My favourite cafe/restaurant in Kapiti.

I often drive up to Waikanae from Raumati with the wife on the weekend as the food, atmosphere and view make this the best cafe i have tried in the Kapiti region – and I think we’ve tried them all now!

Also the best steak ive had in the region – and i am pretty fussy!

Also the guy who plays acoustic guitar on the weekends is incredibly talented and has a great voice.

The best cafe in Kapiti and in the summmer great for a wee stroll along the beach after breakfast.

We frequent Drift on a regular basis and i am loving the new Tapas style menu recently – cant get enough of the satay beef sticks. However the other day we went there for breakfast . Eggs on toast was a popular choice however they were only allowed to be poached – not fried or scrambled only poached and if we didn’t like it chose something else. I asked if i could have some hollendaise on the side of my breakfast and was told that it wasn’t part of the dish i had chosen so no. I asked if i could get a sausage by itself for my 2 year old daughter and was told no they wouldn’t serve things of the breakfast menu seperately but there was cherrios if i wanted sausages for her (In my opinion cherrios are not sausages). Will not be going back for breakfast that is for sure. I don’t consider any of my requests to be overly demanding and am unsure why they have introduced a menu that is so completely set in stone you cannot even get some sauce.

Before I write this I want to say I am not one who complains unless the complaint is valid, and I will often ring up manager’s of stores if I find I have received excellent customer service so in all I am a fair person and the low rating I have given Drift Cafe has nothing to do with the friendly service, which was spot on. My husband and I and our 17 year old daughter and her friend were staying in Waikanae this weekend celebrating our daughter’s birthday and wanting to make it a special occasion I had reviewed thoroughly all the restaurants in Waikanae and settled on Drift Cafe due to its’ great reviews. My daughter’s friend is allergic to onions, eggs and chocolate and I had told Drift this when I booked so upon arrival they gave us a special menu for her, which I thought was great and showed the good service they offer. However, she ordered the only main on this menu being a vegetable salad, it came out, without a word of a lie, with 2 small beetroot, two spears of asparagus, a slice of radish, a baby carrot (or maybe there were two baby carrots) a couple of sprigs of greenery covered in a sauce!! And the cost was $20, although they were arranged nicely like pick up sticks along the oblong plate. OMG, I was too dumbstruck to say anything when it was brought out and quite frankly didn’t want to spoil the evening for my daughter as we had been enjoying the ambiance of the setting right by the beach. I had fish of the day which was a faily small portion considering I was paying $29 for it but it came with lovely green beans and asparagus, and there were quite a few of them, but the mashed potato had so much butter through it there was a pool of oil around it and it wasn’t creamy white but yellow. My husband had the fish and chips and while the presentation of the chips came in a cute newspaper wrapping, it would have been nicer to have a few more chips on the plate rather than the 8 or 9 that were hiding in the newspaper. My daughter had the half size of fish and chips but luckily got the same number of chips and only one small piece of fish, as you would expect since hers was $7 less than the full size plate my husband supposedly had. We were so disappointed we couldn’t eat dessert and I was so concerned for my daughter’s friend who was politely telling me she was full and not to worry that we left and went straight to the fish and chip shop to buy her a scoop of chips. When we left I said I thought $20 for a few pieces of vegetable wasn’t on, the waitress said we should have said something as easier to cook more food at the time, but I ask you, would more veges have cost me another $20 as well!! A few boiled new potatoes would have been a nice addition and some of the beans I had had too. The waitress (maybe she was the owner I wasn’t sure) told the cashier to charge $10 for the vege salad, and so she should as it was a pitiful plate to serve up. She told me if she had known the age of the person it would have been different! In my view serving 6 small pieces of vegetables to anyone is outrageous and it kind of spoilt the whole birthday dinner. I wish I had returned my mashed potatoes too as I felt so queasy eating all that butter, I chose them over the chips as a healthy option watching my cholesterol…big mistake.

Went for dinner here a few weeks ago. It was excellent. We had our two children with us, aged 3 and 5. We were seated at a table next to the children’s play area, however we still managed to have a view of the beach. As requested the children were served first, tailored dinners to the children’s preference. Then as the children played, we ate our delicious dinners. My husband the steak, cooked perfectly. This was accompanied by the most delicious truffle flavoured mashed potato. I ate exceptionally fresh fish and chips. The children ate paddle pops (chocolate ice cream on a stick) for dessert which they were thrilled about. I would totally recommend dining here any time of day. Thank you Drift staff for such an enjoyable experience!

