Review Winona Forever - Auckland Central

Hands down one of the best brunches I have ever had! The food was all presented beautifully and had so much flavour to it. I had the hotcakes and it genuinely felt like I was eating a hot cake straight out of the oven! The flavours were balanced really well so it wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet - perfect balance and combination. All 4 of us really enjoyed our meals and would return! Have recommended it to a lot of people already 🤩

This cafe has a great vibe and it’s nicely decorated. Presentation of the food was nice and portion was huge too! You get a huge piece of pork belly for the big breakfast plate which can be a bit heavy for the morning. An extensive range of cabinet food is available. Definitely worth a visit. Service was OK.

Perfect place to come for your morning coffee and pastry, breakfast or brunch. Filter coffee was great but $8 seemed a bit excessive. Really enjoyed the big breakfast, enough for two light eaters to share. Huge piece of pork belly, actually couldn't finish it! I always look at the pastries and think they look tasty - donuts, danish, croissants etc Enjoyed eating breakfast here, but $8 for a filter coffee?

The interior of this cafe was absolutely stunning, and the staff were incredibly bubbly, energetic and helpful. We were warned that the portion sizes were large, but simply thought they were just overexaggerating - oh how wrong we were. The portion sizes here are HUGE. I can eat a lot, trust me, but these portions were borderline un-finishable. The five nut granola was served with lots of coconut yoghurt, a few pieces of fresh fruit and bruleed pear. The coconut yoghurt helps tone down the strong molasses and nutty flavours from the granola, however there was so much of it that I felt sick. Coconut yoghurt is very rich, therefore I feel as though greek yoghurt would be more suitable. There were very few pieces of fruit on my plate too which was disappointing. The description of this meal on the menu mentions black doris plum, thus I was somewhat surprised to only receive 1/6th slice of a black doris plum served. The eton rifle was absolutely and utterly humongous, but I can't fault the presentation whatsoever. Surprisingly, all the decadent flavours went together very well. The brioche bread/toast was a very generous portion size, and was so fluffy and soft. Again, the meal was just way too large to finish. This is definitely not an everyday meal, but a fantastic choice if you are really wanting to treat yourself. Didn’t get any cabinet treats however the food looked delicious. Will definitely be back.

Must visit! Outstanding cafe in a great location. The cabinet food is equally as tempting as everything on their menu. We order the goats cheese omelette from the menu which was so good. From the cabinet, we got a savoury muffin, triple chocolate brownie and a bacon, spinach and feta brioche - so freaking tasty! Also ordered a couple of rounds of coffee which met our high standards being visitors from Melbourne!

Great food and service. Cabinet also looked very yummy. We had a big breakfast and hot cakes. Very impressed! Both plates are very different from same boring "can find everywhere" dishes and we were delighted for that. Good job team!

Yummy food and not too long of a wait time for it to be ready. Salmon eggs Benedict was one of the best I've had. Iced chocolate came with a chocolate bow and both tasted so good. Coffee was on the stronger side and the blueberry hotcake had a burst of so many different flavours.

I’ll just start by saying the slices at Winona are out of this planet! The service is always faultless and the place has a really cool fit-out and vibe. Enjoy! Hamish Dorrington Kakapo Business Sales

The food was outstanding , not only visually beautiful but tasted delicious! Very impressed also the coffee was perfect. my only issues were that the noise level was quite high and made have a conversation virtually impossible and the toilets appear to be just the local public toilets and are quite a walk away from the cafe Those two things will not stop me coming back and do not stop the service and food from being worth 5 stars !

Oh wow! What an incredible cafe on so many levels… the service was so fast despite it ha very popular cafe, the presentation of all the food was impeccable, the coffee was strong and delicious & the atmosphere and decor stunning! Not to mention the cabinet food & selection of dietary options! Would definitely recommend & return!!

Firstly, the extra plates did not look clean as there was some cake residue (me and my friend shared the food). Secondly, the chicken was overcooked for my liking and I found hair in my food. Overall, the staff were friendly and kept checking up on us. The ambience was really nice and good lighting for photos. <br/><br/>Order: <br/>Buttermilk Fried Chicken <br/>Sumo Sandwich

Having a coffee seems to be that quintessential Kiwi thing to do, especially when you want to catch up with a friend or make one. Good coffee is everywhere and with the number of trendy café vaults that have sprung up all over Auckland, the café pairing also comes with fancy eats. <br/><br/>My latest insta-worthy discovery is Winona Forever along Parnell’s eatery row. Perfect, if you like fusion and are an ‘eat-the-flowers’ type of gal. Expect a queue at this ever-crowded eatery especially over the weekend.<br/><br/>What I liked?<br/><br/>1. The menu laced with clever copy aims to tickle the palate. Try Magical Mushrooms (a creamy organic mushroom salad), The Ladyboy, a Thai-inspired (dish of tom yum eggs benedict with prawn crackers). For the uber-healthy, there is a Japanese-themed Vegan Super Bowl that includes an optional poached egg. <br/><br/>2. Presentation is everything and each dish comes garnished with edible flowers. <br/><br/>3. A hipster drinks list serves up Organic Kombucha, Hakanoka (manuka honey and spicy chai) and that ultimate killer coffee, a Latte Tab (turmeric-ginger latte, beetroot, matcha, earl-grey and rose water) that will definitely make you feel that your morning just kicked right in. <br/><br/>4. Service was generally good and whilst there was a wait for the table - no one rushed us out or hurried us to finish which made the experience nice. <br/><br/>A definite go back to!<br/>

Firstly table wasn’t cleaned, then the coffee came but they forgot the cake . After asking for the cake , the wrong cake was given by the acting manager at present! No apologies! Just rude attitude. Then they forgot to give my takeaway cake which I had already paid for at the start.

Winona Forever is the place that constantly has lines outside the door on the weekends, and, this is for good reason! I came here recently after a long absence due to some previous experiences that weren't the greatest, but this time it definitely was up to the hype. If you want to get a table here, I recommend getting in before 10, as it is just that popular. <br/><br/>The setting is my least favourite bit and that is mostly due to the cramped space as tables fill most available gaps that allow one to move through the cafe. Unfortunately because it gets so busy it means it can get quite loud, hence I recommend coming in early to properly enjoy the experience. Overall, however, this is a nice light space. But it can be difficult to move around and if you come too late you may end up having to join existing tables.<br/><br/>The food here is the real winner, unfortunately, the coffee isn't always the best. But, the menu and food are all excellent! The brioche french toast is a must try along with the beans. All of the food is definitely worth the money as it will come beautifully displayed and you will definitely not leave hungry. No matter what you get it will be worthy of the gram pic. The food here all comes highly recommended and I couldn't pick out a single thing! Also be sure to check out there cabinet items as this is displays a range of absolutely delicious stuff, that if it is too busy at least you can easily get something to go. I should also make note that they cater really well for a range of dietary requirements, and a lot of their cabinet food is gluten free. <br/><br/>The staff are all very nice and the service is typically fast, and I myself have never had a bad experience in this department. <br/><br/>I definitely recommend coming here for a breakfast with friends. Make sure it is early though, so that you can get a seat and get out before it gets too crazy. Even if you end having to join the end of a table you won't be dissapointed with the food.

I love the food at this place. The menu and the cabinet selection is great. The only thing that is a downfall sometimes is the coffee. Despite that, they have a large variety of dairy free milks available.

disappointed for not having anyone serve us for at least 15mins when it wasn't busy. food in a great portion with its price but taste average. coffee was not on point for a coffee drinker l.

One of my favourite cafes in Parnell. It's quite popular and hard to get a table if you come on a weekend after 11am as it gets quite crowded. Food is always tasty--I really enjoy their lamb naanwich with hashtag fries and their Matcha Latte. Prices are reasonable for their portion size and staff are generally quite friendly.

Really nice location, decor and presentation of food is really nice! I’ve been a few times and really liked it however I wasn’t the biggest fan of the red velvet pancakes/ hotcake.. it was really dry and hard to eat.

This cafe is in a very good location. Walking in the cabinet was jaw dropping and very aesthetic to the eye. Ordered the Eton rifle part 5 and it was so delicious nothing but praise. With that being said I wish I tried the predecessors. Will be back again to try some of the rest of the menu and even there successors.

Perfect place to get breakfast or brunch! Or even just chill. Beside the crowd everything is good here, all the platting is beautiful here. The taste also good, I love my pancakes they served with dried fruit also which really perfect combination with my sweet pancakes. My brother & partner got salmon egg benedict & big breakfast which is really big portion, the taste also nice! The salmon so tasty!

A cute little cafe in Parnell - they served a mean creamy mushroom and fried chicken! the fried chicken comes in generous portion but I wish there were more food in the creamy mushroom. All food tastes so yummy so I don’t really mind!

What a lovely place to enjoy a slice of amazing cake (they have a huge variety of cakes, tarts, pastries, cookies etc) and an amazing cup of cappuccino! Very quaint :)

Very disgusted and grossed out to find a bug in a haloumi brioche today! Not sure what it is exactly, but definitely not something that should have been there... Very disappointed as Winona Forever was a place I really enjoyed going to. Definitely not going back<br/>@winonaforever - please check your kitchen and talk to your staff!!! This is not acceptable!!!

Friendly staffs, visually pleasing dessert display + delicious meals (the softshell crab omelet is quite different and yymmy). All the visits to this cafe have been nice.

Good place to hang out with friend

Eggs Benedict with Bacon ($21.50)<br/>Banana cake ($7.50)<br/>Cream donut ($5)

Updated:<br/>Very disappointed by this time. Seems like the chef is too busy and the sausage and tomato in the breakfast were not well cooked at all. The tomato just not been grilled yet. Very sad.<br/><br/>Second visit after so long. The food are great, but drinks are average. The iced mocha is a bit bland. But will come back for food. The overall portion and taste is above average.

LOVE this place. Their food and coffee looks and tastes amazing as does their absolutely epic cabinet food<br/>They do get busy, so sometimes you have to wait and/or share a table - I guess this is the only downside really!

I came here once for the French toast awhile back with my friends and I didn’t really like it because it was so sweet. I figured I’ll give Winona Forever another try because I do remember the cabinet food being absolutely gorgeous. I came here with my boyfriend on a Saturday for a lunch date and I decided to get something savoury this time. I got the ‘you’re an egg’ scrambled with toasted ciabatta and extra bacon and he got the big breakfast plate. There wasn’t really a ‘wow’ factor in the dish as it was pretty basic but still delicious. My boyfriend’s big breakfast plate was massive and he couldn’t finish it. For $24.5, it was a pretty good deal. The service was alright, nothing really worth discussing.

I usually come in for a scone for a treat on Fridays. Today I came in at 730am, no sweet scones on display hence I asked the lady about it. They quickly got the kitchen to send one out and asked me if I'm okay with blueberry & lemon scone of the day. Yes! Anything sweet I thought. I had it takeaway, however upon consumption. I noticed that the middle was undercooked and doughy. That just un-made my morning as I couldn't continue eating it after the first bite ! Don't think mistakes like this should ever happen tbh. Anyway, I sent a comment via fbook msg. Still waiting for a response .

I would have given this place 5 stars, except for the fact that it is a. pricey for what it is, and b. almost always crowded.The food is visually delightful, delicious and the portion sizes are more than adequate. My friend and I both ordered the pork belly benedict and although I am not a fan of pork it was well worth the wait. Service was friendly and efficient; water was brought to our table within minutes of my friend arriving which is something that most cafes around Auckland tend to neglect but always makes a lasting impression with me.Don't bother coming here with a hangover, it is crowded, noisy and bustling which makes for a less than pleasant dining experience.

We ordered big breakfast and soft shell crab omelet. The Galbi pork was tender and tasty. The bok choi was not clean enough to be eaten. Besides, all the other food were good.

We did not try food and only tried a caramel chocolate slice which was rich and gooey fresh.. quite enjoyed it! They have very few options for egg free desserts. Having some more options would be great!

Visited this cafe after hearing a lot of hype and also seeing lots of pretty food pics.<br/>It’s the kinda place that’s always busy/crowded.<br/>Ordered the famous French toast that’s been seen on social media. For me personally, I found this a little bit dry with not much flavour fusion with the fruits added on the side.

The food was great and desserts have a huge variety. We ordered the salmon, pork Benedict which were delicious. However, they are a bit on the pricey side.

We came here as a group, and we basically all got the big breakfast! Wow, super generous portions of pork belly, very delicious and slow-cooked. Great flavours that all worked together well.<br/><br/>The Beans is Beans is also delicious, and super satisfying in its own way!

We went to this place for breakfast, one cold, rainy morning this May, while on our vacation. We ordered the Softshell crab Omelette, the big breakfast plate and their renowned hot chocolate (one regular, one with peanut butter). To start with, the hot chocolate, Oh My God. Has to be the best I have tried ever and was worth every penny. The portions were huge and it took me a while to finish the omelette, but it was delicious. My daughter went for one of the lemon meringue donuts on display.<br/><br/>The service was fast, though the place was full, we got a seat immediately. A little cramped, but I guess they need to make place for all those who come in. Overall, a great place, and I would have loved to try out more things off their menu if I had the time!

They're food is done well with a hint of difference<br/>Their eggs had a touch of chilli with shrimp. This place is always packed so be prepared to wait during peak hours.

This cafe is definitely on my A-List!<br/>Talk about food styling this is the one to go to!<br/>But not just that the food and portioning is a star!<br/>Location is good and ver accessible!<br/>Love it to bits! Keep it up guys!

Lovely cafe. Nice ambience. Food presentation was nice, but lacking in flavor. Desserts and drinks tasted not bad, but nothing special. Seems a bit overpriced for it.

Food looks incredible in the cabinet so I was excited to go and try but I had the chocolate berry cake and the vege brioche and both were dry and just seemed like they were in display for too long. For how much you pay for the food, disappointing.

I have been to a few cafes in Parnell but this one is amazing. Thinking of a cafe to bring an oversea friend for brunch, and was recommended to come here. Did not disappoint. Nice environment for a meal, friendly staffs, and tasty food. Food looks very attractive and fancy decorated too.<br/><br/>Food Taste 4/5<br/>Food Presentation 5/5<br/>Service 4.5/5<br/>Ambiance 4.5/5<br/>Value (Price and Portion Size) 4/5

The food here is stunning and so tasty too. Most of their dishes are worthy of a photo and taste just as good. The portion sizes are very generous too. My sister had the french toast/eton rifle- which gets more impressive with every alteration. I had the mushrooms, which was tasty too. The iced chocolates are tasty as well. Will be back!

A chic cafe located at the bottom of Parnell towards the city. Lovely ambience with beautiful interior, massive seating areas.<br/><br/>Nice and friendly staff, however food took quite some time to arrive. <br/><br/>Food are reasonably portioned. Ordered the Eton Rifle which I highly recommend to all sweet lovers.<br/><br/>Nice coffee with a cute latte art.<br/><br/>Food: 8/10<br/>Food presentation: 10/10<br/>Service: 7/10<br/>Location: 9/10<br/>Ambience: 9/10<br/>Price $25 per person <br/>

Great food and atmosphere - there is never a shortage of choices. Coffee is really good and the additions of dairy free milk and dark hot chocolates aid this. <br/><br/>The service is less than ideal though and the staff can come across quite hostile and argumentative. While I understand that they are very busy, it seems to be the norm.

Totally overpriced. Food from the cabinet, expensive and tasteless. The pastry is really yummy on the other hand... worth trying. Ambience noisy, service OK.

Winona Forever is a cute and aesthetically pleasing cafe. Ambience is definitely a 5/5 but food wise, I personally felt that everything was very overpriced and the combination of flavours wasn’t to my preference. I ordered the Gado Gado which is my personal favourite when I go Bali and I can definitely say, it was no where near to what I was actually expecting. <br/><br/>I’m sure other options on the menu is great but based on my Gado Gado order - quite disappointing

Nice ambience and vibe.Coffee was excellent as well<br/>However was quite disappointed the food.<br/>We came at 730am for breakfast, which wasn't really full just we waited close to 30mins for our food. The presentation was really nice but the kpop pork belly was too salty and the trim meat but was to hard to chew on, the brioche on the bottom was a little dry too.<br/>The vegan bowl was quite worth it however I found the mushroom too salty as well, otherwise its quite a healthy wholesome bowl.

A menu with a twist. I enjoyed the Eggs Benedict with prawns. The brioche toast with it was a bit dry though and my poached eggs overdone. I’d stick to the cabinet food here! Staff are super friendly and helpful- they relaxed my meal and went over and above to offer something sweet from the cabinet. The savoury brioche are yum and the white chocolate rocky road to die for! Anytime I’m in the area I pop in just to grab a sweet treat.

Came into Winona Forever for lunch and once we walked in we were standing for around 7 minutes until we finally had to call a waiter and get a table. I got the 'eton rifle' which is a french toast, its a very sweet dish but was quite good but I do think you need to have a big sweet tooth for this. My mum got the 'beans is beans' which is like an avo on toast with peas and edamame with a poached egg and beetroot hummus, find this super creative and not your average avocado on toast, she enjoyed her meal. Find it cool that they have such creative names for all their meals. Cabinet food also looked really cute. Overall a good experience and can see why their so popular, definitely recommend.

It’s a quite busy cafe, nice ambience and lots of cabinet foods to choose. Their doughnuts are my favorite. Food has beautiful presentation but sometimes taste too strong. Their French toast was famous, but too sweet. Service was not good, sometimes was a little bit rude when they were busy.

A place deserving of its reputation!<br/>Their shared seating concept is great and actually lead to some great conservation.<br/><br/>Great food, stunning presentation and helpful staff! Our Fih and Chips were as good as on the waterfront itself. Will be back!

AMAZING! Second time dining here and it’s still amazing. Food was tasty and came pretty quick despite how busy it was. The only thing is that it gets quite loud. But I’d definitely recommend and I’d come back.

