We were terribly sorry to inconvenience the Piha Café one quiet Friday afternoon, and will not be bothering them again. Let’s start with the person behind the counter who was more interested in zapping my eftpos card rather than taking our order, move on to the gentleman who grunted when we enquired about the whereabouts of our order after 40 minutes, and perhaps finish up with the waitress who kindly pointed us in the direction of more plates, when we returned the dirty ones we had been served. Add to the mix that the food was average and the water was so dreadful that it inspired a conversation about its origin, and it is fair to say we won’t be returning. On the topic of fairness , this was the third and final chance we have given the Piha Café. The first time we didn’t mind about the muddled order, the second time we let the service just pass, but the third time all things came together to provide an overall crap experience.

We had the perfect Friday afternoon after spending the morning canyoning. So beers and pizza were the order of the day.

The weather was hot, the beers were cold, the pizza tasty and the service quick. We only left to avoid more sunburn and the arriving Friday night yummy mummies club

I ask myself this question frequently when easting out: Do the chefs actually taste their food?
Had seafood chowder a few weeks ago – it was beyond bad, I can’t understand how people can get it so wrong.
Now I know there are variations and interpretations on what a chowder should be but cat puke is not among them in my experience. The chowder (?) was tomato based, no sign of cream, contained cooked to string consistency fish, and was heated to within an inch of its miserable life. It was also served in a latte bowl which I hate. I’m a grown up not a toddler I like grown up bowls.
I may sound very picky but I don’t understand how the food can be that bad – and I’m charged $14 for the pleasure hmmmm. Seafood chowder isn’t hard to make ! google it !
What a shame this cafe isn’t an awesome excuse to drive out to Piha for lunch…

We spent the day at Piha recently, unfortunately it was windy and a liitle wet so we tried the controversial cafe.
My soft shelled crab sandwich was awesome and my friends steak sandwich was tender and tasty ,prices were very reasonable.
Our Piha experience was the richer for this place . Enjoy

Such an amazing scenery, this could be the place to be but unfortunately it is a place to avoid. I went 3 times and each time I was let down by almost everything but scenery.

The menu is SOOO boring and people working there are SOOOO slow. It looks like they think they can sell anything just because of the view. Food was oily and it looked and tasted like there was no effort put into it.

If you like yourself just go next door to the dairy, great hot chocolate with decent sweets.

Wow – what an amazing setting and view. After hearing good things about this place we made a morning of it and parked at the cafe, went for a walk to the Kitekite Falls and then back for breakfast. While the food, setting and outlook was fantastic, it is amazing how bad (or untrained) service can let the whole experience down. 30 mins after ordering our breakfast and coffee from a clearly untrained waitress, and after seeing others order and have their food/coffees delivered, we politely asked when we could expect our coffees. They were duly delivered but despite asking for a double, they were milky and insipid. After 45 minutes, we also enquired about our food. That came about 10 minutes later. Still hankering for a good coffee, we went next door to the dairy, which was absolutely pumping with customers and well-trained friendly and upbeat staff. They were efficiently producing great coffee – fast, all with a smile. The cafe staff could learn something from these guys!

Called in on Sunday… the place was buzzing!! We were shown to our table, and given menu’s very quickly..
HUGE choices.. pizza, menu, and cabinet.
Great wine / beer selections.
The Cafe was very busy, therefore my friend and I accepted there would be a wait on the delivery of our orders. We were so pleased these come quickly, allowing us time for a second ( great )coffee, before the drive back to the city.
I envy the locals in Piha.. having such a super “local” would be a treat!!

Bad service, bad attitude, bad experience!

Whats up with the angry little man who makes the coffee? Then there’s the waitress who doesn’t have a clue about what shes doing. Quite a team.

Shame really because the location is beautiful. Piha that is, not the Piha Café.

Wont be going back, wont be recommending either.

Fantastic, cant understand the other review.. Soup was spectacular, mint pea and ham, home cured salmon with scrambled eggs, Breakfast muffins the best I have ever tasted
Coffee was excellent, and apparently they will be doing gourmet pizza soon.
A local feel with fantastic tastes.
A must for anyone visiting the Auckland area, we will be back often.
Busy at the weekend but worth the trip

Disappointing.

We’ve been to the Piha Cafe on a number of occasions and have always enjoyed the laid back, relaxed vibe and good food and coffee. But this not this time on Sunday 21 August.

The cafe is under new management and it shows. Chaos. Orders confused, items missed off plates, menu shortened to within an inch of its life, 15 min wait for coffee and prices bumped to inner city Auckland standards.

We won’t be back and I suspect many Piha locals won’t be either. A real shame.