We’ve been to Drift a few times – once for lunch and couple of times for dinner. I highly recommend the chips, served kiwi style in newspaper with t-sauce they are fantastic. As for the rest of the menu we have tried a few items, and been quite surprised at the seemingly bizzare combinations that to my tastebuds just don’t seem to work. I’d strongly suggest if you’re ordering any red meat that you specify exactly how you want it done, particularly in the steak sandwich as I have found it to be on the raw side of rare (when I ordered medium) each time. A great spot with a lot of potential to be awesome!

went for lunch on a fairly blustery day. felt like a bopwl of soup, all that was on offer was chowder. said on the menu outrageously good chowder which i thought was a bit of a cheek to put on a menu, but it lived up to its claim.
service was nice and quick without being over the top.
left full, warm, and happy.

Have been to numerous eating venues on the coast,i don’t normally fill out reviews , but have found the drifts decor to be outdated and almost shabby ..
to my horror yesterday i had lunch there , and discovered in the salad, a green twig of some sort, with thorns on the side .approx 5 inches or bit longer.
not a good look,surely anyone plating meals checks what goes on the plates. I bought this to attention of cashier when settling the account , all that was said is sorry ..
definitely a dissatisfied customer and wont return

Went on a cold windy/raining evening for dinner with partner and parents…. The service was FANTASTIC and the meals were just as good! BEAUTIFUL! They even kept the fire stoked up for us. Will be going back many times more with family and friends!

I previously posted a review on Drift that expressed my dissapointment that they refused to take bookings. This has obviously changed as we managed to get in with a booking today, and we’re SO GLAD they changed the policy and that we got in.

I felt in order to be fair I needed to come back on here now that they have obviously changed their booking policies and tell everyone how FANTASTIC this restaurant is.

We went to a brunch setting, late afternoon.
All of our meals, despite a full restaurant came REALLY fast, hot and fresh.
The food was superb. Fish and chips were fresh, served beautifully and FAST. Homemade tartare served in a scallop shell was lovely.
The corn fritters plate for children was beautifully presented with lots of food for the price, and salad that came with it was delicious. Members of my party got haloumi on toast which she loved, and the steak sandwich was a big hit as well. Service was attentive and friendly.

The desserts were great. Drift is SO kid friendly, with a dedicated childrens area with heaps of toys and books, quite possibly one of the most kidfriendly spots in Wellington. I’m REALLY REALLY impressed with the atmosphere (music was a nice touch, super fresh and tasty food, and good prices. 4 adults one child, full meals, a few drinks and 3 desserts was a very reasonable 130$.

I want this to be my new local (too bad we live far away)– but we’ll be back, a lot, with every visitor, and whenever we can!)
Thanks Drift for a fantastic afternoon, beautiful food and an all around great experience. Thank you for changing your booking policies, it makes it so much easier for those of us who want to experience your beautiful restaurant.

We had our wedding reception at Drift Cafe, and to be honest, we originally chose it because of it’s fantastic location, on the beach with spectacular views of Kapiti Island. I was just hoping that the food would be OK! However, from the moment we contacted Ian and Emily, we were impressed. Emily responded immediately to all my e-mails, and nothing was too much trouble. The courtyard outside was a lovely place to sip champagne and take photos. 23 of us then sat down to a 3 course meal which was out of this world. The food was made with fresh seasonal ingredients. The starters were delicate and tasty. The main meal (I had fish) was the best I have tasted in a long while, and the desserts were superb. Throughout the meal the waitresses and Emily were attentive but not in your face. Emily also had a lovely manner communicating what was happening and asking what we wanted. She also decorated the tables beautifully. The wine was superb and the atmosphere was relaxed and perfect. Plus it was exceptional value for money. I cannot rate this restaurant/cafe highly enough and would recommend it to anyone considering a group function, a romantic meal for two, or simply coffee and cake on the beach.

We went there recently and had lunch. Owners were welcoming and attentive but sadly we were let down by the quality of the food. It is a total ripoff to serve squid rings out of packet (they were bright yellow) with the remnants of the day’s salad (sad looking lettuce), chips that looked like they’d been reheated and expect people to pay $14.00. The child’s menu was packet food at an exorbitant price – if they want to sell Sealords out of a packet, they should do a better job of disguising it. Seafood specialty – hardly.

Drift (formerly Rock Salt) restaurant looks a little rustic at first glance and is located on Waimea Rd., practically on the beach with just their parking area between you and the sea.

It is run by Iain & Emily who are wonderful hosts; genuinely friendly people. Iain’s seafood chowder is one of the best I have tasted anywhere…and yes I have been to Vancouver and down the Oregon coast too.

The Banana Prawns are served vertically on a stick, placed in a delightfully whimsical manner into a clean piece of drift wood. My kids loved them.

For those not particularly into seafood,their steak is tender and always done to perfection cooked to what ever level you request.

The ambiance is laid back and relaxed. If you’re visiting Waikane or anywhere on the Kapiti Coast for that matter, you simply must set aside some time for lunch or dinner at Drift. You’ll be glad you did.