Great spot for a weekend breakfast and catch up with friends. The pork belly eggs Benedict is the best Benedict I've ever had. Great vibe and staff were friendly and very accommodating. Gets very busy in the weekends but we'll worth the wait

Was here on a Monday morning and it was an absolute fabulous way to kick start the week! The spacial interior of the place, paired with its immaculate cleanliness gave off a stress-free and relaxing vibe. <br/><br/>There were plenty of food options to choose from - whether you are after little sweet treats or savoury meals to quench your hunger; both from the cabinet range and from the main menu. <br/><br/>I tried the corn fritter from the cabinet - it was interestingly paired with eggplants and some salad which tasted surprisingly good together! My friend got the KPOP pulled pork and it looked delicious too! <br/><br/>The service was really fast and friendly, the wait staff were keen to help and checked on us periodically. The wait time for food and drinks were impressive too. <br/><br/>Ambience: 8/10<br/>Service: 8/10<br/>Food: 7/10

Very polite staff members! They were so busy the weekend we booked a table but the waitresses were very on to it, we always had water and they made sure we were comfortable and enjoying our meals. <br/>The food was so beautiful and it tasted even better than it looked — definitely coming back! 💛

Like so many places they open, do well and then fall off the podium. The food was ok, although I have had way better there, but the care factor of service or you as a customer is zero. It has turned into a factory and you are just part of the process. Time to find somewhere else. Simple things like cleaning the table never came back to do, giving menus then no one came until I asked what the process was to order and then when you pay a simple “how was everything” was missed as well .. took the money quickly and moved on though. Need to find a new local I think

I only ever come here for their French Toast, and was very disappointed when they’ve changed it and now it’s very average. Though very instagrammable, totally not worth the price.<br/><br/>The ambience is very nice and staff are very friendly.

I visited this cafe last Saturday. It is a quiet busy cafe. The service is nice and staff there are helpful. I ordered a french toast. the presentation of the food is nice. The taste of the food is average. The french toast tasted a bit dry. I wanna try some savoury food from the menu next time.

Very busy cafe! I dined in yesterday at around 12:30pm and all the tables were basically taken. They were very quick to take our orders and to bring out the meals which was amazing. I ordered the Anzac Granola and it was beautiful!! Highly recommend this cafe however car parking in and around this spot is a challenge.

Great food and great atmosphere!<br/><br/>A must-try brunch place in Auckland. They serve a wide-range of dishes. I tried the eggs benedict with prawn and loved it! The prawn is something you don’t usually find in an eggs benedict but it just makes it very special and tasty.

I’m sure everyone has already been here, but I have to say it’s probably one of the most instagrammable cafes in Auckland. The Anzac granola is so good, and I’m not someone who usually orders granola. They’re very generous with their freeze dried fruits and I am a big fan (its like eating heathy candy). Everything on the big breakfast plate was tasty, magic mushrooms were delicious but I really wish they’d give you more than one crepe or like a couple pieces of toast on the side to soak the goodness up. Not a fan of the prawn benedict though (the Ladyboy). Brioche was dry. Prawn crackers stale. Their bacon benedict is much better. Drinks are also delicious.

Pretty nice place. Food was tasty both times I went there. I also tried their coffee and it was ok, nothing special but nothing wrong with it either. Worth going to.

Been here for many times, as always wonderful foods kinder staffs , in weekend hard to get table super busy , but when you eat amazing brunch I will definitely happy

One of my favourite cafe in Auckland. They are really busy during brunch time, may need to wait a bit for a free table. But definitely worth it.<br/>🥩Kpop Pork Benedict. Love the Korean style pork belly, 2 large pieces, with the apple cider hollandaise. Yummy！<br/>🍳You're an egg + bacon🥓. Simple but delicious. Scrambled eggs are perfectly cooked.<br/>Love the food here, the price is reasonable as well. Highly recommend!

Amazing french toast every time. Winona Forever is definitely my favourite brunch place. I always take friends here!! It does not disappoint. Food is 100% Insta worthy. I’ve also had the pork belly eggs benedict and matcha latte which were nice.

Pork Belly Benedict - Dissapointed with my meal. The pork belly was marinated too sweet. The pork was very tough and very dry. The bread crust was extremely hard.<br/><br/>Salmon Benedict - Salmon portion was a disappointment relative to the description, bread was hard yet chewy and did not compliment the other components of the dish, other than the slightly sweet hollandaise that compliments the salmon, the mean was nice.<br/><br/>Daddy's Sandwich - At first grace this sandwich look absolutely stunning, with criss cross fries and aioli unfortunately I would not recommend at all. The bacon was extremely smokey and sweet, overpowering the whole sandwich. Removing majority of the sweet bacon made the sandwich more bearable though.<br/><br/>Big Breakfast - Pork belly was quite sweet also but was easily complimented by the broccolinni, eggs were quite fluffy but overshadowed by the fact that they were dry.<br/><br/>Ambience of the cafe was lively for a Sunday but did was not loud enough to have a conversation amongst others. Customer service was great too but greatly overshadowed by the disappointingly sweet food.<br/><br/>The donut was amazing. Cream donut with chocolate inside. Would come back just for the donut.<br/>

Very good service. The food came a little bit late but it was worth the wait. We got the ANZAC granola, the Eton Rifle Pavlovaa and the buckwheat hotcake. Everything looked and tasted so good!!

Portions are big and must commend them for experimenting and adding a twist to the usual cafe dishes. Had the pork belly Benedict and soft shell crab omelette with some matcha lattes. But it was all very average as the flavours either didn’t work or were slightly bland.

Been here a handful of times and food is always great. Would recommend going on a weekday as weekends get super busy. Service by staff is great and there is a decent menu to chose from alongside some pretty nice cabinet items. Wait times can stretch a bit but food is totally worth the wait. Dishes are tastefully presented and very gram worthy 👌🏽

I used to come here weekly around a year ago, their Bacon Benedict dish was hands-down the best eggs benedict I've ever had. Every bite reminded me of the potential I once had as a child, the small pieces of poached pear delicately toying with my taste buds as I indulged in the brioche bun and eggs that were poached to perfection, every time. Around 8-9 months ago however, they changed their menu and replaced the Bacon Benedict with a dish called the K Pop Belly Benedict. It's not good, and the spinach brioche tastes stale. The poached apple or whatever it is served with also doesn't fit the rest of the meal. The presentation of all their food is great, and the smoothies are pretty good. The service is average, but the Bacon Benedict was so good I would have given it a 5* review even if they slapped me while serving it. Please bring it back!

Used to come here every weekend with a group of friends when it opened, they had the best Bacon Eggs Benedict (the one on the brioche bun). Hardly come back anymore since they took it off the menu, tried the current Eggs Benedict this weekend and it didn’t even compare - hope it comes back onto the menu as we’d gladly come back as regulars again! <br/><br/>Deducting another point for the young and inexperienced service staff, something we have found in other venues from the same group unfortunately as well (Sugar, Major Tom..) - hope they will get proper training and more experienced floor managers to oversee them in the future! <br/><br/>Otherwise love the creative menu and interior so we’re keen to give it another go when the old Eggs Benny are back on the menu :)

We arrived at a good time since we were able to get a table as soon as we arrived. After looking at the menu for a minute the place was full. We were sat inside beside the counter full of amazing looking baked goods.<br/><br/>The menu is interesting with lots of things which look familiar with a twist. I had the soft shell crab omelette. The portions here are quite big. The omelette was more like a frittata that covered the whole plate, covered with deep fried soft shell crab and bok choy. It smelt nice but upon tasting it, thought it needed more seasoning. It was the same for my friends chorizo chili scramble.<br/><br/>Food definitely looks good and the portions are quite good but just needs seasoning to make it perfect.

Really nice place, with great ambience but pretty expensive and it can get quiet busy so wait can be long, had to wait about 15+ minutes. Otherwise the food was overall great with a good portion which is good and they had a really pretty and nice presentation for all foods. I had the vegan bowl (second image) and it was good and very fulling. The service okay, as it took a long time for our food to be served and for the waitress to take our order.

Must try brunch spot! Great coffee, and the prawn Benedict cannot be missed. Fast service, even though there is always a queue for a table! Delish cabinet food.

I reckon this place is among my favourite cafes in Auckland. There was a reasonable wait for the food to be served but it was worth it. The French toast was fluffy, not overly sweet, and tasted beyond great. I would for sure come back anytime.

Amazing food,many choices,very busy cafe.<br/>The salmon bene that I had was amazing!! Totally different from the other place.It's very original style.Good quality!!

A busy little place so very loud and bustling with activity. The food was pretty good. I had the pork belly bene and the serving was generous. The coffee was ok, I admit to being very fussy here so I’m rarely happy with kiwi coffee... sorry! The display cabinet was so enticing and I had good intentions of spending up large after breakfast but the dish of yumminess had filled me up so much I left empty handed. I’d go back again but unlike most people this morning I wouldn’t line up at the door for a table.

Went there with 6 friends, this place is always busy, my friends felt the food and presentation is not that good as before. Myself quite like the grilled chicken, the taste of the pork belly made me feel that I was dining in the asian restaurant.

I am a pescatarian so I bought the ‘salmon and potato filo pastry’ assuming it was just salmon. Got home, ate half before realising there were tiny pieces of bacon through it. Not happy. If there is meat in the food I think it needs to be stated in the name on cabinet.

As a man who is partial to pancakes, I thoroughly enjoyed Winona.<br/><br/>I was skeptical when the menu stated "hotcake" as opposed to the plural form, but my skepticism was unfounded.<br/>The single hotcake was soaked with a delicious syrup and was gorgeously buttery. The plate was adorned with a date paste, in a very artistic fashion. The hotcake, a foundation to a wonderful poached pear, splayed dates, fig and a gorgeous, tart coconut yoghurt. Several shards of sesame brittle protruded from the main event.<br/><br/>Additionally, the fries, in a hash formation, were delicious, and the aioli was moreish.<br/><br/>I would gladly come here again, as the other menu options were equally enticing.

Heard so much about this place, it was our first visit last Sunday. Love the ambience and the quirky food menu. The presentation is great and very generous in portion. We ordered the K pop benedict, salmon benedict and soft shell crabs omelette for brunch; purple coconut smoothie and flat white for beverage. Really liked their purple coconut smoothie & soft shell crabs, will definitely go back to try other things.

This place does not need another raving review but still “we should all give credit where credit is due” so here I am giving this place a Five star for everything !!!

I’d never heard of this place until we googled where to have<br/>brunch one day, so we decided to give it a try. We arrived on a busy Sunday morning<br/>around 10am, but as there were just two of us we only had to wait about 5 minutes<br/>outside for a table. The staff were friendly and quick to clear a table for us.<br/>First impressions were that this was clearly a “trendy” place. Not a child in<br/>sight (and definitely not somewhere I would go with my kids), and lots of<br/>well-dressed, clearly not short of money, young people in their 20s and 30s. <br/><br/> <br/><br/>The décor is the usual industrial look that’s all the rage,<br/>and while the place looked quite nice, the bare floors meant the place was<br/>really noisy and we had to talk really loudly and strain to hear each other.<br/>Also the flowers on our table were almost dead and gave off a horrible smell –<br/>they should have been changed days before!<br/><br/> <br/><br/>As for the food, there was a really good choice on the menu.<br/>I got the creamy mushroom dish and my friend got the big breakfast plate. The<br/>food arrived quickly, and portion sizes were decent. My mushrooms were tasty<br/>but nothing special, and I’ve had better in other Auckland cafes. The coffees<br/>were good, but could have been a bit hotter.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>On the way out we couldn’t resist grabbing two<br/>delicious-looking – and huge! – pastries to take home for afternoon tea. And<br/>boy were they delicious. <br/><br/> <br/><br/>So overall, a pleasant enough brunch with good food and good<br/>service. Would we go back? We said we probably would for coffee and a cake, but<br/>probably not for brunch as we’ve had better food elsewhere, and in a more<br/>pleasant and less noisy environment.

I love the ambience. The glass let's a lot of sun into the hall. The food are all so pretty and very generous in portions. We ordered fish and chip, soft shell crab omelette, chillies chorizo scramble and Eaton trifle. Fish was perfectly done in very light batter and nori chips replaced potatoes. Eaton trifle was super pretty, consider it a desert dish. Soft shell crab was nicely done just like the fish. The crab was dressed in Siracha mayo, with a bit of heat from the Siracha chilli. Chorizo scramble is perhaps the most underwhelming of our four orders. Don't get me wrong, it tasted just fine but when the other three of our dishes were so special, the chorizo scramble just got shadowed by the other three.<br/>Service was fast and efficient. If there is an option of 4.5 star I would have given 4.5.

so - after hearing so much about Winona Forever went for brunch /lunch today Saturday with sister.  She had the mushrooms - they were nice (I stole some !) - the scrambled egg she requested instead of an egg were tough .  Her coffee - her comment organic but OK.  I had the spinach omelette with crab - still looking for the crab. The 'omelette' looked more like a flat tortilla with 3 splotches of remoulade and on top were 3 pieces of ? crab - 2 of the pieces looked more like tiny calamari - to say I was disappointed is an understatement. LEARN TO MAKE OMELETTES PEOPLE!   As said by a previous reviewer - there are many other restaurants/cafes in Auckland I would rather spend my dollars at -  Will praise the goodies cabinet  and had a piece of brownie which was yum

When I think of brunch, I think of Winona Forever. Winona Forever is famous for being one of the best cafes in Auckland. Even on a weekday, it is hard to get a seat in this stylish eatery.<br/><br/>Service: 7/10<br/>We stood at the entrance of the cafe for about 5 minutes and no one seemed to notice us.<br/>When we were finally seated, our friendly waitress welcomed us and took our order.<br/>It was so busy we had to sit on the same table as another group of customers. <br/>The wait time was quite long but it was worth it in the end.<br/>Most of the waitresses were very helpful and were always happy to service us.<br/><br/>Food: 5/10<br/>We ordered the kpop pork benedict, organic blue tacos, peanut butter hot chocolate, a cappuccino and a chocolate hazelnut tart from the cabinet.<br/>The presentation was gorgeous, I couldn’t stop taking pictures.<br/>The pork belly was slightly overcooked causing the meat to be a little tough. The skin had a lot of hairs that hadn’t been cleaned off which made it quite uncomfortable to eat. The brioche soaked up all the flavours of the marinate and sauce, making it super flavoursome. The poached eggs were perfectly cooked and had a nice runny yolk.<br/>The peanut butter hot chocolate had a beautifully unique presentation. The saltiness of the peanut butter was great with the sweet chocolate. But the milk wasn’t hot enough so it was difficult trying to get the chocolate to melt.<br/>The hazelnut tart was absolutely delicious. The tart was sweet and crumbly; the chocolate and caramel filling was creamy and smooth with crunchy pieces of hazelnuts.<br/><br/>Ambiance: 10/10 <br/>I would be lying if I said this place wasn’t stunning.<br/>As soon as we entered, we were hit with the delicious smells coming from the kitchen and the baked goods.<br/>Winona Forever has the most aesthetically pleasing and attractive cabinet I’ve ever seen. I could barely take my eyes off all the delicious options on display.<br/>The big glass windows allow natural sunlight to shine into the restaurant. There are vibrant plants and paintings all the over the wall making you feel like you’re eating in a flowerbed.<br/><br/>Winona Forever is certainly the place to go when in need of some visually pleasing Instagram posts. <br/>The cabinet foods are definitely the highlight of this cafe, I couldn’t stop myself from ordering a plum custard crumble before I left.

Winona Forever surprise me and had great experience every time I visit. Love the food and the presentation. Such a great place for a weekend lunch.

Last time I came here I shared the Vegan Super Bowl and the Big Breakfast with my friend<br/>Don’t get the Vegan Super Bowl you are literally paying for chopped up veges and the majority of it was carrots. <br/>The Big Breakfast was better but was it amazing? Not really. The Baked Beans were bland and the rest of the stuff was average. The only thing that stood out to me was the Beef Brisket which was tender and saucy. <br/>My other friends ordered the Chilli Scrambled Eggs and the Salmon Benedict. <br/>They said the Eggs were nice but the Salmon Benedict wasn’t worth it.<br/>Kinda disappointed since Winona has such a good reputation but I feel like it has gone downhill over time. Love the concept but the food isn’t meeting up to its expectations unfortunately. <br/>Would I ever go back? No. <br/>There are so many other cafes to try in Auckland and I’d rather spend my time and money elsewhere.

First time went there. It was busy as hell. So waiting around 10mins for a seat. Got a seat but kinda squashed. I guess it was busy and everyone was hyping over the food. Ordered and waited another 20-30mins. Tried the salmon eggs bene, not that great actually. Overall experience 3/5 🙂

Delicious food and instagram worthy presentation what’s not to love? Winona forever is a busy cafe in Parnell with a fully stocked delicious looking display cabinet as well as your favourite brunch menu. They do everything from brownies, cakes to your most loved eggs benny. <br/><br/>Incredible food and friendly waiters. The cafe is always busy on the weekend so there is a wait time for a table however it is well worth it. <br/><br/>This was my second experience at Winona forever and I loved the food. However, on my first experience it wasn’t so pleasant as service was slow and they got my coffee wrong. <br/><br/>Still would recommend though!

The food was great! Love their coconut milk cappuccinos. Be sure to check out all the pastries and food displayed, as well as the menu. <br/>This is definitely one of my favorite brunch spots and I will be going back soon!

The hot cakes were the most disgusting I've ever tasted. Mushy pastry coupled with red dates, warm yoghurt, pear, and some sweet sauce. Does not go well together.<br/><br/>Jam donuts were thick as a rock filled with outdated cream.<br/><br/>Food: 2/10<br/>Service: 9/10

Great place, like the atmosphere and the whole interior decoration. Food and coffee were good, friendly staff. However, the waiting time was so long, waited 30 minutes for my food.

