deliver? How are we retaining our customers? Is the vision for my business being implemented at all times? Do my employees embody excellent Kiwi hospitality?
Once you can answer YES to all these suggestions you will achieve profitable business growth.

OMG I love the brown sugar cafe, such a range of food, a delightful setting, friendly for young children. Just an overall lovely place to eat!!!

Brown Sugar cafe is always a stopping point for family on way north, so made an effort to see for myself during a drive south.
The cabinet food looked so good I had difficulty deciding what to choose.

Eventually settling on muffin & coffee both very good. Stopped again on return for lunch and this time choose their club sandwiche & coffee to take out. Delicious.

I love stopping at Brown Sugar on my travels north. We enjoyed a yummy lunch here over the weekend. The food was delicious (as always) and the garden setting makes you feel a million miles away from the busy road on the other side of the fence. A great place to refresh and recharge on great coffee and food before hitting the road again.

its such a nice cafe great lot of friendly staff with quick and efficient service

The service was poor (34 mins for a toasted sandwich) and when the matter was politely raised with the manager he was rude and aggressive-he said the kitchen staff were very busy doing salads-why he didn’t advise the counter staff that there would be a delay is not good service. Also to get aggressive and say “if you want fast food then go to MacDonald’s” is not how to run a business, especially when there are other fine cafes in the area!!!.We will not be going there again.