Review Kaiaroha Vegan Cafe And Deli - Auckland Central

We have been here a few times before and always enjoyed getting the breakfast platter and some sides. Since the last time we went it looks like they updated their menu. I never knew their food could be even BETTER than it was before! The reuben was out of this world good, and the french toast had a different take on the classic breakfast but was incredibly flavourful. Highly highly recommend this place to anyone Vegan or Non-Vegan! (Gotta give it a try)

I had breakfast at Kaiaroha in Parnell and was excited and intrigued by the eye catching food options in the cabinet and that the cafe was vegan. There were several fascinating items to choose from and I settled on the rhubarb and coconut butterscotch waffles, a soy latte and a passion fruit heart smoothie. My waffles were heavenly and I’d never tried waffles before. They were served with coconut whip, banana in butterscotch sauce with shaved almonds and stewed apple rhubarb, it was one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had. Very light yet satisfying and it put a smile on my face, especially when coupled with my delicious refreshing smoothie. I can’t wait to return and try other dishes! Highly recommended with distinction!

🌱 Vegan review Absolutely loved this place. Unmatched selection of both cabinet food and menu items. I cannot believe I haven't found this place sooner, as it's now my favourite. The food is fantastic and all vegan, selection is beyond expectations, service was the friendliest It needs more people to know about it, as it's top vegan food. Can't wait to come back on an empty stomach and try the cheese platter and the rest of the goodies ❤️❤️❤️

A great spot with friendly staff and an excellent selection of food. I even grabbed some tinned banana blossom on my last visit and tried some vegetarian fish and chips at home, so don't forget to check out their store items! Their eggplant is exceptional! It's such a treat to be able to go into a cafe & choose whatever you fancy without needing to worry about ingredients!

Vegan food you cannot beat. I cannot wait to come back! The buddha bowl is a must-try. Delicious food and awesome coffee located just a quick stroll from the CBD. Portions are very substantial for the price, and everything comes presented so beautifully that it would almost be a sin to not take a photo before digging in.

Nice vegan cafe in the heart of Parnell. The staff is very friendly and it seems more like a family owned business. They have a huuuge selection of food - from sandwiches to warm meals like lasagna. When coming here it will be difficult to decide what to opt for. The amazing thing is that everything is vegan and they also have many glutenfree options! We chose the vegan curry and pumpkin frittata. You could easily spend hours in this cafe, as they have a wide selection of magazines to read through too.

Big Thank You for the amazing 40th Birthday Party, The most beautiful vegan food, generosity, and kindness. Everyone was so happy and full of most delicious food. Alara is just lovely and very creative with the menu. Can't recommend Kaiaroha enough, you can taste love in all dishes.

Great vegan cafe - come here a few times a month so that I can get around the frequently rotating menu. Always a hard choice deciding what delicious thing to order!

The BEST Vegan breakfast in town!! We were highly impressed with the food that we were served. The eggs sealed the deal!! It was great value for money and the team offered great friendly service - thank you! (Note, we had started eating before taking the pic- we just could not wait!! )

Luscious vegan food that you’ll be able to persuade even the most fervent meat-eater with. Everything, from the fruit-infused water down to the crisp, spongy bread reeks of love and attention. Utterly divine selection of cabinet delights, from soft cannelloni to smoky and rich pastrami sandwiches. A real treat. Parking is difficult, but worth it!

Amazing for a vegan cafe. The food selection is really nice. Drinks are quite pricey though. Same with cabinet good. It is really tasty, but the portions do not quite meet the price, in my opinion. Try their jackfruit and lasagna. My favorites. <br/>

Unfortunately has been a disappointment. I have been longing to visit Kaiaroha for a very very long time. I used to buy their cheese and goodies at the Parnell markets. Sadly it took me so long to visit their cafe and what a let down it was, may be my expectations were too high.<br/><br/>The service was very poor. The lady at the counter and the customer before me were just chatting away non stop with no consideration for the people waiting after. My frustrations started to build as I was just about to walk away listening to these two chat away, the lady in the counter considerably asked for another staff to help.<br/><br/>The other staff did not know how much their cabinet food cost. There were no labels on some and she couldn’t try and get the info from the till tablet. I just wasted so much time just standing to be served it wasn’t funny. I got some cabinet food and sweets to go and unfortunately neither of them were tasty. It’s not about the money it just wasn’t a lovely meal. If you look at the range in the cabinet, you can see so so much effort has gone into making them but unfortunately the taste factor just wasn’t there. Sadly don’t have a reason to visit again but do feel like I should go and have a done in proper meal to accurately review

For a special occasion I organized a party for my wife, I wanted for her a unique evening with all our closest friends, vegan and non vegan. <br/>Alara helped me organizing a terrific party, we had the venue just for us (about 40 people) and the serving was impeccable.<br/>Food was great, we opted for finger (licking) food to have the freedom to move around and not confined in tables. Alara and I discussed different options, from simple things to more refined bites, to finish with a professional cake with sugar free icing (awesome).<br/>You don't organize things like this often and they must be memorable. This will definitely be.