Winona Forever is one of my top 5. The food, service and atmosphere are so good. The presentation of food are contemporary and innovative. Also the volume of each dish was generous and prices are reasonable too. I can’t ask any better.

Will just get the negativity out the way and say I had a rather disappointing + sad almond croissant, was limp and very dry. Luckily, seeing as we still had holes in our stomachs we ordered a custard filled donut + a whittaker’s salted caramel slice which were both beautiful! coffee was smooth + scrummy!!!! 😸😸😸

Overrated & pretentious hipster cafe. Service was non-existent and food wasn’t worth the effort. So much hype about this place but it has no substance.

Really good food, everyone and their mother was Instagraming their meals. Only had seats outside, place was heaving had to wait a long time for the meal, forgot the tea and service was average cause too busy to cope. Would like to go back when less manic, not sure if it's ever not.

Highly recommend!! Being a BIG mushroom fan, I must recommend their Magic Mushroom dish! It’s a MUST. I went around 9am last Saturday, :( and it was already full...try to book or go early!

Delicious food and great service. The cabinet is always full of delicious treats. There are plenty of options for vegan and vegetarian as well. We had the salad bowl with was so good. It’s always bustling at the weekend so make sure you get there early to grab a table. Definitely going back soon.

Ever since it opened around a year ago, Winona Forever has been the hottest kid on the block, attracting a crowd at almost every hour of the day. With a mouth-watering selection of menu items as well as a beautiful spread of cabinet treats, you cannot walk past Winona without spending a dollar or two.

Was anticipating a great birthday celebration with friends over the amazing looking food after reading the rave reviews, but the service pretty much ruined our experience. Three of us wanted to sit on a 4-seated table and had asked a waiter first prior to moving from the seats we were shown to, and doing so only after getting the green light. We were then asked by another waitress if we had a 4th person coming and if not, we couldnt sit on that table. Feeling abit taken aback, we moved back to the bigger table but no less than 5mins later, a group of 3 people were shown to that same table and the same waitress said nothing even though there were plenty of other seats available for those three. We also waited a long time before someone came to take our orders after some difficulties catching any staff's attention. Understanding it was a busy morning but food from the cabinet took far longer than food from the menu, most likely forgotten but there was no apology. Food presentation was great but quality was average - had burnt bread in the chorizo chili scrambled. Disappointing experience overall

Always loved the look of this place so had to pop in for afternoon tea. I ordered the vegan pana cotta with fruit. Was nice and refreshing and very well presented. Will definitely be returning to try out the rest of the menu 😍

Walking into Winona Forever is the brunch equivalent to the chocolate shop in Willy Wonka. It's bright and colourful and full of cakes, pastries and food choices. Between two of us we got the chilli scrambled eggs and a bacon and cheese pastry from the cabinet, as well as some coffees. The coffees were that perfect level of strong and smooth and nice and hot on a very cold morning. The bacon and cheese roll hit the spot and it was massive! The scrambled eggs weren't overly spicy and were accompanied by plenty of fresh and tasty sides. If only I was local I would be back, but until next time!

Great place! We went for a Sunday brunch. Although packed and with many people outside waiting we were seated right away! Great service and super friendly staff. The Big Breakfast was superb. Slow cooked pork belly, delicious mushrooms and well priced. Coffee is great too. Definitely returning soon!

COFFEE - perfect. <br/><br/>FOOD - a disappointing lack of vegan options. The menu on their website makes it look like they have a vegan panna cotta, but this is no longer on the menu. The waitress at first told me they could make the "beans is beans" dish vegan, but then went on to tell me that the feta was premixed into one of the dishes components. So I ordered the only vegan option on the menu - the breakfast salad bowl. Honestly, it was a VERY expensive disappointment. Essentially a pile of raw veggies - no creamy element, no protein. It would've been 10 times better with a tahini dressing and perhaps some marinated tempeh/tofu and/or roasted chickpeas. Without these flavour boosters, the salad was plain boring and led to instant order-regret. I did however get one of their vegan brownies to try and pick things up, and this was good at least. I would love to see more veggie sides added to their selection - had they had more options here I could have put together a meal with these, which is what I tend to do when vegan options are lacking (currently they just have bread, meat, avo, cheese and eggs). <br/><br/>ATMOSPHERE - very busy for a Wednesday! The cafe is gorgeous inside with a packed cabinet and plenty of pretty touches around the place. <br/><br/>SERVICE - fast and efficient. Food was served quickly.

Wow!! This place had such a vibrant vibe and the staff was friendly and approachable. I had the Eton Rifle Pavlov " French Toast". It looked just as good as it tastes. Love it. Definitely going back again.

This has to be my new favourite cafe for breakfast.<br/>The food was amazing and presented in spectacular fashion. I would also rate the service as top notch. Despite there being a line out the door we were seated within minutes and the food was served quickly. I partcularly enjoyed that the peanut hot chocolate I ordered was deconstructed and required mixing some of the components. I would also recomend adding a shot of espresso for an extra hit.

Great food and service :) The french toast was almost too pretty to eat! It tasted really nice but I couldn't finish it as it was a bit too sweet to my liking. But overall, the experience was great :)

This is my first visit and I love the coffee plus the supreme service. Very caring and witty staff who knew what I need for a better cappuccino. <br/><br/>The surprise thing I found is the noise level here, which makes it very different from most cafes.

I had to wait for a few minutes at the door since it was peak brunch time but all the servers were friendly and polite and were quick to seat me when there was a table ready. The food we ordered came in big portions so it's well worth the price and so pretty!! The pork belly on the benedict was probably one of the best I've had at cafes. Everything else in the cabinets are very pretty and I'll definitely need to come back to try them ☺️

Considering how busy they were for a Sunday morning we were seated very fast and received impeccable service. The only downfall is how close you are to everyone as you feel you can’t relax. However, amazing food would definitely go again 😋

Third visit and quite disappointed. We waited for 30 minutes to be seated after they advised 10-15 min wait. We understand staff can’t control that. Staff didn’t come to our table to take food orders we had to keep trying to waive them down. From there food arrived 45 ish minutes later (a few tables who sat down after us had their food served first). My meal arrived completely cold, my friends hotcakes were fine. Told staff the meal was cold, she rolled her eyes and heated it - but when it came back, the plate was hot but most of the eggs (inside and bread) were still cold. I understand busy days but this experience didn’t have positives.

Food was amazing. Slightly overpriced cafe but i guess that's part of the package as the food is that good. Quantity and portion sizes were excellent too. Lovely setting and experience! ☆☆☆☆

After seeing so many photos everywhere I finally had to give in and visit Winona Forever. And let‘s say I was not disappointed! Even though it was a Monday, the place was packed with people. I got a bit stressed thinking it would probably be a long wait and my lunch break does not continue for ages - but after about 10 mins I already had my food. And it looked so stunning! I usually never go for the sweet option but for the famous Eton Rifle I had to make an exception.<br/>The service was awesome as well. The waitress apologized to me twice because one of the flowers decorating the meal fell down. <br/>Very good experience and next time I will try one of their hearty options.

This place is gonna be my new favourite cafe in Auckland!!! Waited for 30 mins for the food to be served but it’s definitely worth the wait! The eton rifle and pork belly Benedicts are my favourites !!! The French toast is so fluffy and not too sweet, it just tasted beyond heavenly! I don’t really like sweet food, but their French toast is pretty good for me~💓💯 I’ll def be back again!!

We were around this area 2 days ago, couldn't get a seat at Winona Forever & ended up had a bad experience at Little Big Cafe. Today, we were here again for lunch. I had a soft-shell crab omelette with extra grilled halloumi. It was spinach omelette with a bit of pok choy, fresh cream & charred lime - a very lovely dish. The breakfast wrap from the cabinet was nice too. Coffees were strong & hot. <br/>(Food - 4/5; Service - 4.5/5)<br/>Visited on 8 May 2018

This place did not disappoint. Had Sunday brunch as a birthday treat my little niece....we had a to wait for a bit for a table but WOW!!! what a treat that was. The food we ordered were super yummy especially the Eton Rifle it was like an adventure on a plate. Loved the whole ambience of the restaurant and the service was excellent...it was Sunday and it was buzzing. I'm 100% coming back for more 😍

This place is awesome! The perfect spot for a special brunch. Winona Forever might be a bit more expensive than your usual café, but it‘s worth it! Next time I go, I‘ll try their cabinet food- it looks amazing.

I had the Eton Rifle Pavlova and it was perfectly delicious! The brioche was soft and beautifully spiced. The presentation was just gorgeous! It was so busy for Sunday brunch, but they found us a cozy little spot in no time at all. Only thing I can fault was that it was too busy and loud go have a decent conversation without almost shouting at one another,

Would rate 3.5 if there was an option to.<br/><br/>Came here about 9:30/10am on a Saturday and it was absolutely packed. Had to wait 15mins for a table and we considered going elsewhere. We then sat outside and there was such a cold breeze with it being exposed on parnell rise. Could really do with some outdoor heaters and/or something to enclose the outside space from the street more. Luckily we were able to move inside. <br/>The waiters were nice, but the place seemed understaffed and my boyfriend was waving his hand around for a solid 5mins before any of the waiters came over. The food took a while to come.<br/><br/>The actual food was nice, i had the salmon benedict and it was presented so beautifully. The mushroom dish that my boyfriend had looked average and he said it was a bit too creamy for his liking. <br/><br/>Would probably give this place 5 stars if we come again at a less busy time, and instead of ordering meals, just share some of the baked food between ourselves with a cup of tea. Nice atmosphere and the baked food looked so pretty!

This place was busting when we got here at 9am on Sunday morning! We got a seat at the end of a long table filled with other breakfast goers. The decoration was great and service was very prompt. I ordered a white hot chocolate and the magical mushrooms. I was overall disappointed with my meal and beverage as they were cold and not very flavoursome. The volume of the cafe was getting louder as more and more people were piling in, we almost had to shout to hear each other. I don't think I'd return for a meal, maybe something from their amazing cabinet.

There was nothing magical about the magical mushrooms. A wet towel they called a crepe draped over a pile of bland, watery mushrooms priced at $20 is the most accurate description of today’s breakfast. Unfortunately not Forever, not even again.

Yum yummy Eggs Benedict with brioche bun. Outstanding range of cabinet food. I would definitely come back to try some. I'm glad to see their sister café opened up one in North Shore. Expanding their uniqueness of food.

BBBBBOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!! This place is so good~~~<br/><br/>Interior design mate, rustic, wooden and like floral. Cabinet food WOOW cute. Like I can't even describe it, you just have to go there yourself to see it. <br/><br/>BUT WAIT!! That's not even the best part<br/><br/>(ok lemme take a big breathe before I ramble on about how FABULOUSLY AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL THIS PLACE FREAKING IS)<br/><br/>In simple terms, my mum and I we ordered the Eton Pavlova / Rifle and the Big Breakfast Plate. (I OBVIOUSLY had the Eton Pavlova, I wouldn't even be caught dead not eating something sweet)<br/><br/>MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE THAT ETON PAVLOVA SOOOOO SOOOOO Instagram worthy, so beautiful, didn't even want to eat it it was just THAT pretty. Like honestly, that Eton Pavlova GOSH WHAT A BEAUTY, (both inside and out lol), so yummy and delicious. The french toast had the PERFECT amount of sweetness with the maple syrup and with the strawberry compote = HEAVEN. Oh and OH MA GAWD what a heaping whipped cream and meringue they give you. So very generous I love it (btw the staff were super nice, they didn't even mind me calling for them 3 times to confirm something on the menu, feel super bad) Just wow. Simply perfect. Oh yeah, based on a personal experience I don't think that the flower on the Eton Pavlova was supposed to be eaten......it was really bitter<br/><br/>Sorry, I can't say much about the Big Breakfast Plate since I didn't eat it, my mum did. BUT she did that she really enjoyed it, she said that it was the best breakfast plate she's ever had, so it MUST'VE been pretty good. <br/><br/>I also just HAD to do a takeaway. I mean like COME ON who can resist such BEAUTIFUL cabinet food. Took away the Passionfruit Slice, WOWA, NOT A LET DOWN AT ALL. Very passionfruity custard top paired with a thick lemon? base = HAPPINESS <br/><br/>So want to go back, and so would recommend going there

first time trying this hype-brunch place in Parnell. expected a wide range of baked scrumptious goods, super yumm food and instagrammable everything. but Alas, it failed to meet the expectations.<br/><br/>we went for brunch on a Thursday afternoon (literally just a few hours ago) and the place was already half full. sat outside in the sun and greeted by big glass windows and edgy-minimalist interior. so here's the verdict:<br/><br/>Coffee: ordered mocha + soy flat white.<br/>- mocha: pretty standard, not too chocolatey so it depends on your taste for coffee tho.<br/>- soy FW: the texture was OK, but I couldn't taste the soy + a bit on the sour side of coffee. again, you might like this who knows.<br/><br/>Food: 'the ladyboy' + salmon bennie<br/>- salmon bennie: comes w a slice of russian rye, onions as garnish, aged salmon. we don't particularly like the taste bcs the taste is rather on the sweet side w mild smoky aftertaste and VERY STRONG almost overpowering. my partner didn't like it because he expected to taste salmon but the flavoring is so strong you can't taste it's salmon apart from the look and the flaky texture.<br/><br/>- 'The Ladyboy': comes w 3 big prawns, tom yum hollandaise, on a bed of what looks like brioche (kumara brioche) + prawn crackers garnish. the prawn was big, which is good value BUT they were very tough and not enough seasoning. but not the worst as well. tom yum hollandaise was a nice twist on it, but the tom yum taste is very mild, if they make it a little bit stronger I think it'll b better (if you are doing something different, make it really boldly different). eggs were nicely cooked. one other thing about the bread; I think it'll b better to toast the bread a little so it doesn't go soggy.<br/><br/>- white choco raspberry sweet brioche: bought 1 to take home and haven't got the chance to eat yet but it looks nice.<br/><br/>OVERALL; They were right about everything is intagrammable, and the great scrumptious selections of baked goods, BUT the taste of the food was not properly there and it felt like it was just for the looks.

I remember this cafe. Nothing better than sitting in the sunset, drinking coffee, watching people walking on the street. From this spot you can get city view and sea view, bus on your left, ship on your far right side at the sea. They have very comfortable chairs.

Went in with my BF on busy sunday lunch. Eventhough it was super duper busy they have found us a table given us their menu, served water asked for drinks. Service was prompt, kept checking on us due to delay on orders. We were really hungry but waitress was kind and apologetic about delay so we were willing to wait. Finally food got served and it was really delicious. Will definetely be back soon as its in my neighbourhood!

To be honest, I enjoy everything about this restaurant. They did really well with their Korean-Kiwi combination dishes. Pickled veggies are their secret ingredient. By the way, desserts are available for customers, but not showing on the menu.

Great Coffee and incredible sweets in the Cabinet. Delicious! The place is always bustling and packed to the brim. Really friendly staff and always a great experience.

On a busy rainy Sunday morning, people queuing outside, not accept booking, my friend arrived earlier and got us a table quickly.<br/>A big cabinat full of bakery savories and sweets, beautifully decorated.<br/>We mainly order ours from the menu. All meals garnished carefully, and eating flowers seems like a trend. Overall the food was nice, only the brownie a bit try.

I saw good reviews and we decide to try this busy café ... it was a busy sunday but we got a table inside, we don't mind to share tables but honestly was hot, the fact that doesn't have air con inside the place made me feel uncomfortable and couldn't enjoy the whole experience ... I ordered the "lady boy" according to the reviews but was really dissapointed as it was lacking in flavour and presentation was just okay..didnt blow my mind,my bf got the big breakfast and it was ok , on the other hand, coffee was very nice and strong, friendly and fast staff... but the food it wasn't that good like in the pictures and reviews. I might come back and try some cabinets goods as they look yummy.

Don't believe the hype. Throbbing Sunday morning, party of 3. Seated quickly - gold star. Left to our own devices, sure thing, perused menus and chatted about options, orders taken in adequate time frame. We also requested water for the table. Uh oh from this point. No table service for the next 20 mins. Eventually we had to ask a (different) waitress for water, and she quickly delivered. 15 minutes later, our coffees arrived, burnt and inedible. 15 minutes later, we were perplexed and waiting for our food. A nearby waiter returned to us and said, you guys haven't eaten yet, right? That's a hard no, sir. To our irritation, I notice that the nearby table with patrons who arrived after us had their food out already. Cue ANOTHER 15 mins before 2 out of 3 meals arrived (Lady Bowl and Hello Bowl). The last meal had to be apologised for by the waittress as there was a mix up in the kitchen, due to new staff. 5 mins later, the last meal arrived. Granted, the meals were gorgeously presented and okay-tasting. By this point, the fairytale was fading. It was loud, busy, cramped, a rigmarole to pay + find the bathroom. I won't be coming back in a hurry.

After waiting for 20 min for my food and for them to have given it to someone else instead and waiting some more, I was finally delivered with the plate. I ordered the Big breakfast plate and it was very underwhelming. Nothing of note in terms of taste for except maybe the ketchup like sauce they give on the side. The sausage was bland and dry, I could count the amount of mushrooms on one hand and the single strip of bacon was mediocre at best. If you are looking for a big breakfast style kind of dish, then avoid this place. It is overpriced and bland at best.

Hot chocolate was amazing. This cafe served it as a block if chocolate with warm milk by its side and of course with marshmallows！We ordered a white chocolate and an orange chocolate, both tasted delicious. Magical mushrooms was my pick for breakfast. I absolutely love mushrooms and these mushrooms were extremely creamy. Although the crepe that it was served with didn't have much flavour to it, that didn't really affect the overall dish as the flavour of the mushrooms were too overwhelming. Salmon and egg Benedict was quite good as well. The Egg was runny on the inside and poached to perfection. Would come again to try the cabinet food!

