I wish I had read the reviews before agreeing for my sister-in-law to book this cafe for a very special family occasion – my mother’s 88th birthday. Some of the family drove for over 2 hours to be there. On arrival the staff did not seem to be aware of the booking even though over half the party were already seated. No table was organised to seat the booking for 12 so several had to sit at another table being left out of the general conversation – no effort made to rectify this. Very disorganised service, limited menu and meals expensive and served randomly with long delays for some to get food. The food was very average but the nasty taste left in the mouth was from being charged $1 for a box to take left over cake away after spending close to $300. No mention of this was made when requesting the box and paying the bill but the waitress would not leave the table to pack the cake until she had the $1. How many people have I told of our experience?

To the owner of this establishment I’m the customer that had the so called stiff porridge lol my partner wrote a previous review regarding the bright coloured eggs etc first point I’m a vegan my “dietary requirements” have been catered for by several other cafes eg Fusion,Revel,Dellows,Mellow etc and even my mother lol porridge can be cooked with water or soy milk to a very creamy consistency pretty basic (: secondly I worked at a organic supermarket for 10yrs that had a cafe and not at one time did I ever come across eggs that were tumeric coloured lol third and final point I’ve worked in Hospo for a long time and your “cafe” is one of the worst and most over priced places I’ve ever been to and your menu borders on the ridiculous. Just take the critcism and try to listen to your customers and don’t let your past triumphants cloud your reality.Word of mouth is very powerful.if I could give no stars I would but my review could’nt be submitted without one. (:

Was a little disappointed after hearing good things about this cafe.

The french toast should have been on ‘saffron & honey bread’ but seemed to be on normal french bread and hadn’t been soaked properly before being cooked, the bacon wasn’t cooked and the vanilla mascarpone was curdled. It was basically the worst french toast ever, robbery at $19.50

The salmon potato cake were bland as was the hollandaise sauce. Served with undressed unseasoned lettuce, why?

The worst thing was that when our plates were cleared by our waitress she didn’t even ask if there was anything wrong with the meals, even though more than half of the french toast was left on the plate. Also when paying our bill, none even asked us how the meals were.

Would never go there again. I was shouted at by the cook who was complaining my baby (10 months old) was being too noisy. Does not suppose to be a “childfriendly” place?. After explaining the fact that she is a baby and you cannot always control their noise, the option I was given was to leave the place. Awesome customer service, is not it?. So do not bother going there if you have little ones, you might get the grumpy cook that day and have a very bad experience like me.

My partner and decided to go for breakfast after a long walk . We order drinks and breakfast . They arrived in time only to discover that the porridge was stiff as if a two year old would have made it and my scramble eggs on toast was a bright yellow “brighter than the sun”.
This is unacceptable and I’m sure many customers want answers as to why this establishment is so lacking in the basics of getting it right . Can someone explain why!!!!!!!, the chai was the only thing done well. Very shocking ,especially when you pay good money ,you expect your breakfast to be something that could be done at home or even better . MMM I think dairy free doesnt mean stiff life porridge have you hear of water? come on!!!!!!! basics

If I could only write a two word review for this place, I would simply write, never again!I’ve never written a food review before, never felt the need and we’re not serious foodies, but this time was different, I felt passionate to write about The Library Cafe. Upon entry we waited at the counter to be told by a polite lady to take a menu and a seat which we did. It was nice to see they catered for children by providing a nice wee indoor and outdoor play area… Upon closer inspection of the dirty toys and large filthy blocks, we thought against it for our kids (it doesn’t take much to wipe down the toys that I’m sure many children touch each day). Service to take our orders was unacceptable and it wasn’t particularly busy. I don’t know if the chef was absent on the day we went, but I’m convinced my 1 and 3 year old could serve up something better tasting than what we had. I ordered the soup of the day, my partner the big breakfast and for the kids, pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. I couldn’t tell you what flavour my soup was, I think there was cauliflour in it though. It was just vile, I could not eat it. It was served with cold crust bread and two large knobs of cold butter. I ate the bread – just. I’m not sure how bacon and eggs could go too far wrong, or kid’s pancakes but wrong they did go… The bacon and eggs were okay, not the sides, the mushrooms were revolting, turn your stomach kind of revolting, the hash-browns (I think that’s what they were) likewise. I just don’t get how you can get these basics so badly wrong? My son’s pancakes just didn’t taste like pancakes, they were presented well and it was a good size, he ate them, I couldn’t (I was starving and hoping that maybe we could share them as I couldn’t eat my soup). The sweets we ate were mediocre at best. The coffee was surprisingly good. Has this place changed hands? Was the chef sick? How on earth did this place win awards for best cafe in Onehunga 2 or 3 years running? We seriously aren’t food snobs, but we do like to eat out. The Library Cafe oozes potential and has great ideas with organic choices, but seriously needs to pick up its game in food and service. Very disappointing and pretty hefty prices for such bad food. We won’t be recommending this place to our friends or on here. Consider yourself warned.

