Went to Hydro for the first time based on recommendations.My wife and I waited 45 minutes for coffee followed by brunch 5 minutes later. The staff all appeared to be running around achieving nothing.The food and coffee were ok and we definitely
Will not be returning.We have never experienced such bad service at a cafe ever before.

This place used to be great but today I was very disappointed. We went there for lunch. We ordered drinks at the same time as we ordered the meals. We waited a long time for our meals and it wasn’t busy. The drinks didn’t arrive and I had to ask for them again 10 minutes after we started eating. My hotcakes were obviously store bought, not freshly made and the bacon was cold. My husband was happy with his corn fritters. We won’t be going back again.

Table for three recently. I have been to Hydro several times over the years, mainly as it is directly adjacent to the Waikato River walk path. It is very convenient to duck in for a coffee and/or something to eat.

One thing you have to know about this place is that the service is questionable! At best it is SLOWER THAN A WET WEEK!! On this visit we were there fairly early and only two or three other tables occupied. Service was still very slow. All the other times I have been there the service was likewise – slow. At times we have found ourselves nagging for the basics e.g. a drink order when we first arrive; and when is our order arriving. The service i.e. wait time, would rate a 1 star!

The positives are that it is well positioned (as mentioned) and the food is okay i.e. I have no problem eating their food! The food in itself would usually rate between 3 – 4 stars.

If you want to check it out – be prepared to wait!!

Went for breakfast n service was bad, dirty dishes, cracked coffee cups, coffee took 15 mins to come out, way over priced!! Not going back! Was absolutely bad cafe, coffee was terrible.
Could be an awesome cafe, if they run it properly.

Went there for a brunch with 12 others. Worst cafe experience I have ever had. Waited for food and coffee for nearly an hour. When my ‘poached’ eggs came out they were hard boiled and cold. My husband ordered curly fries as a side, when they came out they were also cold. I sent them back, rather than getting a fresh batch they simply re-deep fried them. When it came to paying the bill there was mass confusion on the cafe’s part and the owner was down right rude. The place is totally over priced and we will never eat there again.

Great little cafe. Had breakfast there this morning and really enjoyed it. Food was fantastic. Coffee could be improved (ie, a bit stronger) but think that could just be the brand that they use. Wait for food wasn’t very long and the staff were friendly. Also impressed that they have a special kids menu, saves the hassle of having to ask if they can do half portions!

Aas looking forward to visit as had heard it was good .
I wasn’t impressed the service slow – later was asked what I thought of meal but no response when I said I was not happy (why ask!) – when I asked them to heat meal was told they could not because against health regulations, yet they did not have any towels to dry hands in toilets (health issue?)
it was not a good experience and I did not eat my meal

Great little “off the beaten track” cafe . I had breakfast here with some family and found it delicious and really enjoyable. I found it really refreshing to be in a place where the (service with a smile) staff were more worried about the “flow” of the place than cramming the place full of tables giving you the tinned sardine feeling that you often get in the inner city cafes. The organic meals were a little expensive but were well worth it when it came to the flavour. Most importantly: the coffee was great!

A group of us went there after walking along the riverside, it was a beautiful day too. It seemed like a great idea to grab a coffee at the Hydro. It’s a shame that half of our drinks where either lukewarm or bearly tempered. They weren’t busy so our drinks came fast but at the expense of the quality. Luckly our group had a more pleasent experience with the walk than with our coffee.
Get the basics right first.

Back in the day when hydro was one of the most popular places to eat in Hamilton, it was one of our favorites & we went there regularly. We ventured back for lunch this week after an absence of about 4 years. So disappointing. Service has really “gone to the dogs”. Asked for a high chair for our toddler, it was so filthy I had to ask for it to be cleaned. Waitresses were disinterested and my personal pet hate….. addressed us as “youse”. Food very average but no major complaints. I really think hydro needs to smarten up their image. Ok so the old-school retro tables & chairs may have been trendy 8 years ago, but today those very same chairs just look shabby & a bit tragic! Won’t be going back in a rush.