Fantastic Cafe! Great food, great service, great location. Hardest part is choosing what to have. <br/>Loads of options. This will be a regular for me

Winona Forever is an absolute local favourite. Food is not only aesthetic but a true delight to the palate as well. Had tried the Eton rifle pavlova (not featured), Bacon benedict, the big breakfast, cabinet bakery items, matcha green tea and iced americano so far. My fav dine in combo would be the bacon benedict (hollandaise on the side) + the iced americano.

We’re sure you’ve seen the queue snaking out of the door on a weekend morning at this Parnell hot spot. If you haven’t – have you been hiding under a rock? The trick is to get there early and we promise that the early wake up call will be more than rewarded once your pretty as a picture food arrives.

This well talked about cafe was extremely popular on a Friday late morning so I was honestly eggspecting something amazing. I ordered the bacon eggs Benedict and my eating companion ordered the ‘Eaton rifle pavlova’. <br/><br/>My meal came out with 2 eggs sitting on top of streaky bacon, salad greens, small pieces of pear, and a black pepper turmeric brioche. It was topped with hollandaise. The eggs were well cooked and there was a good amount of sauce. The bacon had a somewhat Smokey flavour but unfortunately was too undercooked and most of it was just nearly raw fat which wasn’t too appealing. I get the pears in relation to the bacon but without it they were very sweet and felt out of place. The brioche was light and airy and the turmeric was subtle in flavour. I would have enjoyed something a little crispier as it was much too soft. <br/><br/>My eating companion described their meal as “intense and overbearingly sweet” but enjoyed the berry components. The meal seemed like something that should be a shared dessert rather than a meal. <br/><br/>I wouldn’t be back to this cafe in a hurry.

Very busy and bustling! Come if you don't mind sharing a table - the food is worth it! Instagram worthy pics and delicious food. A slight twist on everything but pulled off well. I had the lady boy which had generous portion of prawn and tasty. Couldn't taste the Tom yum though! My friend had the salmon on rye and it was simply beautiful. Doughnut from the cabinet was also good

Lovely and lively place to eat. Our party of 10 enjoyed this eatery and its atmosphere where all the tables are full and the kitchen was very busy. I had the Hello bowl which sat on a background of black sesame seeds and a ring of salad dressing. Very tasty especially the baby kale and halumi and poached egg. The vegan bowl was full of raw goodness and full to the brim contrasted with the economical salmon bene which came with the ‘loveliest rye bread’. We wanted a couple of donuts and brownie from the cabinet but will leave that to next time.

A beautiful atmosphere! I did find their pavlova brioche breakfast very very sweet - all components were sickly sugary so it was a bit of a let down. The big breakfast however is a highlight! Great coffee too

Amazing cabinet selection! We ordered the Bacon Pumpkin Brioche and Vanilla Custard Doughnut. The brioche was well balanced, soft and tasty. I love the pumpkin twist to it which gives the savoury brioche a tinge of sweetness. We enjoyed the doughnut as it was moist, not sickly sweet and had not overly excessive custard as well.<br/><br/>We tried the Iced Chocolate and Iced Mocha. The iced mocha was ok but nothing spectacular. The iced chocolate lacked the chocolate-y taste and just tasted like iced milk.<br/><br/>Look and feel of the cafe is nice, not too busy when we came which was nice. The cabinet was a stand out as soon as you enter. Nice and cosy vibe.<br/><br/>Staff could be friendlier and look more keen as they all look unengaging around the time we visited which was just around 10 am.

Brunch- 10.30am | Aside from the wait to be served, the food was delicious. The boys ordered a Big Breakfast comprising of a delicacy- chicken and garlic sausage alongside the regular components of a Big Breakfast. My friend had the Beet Street which was a pleasant surprise - perfectly cooked Salmon, and delicious beetroot purée to marry the dish. I had the Eton Rifle Pavlova- French toast, meringues, fresh strawberries, pistachio, and mascarpone cream. The serving size for this dish was ample and would be thoroughly enjoyed by someone with a sweet tooth. However, I needed to occasionally nibble from the savory dishes on the table. <br/><br/>OVERALL : ambiance / A+ service / B+ (possibly due peak time) taste / A- service / A

Great busy cafe in Parnell! Can be a small wait but rolls over pretty quick.<br/><br/>Great vege options and good strong coffee! The cabinet always looks delicious and full of treats!

Been twice. <br/>Disappointed each time. <br/>Received cold food after having waited over 25 minutes to first be seated then another 25 minutes for my order to be taken and received cold food.<br/>Big hype for poor service.

Went on Saturday morning and it was heavily packed. The service was very disappointing, messed up our food order, didnt give us water until we asked, didnt give us cups with the order and didnt give us cutlery till we asked. Food took almost an hour for it to come out. If you are hungry i suggest having a snack beforehand or skipping.

I definitely think it is worth all the rave and Instagram posts out there! Winona is gorgeous and their cabinet food looks generous and delectable - I was way too full to think about buying any of it though! I had the Eton Rifle and it exceeded all expectations! The brioche French toast was huge - if you have a small appetite definitely not for you! They were so generous with each element of the dish that it was worth paying nearly $20. The fact that the food looks good and the taste matched was awesome! The cafe itself is a bit cramped but luckily it wasn’t too busy for us. The staff are friendly but the service was quite slow.

Sunday morning bunch with my wife and my 3 year old son. The place looks great the staff was friendly, we order chillie scramble, tibetan mountain salad and blue tarco squid. The food was amazing and coffee was just as good. However our hand cut chips was soaky and very salted. If the chips was good the rating would have been a 5. I would come back again .

Lovely brunch place!<br/><br/>Lots of choices for the desserts, which I love.<br/><br/>We got the mushroom dish, it was so good (4.5/5) except the omelette which was quite average.<br/><br/>The dessert (3.5/5), despite the pretty and instagramable looking dish, it was too sweet for me.<br/><br/>The service is okay. The place is nice, love the vibes.<br/><br/>Definitely will come back to try other dishes.<br/><br/>Xoxo,<br/>Kho Lidya Merina

Right off the bat, we were welcomed with great decor and ambience, with the cafe appearing to always be rather busy.<br/>I ordered the Eton Rifle while my friend ordered Beans is Beans. The eton rifle was absolutely beautiful and tasted amazing. The balance of flavours were perfect and the cream and overall sweetness weren't too overpowering like some french toasts at other cafes. My friend said her dish was also great. A really great cafe to visit with amazing service too. Excited to return here soon.

The atmosphere, ambience and presentation of this cafe is extremely unique and stunning. The pastries and sandwiches etc on display are amazing. We ordered the vegan panna cotta and the vegan super bowl. Along with two beetroot and ginger juices and kombucha. It did take a while for our food to come (25 mins) but the presentation was super aesthetic. The actual food was nice but you can’t really go wrong with raw vegetables (what I ordered).

Awesome service, awesome food, awesome atmosphere. Highly recommend! <br/>Took my partner there after I picked him up from the airport, he and I both were very impressed by the attention to detail and the twist that they have on the normal brekky foods is awesome.

Seriously, there hasn't been a time that this place isn't packed. This little gem in Parnell boasts some serious insta-game. Everything is big, bold and bright right down to their lattes (try their rosewater earl-gray latte) and eton rifle fresh toast which veritably explodes with meringues, edible flowers and every sugary texture ever invented. For those looking for a savoury beast, their Prawn Benedict with a delectable tom-yum hollandaise and prawn crackers are... just... let's just say you'll be ruined forever. <br/> Check out our individual food reviews here: husk.co.nz/lunches/winona-forever

This place makes me happy. <br/><br/>The food looks like edible jewels and gemstones and everything tastes amazing. <br/><br/>The counter food is so much better that the boring pasta salads, frittata and tired slices seen elsewhere. <br/><br/>I love getting salads and sweet treats to take away as well as eating in; the quirky menu descriptions make it a fun read. And I always have food envy as plates are taken to other diners. <br/><br/>The place is always busy. It is noisy and crowded. Don't go there for a romantic meal. The chairs are stools or office chairs. <br/><br/>The staff are lovely, generous and friendly. <br/><br/>I like reading the 1980's magazines when I go on my own. <br/><br/>Parking is Parnell hell. Catch the train or the bus.

Taste: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑<br/>Interior Deco: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑<br/>Customer service: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕<br/>Recommend: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑<br/>Their food are too pretty to eat😍😍 we ordered coffee and asked if they could make s bear coffee art for us and they did! It's adorable! The design of the store is really dreamy! But the food tasted a bit too sweet where water was needed.

We ordered the beans is beans part 2 and salmon Benedict. The bean dish was light and refreshing with the beetroot purée, while the edamame beans had a nice texture. The chilli added a little kick too with a bit of sweetness from the asparagus. Eggs in both dishes were perfectly runny. The salmon Benedict was surprising as there was a fillet served instead of the usual smoked salmon slices, however the only downside of this dish was that it was a little bit over cooked. I really liked everything else :)

Beautifully plated food, their pantry of other baking goods and savouries looked exciting, and their service was very good. <br/>A modern cafe in quite a fancy location.<br/><br/>Food ‘flavour’ was good but sadly it didn’t wow me (considering the number of people seated and queuing, + all the things I read about it) - not saying it was bad though, just...below the my heightened expectation.<br/><br/>I found my meringue and strawberry french toast’s brioche’s (sorry :P) crust was 1/2 burnt - as in one side super burnt.<br/>Interesting combination, but I think it wasn’t quite tart/tangy enough for me. And had waaaaaay too much cream...I suppose you’d need it if you were going to eat all the meringue and the ‘pavlova’ (I didn’t come across the marshmallowy/spongy part of a pav).<br/><br/>The Big Breakfast was well done but I did find their sausage to be a bit ‘loose’...like they put more flour in than meat and it is more likely to fall apart.<br/><br/>Both dishes have very good portion I must say!! <br/>Was a bit too much for my mum and I actually, but yes I think value for portion is a ✔️!<br/><br/>I’m not the biggest coffee person but I do enjoy a great my flat white. The one I got today at WF was not great and have had better else where in Auckland (at some The Coffee Clubs even).<br/>Again, not bad but...not great.<br/><br/>Mum had the beetroot latte...again, had better elsewhere, didn’t really taste the beetroot flavour, the glass appeared pink...I would have expected it to be darker.<br/><br/>The cafe is packed with people and the space became very hard to talk with my mum across the table...I had to shout and hard trouble hearing her...I guess all the glass walls done help.<br/><br/>A bit disappointed overall.<br/><br/>May require a bit more effort to convince me for a revisit (for reasons noted above and...) I feel like this place relies on the location, the visuals, and “image” more...not so much on the flavour.<br/><br/>Still, it’s not bad place to try once, it is not my first recommendation.<br/>To be fair...I have yet to try their other ‘unique’ dishes like the Panna Cotta fruit salad, their mushroom omelette, and some of the pantry items...! Maybe a take away next time.

So pretty of the food presentation ❤️<br/>And the foods with nice color berries decor were so yum, the omelette was not satisfied me, so dry and don’t taste nice, more like omelette cake😂

First of all this cafe is extremely instagram-able!!!! <br/>Everything in the cabinet looked so awesome but we decided to try the food on the menu.<br/>I ordered the ‘legendary’ Eton rifle and my friend ordered bacon Benedict and a latte.<br/>Eton rifle had French toast and pavlova with strawberries and meringues and decorated with flowers. It was just too pretty to eat❤️ it was a bit too sweet for me (like everything on the plate was extremely sweet) I stole some of my friend’s bacon and found it matching this dish very well as the sweetness and saltiness neutralised each other —> highly recommended adding bacon, or can just steal some bacon from your friend’s plate as well 😂<br/><br/>Portion size was massive so remember to come with empty tummy. Staff were super friendly and came to check whether we needed anything. One thing that disappointed us was that they gave the wrong latte to my friend (she wanted a normal one but they gave her a beet latte ?) but we decided to just drank it <br/>I’m not a fan of beet and hate cinnamon so I didn’t like it at all but my friend said it was not bad.<br/><br/>Will definitely come back to try all food in the cabinet:)

First thing as you walk in you can’t help but see all of the baked cakes, sweets, savoury’s and delicious goodness. But I’m here for breakfast and starving. <br/>Lucky because I ordered the big breakfast plate that comes with free range chicken sausage with garlic, free range streaky bacon, tomatoes, thyme mushrooms, free range eggs, relish and ciabatta toasted. Also got a mocha on the side to help it go down well. <br/>Lovely dish, enjoyed it but I felt like it wasn’t enough to make you feel full and for $24 you expect to go away feeling full. But still happy enough to grab a Tahitian Custard cream donut that was to die for but a little too doughy but I still loved it. My wife got the Lady Boy crumbed prawns, Benedict on a brioche with hollandaise sauce. Lucky my wife shares, prawns were amazing, big(just the way I like them) and the taste wow so good! Next time that’ll be me. <br/>Overall a lovely place to go. <br/>

Always seen the beautiful photos of their dishes on instagram eventually went there today at 8am and by 9am this places was already packed. Our order came pretty quickly and they’re all beautifully presented. We ordered the Lady boy, The Eton rifle, Salmon bene (new) and The big breakfast. My friends seemed to have enjoyed their dishes except one of them who said the big breakfast was average. I could only speak for the Eton rifle as it’s what I ordered. The look of that dish really made my day, beautiful and Instagram worthy. I was lucky enough to have my friend’s bacon from another dish which made the mine more enjoyable. I would highly recommend you spend the extra $5 to add the bacon. The pavlova was very sweet but has nice texture to it. Lots of cream which seemed to be such a waste because we are all try to eat healthy. Toast itself was good but doesn’t have much flavour to it and the summer berries and raspberry gin compote on the side is a must have for such a overall sweet dish.

Saw some great reviews and was in the area so we thought to give this place a try. Great decor and definitely was oozing the hipster vibe. The hotcake was light and fluffy but the lady boy dish was quite disappointing. Not much flavour. Presentation though was great. Hopefully the other dishes are better!

If you haven’t been here, make sure you put it on the to do list! Popping up all over social media, we had to see what all the fuss was about. Filled to the brim, we grabbed the last table available – ‘bar seats’ right next to the window. A few minutes later, there was already a small huddle of people waiting outside for a table. The line moved reasonably quick though so don’t let that put you off. The café is a decent size but I must say it does seem a little cramped due to the amount of people. They have several large tables to share with only a few ‘private’ tables seating 2 – 4 people. The look and feel is modern with a quirky twist. Pops of colour from the large bouquets of flowers are a nice touch and add a bit of life to the space. The service was good and wait times weren’t bad considering how busy they were. Their cabinet food is something on its own! The range of sweet and savouries is impressive – rocky road, Nutella cream donuts…the list goes on!<br/> <br/><br/>I ordered the eaton rifle – brioche French toast with mascarpone cream, popped meringues, freeze dried mandarin and raspberries. This dish is hard to miss and I’m sure you’ll notice it as the wait staff pass by. It was delicious and not overly sweet. All the elements worked well together and I loved the crunch and texture of the freeze dried raspberries, mandarin and meringues. My only feedback to them was the mascarpone and meringue centre piece was a little too much for the size of the brioche and could be a bit smaller. My partner went for the Big breakfast but swapped out the meat for haloumi and avocado as he’s vegetarian. The dish was well portioned and each element was fresh and done well. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, just a classic breakfast option done well.<br/> <br/>It’s easy to see why this place is doing well. <br/><br/>Definitely worth a visit, even if it’s just for a one of their sweet treats in their cabinet! Will be back to try out more dishes.

We came on a Sunday afternoon for lunch. We ordered French Toast and Eggs Benedict. We also had our friends join us and they grabbed coffee and cabinet food. We sat outside which was nice and spacious. The food took sooo long to arrive (1+ stopped looking at my clock), way too long for brunch. Our friends ended up leaving us because our meals just took too long and even after they left we waited more 20mins. When the food did arrive the presentation was amazing and the eggs Bene was the best. Unfortunately won’t be coming back as the wait was just too long. Fully understand a busy Sunday but staff could’ve been more accommodating and let us know

First impression - busy! <br/>The place was buzzing with people on the Saturday that we went but the service was attentive and friendly.<br/>The decor was modern and young.<br/>Most of our food came promptly despite the heavy flow of people. One of the dishes took an extra 10min and we were given a caramel slice for the wait.<br/>I had a vegetarian brioche from the cabinet and it was delicious, just the right balance of vegetables and dough. My friends were also happy with their salmon dishes.

What beautifully plated food. Lots of vibrant colours presented before us. Portion sizes are decent and the food is well made.<br/><br/>Service was lovely and their was a great relaxing atmosphere about this place.

Was meaning to go to this place for a while and we finally decided to go one day. It was a little hard to find using gps but we found it in the end! It was a Thursday morning around 11:00 and it was SO BUSY and very noisy. We were lucky to even get a table but it was very close to another table where two ladies were speaking very loudly. <br/><br/>My boyfriend and I both ordered the eton rifle after hearings so many good things about it and I do have to say waiting time was very little and it was a huge portion. It was scrumptious but we could only finish about half or three quarters of the dish! Everything on the dish was A1, both the presentation and taste! I was super content with my meal but he only downside I would say were the beverages we ordered, lemonade and a pomegranate soda which didn’t taste like your usual lemonade or pomegranate soda like we expected it to be.<br/><br/>I loved the interior decoration of the cafe and the plants were SO PRETTY! Overall I do think this cafe is worth a visit and you have to be quick because it gets pretty busy during brunch period!

