Whether you’re praising or wingeing, accuracy is the only real service you can give to breakfasters, lunchers or diners who come after you, so here’s my take on The Seaside Cafe and Restaurant, Maketu, written just a couple of hours after lunching there on a windy, partly cloudy, dramatic day. Three of us had driven to this sparsely inhabited peninsula, where grey-green sea was coming up to high tide across the extensive sandbars off the little town. Sitting on the sheltered deck of the restaurant, we could see the gigantic sweep of the Bay of Plenty as far as Mount Maunganui and Coromandel on the horizon. Go there if you can, for whichever meal — it’s a genuinely rewarding experience. Service, by a charming young woman who was attentive and efficient, was considerate and helpful. Judge for yourself if you would have liked the food: two of us had the Kaimoana (seafood, for non-Kiwis) for two, with at least a dozen beautifully steamed Dunedin scallops in their small, white and saffron-tinged shells, plus terakihi in the lightest, most crispy/crunchy batter with a delicate tartare sauce and lemon wedges, and home-smoked salmon that was just as finely treated and melted in the mouth. A mixed side salad and very acceptable chips completed this dish, which was priced at $50. The third person at the table had the fish of the day plus chips and salad, equally scrumptious and generous. I’ve read a wingeing review of this restaurant that complained about the knife and fork being wrapped in a paper serviette — how they could even remember this detail after eating food of this quality is a mystery to me. Don’t expect a big wine cellar: it’s really just an Aussie wine on offer (Banrock, of all varieties) plus a couple of surprising extras. We chose the Smokehouse Cabernet Sauvignon from Hawke’s Bay, 2008, which at $30 a bottle was a real gift. Plenty of fruit to match the picturesque, slightly wild, view and the well-conceived menu. You can also bring your own wine. The Seaside is a discovery: one of those modest places in a spectacular spot, where you lob in to watch brave surfers ride the ocean waves, and dedicated fishermen pull up on the hard and walk out to the rocks to catch their own dinner. The building is basic, inside it’s clean, functional and welcoming, and it would be a wonderful place to linger for a good, unpretentious meal at sunset, watching the waves roar into this coastline and imagining what it mighthave been like for the voyagers in Mataatua, Tainui, Takitimu and Te Arawa as they hit that raging surf on their way in. We loved it — you may too.

We had Fish n Chips tonight and it was an absolute waste of $30 they do not even deserve a whole star. We asked for fresh fish and received rubbery shark that we couldn’t even eat. At least the kids enjoyed their hotdogs..we live in Maketu and will NEVER be going back to Seaside Cafe & Restaurant again. They are also extremely over priced.

We headed out to Maketu for a surprise. The cafe is definately rustic, plastic chairs & crowded spaces. The menu was limited & the prices for a cafe, not good value, $100 for 2 entrees, 1 main & 1 shared dessert, 3 drinks.
Certainly the meal was well cooked but very small & the drinks were not cold.
I may pay this at a upmarket reataurant but not at a scruffy cafe.

Upon recommendation by one off our friends we ventured out to Maketu to have dinner at the Seaside Café & Restaurant.

It is located right by the waters edge and you can hear the waves crushing at your feet. With views sweeping from the mount to Motiti Island. We were fortunate to watch the sunset while having our first glass of wine. The colours where truly magical.

For starters I had the Seafood Chowder, which was delightful it contained fresh Snapper, Salmon and Queen Scallops. A nice change to the usual reheated cream sauce with frozen seafood you get at most other places.
My partner had the chicken liver pate which came with artisan Sourdough bread, onion chilli jam and baby gherkins, he really enjoyed the homemade taste.

For mains I choose the fresh Fish of the Day, which was pan-fried Snapper served on gourmet potatoes with an orange caper butter sauce. The fish was cooked to perfection and the sauce not overpowering just complementing the natural sweetness of the Fish.

My partner choose the Aged Beef Fillet, that came on mash with balsamic baby onions and a black truffle and mushroom sauce and he said it was the best Steak dish he had eaten in a long time. The beef was top quality and a perfect medium rare.

We were pretty full already but had to see whether the desserts could match the standard of what we had so far, so after a little wait I opted for a raspberry crème brulle and my better half couldn’t resist the temptation of the walnut chocolate truffle cake, with blueberry caulis and straciatella ice cream.

So good, no regrets here. A pleasant surprise ended our night when the waitress offered us a glass of 10-year-old port on the house when she brought out our coffees.

Apparently a European tradition to thank your guests for coming at the end of the night.
Overall a very pleasant evening, amazing food, friendly relaxed service, and well worth the drive we will definitely be back.

We’ve just been out to Maketu for a beautiful day at the beach and decided to have our dinner at the Seaside Cafe. Stepping into the restaurant we weren’t expecting much more than a decent meal of fish ‘n chips or the likes, but we were in for a pleasant surprise!! The food was of extraordinary quality, the service fast and competent. All this rounded up by the stunning location right at the beach, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Definitely one of the best Seafood Restaurants we’ve been to and we will certainly come back many times in the future! Thanks to the team of the Seaside Cafe for a wonderful experience!