Our lunch at the Hydro was the worst service I have ever experienced anywhere. We waited an hour for our food despite not being warned there was any delay. When we complained to the owner/manager afterwards she was incredibly rude and full of excuses including that they were “busy”, that they “only have room for two staff in the kitchen”, that the “waitress should have told us there would be a delay”, etc. We witnessed numerous other customers complaining. Because she was so rude I asked herr to make amends for the fact that we had to wait an hour for our food (I have never done this before) at which point she became outright hostile and abusive towards me. She reluctantly gave us a 10% discount off the bill which amounted to $12! Also, the food was decidedly average and didn’t reflect at all how it was described on the menu. Don’t go there – give your money to someone who deserves it. How she is still in business I have no idea.

Went to hydro for brunch with family- was pleasantly surprised. Don’t be fooled by the vintage exterior and less-than-cheerful staff (sometimes) the food is lovely, not huge portion sizes but good quality food and an awesome atmosphere- so nice to not have to go into the CBd for brunch!

Awful, it used to be good. Half the food was cold and the other half warm (cooked breakfast). Mentioned it to the manager she said it was imposable because the chef put it under heat lamps! It was ridiculous to argue when the mushrooms and bacon where stone cold. No apology, she just told us we where wrong! Bad food and bad service from the manager herself!

Awful, went there for coffee and lunch on the weekend. Coffee was too frothy for a flat white and tasted awful and the curly fries were seasoned with what tasted like vegeta,a vegetable stock! Yuck!

So bad.
The service was awful, our cutlery arrived after our meals and we had to wait 10 minutes for dirty dishes from the previous customer to be cleared.

Go somewhere else.

Service is hopeless. Just went for coffee and cake (cake from the counter display). Coffee can half cold and the cake finally arrived over 10 minutes after we had finished the coffee. Location great – everything else – go elsewhere.

great food but overpriced,nice quiet spot with awesome atmosphere, just a little too expensive for breakfast.

Had never heard about this place!
Found it via the Entertainment Guide Book so 1 main meal free when another main bought… always a bonus!
Found it off the beaten track & parking no problem! A busy little place!
Staff friendly & able to sort my request for onion rings on my burger when they only usually go with the steak sandwich!
The chicken tower was yum & so was the beef burger!
Busy little place..lots of ladies having coffee & cake, couples and adults with their young teens on a Saturday lunchtime!
Very hip & happening place with a variety to choose from! Filled fast so booking might be best!

Went there today for lunch. Sat down at one of the outside tables, had a few staff walk past me and caught the eye of a few staff through the window. Left after almost 20 mins after not being approached by anyone at all! They were not busy – just disinterested. Such a shame because it is such a nice location. I have been several times and have never been overly impressed with the service and the
quality of the food tends to be a bit patchy and it is fairly expensive but have persevered because of location. My friend and I went to the Bank in town and had a great meal which was good value for money and the service was spot on.I’m not going to return to Hydro after today.

Poor service and messy cafe. Certainly wont be going there again.

i live just down the road from the hydro cafe and i will never go there again. the place has no class, no style, the cleaning is extremely poor, (flys, finger marks, dust)the service is sporadic and lazy, the coffee is expensive and you can get a better tasting latte at McDonalds! the food is uninspired, my sister got fish cakes that tasted like potato, and my mother got a vegetable stack that had mushrooms, eggs and bread with pesto and that was it! when it was the hydro majestic it was much better, these people have no idea

My husband and I had brunch at Hydro on Saturday and it is one cafe I wont be returning to. I know this is the Waikato and you can expect a few flies but the outdoor tables were covered, and there didn’t appear to be any outdoor fly repellent. But the worst was yet to come I turned out my side of mushrooms onto my main plate to find one dead fly in the sauce, I was unable to finish my meal and when we informed the wait staff all we got was a “Sorry about That” Not good enough Hydro

I only decided to write a review because of all the miserable sods complaining in here. It strikes me as place that attracts people who have nothing better to do with their lives.

I had the most divine Eggs Benedict there last weekend and I could not fault my coffee, so much so that i had to order another one.

The service was prompt and delightful, as where their delicious range of cakes.