The service here is quite attentive and our food came out quick.<br/>Ordered their famous eton rifle and their big breakfast along with a latte and an iced mocha.<br/><br/>The eton rifle without a doubt is the most aesthetic looking dish out that i almost didn't want to dig in. It also tastes really good and i enjoyed the sour fruits to cut out the overly sugar loaded taste from the meringue.<br/>The big breakfast however was below average. The vine tomatoes had juices leaking all throughout the plate which made it very unpleasant.<br/>Coffees were really good here (incredibly strong)!<br/><br/>I definitely recommend the eton rifle without a doubt

Busy little cafe with a cool fit out and epic food. Service was a little slow and disjointed ( i.e. Wait for ever for drinks then they arrive 5 seconds before food) but understandable in such a busy spot. Quite noisy, defiantly don't go here for a quite catch up. Cabinet was full of amazing sweets and menu had a good variety. Would go back for the French toast. Every dish looks like a piece of art

Had seen pictures of this place floating around for a while and I knew this was a place I had to visit! <br/><br/>We went on Saturday for brunch and expected it to be very busy - which it was. We had to wait for about 15 mins for table which wasn't really a problem for us. One thing I didn't expect is that we would be seating on the same table as a number of other people. I didn't particularly enjoy this seating arrangement. Thankfully the people we were seated between were lovely and made light conversation to avoid awkwardness during our time there. <br/><br/>We ordered the Eton rifle, big breakfast plate, rose water latte and iced mocha. We were told there would be a 40 minute wait so we enjoyed a few pieces from the cabinet till then. The Eton rifle is definitely a show stopper! Had a lot of people looking at my dish while I was trying to eat it. This is one moment where I despised the seating arrangement as the 2 girls sitting to my right were ogling at my food for a good 10 mins. This made me a bit uncomfortable as I really wanted to dig into my dish in peace! The big breakfast was amazing! We needed extra bread and 2 tiny pieces of ciabatta were $6 - not worth it. The latte was refreshing and the iced mocha was also tasty. <br/><br/>Will definitely be back!

We came here for breakfast .. very busy & very noisey & very crammed place ..we got seated at a long narrow table by the kitchen. Ordered the ladyboy and big breakfast ... amazing presentation and yummy food.<br/><br/>When we paid we also ordered couple of cabinet goodies to takeaway but they really need another person helping at the till.. she was taking payments/orders and then we also have to wait till she can give us our food!! Terrible organising.

Winona is a nice spot located in Parnell. Saw Instagram posts for months of the food here and it looked quite visually pretty to go check out. But that is probably it. We were sat down as soon as we got there, and got our food quite quickly considering the amount of people for a Thursday afternoon. The french toast looked amazing, it was so colourful and presented nicely. However, there was more cream on the french toast itself than the toast. The only thing I got full with was probably the cream and meringue. It was quite dissapointing to spend 17 bux and only for a mouthful of cream. <br/><br/>The cafe itself was quite loud and you could barely hear the person sitting in front of you. Staff was not so welcoming either. Maybe i'd try something different next time. This place is probably only good for insta posts lol. <br/>

Partner and I walked past here and saw that it was absolutely packed. The interior was beautiful so we decided to come back later when it was quiet. I had basic scrambled eggs on ciabatta toast with a side of salmon and an almond milk cappuccino. I tried some of my partners too which was the special, Chinese steam buns with battered terryaki chicken and salad. <br/><br/>Ambience and service were amazing. Staff were real friendly and uniforms were sharp and trendy. <br/><br/>My meal was delicious, and my coffee was wicked strong which was awesome. Partners meal I thought was alright to be truthful only because the texture and taste of the chicken reminded me of the terryaki chicken you could get just on a regular piece of sushi. <br/><br/>Great place though and worth the price you pay

Boy this place is busy and for a good reason! Had to wait about 30 minutes (peak brunch time), but it was worth the wait. They definitely cram you in there, but the service is great and attentive for how busy this place is during the weekends, so hats off to the staff! The food is definitely gram worthy and beautifully presented, most importantly it's delicious. I had the miso glazed salmon on a brioche bun, yum! The cabinet food also looks delicious with lots of treats. Definitely a top brunch spot for me, I would highly recommend.

This place is one of my favourite cafes in Auckland! I can't recommend it enough, the staff is super friendly, the decor is beautiful and the food is amazing as well! I've been here a few times now and tried different things every time and it all tastes amazing! The eton rifle tastes as good as it looks, although it was a bit too sweet for me. I also really like their big breakfast and ladyboy. Their cabinet food is also super yummy! :) honestly love this place!

Arriving at 11.30am on a Sunday, our group of five were pleasantly surprised with only a 5 minute wait for a table as it was packed. The service was a little slow at the beginning because it was so busy  but ended up  improving and our wait person was friendly and very efficient.The coffees came out promptly and so did the food which was excellent and so pretty. I have never been one to take a photo of my food, like my mid 20's kids do and post on Instagram, but I actually did this time as the dish called Beet Street certainly deserved it.Not only did it look so pretty but  it tasted damn fine!Others had Beans is Beans with extras added,The Big Breakfast, a special beef burger and a green breakfast bowl with added salmon and haloumi. All were pronounced delicious. The cakes and slices in the servery looked wonderful and we took home a lemon sponge and a banana bread, but there are such lovely offerings you are spoiled for choice. Will DEFINITELY be back!!

After seeing many aesthetic photos of Winona Forever, we decided to try this cafe. We were not disappointed! This place is beautifully decorated, making it a warm and relaxed environment. We ordered the Bacon Benedict and the Anzac Granola. Presentation of both dishes was stunning and the quality was excellent. The eggs were perfectly soft poached and the dish also included pears, which was unique but complemented well with the eggs and bacon. Definitely one of the best Eggs Benedict’s I have ever had! The Anzac Granola is a highly recommended dish for a fulfilling breakfast or brunch. It has a large portion, crunchy granola clusters and a fruitful amount of berries.<br/><br/>They specialise in their decomposed hot chocolate which comes in many different chocolate flavours. I chose to use dark chocolate which was really rich and indulgent. The experience of pouring hot milk onto real chocolate was amazing and a lot of fun as it redefines the concept of using real, quality chocolate rather than powder that is usually seen in other cafes.<br/><br/>Winona Forever takes first for my favourite cafes so far. The whole experience was memorable - definitely worth coming back again for some more! <br/><br/>Ambience: 9/10<br/>Food & Drinks: 8/10 <br/>Service: 9/10

Probably the bestest coconut milk, hot choc with a chocolate peanut stick to melt into it. As all good things take time, we had to wait for our table 40mins as they had prescribed. We got seated and our coffee orders were taken quickly. We had the lady boy which had crumbed prawns on brioche bun with a tom yum hollandaise, creamy mushrooms with a crepe and the Omerta, they were all a pretty decent sizes and delish I would defo go back for the lady boy and the mushrooms! We got some take away sweet treats for the afternoon salted caramel slice and some brioches. Overall the food was delicious with a touch of something a little bit different.

Winona Forever Cafe (9/7/17)<br/><br/>It's a weird day- a bit of sunlight, grey skies, occasional rain and cold atmosphere. We were walking along Parnell to go visit one of this cafe named "Winona Forever". After a long walk, we reached the place. It was packed! I was thinking of skipping the place and look for other place to eat, but my partner really wanted to try the place..<br/><br/>We opened the sliding door and got in. It was warm in there and had a queue of around 4-6 people waiting for a table. A friendly gentlemen wearing a shirt that resembled the mime's of Paris came up to us. I think he was the manager. He asked us if we were planning to dine in and I replied yes. He told us that there was a wait of 15 mins which we replied would gladly wait for. In he mean time we book a show of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" at event cinemas on Broadway, which was to be shown at 2:15pm that afternoon, which was out plan after the lunch.<br/><br/>We got to sit down and we're handed out the menus, 2 glasses and a bottle of water. This place looked really warm and cozy with a very urban looks. The table tops were just plain wood and with elegant looking lightings. The seats were plain stools which was weired but I loved the feel as everything went well together. Even though the weather wasn't helping I don't think that stoped people from coming to the place as the que was getting longer and the tables were full. <br/><br/>We had run though the menu and decided what we were going to order. I just looked up and was waiting for a waiter or a waitress to notice me. It didn't take long as a beautiful waiteress saw me and came up to me as I was ready to order. I ordered for a "The Eton Rifle" and "Big Breakfast plate" and we got a "Dark Hot Chocolate" and "Green tea". <br/><br/>We waited for around 15 mins tops for our meal and we were stunned. The "The Eton Rifle" was massive as it was a base of Brioche French Toast with whipped mascarpone cream, raspberry gin compote, few berries and with freeze dried orange segments and lemon slice and cute looking meringues. It was a feast. The "Big Breakfast Plate wasn't too far away either. They had 2 beautifully poached eggs (just the way I like them), with thyme mushrooms, vine tomatoes which were cooked well along with a beautifully cooked juicy sausage which was served with a pesto, tomato relish and a couple of toasted ciabattas.<br/>(For pictures pls look up @hangryworm on instagram)<br/><br/>The prices are pretty moderate as I am big on places where I look for food worth the money. This place isn't for one who is looking to go on a first date but more good for couples or family catch ups and even just to socialise with friends. I would say this would be perfect for some casual meetings or just to spend quality time with your loved ones.<br/><br/>This was one of the best meal we had after a long time and this place goes into our favourite list. We would recommend you guys to go on and try this place out as I feel it's worth time and money as there is a saying "Good things take time to happen".

New fav!! We love Winona Forever! The atmosphere and aesthetics of this cafe were awesome. And the food was on point! The French toast and eggs bene were really yummy! And coffee on point. I'll be back!

Loved it. Good atmosphere, busy which is unsurprising! Good service and friendly staff. So much amazing choice on the menu. I went for Beans is beans, with halloumi. I wouldn't change anything about it. The chilli works perfectly. Great coffee too. I'll be back! The cabinet display is too tempting...

This place is always packed and I'm not surprised. The cabinet is so beautifully displayed with delicious things that will stick for your hips, as well as an interesting menu. The food is a 4/5 with great variety for drinks too. The service at this place is below average - I've seen busy cafes work more efficiency and care for their customers so it's not impossible. Probably not somewhere I'd make a regular coffee outing to.

Pros - the dishes are Instagram worthy and the beet street was particularly delicious. <br/>Cons - VERY busy (be prepared to wait at least 40 min for your order to arrive if you plan on going for Sunday brunch). It's also noisy with cramped seating, making it difficult to engage in conversation. The staff weren't particularly friendly, but I suppose it comes with the stress of managing a big crowd.

Have heard lots of good things about this place and it's always super packed when we drive past. Finally came to try their famous eton rifle French toast and ladyboy prawn benedict. All I got to say is WOW! Now I know why this place is so popular. The food here is not only "gram-worthy" but so fresh and so much variety to choose from. The prawn eggs benny was a little spicy, although still nice. Interesting concept fusing south east asian flavour with a traditional European brunch dish. But I have to say the French toast stole my heart. I love berries and this dish has both fresh and freeze dried berries which were the perfect combo with French toast and whipped cream. The fragrant rose latte was also a must try. As for the interior design, this place is also up there with their deco. The food over the counter also looked very appetizing. Would definitely be coming back!

3rd time here; always loved the food here. Our favs are the Lady Boy and Beans is Beans<br/>Great venue, friendly staff and cool theme/vibe<br/><br/>Service had been fine in the past but this time round I found it to be just tiring more than anything  Unfortunate that such a great place can be let down by a few simple things that couldve been better I'm hoping it was just an off day and it wasn't anything big but just a series of small things<br/><br/>1. Took our names down, warned of a ~30min wait. Fine, its worth it. Ordered some coffees to kill time.<br/>2. 30min in, coffees arrive, fine, no biggie. Just chill by the window.<br/>3. 45min in, noticed late comers getting seats and ordering. Small family who arrived before us still waiting for a table. Ughh fine, I'm sure there's a reasonable seating system at work here.<br/>4. Getting tired and hangry now; we asked if we can just sit at the bench that's empty. Was asked if we were here for lunch. Lord give me strength.<br/>5. 60min in. Hypoglycaemia become symptomatic. Sitting on a bench covered in jam and salad courteously left behind by previous diners - how thoughtful, a life line. Tempted to lick jam off table for nutrients. New diners sitting next to us ordering off menu. Where is our menu? We borrowed theirs. Table quickly mopped up at polite request.<br/>6. Small family from before getting table now, hooray.<br/>7. Getting tired now, want a nap. Shouldve licked the jam. Waiters busy at other tables. Ordered at counter; shouldve done this 10min ago, arrgh that was dumb.<br/>8. Food arrived yay! Oh wait, wrong table. 2 customers down please. They look a bit confused because they didnt order it. After examining food with fingers, realised wrong order, open and shut case Watson. Now they bring it to us. Shook our heads. Turned it back, didnt want to wait, cancelled it.<br/>9. 90 min = 2 coffees + Dish between 2 people. Cant complain, didnt die. Thinking of less fortunate people around the world.<br/><br/>Happy Fathers day everyone!<br/> 3 Yums

Busy place, but we were seated after and very short wait. Lovely staff, good-looking food and neat environment. <br/><br/>Mushroom Crepes were super cheesy and not bad at all. <br/><br/>Buckwheat hotcakes tasted healthy. <br/><br/>Price: 7/10<br/>Food: 7/10<br/>Ambience: 8/10<br/>Service: 10/10<br/>

If it's beautiful, I want it. I will find you (beautiful dish) and I will eat you 🍫👅. A brother to the already amazing Hello friends + Allies in Epsom, the expectations were high and oh boy were they met ✨. The service was efficient and speedy while the decor was dark but surprisingly fresh 🌿. Winona Forever is clearly a fan of Asian cuisine as it was heavily injected into their European fare, which is totally ok with me! Exciting dishes which has been needed in the rather stuffy Parnell road cafe scene. Everything tastes as good as it looks if not better! Overall I would recommend this place for friends - be warned it gets extremely busy on the weekends here!

My favorite orange hot chocolate is very tasty. Open omelette is boring ang huge size. I can't finish half of it even i didn't have any food before i came here. My husband's salmon was good. Tender n well flavored n presented salmon fillet. Especially the onion pikle is very unique taste. Well balanced the flavor of fat salmon. Will come back try other dishes. The only thing not good is the table is very close to others makes it very noisy n crowded.

I went to this place after night shifts so I'd say there was no wait and not much crowd. The place gives a rustic decor with some beautiful fresh flowers. The staff are friendly and pretty quick with their service. I have ordered the omelette with chorizo and ricotta cheese and my my my it was definitely delicious! It was a large portion, maybe like a size of a small to medium pizza. The taste is amazing, especially after a long night shift! It was so delicious and you can tell it was made of good quality. I also ordered the hot chocolate that was quite creative, and yes it was delicious. I remember I took away some custard donuts, however I wasn't such a fan of those, I felt quite overwhelmed with the amount of custard in it. If you're into a custards then I recommend that. Overall, I enjoy this place and would love to go back again.

Best breakfast in Auckland!!!!!!! Strongly recommend!!!! I love the pancake and the lady boy prawn Benedict, it's very new and tasty really good, I had this one in the Mother's Day, it was so many people waiting outside, very nice and popular cafe!

One of the place that captures a lot of attention. It's so pack during the peak hours that you have to be really lucky enough to get a seat . The location, the food and the setting of the restaurant gives you a cozy yet interesting atmosphere feel. <br/><br/>Felt very welcomed by the staff even though it's so hectic chaos.<br/><br/>Got my hot chocolate and is well made so as my lunch which I ordered the Magical Mushrooms ($18) <br/>Heaps and heaps of mushroom in light organic cream and herb sauce in a fresh garden herbed crepe with toasted pine nuts . Really really love it so highly recommend . <br/><br/>Other dish were the big breakfast plate ($21 ) and the squid bruschetta ($19) which looks pleasantly nice and interesting. <br/><br/>The food definitely lived up to the hype around and that gives me the reason to come back for more to try other dishes on the menu :)

My new favourite cafe! The menu is really interesting and unique which was the highlight for me. It was so difficult choosing what to order! I ended up trying the Eton Mess French toast which honestly looked like a piece of art and too pretty to eat! It was beautiful and clearly there was so much attention to detail in this dish. My friend has the Ladyboy and that was full of flavour and a great savoury option. The rose water and earl grey latte was unlike any tea I have ever tried. <br/><br/>The ambience of the store is lovely and modern. If you are looking for a busy, clean cafe with instagram worthy dining I would definitely recommend Winona! Can't wait to come back.

Currently sitting here. The experience was hyped significantly by 88% of society. I no longer trust those people. The food was a 6.8/10 ..the service was a 3/10. Usually people go out together in order to eat together. I can't say we had that experience. I think there's also a correlation between how far away you sit from the kitchen and how much this place cares about you - i.e. the further away the less they care!! P.s. wouldnt say they were excessively busy and therefore couldnt cater properly. Poor form was real.

Went there on Monday morning, 4 of us get the sit straight away the waitress are super friendly. We had 2 hotcake, lady boy and the Mon. All the dishes are delicious and well presentation.

Ohhh yum! Can the cabinet foods be more tempting? Love the ambiance, location and food selection. Decent price for fancy foods and drinks. Tried the iced mocha, the best I've ever tried. Can't wait to try other menus.

Was very looking forward to my visit here, particularly because of the high reviews. The cafe was really full when we get there on a weekend. We ordered a green tea latte with some desserts to share. I'm a huge fan of green tea, but the green tea latte was definitely overrated - there wasn't that much matcha taste (coffee was quite bland). We (there's 4 of us) also struggled to finish one of the dessert, as it was too gingery and just didn't go well with the dark chocolate. <br/><br/>Didn't get the chance to order the brunch menu, but personally not too sure whether I should give it another chance.