We have been there on many occasions. Not only the location is stunning. The view from the deck and the outstanding service and food gives an instant holiday feeling.

The team and owners put outstanding efforts into reassuring that quality and quantity of the food was just perfect. Everything was cooked to perfection as ordered.

We took the extended family and overseas visitors to the seaside and revisited many times. Everyone agreed that the drive from Rotorua/Tauranga was always worth it.

Special occasions or just for an afternoon snack and drink was equally enjoyed. Parents get some time out while the children play happily at the beach which can be easily observed from the deck of the seaside.

We sure will be back. Thank you to the whole team for so much pleasure and consistency.

This is straight from the Sommerset Cottage website. I just had to put it in here! View it on their Blog page Febuary 2011.

“Cookschools can be an allround source of information, and that is seldom just from Rick and I. Chat tends to flow in all sorts of directions, and it is not very often that I don’t pick up some good idea or recommendation.

One of the reasons that I doubt we’ll ever go stale on doing the classes.

Last week over the class lunch, we were told about a restaurant out in Maketu that we had never heard off – and the person recommending it was someone who’s opinion I value, so I suggested to Rick that after our walk on Monday, we should head out that way for lunch.

Found it, and was exactly as we expected from her description – perched somewhat precariously beside the sea, a rundown and rustic building, in a truly magnificent setting.

There is a distinct double standard with such buildings I’ve long since decided. In Europe we would describe them as being quaint and romantic, even as they crumble around our ears, but in NZ we tend to be a little less indulgent, and want our eating establishments to be spick and span.

This place however eschews any such pretensions, and what you see is what you get. Along with some of the most sublimely fresh fish that I’ve ever eaten. In fact about the only other time that I can recall eating fish that fresh was on the back of Ferris boat some years back, out at the Mercurys – fish that had literally just been hauled out of the water, filleted and cooked.

The fish I had was served with a lemon and caper sauce. Rick had fish and chips, becos he loves them, and I have to say they would challenge Tay Sts, who we’ve always considered to be the best proponents of that dish.

The quality of the sauces and salads, showed the chef had real skill. We were impressed.

The fish today was terekihi – I’d been hoping to try stingray, which Kerry said had been the fish the day they were there, simply becos I never have before. But that just means we’ll have to go back.

I believe its open 7 days and evenings, so finding a time shouldn’t be a problem, and its rather nice to discover such a gem in our own extended backyard.”

I had booked the Restaurant for 12 as a friend recommended it having had coffee and a sandwich there for lunch. “The view over the sea is lovely.”
A grandson called at our home and said” I’ve been there and the portions are too small for adults.” I booked it so I kept my word.
1. The table would look nice as I emphasised it was 3 birthdays being celebrated and my family were from England, Canada and Australia. The lady was very understanding on the phone and asured me she would see that everything was right. There was overlaping scruffy white tablecloths and not a centre piece of any sort. It is a special place – Maketu and there was nothing even on the back of the menu to say that this was the arrival spot of one of the 9 canoes that came to NZ. It could be made a feature.
2. We waited 35-45 minutes for service as the waitress came back 3 times not being able to write down simple mains. I still got the wrong meal and so did several others. 2 men ordered steak and there were no steak knives. The steak was large and grissily. One of these men is highly alergic to fish so aguest leapt to her feet and said”No, he did not order fish. Please bring the steak he ordered.” Eventually she did.
3. A guest poured the wine and grape juice all through the meal. The waitress seemed to be out of her depth and maybe has had no training.
4.The fish was 2 small pieces but THE FLAVOUR WAS ENJOYABLE. The vegetable was dark green torn lettuce in a baby’s bowl with 2 green grapes and 8 chips in another. The serviettes were take away white strips used by Fast Food outlets and the knife fork and spoon were rolled in bundles. The glasses were more than adequate and just fine.
5. We had taken out earlier, the cake, an A4 of fruitsalad with a jar of passionfruit, the wine and sparkling grape juice (as they were still called a BYO )and special chocolates to have with coffee plus pretty serviettes. Thank goodness I thought of these things. Nobody must have been used to Passionfruit because they served the seeds and left the syrup ! We are wood turners and I had a beautiful kauri large salad bowl in my bag for the Chef but just brought it home again.
We all enjoyed being together and talking and taking photos as that was our last night in New Zealand together after 15 yrs and it was 3 birthdays. We had looked foreward to the night for so long. I believed a friend’s recommendation as it is a coffee shop and Take Away Bar NOT a Restaurant. The night can’t be repeated. It was a disaster of a night and so so disappointing. The young boys went off to McDonald’s as they were still hungry ! I paid the account for everyone but for $48 a head it was ridiculous.