Food should have been good but was served cold, and forgot coffee. Worse - Waitress asked to borrow my daughter's knife while she was eating to get the sauce out of the jar - when trying to make up for the fact she'd forgotten to put it on the plate originally. <br/><br/>We noted another customer complained as well about a meal left on the counter, and then served to him when it was cold. <br/><br/>So sad to see what should be a good cafe let itself down so badly. Sadly we won't be going back.

Amazing cozy friendly place<br/>Beautiful food<br/>Sad it’s now too far for me but still I try to make it at least once a week there

Been here now several times. Food is always fresh and really tasty. My non-vegan husband swears by their sausage rolls. Had the Sunday roast for 2 today. This is a halfway pic. Portions were ample. Couldn't even finish it. The veggies were allowed to have unique flavours and had a good variety. The stuffed "chickun" had a lovely crispy skin and was well complimented by a delicious gravy. Great comfort food for this colder day. Such a pity I didn't have space to try that delicious-looking cheesecake! Well... next time then :) !

Had BBQ jackfruit ribs for lunch, which were amazing - the portion was huge, and I would have needed hollow legs to finish. Lovely staff, good range of food. Would go back for sure.<br/>I almost missed the shop as its quite tucked away; I would recommend better signage.

Really yummy, everything they prepare. The neatballs, the curry, everything. The problem is the service. Even though they are friendly, every time I go it takes ages for my food to arrive.<br/>Even though is reheating something from the cabinet... if you are in a hurry, avoid.<br/>Otherwise... congrats for the cruelty free kitchen, is delicious!

Very welcoming setup and staff. Unfortunately took an hour to get our food order. Not sure how it works but we saw a tray of lasagne just out of the oven so were tempted to some fresh lasagne. However we were served it barely warm and super late despite being told it was in the oven and would be ready in 10 minutes. The noodles and fried tofu was nice but again took extremely long to arrive. We were apologised to for the delay but it didnt seem to be a one off. Hoping to have a better experience next time

Came for brunch on a Saturday morning. I had the Kumara waffles which were a treat to be able to have gluten free waffles and really delicious. My friend had the toasted cheese sandwich and was a little disappointed that the bottom of her sandwich was a little burnt. The food also took a while to come out considering the cafe wasn’t busy but overall a nice experience.

I love their delicious nut cheeses. I always grab one. They have a great range of vegan items with many that are also gluten free. Great vibe and lots of effort goes into each meal.

absolutely terrible service- tables were all covered in used plates and dirty napkins, the staff made no attempt to tidy them, even after they served us they didnt take away the previous customers dirty dishes (it wasnt just our table too all the others were a mess). the food in the cabinet was not labelled and the lady serving us had no idea what it was. they didnt have any change in their till for cash. after i ordered my coldbrew and had been waiting for it for around 15mins they informed me they had actually run out but politely offered to swap to an iced latte which was nice but tasted very average- like a weak shot poured in a large glass of very sweet coconut milk. our food which was a pie and a quiche(from the cabinet) took a solid 35 mins to arrive- and when it did it was cold. it tasted ok, would have been better if we werent eating a cold pie tho . would have asked them to heat it up more but didnt want to wait for another half hour. overall the place was in absolute shambles- it looked as if the staff had no clear direction whatsoever. would not reccomend and will not be returning unless their is a clear change in organiseation as although the food was not bad the service was unacceptably horrendus.

I had an amazing experience at Kaiaroha cafe! I had the salmon look alike bagel which was the best bagel I have ever had! The carrot was tasty and was so much better than the real thing 🤤 their potato salad was delicious and also took home a pasta dish for dinner which was also incredible! I will most definitely be back 💖

Big Thank You for the amazing 40th Birthday Party, The most beautiful vegan food, generosity, and kindness. Everyone was so happy and full of most delicious food. Alara is just lovely and very creative with the menu. Can't recommend Kaiaroha enough, you can taste love in all dishes.

Ever since we have decided to turn plant based we have tried out sooo many vegan restaurants and eateries but this one by far outdoes the rest ! The Sunday Roast Platter was so delicious, scrumptious and perfectly cooked. The gravy and the roast chickun was phenomenal. The monster shakes were out of this world. We will definitely come back until we have tried out everything on the menu. Well done Kaiaroha team on delivering and exceeding our high expectations.