Food was great. Lots of cabinet food options. Great coffee. Amazing environment. What disappoints me is the slow service that I was given every single time I was there. Had to approach the staff instead of the other way round, otherwise would have needed to wait for at least 10-15mins for them to give you a table as even if they see you they won't take notice of you - the front entrance says "please wait to be seated" and the staff would just walk around a lot except for greeting and seating the customers. Understand it has high customer volume but that doesn't mean customers don't get served. Even cabinet food took 20-25mins to be served and it was just a brioche on a plate with no reheating or decorating required. When we told the staff about the wait (the cafe was already really died down by then), we did not receive a friendly reply. Instead, we were merely told they were really busy. I have given this cafe too many chances, won't go again.

Food looked amazing but was actually quite average, we ordered the mushrooms and the french toast. The music killed the vibe, what "trendy" cafe plays the spice girls?!

Been here twice now, food is always lovely but the servers struggle to keep up with so many people and the close confines mean it's not always the best place for a catch up.

Arrived with our group of egg benny eaters and thankfully got a chilly table outside. I say thankfully as inside it was busy and the noise in what is effectively a glass box was deafening. On a Saturday morning it was under staffed as the service was painfully slow. When orders were taken I was told that they don't do special orders as they are busy. I needed a half meal due to stomach restriction, yet they would add sides to a full meal? When the meals arrived in dribs and drabs they served the wrong meals and I ended up having to scoop the extra sides off someone (not my partner's) elses plate. Other comments from the group. There seemed to be a plain hollandaise and a citrus hollandaise with no reason why two people got the plain and everyone else got the more tangy one. The brioche in the egg benny did not work and having looked at the cabinet fair and the over abundance of brioche product maybe the name could be Winona forbrioche. Some interesting menu ideas etc but the basic service standards and kitchen rules mean WF scored second lowest of the recent cafes we have been to. Coffee was rated average to acceptable

We went there for a colleague's birthday lunch and it was crazy busy as always, however we were served promptly and our food arrived quickly. A couple of us had the Eton Rifle which was INSANE! Such a lovely dish but super generous - I couldn't quite finish it. Nice balance, and aspects that were really sweet but others that weren't - really enjoyable. The staff were great and they were even accommodating with us splitting the bill!

very very good food, taste so nice, chefs got really good skill and ideas. will come again next time with my friends, but service speed need improve.

This place is always very busy (which puts me off) as it often takes a long time to get a table and for food to arrive. Beautiful cabinet food though.

We came here on a rainy Sunday morning for brunch was seated in no time so the wait for a table was good. Once seated we waited a good 25 mins for our order to be taken. Had to get up to get someone to come over which was a challenge as all the tables are crammed so close together it's hard to get around. Ordered drinks and the big breakfast. Drinks arrived in no time but food took ages by the time the food came we finished our drinks as they were getting cold. Big breakfast was average and soggy, eggs were slightly overcooked. The matcha latte was good. Have tried the place out and have to say I wouldn't return. Underwhelming experience.

If you're looking for a place with fantastic food & great atmosphere this is the place. Great service, be prepared to have all senses bombarded with delicious aromas and food porn💯👌🏾. Great place to catch up with friends.

Surface over substance unfortunately.<br/><br/>Food<br/>The menu looks impressive, but when looking at it closed, it feels a bit limited. The clever names (love a good pun) would be great if the food would actually back it up. I ordered the Big Breakfast Plate. Everything was fine, the bacon was bacon, poached eggs, poached eggs, but I found the sausages a bit flavourless and I didn't really know what to make of the Kimchi and Pesto additions. This is a basic breakfast dish and adding some different side dishes is only making it more confusing. Now if the breakfast plate had been Sourdough bread, eggs and cooked Parma ham and Mozzarella with Pesto, that would've been a lovely Italian style breakfast dish. The Latte was a bit weak and flavourless meaning it required some sweetening to make it drinkable. My partner's Turmeric Latte seemed like a heated vegetable juice rather than a potent and fragrant, spicy hot drink it could be. <br/><br/>Decor<br/>On the Sunday when we visited the place, it was rather busy, so we waited by the sign "Please wait to be seated" for a while with no one reacting to us being there. When I waived a disinterested young man over, he just told us to sit wherever we liked, so we did. After looking at the menu for extended period, someone finally came over and took our drink orders. Initially we served wrong drinks and had to wait longer to get the right ones. We were ready to order, but there were literally 6 people running around the restaurant clearing tables or doing something else, with 3 or 4 just hanging around the open kitchen. We had to ask a trainee to take our order. In the meanwhile the table was decorated with hipster type books like Motorcycle Diaries. Would you really expect someone to sit and read the whole book or visit the cafe frequently just to read that book trying to find where it's in the cafe every time when popping in. We weren't given a check and it was bit of a faff just to pay our order at the counter. The counter had some interesting baked concoctions, but the shelves were pretty much empty and looked a bit of a mess when we were leaving the establishment.

Went here for brunch with my best friend before I left for Melbourne. She has always wanted to come here as the reviews were great and they have a very high rating. The night before, I searched it up and found out how unique the menu is! Brunch with an Asian twist. And being Asian, I was super excited to try the food for myself. <br/><br/>Everything was spot on. I had the Vegetarian Benedict and my friend had the Beet Street. I really couldn't find a fault in the dish I ordered! I loved everything about it. Two poached eggs sitting on a miso roasted eggplant with laksa hollandaise. Yep, laksa. And there were veggie dumplings, tofu and lotus roots as well. I tried the Beet Street as well and again, it was so good. But if you are not a big fan of raw fish, you might want to order a different dish as it comes with smoked salmon. I really wanted to try the Malaysian black rice pudding but was too full. <br/><br/>All in all, it was a very great experience. Staff could be more attentive, but they were nice. Definitely recommended!

Winona is my new favourite! We waited about 6 months to come here because it was always sooo busy. But we finally came on a Monday mid morning and we were able to get a table without any wait at all. First of all, the cabinet food looks insanely amazing! Absolutely beautiful looking food. We ordered off the menu and went with two savoury dishes, despite some of Winona's most popular plates being sweet. I was crossing my fingers that the savoury dishes would also be just as fantastic, and they absolutely were. The edamame beans and avocado dish packed a flavour punch and was very well balanced, leaving just a tingle on the lips. The vegetarian bruschetta with eggplant and added poached egg was delish, and the Midnight Baker's freedom loaf meant it was super filling. Warm and flavoursome with lots of seeds and yummies. We didn't get a drink here, but will next time, partly because their coffee machine is pink and the milk brother jug is rainbow! The service was good, and the cafe itself was surprisingly light and open-feeling despite being in a shady corner of Parnell. Trust me, it is worth a trip to Winona Forever, whether you have to wait for a table on a busy weekend or pop in mid week, and whether you order off the menu or get food from the cabinet. Come here! You'll enjoy it!

After all the hype this cafe was getting, I had to try it for myself. <br/>We got the Eton and the big breakfast. As well as a cabinet cake and donut. You can never go wrong with a big breakfast and it was delicious, everything paired really well together and it was really filling. <br/>The Eton French toast were really the star of the show though, it looks just as impressive as seen on instagram and tastes even better. The French toast was fluffy and just the right amount of buttery flavour. Highly recommend!! <br/>Of course the lemon cake and donut were delicious as well.

Incredible looking breakfast and great vibes here! Very busy but got seated by the door which was ok and staff were pretty friendly. My breakfast was pretty nice and looked incredible. Highly recommend the caramel slice in the cabinet 😋😋😋

Great local cafe! Always has a cabinet filled with yummy sweet treats (Whittaker's chocolate caramel slice is my favourite)<br/>Neat place for lunch with friends - because portions are quiet big, you can share meals and get a taste of everything! Also has good coffee! 👍🏽 buttt it's always packed, but it's worth the 10min wait ☺️

Came here just after 12.30 and had to wait for a free table because of how busy it was! <br/><br/>Definitely worth the 15 minute wait. The food took a while to come out but it was bound to be like that considering how full it was with customers still lining up for a table. <br/><br/>Everyone was pleased with what we ordered, but not a fan of the prawns because it was a little chewy and hadn't been deveined. (Minor) <br/><br/>My siblings and I did spend about 2 hours there and two of my siblings ordered a second meal with the third sibling ordering another drink. Not sure if this was a problem for the staff because when the second round of food arrived whispers between two staff members occurred.... which made us feel uncomfortable... as if we were unwanted. (This was now 2pm and the restaurant had quietened down with half the restaurant free for any possible late comers). <br/><br/>Overall experience was good, minus the Chinese whispers and stares which occurred for asking for three forks and knives to share a bite of their second meals. <br/><br/>Food 8/10<br/>Service 6/10 <br/>Price 8.5/10 <br/><br/>Would I return? Probably not, I'd much rather go to another cafe with my siblings and spend money somewhere we aren't talked about for ordering a second round of meals and drinks.

An hour and a half of non stop catching up over two glasses of spicy chais. The cafe was full, both inside and outside. Full of babies and prams! In the late afternoon the kitchen was due to close very soon but we were here just to chat today. Talking of future plans, anxieties over hopeful adventures ahead, filling in on how each other was going. The cafe waiters in matching stripy black tops and denim blue aprons come around to fill up our empty clear mustard yellow water glasses. Worries that I may not have been the best of friends lately somewhat subdues because you don't seem to have set a grudge on me for being a little absent the last few weeks. We leave with a hug and promises to catch up again soon, without a doubt. See you, Winona.

Earl grey rose latte and soy latte. Came on a weekday morning so we got seated easily but the cafe soon got really packed. Ordered drinks for our morning caffeine fix and a savoury spinach and feta scone. The Earl grey rose latte was beautifully presented and tasted just as good- the tea flavour really came through. Scone was light and fluffy almost like bread which I enjoyed, though my friend preferred it with a bit more crunch and integrity. <br/><br/>The interior was super clean and welcoming. Staff were friendly and attentive also. Overall a really great cafe experience and would definitely come back and order food from the menu.

The cutest place. Went there with a friend who suggested coming here for breakfast today and OMG best decision ever. Although when we got there we had to wait 5 minutes to be seated as we came at a busy time but was worth the wait. We ordered the Eton rifle and bacon benedict. WOW! The eton rifle was beautiful and big, vibrant colours and wasn't overly sweet, I think the dehydrated fruit balanced out the cream and meringue nicely and the brioche was how it's meant to be done. The bacon benedict was also really good, the apple cider hollandaise was well done and the touch of poached pear in the dish gave it that nice sweet taste in the dish. Overall service was great, food was beautiful. I suggest if you do want to visit this place possibly best to go when it opens to avoid the wait x

Food was beautiful. The atmosphere was buzzing as the cafe was pretty much full. Staff were friendly and helpful. Food tasted pretty good although the dish I got was a bit smaller on the portion sizing.

I’ve been coming here regularly over the past few months for morning catch ups with my friend and we've always had a good time. The service is great, presentation of food is beautiful, and even though the café is popular in the morning it's surprisingly not too noisy. <br/><br/>I haven’t sampled that much of their menu yet, but my eggs with toast (and extra bacon) was pretty good. At first bite I thought the bacon lacked a bit of flavour (maybe a needed a bit of syrup or honey on top?) – but by the end of the meal, it wasn’t a problem. Loved my scrambled eggs; moist but not soggy, and still together as one unit so it’s easy to eat. It didn't look like a lot, but I was definitely full. <br/><br/>In addition to their cabinet salads, Winona Forever has a pretty good range of food and drinks on offer – including kombucha and cold-pressed juice. However, I wasn’t a fan of the texture and taste of the Malaysian pudding. It didn’t seem to have a clear flavour direction, but perhaps this is simply me being unfamiliar with this type of dish. <br/><br/>Although dining here is a bit pricey, I’m keen to give more of their breakfast items a go – especially the brioche French toast!

There's a waiter here who always forgets your order, albeit it was packed here at lunchtime on a Friday but orders had to be repeated to another (more reliable) waiter who got it right every time. Super cute decor and interior, slightly overpriced fare and too noisy to effectively catch up or converse

Food looks spectacular and picture perfect on the plate. Ambience is cool. But the flavours didn't really work together, the hotcake made me feel sick as it was just all too sweet unfortunately. Was more style over substance. Haha still worth a gram

Lovely decorations and the food was well presented. My friends and I shared 3 meals. The big breakfast was delicious, the vegan bruschetta was nice but quite small so we had a side of haloumi, and the Eton trifle was lovely as well- it looked like everyone in the restaurant had ordered it. I had the kombucha which was quite flavourless, but my friends had the hot chocolates and loved them! <br/>A huge hassle with the bathroom being a 2 min walk from the restaurant, especially if it is raining.

Very busy place. It may take around 30 mins to wait for the table and another 30mins for food at the weekend. Food is well presented and tasty but quite pricey. You will have no problem finding a parking place.

Been wanting to try Winona Forever since it opened, but there's always a wait!! Finally managed to visit the other weekend, about 10 of us were seated on a shared bench table, squished with another group, we had to rearrange the magazines, fruit, etc to clear room on the table. The paintings hanging on the back were a bit of a nuisance as they were too low and kept bumping into heads. <br/><br/>Service was here and there, understand it's a fairly new cafe and bit busy, but had to keep asking for water, and when asked what soup of the day was, waiter responded he didn't know.. And that he'd ask. So he went to the kitchen and never came back. Lol<br/><br/>Bf ordered the ladyboy and I had the Malaysian pudding with yoghurt instead of the coconut cream whip. A friend also got the pudding so I got to try the whip, hands down preferred the yoghurt, personally I thought it tasted nicer with the combination of ingredients.<br/><br/>Ginger latte was yum, will ask for extra ginger next time. Cabinet food looked so good, all the food looked amazing. All in all, it was good and can't wait to go back for more.<br/><br/>

Really cool cafe. Food was amazing and despite being super busy food came out after 15-20 minutes. Portion sizes are huge & staff seem friendly :)<br/><br/>Photo:<br/>- beans is beans + 1 poached egg <br/>- big breakfast<br/>- 2 x cherry and pomegranate sodas

By word of mouth, we dined at Winona Forever for a late, rainy lunch. It was a full house but we were seated and served at a decent pace. We ordered the ladyboy and the eton rifle with a side of bacon, which were both picture perfect 😍 amazing flavours making it worth the splurge 🤑<br/><br/>My only downer would be the amount of shrimp (3) they serve in the ladyboy. 3's a crowd... but 4's a party 🍤🎉

Love the food, so nicely presented! We had the buckwheat hot cakes, French toast, magical mushrooms and green juice! Was amazed at not only their food menu but their drinks menu which includes different types of lattes etc! Can't wait to go back and try more on the menu :) was a busy atmosphere with friendly staff :)

I've been looking forward to visit this place and had high expectations for it. My expectations were met!<br/><br/>Their apple cider hollandaise sauce was beautifully put together.<br/><br/>Their cabinet food options are vast. I'm looking forward to going back to try their filled donuts<br/><br/>The photos speak for themselves.

Delicious, wholesome food, amazing ambience & lovely staff! We tried the eggs benedict, beans on beans, and omelette, coffees, kombucha, vegan chocolate tart and passionfruit and everything was yummy! We will be back!!

Yumyumyum!! New place in Parnell love the food and environment but right now is super busy so got to wait alittle but it's worth the wait! Can't wait to come back to try more other food on the menu :)

We went there around 3pm, so almost closing time. It was very busy and someone let us in and sat us down saying that the kitchen was closed. We waited for about 5 mins to be served (because we don't know if we have to order in the counter or they come to us with menus) no one came to our table so we decided to go to the counter to order. We were told that the kitchen was closed again. And when we just wanted to order coffee, we were not even given a menu. We ordered matcha latte and their iced mocha. Prices are a little bit too high and drinks is average, although very cute environment.<br/><br/>Overall, I love the environment. Would come back to try again their coffee and their food next time.<br/><br/>Update: Went here on Saturday, it was packed as usual but since they’ve added more seats outside, there were more places to squeeze in. The place is really nice, food was great. Loved it. I got the prawns eggs Benedict and my friend got the bacon one. We both got cold drinks as well. The price of the food is pricey as you can expect but it was great.

The cabinet sweets are really nice - vegan brownie and cream doughnuts are great. But as far as menu, service and coffee goes, really underwhelming and not worth the hype. 2.5 stars because the cabinet sweets and it was clean 👍🏽 won't be returning tho as not worth 👎🏽

The absolutle best french toast I have ever had. I adore this cafe. The cabinet food is incredible also. The caramel slice has the best base to caramel ratio ever.... as in 3 times as much caramel as there is base. UTTERLY devine.

I have been to Winona Forever 3 times. I'm really impressed with the exceptional customer service here. Love the ambience of the place, friendly and cozy. <br/><br/>Pros: The food is great. My favorite would be the beet street (beetroot cured salmon with beetroot puree, caviar, creme fraiche and crispy salmon skin on kumara sourdough), and the squid bruschetta (45cm baguette with marinated squid, tomato, summer greens and aioli). If you feel like having something sweet, there is a range of good looking and tasty pastries in cabinets at the counter, plus the Eton rifle, very popular. Customer service is spot on, staff are attentive and friendly. <br/><br/>Cons: The normal waiting time for a table is 15mins if you have no reservations. The waiting time for your food to arrive is 45mins if the place is crowded (Sat or Sun lunch time). Moreover, my friend had raw shrimp once and it took three times for the kitchen to make it right and edible, so don't order the Ladyboy. Also, it's quite noisy inside, and the table arrangement is close together, hard for somebody to not bump into you, thus i like to sit outside, but this is not always an option if it's cold and rainy. Wish they could expand the place.<br/><br/>Winona Forever is always crowded on the weekend, so it's best to make a reservation. Overall, i would still come here for brunch, despite all the cons.

The food was awesome, but the service definitely need to be improved, me and my friend was waiting there for 15 minutes, no one come to clean the table and no one come to take our order. I know someone would say that's a busy cafe but nah...it's not busy at that time, I can totally tell. There were 4 or 5 staffs walk around and I have no idea what they were doing. When I asked a guy please come to wipe our table cause it was really messy, the guy was not happy but that's what he has to do with his response as a staff, right? Plus I'm working in a cafe so I definitely know that's not a right customer service at all. <br/> High rated and high reviews but I just felt a bit disappointed. Look forward it could be better later on.

