On the back of a raving review by NZ Herald I decided to head West today and check out Kohu Road Cafe.

Set within an industrial area the decor of the cafe had personality, was big and inviting. I had the big breakfast for $19 and an affogato for $5.50 with Kohu Road Golden Syrup ice cream. The big breakfast unfortunately wasn’t very big with only one sausage, although a very nice one, eggs, small bacon bits, half a tomato with some mushrooms on two buttered ciabatta slices. Honestly it sounds larger than it actually is. Apart from the sausage it was nothing special. The affogato was good though.

Conclusion? Go for the ice cream, not necessarily the cafe food (unless you live close by).

7 April 2012

Ive been back on the recommendation of a friend who said things are a million times better, and how true it is.

The new Barista (ex Good One Ponsonby) is running the machine, and the coffee (now Coffee Supreme instead of Kokako) is excellent. Best coffee in the west. Even the Saturday Barista (another young guy) is an excellent Barista. Finally this cafe is pumping out good coffee and the food is now top notch and at a standard it should be at. The service is even a million times better. I’ve gone from 1 star to a deserved 5 stars. Id now recommend this place to others as their game has been supremely lifted! Yay.

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I’ve tried to like this place after reading the heralds review, and have been three times to get take out coffee and something quick to eat. Each and every time the coffee was bad. Is the barista actually trained?? Kokako coffee i think is their brand however the barista does it a disservice. Not impressed. The service wasn’t flash either, but for me a cafe that can’t do a decent coffee shouldn’t be in the coffee business. Hopefully this place lifts its game as its got oodles of potential and rides on the back of the respected Kohu Road ice cream name.

I also went here on the back of the NZ Herald review with my wife and her mum. I agree the cafe looks good, large and inviting but the food was not very good. I also had “warm bread” and not toast, the bacon was ok ish but the serving size was a bit miserable for the cost of $14. My wife and her mum were also disappointed with what they ordered. The coffee was good and the ice cream is excellent but as for a return visit to the cafe … no thanks. There is much much better value and quality to be had

We visited the Kohu Road cafe off the back of the Herald review the weekend of 14 Jan. Initial impressions were promising enough. A large cafe with lots of space and a pleasant interior. Ordering was easy enough and for all intents and purposes I thought we were about to have a decent dining experience.

How wrong we were.

I ordered the Bacon and Egg Open sandwich on Toasted b5 grain.

Egg – passable. Reasonably good scrambled egg.
Bacon – Bad. Soggy and poorly cooked.
5 Grain Toast – Was ordinary Vogels and was MAJORLY undercooked. It did not even slightly resemble toast.

My partners was exactly the same.

Furthermore, after having both plates dumped in front of us we stupidly sat there waiting for Salt and Pepper to materialize. Eventually I went up to the open kitchen where the chef seemed to be surprised that I would not know to collect it from in front of where he was cooking.

We fought our way through our breakfasts and watched many other obvious ‘first timers’ arrive with hopeful looks on their faces (obviously a product of the Herald review).

I am sure they would have made their own minds up.

Note to owners: You have a great location but your service is surly and your food is poor at best.

5 Grain Toast does not equal Plain Vogels.
Toast = cooked until crispy – toasted – Not warm bread.

So disappointing.

If I was able to rate Kohu Road no stars I would. Unfortunately there is a one star minimum in MenuManias rating system. I found Kohu Road to be a totally horrible experience. Staff were extremely rude. The place was dirty. I totally regret my decision to go to this cafe. Would never eat there again!

After reading a great review from the NZ Herald on Saturday we heading out to experience a good treat – but no!!!! They were quite busy but it was 1.30pm when we arrived. The table we took needed clearing which was done as soon as we sat down however the crumbs from the previous visitors were just moved around the table. The very strong coffee’s arrived very quickly but they were gone before our scones arrived. We were told they were cheese but I’m not sure there was cheese. Wouldn’t head there again