I don’t usually opt for vegan food but this place looked peaceful and inviting compared to the bustling cafes in the area. The food looked really interesting and they did not disappoint! I like how vegan food here is creative and delicious. I had the benedict rosti and the carrot lox that is supposed to be the salmon alternative was awesome. Also loved their ‘hollandaise’ sauce~ I would definitely come back and try more of their dishes and desserts too!

Went here and had amazing vegan deli/cafe style food for breakfast. Reasonably priced and you can tell it's homemade and not mass brought off premises like some other cafes these days. I liked how the cafe building has a massive glass wall out to the street, reminds me of a Melbourne cafe or something. Friendly staff too. Definitely go and check this place out if you haven't already.

The food was delicious with lots of selection and generous portion sizes, lovely environment and great service. Will definitely come back :)

Had a coffee at this place and it was amazing, vegan or not people should try their incredible coffees. And everyone is so nice! I really need to try more from their menu because everything looks so vibrant and colorful.

Vegan comfort food at its finest. Truly inventive cooking and always delicious from the generous Sunday platters to the cabinet food. We have been there several times and are never disappointed. The service is friendly and considerate. Can't rate this place highly enough.

It is criminal that Kaiaroha has such a low rating on Zomato due to one unhappy customer- please do not let this deter you as you would be missing out big time! Kaiaroha is a must visit for any vegans visiting or residing within central Auckland. The food is delicious and fantastically priced considering the quality, ethical choices, care and energy put into the crafting of their wonderful dishes. I live locally and am in awe of the amount of hours the team there put in to maintain such a high standard, six days a week- it is clearly a true labour of love. <br/><br/>Regarding food recommendations: their weekend platter menu is an absolute treat and a great way to indulge with friends or loved ones during the weekend. The regular menu never fails to impress, though I am particularly fond of their felafel with tabbouleh and hummus. Their cabinets are filled with so many mouth watering options it almost hurts to pick only one (or two, let's be honest) thing(s) at a time! I recommend it all, but have a very soft spot for their polenta bakes and warmed sandwiches. They also offer the most refreshing iced teas which come served in generous glasses filled with fresh fruit and are not over-sweetened or sickly at all. <br/><br/>Thank you so much to the entire Kaiaroha team for working so passionately to provide such a haven of vegan delectables.  You are an absolute asset to the local community, not only offering an ethical food option which is affordable and accessible, but also providing a warm and friendly environment to enjoy it in. If I could rate you more than 5 stars, I would in a heartbeat! If I were to offer any constructive criticism, it would be for there to be a few more sweet options alongside the savoury, but honestly it's probably a good thing that they are limited or I would be in trouble big time!! Kia ora, Kaiaroha- your efforts are absolutely recognised and valued, and your kai just as much so!

Kaiaroha has a great platter menu. There are plenty of options and it's great for sharing. I they have different size options suitable for 2 to 4 people.<br/><br/>The portion sizes are decent, and I'm glad they come with lots of sauce and stuffing for the roast chicken platter.<br/><br/>They also have a great vegan menu and the smoothies are delicious.

So good to see vegan cafes popping up, and we really wanted to love this place... it's possible that we made poor choices, but we were pretty disappointed with what we ordered: the chickpea and polenta bake, sausage roll, tomato soup with spicy sausage, and green juice. The polenta base of the bake had an unappetizing texture and the dish as a whole lacked flavour. The green juice had such a strong ginger taste that we couldn't get through more than half of it. The soup was ok, but the sausage lacked flavour and had a weird, spongy texture. The sausage roll was the only thing I Iiked, but it wasn't worth the price... Nothing, come to think of it, was worth the price. Although this place specialises in meat/dairy substitutes, I think they might be better off just making simple, honest vege food well. We didn't like leaving feeling like we could've made better vegan food at home for half the price :(

Just visited the new Parnell site. Amazing food, good portions & reasonable pricing. Ordered one Mexican special; spinach & cashew cheese quiche; a sausage roll; & two coconut milk hot chocolates. <br/><br/>The food was beyond our expectations. Before I became a plant-based food enthusiast, I didn’t like quiches. The one I had today was super tasty, like an intriguing mix of feta & egg. Even though none of these ingredients were in the dish. Also sampled a small piece of the delicious deli ‘meat’. <br/><br/>Overall great experience & unpretentious staff. Paid $38 for food & drinks. Plus shared the three dishes between the two of us - was quite filling. I would recommend making the space ‘warmer/inviting’ with extra deco. But to be fair, cafe is pretty new, so probably still nutting out such details