Not worth the time. The place is over hyped therefore crowded. But food doesn't match the hype. Their french toast sucks. Full of sugar n nothing fresh.And they are too arrogant to accept it. Hot chocolate was cold. Staff doesn't know how to handle a unsatisfied customer. Will never go again.

I've visited here twice. The food here scores points on looks but is lacking in taste. Service is fine but very busy. <br/><br/>The first time I had the French toast which was a really pretty plate (almost OTT). It was super sweet, and the overdose of meringues really killed it. I think it would be bearable if you shared this between at least two people, as I gave up halfway through. My friend ordered the buckwheat pancakes and had similar comments. <br/><br/>I decided that I would try their savoury items instead. On my more recent visit, I ordered the squid bruschetta which I was quite looking forward to as it isn't a common item on brunch menus. It was a bit fishy and oily. The only redeeming thing was the sundried tomatoes, but then I might as well just have sundried tomatoes on its own. <br/><br/>All in all the food is not worth a third visit.

To begin with, feast with your eyes!<br/><br/>Fantastic place for brunch... Great quality ingredients, good selection of food and drinks, and not forgetting beautiful serving presentations. Definitely a "must dine" for foodies and Instagrammers :)<br/><br/>Love their Beet Street. The blend of beetroot and salmon; from texture to taste is incredible.<br/><br/>Not many cafes offer Macha Latte, but YAY Winona Forever does...and it's pure.<br/><br/>Extremely busy cafe on weekends. So make sure you go early or if you don't mind the queue, it's worth the wait.<br/><br/>Kudos to the crew for being efficient too.<br/><br/>Highly recommended!

If you're after the most grammable dishes this is your go to place. Everything here is just so damn pretty, the sweet dishes in particular!<br/><br/>My buckwheat hotcakes were gorgeous but definitely on the sweeter side and towards the end it was a bit sickly. They have a range of lattes, jumping on board the tumeric trend, as well as beetroot which is a bit different from the norm. <br/><br/>Absolutely packed on a Sunday mid-morning particularly on a sunny day. Have to say it was a bit too crowded and noisy for a catch up with friends but on a different day/time would probably be better.

This is a very popular cafe full of people. They have indoor and outdoor sitting. The day when we visited it was raining so we were seated indoor. The ambience was very comfortable but a bit noisy because it was full. <br/><br/>The time taken to serve our food was reasonable for a cafe full of like 50 ~ 60 people. The staffs were very nice and friendly. We loved the food so much. Especially the French toast was told the most popular in the menu. Prices were reasonable.<br/><br/>One thing not good was the toilet. Not suitable for young people to walk to toilet by themselves cause the way to the toilet was like a maze and too many hidden corners which I deemed it was dangerous (I know NZ is a very safe country, but low crime rate doesn't mean no crime rate).

Went to Winona Forever a few weeks back and ordered the Eton Rifle French Toast which is a big hit on the menu. After waiting for almost half an hour for a seat in this vibrant cafe, the food exceeded my expectations. It was quite crunchy and filled with berry compote and meringue with fruit toppings of strawberries and blackberries on the top, which made it look aesthetically pleasing. Good service overall and great food, but recommend going during the weekday as it was packed.

I was very keen to try Fran's new cafe, as I've been a massive fan of her previous places like Salvation Kitchen and Hello Friends and Allies and Winona Forever did not disappoint. We came at 11:30 for Brunch and expected it to be packed, and it was! That said we got the remaining free table for the 4 of us straight away and got promptly served. There were significant amounts of waiting and kitchen staff, drinks came in minutes and foods for all 4 of us 15 minutes later - Impressive! As you can see from the pictures the food was beautifully presented and really tasty. The ladyboy (think Chilli Benedict sauce with Eggs and prawns on Brioche) was the standout from our 3 meals shared between 4. Coffee was strong and right on the mark. The hot chocolate came with amazing home made marshmallow. The atmosphere is stunning, and clearly like Fran's other places much thought, design and execution has gone into it. Overall a stunning place, well setup and superbly executed! Oh and our takeaways of fresh salted caramel slice and raspberry cream donuts were superb!

Just finished my lunch at this busy little vibrant cafe. Came here at their busiest time on Saturday... the place was packed. But it flowed really well, they set our expectations upfront, we were told how long we'd wait for a table and for the food. We got a table after about 5-10min of waiting and was told that a waiter would come to take our order. Somehow the people that got a table after us were served first. I wasnt going to let the hiccup ruin my experience, so i went up straight to the counter and ordered from there. Adverse situations averted. We ordered a bacon benedict, the big breakfast, latte, long black and raspberry brioche. The big breakfast plate looked full with 3 big vine tomatoes in it, which i reckon is a bit too much. But the bacon, mushroom, poached egg and sausage went well with the pesto. If only they would change the ciabatta to something else. It was cold and too hard.. just not my preference. The coffee... was it supreme coffee? It tasted like burnt coffee, just like other supreme coffee i had. The raspberry brioche was yumm, lovely combination of flavour. Overall, the first impression of this place is great, nice food, so so coffee, and good service. Would come back again to try their eton rifle.

Visited this place on a rainy Saturday and it was packed! Had high expectations due to the high reviews and cute decor but was disappointed. Waiter took a while to grab our order and food came out quite slow. The food looks amazing but it was so bland! The components were so dry and simple, the freeze dried fruit didn't do much for the dish and the whip cream was too thick and heavy. The big breakfast was bland and slightly cold, the only nice thing was the sausage on it. Oh and the plates were too big for the table! Don't think I would come back because it was really just average.

Love this place! Visited for the first time on a Thursday morning and was surprised by the various baked goods and salads displayed on the counter. We ordered the Eton Rifle and Breakfast Bowl - both dishes were delicious, packed with flavor. We were especially impressed with the presentation of the food, the warm interior and friendly staff, who kept on checking on us to see if we needed anything. Definitely would love to visit again!

Auckland autumn is full of beautiful colours, so it is a good time to visit Winona forever, which is, a splash of colours  as well.<br/><br/>The owner used to charge the Hello+Allies in Epsom, now he moved on for Parnell, turned out to be a fast success.<br/><br/>Saturday morning it is difficult to get a table. Normally you have to wait 10 minutes or longer. However, the service was prompt and attentive. Standing at the corner on busy Parnell Road was not too struggling waiting.<br/><br/>Walking inside, you will easily notice lots of greenery, hanging plants, vintage pendants give this cafe aesthetic appeal. But it is so hard to move eyes away from the large cabinets brimming with freshly baked goods. I enjoy walking in front of it and selecting the little cute treats such as Passionfruit slice, macadamia cheese cake, Laimington, donuts, raspberry sour cream cake etc.  Since we were told there might be 30-40 mins waiting for the food, we decided to try the macadamia cheese cake for a start.<br/><br/>The cake came with supreme coffee, a bit strong taste. cheese cake itself came out average, presentation was better than the taste itself. <br/><br/>As for the brunch, the Eton Rifle is a must. You will be amazed with the beautiful designed layers, brioche  French toast, pied meringue goes perfectly with the mascarpone cream,full of berries topping. It was divine both for taste and presentation. The Ladyboy’ (prawn eggs benedict) is a plus, prawn was nicely cooked, hollandaise sauce a bit over oily, however it went quite balanced with the strong coffee. Buckwheat hot cake tasted similar to the cheese cake surprisedly and the plate looked like the Eton Rifle . There was some tricky flavor found in Beans is beans dish. Pea and edamame beans mixed with avocado, chilli on a sourdough toast with dukkah  was  quite a fun exploration.<br/><br/>Winona Forever is such a  shiny new all-day eatery with some seriously good eats. Sitting in the glass-fronted space, sipping a cup of coffee and witness the fast pace of city, all at your choice.

Food here is delicious, well presented and service was​ good. They are very busy during lunch on most days. Worth a try if you are on Parnell

Went for an early brunch. Really cool lay out - awesome food - I ordered "the Eton rifle" looked amazing when it came out - it was a french toast brioche with Eton mess (meringue and cream and berries) it was so sweet I could not even finish it! Wish I had more room for food because the food in the cabinet looked amaze balls!!! I would go back to try something different - probs wouldn't get the French toast again though. Service was great and the staff are so lovely.

It is so nice to have brunch with friends here. But there were too many people (it's reasonable because this cafe is really great!!). My friends had been waited more than half and hour to get the table (I feel sorry that I was late there). But we all love the food that is amazing!! Specially the Lady Boy, love the sauce love the prawns. Will definitely be back there soon!!

This cafe was super packed when we came here for a weekend brunch! Took around 15 minutes to be seated at a table. Ordered the famous Eton Rifle and a matcha latte. The matcha latte from this cafe is by far the BEST I've had in Auckland. Super impressed! It wasn't powdery, but well mixed. I would consider the Eton Rifle to be one of those brunch dishes that are only good to take photos. However, I loved their brioche french toast and berry compote that they used. I think the whipped cream and meringues may have been a bit too much for me. Nevertheless, I was still satisfied with the food and drinks here. Eggster Eats

This cafe is relatively new on the scene but I had been seeing pictures on instagram of delicious food so of course I had to check it out. We went there for Sunday brunch and the place was heaving! But we didn't have to wait for long to be seated and spent quite a bit of time eyeing up the meals which were walking past us to make our final selection. I went with beans is beans which interestingly enough it is peas and edamame beans rather than baked or kidney beans. <br/>Anyway it so good! Albeit a bit large. <br/>I definitely want to come back and try some of the other menu options like the Eton rifle - which looks Devine but very sweet.

It's very very busy cafe, with stunning cabinet food and" I wish that I have couple stomach so I can try few dishes here" menu!<br/>I ranked 5 is the beautifully presented dishes, also how amazing the services are.<br/>I understand that the cafe is very very busy, and I also understand it can be very stressful managing orders and serving... yet all the staff is very relaxed, friendly, enjoy the conversation and has professional manner.<br/>My favourite cafe, I wish I could visit every weekend!!!!!<br/>

You never really know if a cafe will live up to all the hype but I'm pleased to say Winona Forever does. They are super busy & tables are at a premium, but the service & food are worth it if you're patient.<br/>The waiter was friendly & helpful. Good knowledge of the menu & recommendations. Chose the Eton Mess which was massive but delicious & well balanced. The mascarpone was not overly sweet but there was so much of it I left most behind. Having said that it was still a good choice. I'm keen to try the prawn bene next time too as this looked delish. Coffee was well made.

Beautiful little cafe with outstanding service - especially impressive given how busy it was. Ordered buckwheat hotcakes which was superb, and the Ladyboy, prawns and eggs benedict on chilli brioche, which was also very good however it ate like 2 seperate small plates for me (prawns and eggs seperately) rather than one integrated dish of complimentry flavours.  Only a minor thing though - I'd order it again knowing how it comes.  The cabinet food looked fantastic and the coffee was good and hot.  Liked everything about this place and looking forward to returning again soon.

Came here on a Saturday for lunch. Was super busy but luckily there was a table for us straight away. I think you usually have to wait 10-15 minutes. The place has nice decor. I feel like it is quite crammed though not much space for anyone to talk around. We ordered food at 1pm and the food did not come out untill 1:50pm! It took almost an hour!  The worst thing was my food came out first and by the time I had almost finished mine by friends still hadn't got theirs which I thought was terrible. The food was pretty nice but nothing I would of waited an hour for. The best thing was their caramel slice, was amazinggg! Probably wouldn't come back anytime soon because of the time it took for our food.

Wow! What an amazing place to come.. the food was absolutely amazing.. I had the buckwheat hotcakes (pictured) and my partner had the big breakfast plate..<br/>We came on Mother's Day so the place was crazy busy.. but we managed to get a table,and even tho it was super busy the service was still great.<br/>The coffee was lovely.<br/>I'll be coming back to try something from the amazing cabinet.<br/>

Service was ok, the food presentation was amazing but the meal it self lacked some flavours. the interior design and furniture were lovely. We felt as if we were in a green house, the use of large pots and plants on the longer tables work well for privacy.

Great food! We went here for our Mother's Day brunch and the wait was quite long (probably extra long because of Mother's Day) however, once we were seated the staff were very nice and the food was very delicious. Worth the wait!

Dined here for Mother's Day breakfast and at 9:30am the place was packed! We had to wait 10mins to be seated some people had to wait longer. The staff were very accommodating and prompt, some people left because they didn't want to wait but the wait was worth it! The place was buzzing and very loud. Menu was simple and dishes were all very yummy! Very affordable and decent serving compared to other cafes around CBD. Definitely worth a visit (make sure you arrive early to avoid waiting).

So my first experience with this cafe is a chocolate dusted flat white disguised as a cappuccino and a slightly microwaved cabinet sandwich to go after waiting for about 20mins. So much for grabbing something quickly.<br/><br/>I came here early one morning to grab a quick coffee (cappuccino) and a cabinet sandwich to go and requested it to be toasted as I was in a hurry.<br/><br/>The cafe was not yet very busy as it was a weekday morning and there were a few wait staff hanging around not appearing to be occupied. <br/><br/>My coffee order arrived and I was handed a flat white. I explained that it couldn't be the right order as, well, it wasn't my order. I was then told that I ordered a flat white which I most certainly did not. <br/><br/>Eventually the staff acknowledged that indeed they got the coffee wrong, took it back, sprinkled some chocolate powder on top and handed it back to me! Now, I am by no means a coffee connoisseur but I do know the difference between a cappuccino and a flat white is more than the chocolate dustings on top. <br/><br/>On top of that, I watched as my neglected sandwich order sat lukewarm (pre-heated) in the microwave for about 15mins as the wait staff passed in front of the microwave back and forth without much urgency. So I asked them to forget about toasting it and I'll just take the slightly microwaved sandwich as it is... Super disappointed. Maybe I'll try back a bit later in the day after the staff have fully woken up!

The prawn benedict is epic!!!! Almost has to be one of the most unique brunch dishes I've had. Quality portion. Amazing flavours. Good amount of sauce. Favourite brunch dish to date maybe. Staff could be a little more on their feet. The smoothie arrived when we were paying the pill and yet never got it taken off the bill even after asking so that's a bit slack. Poor buddy of mine had to throw back his $9 smoothie while we all sat there watching. Tragic. <br/>

One of the best cafes I've been to in Auckland 😊 would recommend to everyone! Affordable for what you're paying for and presentation of our meals were amazing and just so yummy 😋

Amazing cafe with good selection of food, cabinet sweets! perfect for brunch on a weekend! We ordered eggs benedict and full breakfast, eggs are cooked to perfection! Eaton rifle, and creamy mushrooms. Ambiance was relaxing and has rustic decor, nice and friendly staff! 😊✅ lovely place just really packed on weekends.

So badly wanted to give this place a 5, I think once they have been open a bit longer and the initial hype has died down a bit I probably will be able to. Start with the bad, during the weekend this place is always RAMMED. Not Winona's fault, I know but it leads to an uncomfortable start. We got there, waited in a queue from the door to the counter and once we got the the front the waiter asked me for my name, jotted it down on a pad and took off. We didn't really know where we should be standing (did I mention the place was extremely full)? <br/>I think it would be beneficial to have a system where you take the name, give an idea of how long a table may be and then say "go hang out wherever, I'll come get you when there's a table free". We did move from the counter to the door to get out of the way and a couple snaked our table which was dangerous for the because I was hungry. Food took quite some time, but there's nothing for that while this place is so popular. My only other real criticism is that the couple next to us (on the same big table) left very soon after we sat down and their plates were not cleared until our food (which did take ages) came. One of them had the Ladyboy which includes prawns and a tom yum hollandaise. It was pungent, I was hungover, it was rough. Now on to the good! All the staff that I dealt with were pleasant and really nicely presented. I love the stripy shirts and had a lol at the poor souls who turned up for brunch in shirts that matched the waitstaff. Coffee = great, PB&J smoothie TO DIE FOR. I have thought about this smoothie many times since that fateful brunch. Boy got the big breakfast which he was thrilled with, I got the beet street and holy hell it was perfection. That smoked fish creme fraiche is no joke! The kumara sourdough was delicious and the perfect texture. I want to go back and sample the rest of the menu, but I don't know how I will get past that beautiful beet street! All the cabinet food looks devastatingly good but we were too full, hopefully next time, but maybe during the week or a few months down the track.

What more can you say, beautiful place beautiful food and beautiful people!<br/><br/>You are immediately surrounded by beautiful florals when walked in, then your eyes will automatically drawn to their amazing looking cabinet.. cakes, slices, tarts, salads...everything is just so colourful, exciting and mouth watering..<br/><br/>Their food is definitely as delicious as they look and people just keep coming in. Every time when someone else's order being delivered, you will be like oh I want to try that one too..<br/><br/>I will have to go back again and again to try everything...

Big fan of this new spot! Innovative menu and tasty food that is presented impeccably. Decor is super cute but the space does feel a bit crammed (might have just been that it was absolutely packed with people). Staff were friendly, however service was slow (totally understandable given how busy it was).<br/>Would recommend and will be returning!

My wife and I went to Winona Forever for a celebratory brunch. We weren't greeted, I had to hunt service down to ask if I could sit at a table. Once we were seated we were given our menus, had we known that it would take 15min+ for someone to come over and ask if we wanted a coffee, we would have ordered on the spot. Finally we were served and ordered the least offensive dish names off the menu, 'Mr Miagi' and 'Beans is Beans' and were both extremely disappointed. Despite asking for an egg with the 'Mr. Miagi', I didn't get one, just a minuscule amount of asparagus and tofu on a bed of mushrooms in a bland and luke-warm miso broth. The 'Beans is Beans' was also far below average, it being mostly beans and had no promised lime. The dukkah was awkwardly on the plate which was difficult to scoop onto the food. Our black coffees were fine however the water jugs were not water jugs and were too hot to pour water from. The tables were cramped and the salt and pepper was unappealing because you had to use your fingers, like everyone else.