Its pluses are being well set-up for kids. But its minuses don’t make up for it. The menu has good options for allergies and gluten free diners but it’s overpriced and the service is slow. They haven’t mastered a lunch rush. Give it a wide berth as you can get better value elsewhere.

I’m delighted to reveal that I chose to give The Library Cafe another chance yesterday by inviting a colleague to meet me there for lunch although I conveyed in a previously review on this same website that it was highly unlikely that I’d revisit. Our lunchtime experience was an enjoyable experience and I especially relished the sumptuous Thai Lamb Salad, which was both unique and delectable. I was also impressed with the new menu, which offered a much wider variety of appealing choices than previous menus that I’ve seen. The service staff were pleasant and welcoming. Our only minor disappointment was that the Gluten Free Whitebait fritters was removed from the specials menu a few minutes before we ordered because it had sold out, which was a shame due to it being a particular favorite dish of my colleague’s.

Having worked in various restaurants and catered organic meals for outdoor events in the past, I can easily understand that food quality and service can be inconsistent at times, however much one may strive for consistency and delivery of excellence in cafe business endeavours. Thumbs up this time for the The Library Cafe!

Lovely building and great efforts to create a positive and healthy brand. Unfortunately the extremely long wait for orders to arrive and the poor attitude of staff lets it all down. Could be great, but needs a rapid and complete rethink on the staffing/service front.

After initially purchasing a GrabOne voucher sold by them on the GrabOne website we thought this is a great way to eat at an unknown restaurant/venue..Sadly we discovered that with the GrabOne deal you have limited choice from the Menu to redeem your voucher. Only the breakfast section and nothing else!. This was disappointing because we went for lunch. The kitchen staff could not keep up with the amount of patrons,the wait for food was 45min but we were advised upon arrival that this was the case. Drinks were slow to come and when the food finally arrived 3 out of the 4 dishes had to be sent back, either due to undercooked eggs, or overcooked food. Presentation and portions were disappointing. The Staff were all super friendly and polite and the interior is very nice. The menu in my opinion is also overpriced.
Unfortunately I wont be going back!

Extremely disappointing food and service – 45 min wait for 2 meals – we saw 3 groups of customers walk out not having eaten anything after waiting too long – seemed to be too many waitresses and not enough kitchen hands. When food did finally arrive the portions were very small and presentation was terrible as was food which had absolutely no flavour. Combinations of whiskey sauce for fish and rum sauce with prawns didn’t taste great at all. Sauces were also very runny so the salad was swamped in the sauce too.

Would definitely not recommend this cafe and will not be eating there again.

What a shame it used to be sooooo good.

Yummy food and great for the kids.

My two boys now know where we are off to as soon as we head to Onehunga for a much needed Mummy coffee. They even say “yay….the Library Cafe” – fluffys are the cheapest in town – the range of food for children is wide and good value for money (a whole bag of stuff – sandwich, fruit, drink and some other bits for about $5 or $6 – I don’t know how they make anything on it!!) my boys favourite is the anti-pasta plate! I rate this cafe as the best in town to go if you have kids and want some time out – indoor and outdoor activities, slide, playground – We give it the big thumbs up!! Jayne

This has to be the best child-friendly cafe in Auckland. I’m pretty sure I’ve tried them all, and value for money (great kids meals), staff, and activities for the kids are miles ahead of any others. In fact the activities provided for the kids are so good it can be a problem to keep them sitting to eat, which makes my coffee and food that bit more peaceful.

Having a separate area for people without kids is a great idea, stops me feeling I have to keep them super quiet. I also live their choice of organic foods, great bacon!

I bought my friends in for coffee and lunch the other day and now as I read the other reviews on this website, I wonder, what the heck these others are talking about.

Granted we went on a sunny day and everything seems so much nicer when the sun is shining, but I maintain my original comment.

The girls in the cafe are lovely, always smiling, I even thought I heard one break out in song!!! Great coffee, all the better for being organic too. Yes prices were a little higher than I expected being in Onehunga but was not disappointed at all, great value for money and DELICIOUS!! Best Eggs Benedict I have ever had and pancakes were not what I was expecting but yummy all the same!

One thing has to be said about this cafe. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried the caramel slice!

went there with my kids after a grabone promotion.

Very very slow service.

Some things weren’t available.