Not to mention the great parking, and with the River right there… It is certainly on my top 5 list of cafes in Hamilton.

Thanks Hydro.

as soon as you walk into the cafe you are greeted with a smile and a ‘hello’ However once you reach the till to collect menu’s you are confronted with a tacky display of news articles , photos and a trophy of one of the waitresses who has recently won runner up for miss NZ.

This may have been interesting for a week in April after the first photos were displayed but it is now almost august and they have still not been taken down.

Once seated it was apparent that there were some of the staff taking on more of the workload than others . The waitress whose photos were on the front desk, was standing behind the till ignoring our desperate attempts to gain her attention although she was not serving anyone else. We finally asked one of the other staff if it was protocol to order at the till and were told ,
‘ oh no , one of us will come to the table to take your order but we have set areas to look after ”

after taking our order we saw her return to the girl at the till who promptly said .. “Oh thanks so much Hun i couldn’t take their order because I’ve been really busy”

aside this mishap we had a lovely time and in the near future would like to return to an environment that is not promoting a beauty queen on every spare surface.

My husband and I went here for lunch recently he ordered the steak open sandwich which he enjoyed. However, I ordered the seafood rice risotto, it was terrible. It was obviously cooked separately, the rice went onto the plate first and the the seafood sauce was poured over the top. As soon as I tasted the rice I knew there was something wrong, it tasted sweet and fizzy and I stopped immediately. When my husband went to pay the bill the waitress said there had been trouble with the dish all week, when the owner/manager was called she would not accept that there was anything wrong and finally after 10 minutes arguing with my husband deducted 20% of my meal only. This is the only meal I have ever sent back in all my years of dining out. We will never go back again.

Visited this place today for lunch with a companion. What a miserable experience.
My coffee was luke-warm, and it was not a flavoursome brew.
The greens served with my corn-fritters (which were average) were wilted and most definitely not fresh.
My companion ordered smoked chicken wrapped in bacon on ciabatta. There was a good amount of chicken but it tasted of nothing much, and the bacon wrapping was worse than sparse. I gave him a piece of my bacon so that at least he had some.
Then there was what we later discovered was a milkshake machine. It was so noisy that it is an OSH issue for the customers (and I am not joking).
Oh, and we had to wait 45 minutes for our food from the time we ordered it.
What a delighful experience the Hydro is…..
We did complain to the manager and got free coffees.
Will I go back? Not, probably not ever

Place has a really nice vibe, food is awesome, coffee is good too and good service, Toilets are cool! Have been a regular for years and will continue to be.

As this cafe is just around the corner from my home, I’ve been going on and off since it opened. While the two who established the cafe were there, it was well run and the food and coffee was consistently excellent. It went downhill slowly (in my opinion) before it was sold. The new owners have done their best to get things back up to scratch. Initially the service was awful and the coffee too, but I see a lot of hard work to improve that. I gave up going for about 6 months, but am pleased to see on return that things are improving. I’ve enjoyed the food the last 2 times I’ve been and had 2 good coffees in a row. (It had been a bit dire before that). I’ll keep supporting Hydro as it is my local. The hard work they’re putting in is starting to pay off.

I have been to this cafe several times. CAn’t say I have ever liked the food. The coffee is nothing to write home about either. I do like the out door area. Shame the inside was repainted. I shall not be seen there again.

I recently went to Hydro with a group of friends and we were very pleased with the service and food received. A really lovely time was had by all. Thank you

I regularly eat at Hydro, the coffee & food is amazing, and am always greeted with a friendly smile. The staff really put in a wonderful effort towards accommodating the clientele especially children and pets. Still is and will always be a fine place to dine. Keep up the good work Hydro.

This cafe, when it first opened, was an outstanding place. Unashamedly quirky and very friendly. I enjoyed the jazz evenings, the afternoon coffees and the latest hairstyles of the staff.

Now however, I stay well away. Since it has changed hands I have received nothing but terrible service, horrible coffee and sub-standard food.

The only good thing I can say about it now is that some of the original staff have moved on to manage some very good cafes in Hamilton. But as for Hydro itself – go somewhere else. Even McCafe.