Fabulous menu strays away from the stock standard Auckland brunch. A wide range of dishes with twists of unusual flavour combinations. The staff are friendly and attentive. The service is good. The environment is vibrant and funky with a mix of vintage and modern furniture and decor. My only reservation being that this place is so damn busy most of the time, it's very noisy and difficult to get a table. I have been here twice, one on a Saturday and again mid week. Both visits have been met with a packed out bustling and noisy atmosphere. I wouldn't let this put me off returning again though.

busy place even not lunch time yet. I had the squid bruschetta which comes a long toasted crispy bagette topped with tasty squid and tomato relish and base sauce. very interesting. My friends had the famous french toast and betroot cured salmon on sourdough. Both of them are satisfied. I tried some of french toast which is so great, cream was intense but not too sweet and the pavlova is so matched with cream and berry compote. It also have some dried boysenberries and fresh kiwiberry and strawberry on top. the base is kinda a sponge cake? anyway it's not toast. <br/>The only thing need to be improved is their cutlery, the knife is hard to cut these toast apart.

Went here for Mum's bday. Great atmosphere and seems like an awesome place for non-vegans, my family loved it. Was a bit disappointed with the lack of vegan options (one main dish and only a small number of options in the cabinet).

Good service, good food and trendy fit-out however, be prepared to wait an excessively long time for your meal and probably give the communal salt bowl a miss given that you never know who’s grotty fingers have been pinching around in there!

Visited Winona Forever over the weekend for brunch. We arrived just after 11am and the place was already busy with a few groups of people queuing in front of us. Turnaround of tables were fast and we were seated after approximately 15 minutes. <br/>The decor was nice, and the menu had several items which we wanted to order. The cabinet food also looked very appetising.<br/>We ordered the Lady Boy & Magical Mushrooms. Both dishes were well presented and tastey, however the mushrooms were a little bit on the salty side. We would definitely recommend the lady boy, quite a few other tables around us also ordered this dish. The prawn was decently sized with a slight spicy taste from the tom yum hollandaise sauce which we enjoyed.<br/>Would definitely come back again to try the other dishes on the menu and even some of the cabinet food next time!

Had a great time here today....! Newest cafe in Parnell and with a review in Canvas made it almost impossible to get a table, but luckily the friendly maître d' was able to get us seated within about 10 mins! As it usual with a new place that ticks all the right boxes (ie indoor/outdoor, great cabinet food, avant-garde menu, rustic modern décor), every unqualified amateur diner in the neighbourhood suddenly needs to go there (and perfectly good cafes across the road are unusually empty :-)...!  First time I had a prawn benny on chilli brioche and it was fantabulous, also the french toast looked like an work of art!

AWESOME place with friendly staff, I had best French toast ever, and it looked soooooooo good. I've already back there for the fourth time, definitely will be there again for others!!!

Went here this morning after hearing it was amazing from many others. It is!! <br/><br/>There was a line to be seated which goes to show the popularity of this new cafe!! <br/><br/>Had the magical mushrooms and a spicy chai latte. The chai latte was delicious and not too sweet. The mushrooms were beautifully presented and equally tasty. Serving creamy mushrooms in a crepe is a novel idea and it works well, making the dish lighter but still filling. <br/><br/>Finished with a custard doughnut which is flavourful and well done, definitely value for money!

This place is amaaazeball ... great service ... great food and cool atmosphere ... i went there today Saturday April the 22nd for my brunch. I order big breakfast plate. because i don't eat pork i ask them to take out the bacon, and they say no problem and will replace that with the chicken sausage instead. Thats good customer service i believe ☺️ i go here again today for breakfast ... another 5 star experience ☺️ great service ... great food and amazing coffee.

Just been to this place, it was busy Host approached us and gave us a table. We sat and waited for a good 15 minutes after trying to get attention from the waiters one waitress approached and asked if we were ready to order but we were not even offered menus or water! She brought the menus we looked and decided what we wanted, again no one approached to take our orders. If it takes that long to take orders we could imagine the food will definitely take long. People were coming and leaving from the door without getting attended. The food looked good on our near by tables, but sadly We left hangry!

This place and their food was a major let down in terms of taste. The place was packed and the staff couldn't handle the masses, we waited so long from the menus to the actual food. I ordered the magical mushrooms where they provided more than enough mushrooms (v satisfied with that), however the creamy sauce was so salty that I just couldn't come close to finishing it and had left over 1/2 of my plate. The decor was very stereotypical but still visually appealing however a very cramp and loud place.

One of the busiest cafes in parnell. But lucky enough we were able to get seats. <br/><br/>They had a good range of cabinet food but opted for their menu instead. Ordered the lady boy which is like a prawn benedict. And I will say that it was pretty average. <br/><br/>Service was pretty good which made it a good experience. Ambience was relaxing as well even though it is near the main road.

Enjoyed a delicious brunch at Winona Forever last Thursday and despite the stormy weather the place was packed. <br/><br/>It may be due to the amount of people inside the restaurant that caused service to be subpar … we stood around waiting to get shown a table and after being seated we were completely forgotten about. Although annoying, it was understandable because the place was so busy and the kind gentleman who took our order was apologetic and assured us that the food and drinks would come quickly - which they did. <br/><br/>The food was delicious and the quick service really made up for the start of our experience at Winona. I would recommend their dark hot chocolate and buckwheat pancake. The bitterness of the dark chocolate went well with the sweetness of the dates and maple of the pancake.

Winona, <br/>This is my second visit to Winona Forever and sadly this time around you did not deliver on my expectations. I recommended this cafe as enjoyed the food, service and overall hospitality. However this time around I'm saddened to say that I did not enjoy the experience at all. We were waitlisted as a group of six of needed to be accommodated for one of your larger tables. That was fine, we understood that there would be a 15-20 min wait as the place was busy.<br/><br/>The main problem that needs addressing here is that we sat down and ordered our food, we waited and waited for OVER AN HOUR to get our meals. We inquired into where our meals were, sadly they seemed to have forgotten our table. <br/><br/>I understand that it was a group of six, however that is no excuse into sending our meals out after an hour when others arriving after us got their meals before us.

I went to Winona forever this morning for brunch with a group of 6 friends. Ordering drinks was nice and fast, but when it came to getting our actual food we waited over an hour. A lot of customers who came in after us got their food before us. One of my friends mentioned that we had been waiting a long time and the waiter said he'd check where our food was. We waited another 20 minutes and mentioned we still hadn't received our food after all these customers got served and finally were told our food was 5 minutes away. The owner offered us something sweet, but at that point we just wanted to leave so we decided we'd wait 5 minutes and if we don't get our food we would've just left. Surprisingly a few minutes later they brought out our meals and I enjoyed the bacon benedict. In the end the owner told his staff not to charge us for the drinks, but unfortunately that doesn't make up for the time we wasted waiting for our meals.

We waited ~an hour to be seated and to receive our food.<br/>Heard much about this place so came with high expectations which were immediately fulfilled by the impressive cabinet display. Doughnts filled w cream, scones, brioches, cakes -you name it and you'll find it<br/>Had their classic french toast- for my liking the brioche was too dry and too much mascapone cream. Looked better than it tasted. But wasnt overly sweet<br/>The paleo bowl however was very good. Looked a bit too healthy so was nervous but was very flavoursome.<br/>Coffees were average.<br/>Portions were on the bigger side and overall we were happy<br/>Staff wasn't too attentive but it was super busy so i understood.

I have been here twice and thought the food and service received was good. I thought the payments system could be a little better it's a bit awkward getting caught between the staff and other customers trying to order cabinet food ☺️

Winona Forever is one of the trendiest new eateries nested in Parnell.<br/><br/>We visited on Saturday morning - despite it being early and rainy, the place was so jam packed that we had to sit outdoors. Luckily it was still semi-sheltered. There was also a long cue after us.<br/><br/>There were so many items to choose from the cabinet, and everything looked divine. I had the vegetarian sundried tomato brioche, which was perfect in its chewy texture and sweet sour flavours. Husband had the big breakfast which he was incredibly happy with - not only was everything (especially the eggs!) cooked beautifully, a lot of thoughts and work obviously went into the seasoning. The mushroom was rich and creamy, the sausage had just the right amount of savouriness, and the pesto tied it all together. Further, it was finished with their homemade kimchi, which provided the dish a slight kick and sourness. <br/><br/>The peanut butter & jam smoothie was another favourite of the day - it actually tasted like a PB & J sandwich! The texture was nice and thick, with actual crunchiness from the nuts and chewiness from the berries.<br/><br/>We also ordered a chocolate donut to share. It was topped with a piece of Whittaker's dark chocolate, and overflowing with chocolate filling. The most decadent finale to our hearty breakfast.<br/><br/>All in all, props to the chef who obviously knew food and executed everything to perfection. I did not give it a 5 because although the staffs were friendly and energetic, maybe its because the place is new and too busy, they seemed a bit frazzled, and did not know the menu well (I received a meat brioche instead of my vegetarian one in the beginning). But I am sure the service will definitely improve with more time and experience :) Will be happy to visit this place again once the craze has died down a bit.

Was in the area and decided this looked like a nice place to go for lunch (around 1.30pm on a Saturday) and it looked lively and busy so it must be good right? Because it was so busy, we expected a bit of a wait, but it was ridiculously slow. We sat down with our menus, there was a bottle of water on the table, but there were no cups anywhere, so we couldn't even help ourselves to a glass of water. It took 10 minutes for the waitress to come around and ask us if we wanted any drinks, but we had already scrutinised the menu, so we ordered our food at the same time to save us more waiting time. As she was walking away I asked her for some glasses which she promptly got. I had ordered a juice which she came back and told me they were out of (fair enough, I work in a cafe too and that happens). Our coffees came out quite fast which was nice, but the coffee wasn't that good (it had quite a sour taste to it). And then the great wait started. We waited for 45 minutes for our food to come, getting hungrier while we watched a couple of other tables get their food. We finished our coffees in he first 30 minutes and kept waiting. Finally when our food came, it was average. It looked pretty, but my friends scrambled eggs was more of an awkwardly folded omelette and the toast was quite stale and tough (I ended up just eating mine with my hands cause it was too hard to cut). The flavours in the dishes didn't really mesh that well. Overall, it was a ridiculous wait for some average food. The service wasn't bad, but it was also very slow. If customers are having to wait for more than 30 minutes for their meals, please let them know beforehand, or apologise for the wait. Winona Forever, more like Wait forever.

judging by the stream of raving posts about this place, winona forever can only be described as the 'new kid on the block' SO after a fit of food envy i made it my mission to suss her out for myself....all i can say is the hype is most definitely real! i ordered the passionfruit and caramel slice as well an iced mocha whilst my mum got the cheesecake cake and a mocha. every treat was devine and decorated beautifully! i would of liked my iced mocha a tad stronger but it's freshness added a nice balance to the meal overall so i can't really complain! loved the whole vibe of this place and will definitely be back to try the eton mess french toast! 🤑🤑🤑<br/><br/><br/><br/>

Such a cool place, great decor and pretty food but generally a pretty average experience! The food looks amazing but really has no strong flavours, my friends meal came our room temperature and with date pits in the smoothie. Was really looking forward to a great brunch but was disappointed! The coffee was great however and the slices and cabinet food are fantastic which is a saving grace! Came last week and ordered five grain toast and avocado off the sides list which was better than the menu items we got today! Will be returning for takeaway coffee and sweet treats but probably not for another sit down meal. Love the aesthetics, a little more focus on the flavours and this place would be amazing!

Lovely staff where they are so smiley and happy .<br/>When you asked something they are so helpful.<br/>I went on sunday for brunch and the place was packed. Luckly there was small table available when we went.

Wah super busy place!! I heard it is like that during the week too. So be ready to wait! We were lucky as we spotted a long table which we could squeeze in and asked some people to move. Ha!<br/><br/>The menu was super unique. We had the prawn Benedict and the mushroom with crepe.. Something different and it worked! Also, the cabinet donuts and more looked amazing. Coffee was average though.<br/><br/>Quite a nice addition to Parnell so do check it out :)

Have you ever had French toast so FAN-cyyy! We popped in for a Tuesday brunch. The food is fantastic and very creative. Cabinet has great selection to takeaway and we noticed local businesses picking up lunch boards. Service was rather slow however. Took 35 minutes before our orders were taken

One of the best cafes in Auckland. Ever. Interior is beautiful consisting of crazy art, plants, large lights and a cabinet full of beautiful looking food. <br/>The food itself is amazing. My favourite dish ever ordered out, hands down. Got the salmon and Beetroot dish. Perfect balance of salty, sweet, and savoury flavours. The smoked fish flavour was a surprise and I didn't expect so much of it but was a perfect addition. They weren't stingy on the salmon, which I was very pleased about and the caviar added the perfect amount of salt needed to the dish. <br/>Got a caramel slice to finish. The actual caramel was silky smooth, my slice had a lot of it (the best amount) whereas my friends slice had more biscuit base. Still a deliciously rich dessert. <br/>Rated 4.5 just because it was very noisy and they forgot about one of the smoothies we ordered.

Had the mushrooms. simply loved it! Quite popular as there are lots of people and queues are long. But worth the wait. Wish there will be lesser noise though I can hardly hear my friend who is sitting beside me.

I came here for lunch the other day, it's nice to see a new, trendy, modern cafe open up in the area. <br/><br/>We came at around 2pm for a late lunch and the place was packed! I felt like a salad however the menu didn't have any salads, it was basically just an all day breakfast menu so I opted for the green breakfast bowl. I enjoyed the grilled asparagus and pickled cabbage with it. The dukkah wasn't the best I've had, however it was a nice healthy dish which is what I wanted. Each dish was also beautifully presented. We tried the cardamom tart which had a really nice chocolate mousse-like consistency to it! However the base of the tart wasn't enjoyable, very dense and way too much grated coconut. <br/><br/>I'd like to come back and try the prawn benedict with tom yum hollandaise which sounds very interesting!Overall a sweet spot for lunch, hopefully they extend or change their menu a bit though.

Just been here for lunch with my friend. The staff member was very informative and helpful. We asked whether the matcha latter can be made in an iced one and they made it for us! It was very delicious and perfect for the weather too. Dishes were stunning to look at, and enjoyable from the taste buds too =) Only thing I struggled was the bathroom that was bit of distance from the cafe so you have to look for the signs very carefully!

visit this cafe on monday was fairly busy but very bad service.No one offer us menu we have to get them by our self.Messy tables.Have to say my coffee was good but unfortunately no no one came to took our order for 15 mins so have to leave.I hope you guys will sort out your service.

Parnell has welcomed a new eatery which has hit the ground running, and captured the hearts of diners from the get-go. The rainy day did not seem to deter anybody and even at 1:30 ish pm, the cafe looked as though lunch rush hour had just started. You may find that the cabinet of food looks every bit as delectable as the one from Hello Friends + Allies, and that is because the owners clearly knew they were doing something right and decided to expand with Winona Forever.

It's great to finally get a really hip cafe in<br/>Parnell. Winona Forever offers a range of delicious looking counter food, and a wide-ranging menu featuring lots of interesting things. I went conservative on my first visit, and got the big breakfast, but looked on longingly at the eaton mess the people at the table next door ordered.

My sister and I visited on a weekend for brunch. The place was already fairly full, only a couple tables free.<br/>Firstly, the service was shocking. We had to seat ourselves and waited approx 10 minutes for someone to greet us and bring a menu - waste of time obviously so we got up and took our own menus from the counter. <br/>There are so many wait staff running around like headless chickens only looking at each other but none having time to attend to customers. <br/>The wait time for food was also extremely long. All in all, we waited just over an hr from the moment we sat down to get our food. <br/>The only reason they deserved more than 0 is because the food wasn't too bad at all. <br/>I noticed there were quite a few office workers who had sat themselves down and after an extremely long wait all asked for their food to be boxed to take back to work to eat. <br/>Lastly, unfortunately yet again, another long wait to pay for the bill - so many staff all not where they are meant to be. <br/>Conclusion - food good, service absurd. <br/>

A busy new cafe popping up on the street of Parnell, where it seams to be the trend of new openings, bringing back a reason to come to Parnell and not to just stuff our face with chocolate at The Chocolate Boutique. Big Breakfast Plate. If you have been to Hello Friends and Allies, you will be happy to know the now previous owners have opened Winona Forever which you will see similar trends with their display food setup. Who can’t agree that brunch is the best meal of the day and if you want to walk away feeling stuffed and satisfied, this eatery will be next on your list.

This quirky cafe must be one of the coolest new spots around town. From the artwork, to the decor to incredibly friendly service.. it's definitely a must for next time your passing through Parnell! No time to dine in for the their amazing French roast? No worries, they have a huuuge range of cabinet food for in the go that's just as drool worthy!

Nice spacious cafe with a nice vibe an large glass windows. The Eton rifle was their version of the French toast and it was absolutely beautiful. Tasted as good as it looked, with mascarpone cream, piped meringue, raspberry compote and berries. Not overpoweringly sweet which was good. Would definitely come back to try the other things on the menu and the cabinet food

Love this place! Great atmosphere and food. Only problem is that kitchen closes at 2:30pm so you gotta get in quick for lunch! The cabinet offers lots of delicious sweet and savoury food as well

When I think of food heaven, I think of doughnuts oozing with jam and cream, decadent slices filled with a thick layer of caramel, dense and fudgy chocolate brownies, freshly baked cookies, cakes piped with meringue, white chocolate truffles, fresh salads, Ciabatta sandwiches with salmon and avocado, breakfast baps, and last but not least, beautifully presented plates of brunch fare, my favourites being French toast, pancakes and eggs done various ways.