My daughters very expensive meal was tiny and she walked away hungry and had to get something somewhere else.

really expensive for what we got.

supposedly got “free” coffees for waiting so long…. but noticed after that we got charged for them.

the food is not award winning, it is very mediocre.

Not recommended at all

Not bad, but not great, the egg’s benny was mediocre for what you pay, bit noisy, but great if you have kids who need a large play area. Otherwise friendly staff and quick service.

This was highly recommended by a relative and I was really sorry that she accompanied me for this very disappointing lunch. Service was terrible – they totally forgot my dad’s sausage roll, having left it languishing in the microwave. When it eventually arrived, soggy pastry and steaming interior, he asked for some sauce and was given, bizarrely, a small dish with balsamic vinegar. What the?
My cheese scone was entirely without taste, just a bread roll with a bit of grated cheese on top.
The baguette had rubbery cold fried egg and nasty bacon, gristly and not streaky.
Yes it’s child-friendly – as far as I’m concerned that’s a negative, especially in a venue like this where wooden floors = noise.

Being surprised at how long it took for our food to be served last Sunday evening and then even more surprised when most of the food we’d ordered was bland, lacking flavour and flair, along with each dish being such small quantities. We were disappointed with our dining experience at the Library Cafe. Having been impressed the last two times that my youngest daughter (21 years of age) and I ate brunch at the Library Cafe, I naturally proposed that a small group meet me for dinner this past Sunday evening, which was shortly after I arrived in the area from New Plymouth. Because our mutual needs for good value and delicious meals were poorly catered for, none of us are likely to visit the Library Cafe again.

We had emailed re making a booking for husband’s 50th for end of November 2009. No-one got back to us so we popped in a few days before. Luckily the person who hadn’t contacted us was onsite and she gave us a booking even though they were busy on the day we required. We booked for 12 and were not told it would be two separate tables (which we discovered when we turned up.) Some of our guests were late and approx 20mins after our start time they gave our table away without telling us first and when questioned advised that ‘was their policy’. The food was disappointing as it used to be amazing, the mince on toast would barely feed an adult, the child’s packed lunch was lacking – no spread in the ham sandwich and ham stacked to the front to look bigger than it was. All of our meals (8 in total) were disappointing. None of us will return. Real shame as it used to be great – maybe its something to do with them being a Bartercard member – keep prices up – but lower quality – I don’t know, but hope they take this on board.

Went for late lunch on Saturday 5th December 2009.
The Staff were truly great to deal with.
The food was OK – salad was a little tired. Disappointing as on previous occasions everything has been of a higher standard.
The order numbers were left on all the tables. Not sure how they can run their system this way.

Questionable visit and won’t rush back.

Front door tables look old and heavy. because its old, it looks dirty and uninviting.

Food are not as nice as before. did they changed chef? that’s why i rated 3 stars. before the foods are superb!

the new tables outside at back of the kids area. it just a nightmare. its so bouncy, can not put a tall glass of drink there.

lots new staffs, don’t know whats happening to the cafe. it seems old experience staffs left for some reasons.

The best kid friendly cafe in Onehunga . Lovely coffee and I enjoyed the mushroom risotto and breakfast options. The kids loved the play area especially the chalk wall.

Fantastic place to take the kids! Also has a great range of food. Lots of delicious gluten free options too. Definitely would recommend this cafe!

Delicious food in a fantastic, unique venue. Parents, bring your kids! Multiple play areas make this place an AWESOME cafe for Mums/Families to meet up, with the whole tribe in tow!

Gluten Free food options were outstanding. Loved my ‘stuffed red pepper’, and the delicious gluten free cheese scone.

The plastic slide & play/jungle gym out the back in the covered tent area is just perfect for our whole crazy tribe. Even in winter we found it warm enough to enjoy our coffees while the children squealed around on the play equipment & bean bags.

Fantastic. Can’t say enough great things about this place!

There were at least 3 staff helping behind the counter, and they were extremely helpful and professional

service was very poor, staff were rude, one girl behind the counter, tables were dirty
a no go place, food was nice tho

Debbie, Ross and the staff of The Library

On behalf of Christine, myself and a host of former Kodak employees I would like to extend my thanks to you all for an excellent function held on Thursday night. A great time was had by all and many complimented the food and the venue. Some even recalled its former days as an active library.

So Christine & I would like to thank you for assisting us in hosting the Kodak Family, which we found is still quite strong in New Zealand despite all the changes. Once we have recovered enough we were told that we should start thinking about the second reunion. No doubt because the first one was so successful, many are keen to have another. The success was not only due to Christine & I but also to The Library and its staff.

Thank you once again.

Kerry