Review Browns - Auckland Central

Diane Hannay

Really great and fresh chicken and avocado sandwich for Sunday lunch. They have a good selection of cabinet food and menu items and seating areas inside and out. Coffee was good but not great (I would have it again, but wouldn’t go out of my way for it). A solid 4/5 stars, and I’ll probably stop in for that sandwich again. 👍

Dora Green

Stopped in for a quick bite on the way to St Heliers. Handy sunny location. A good range of cabinet food and I enjoyed the orange friande with a hot chocolate. Attentive owner and nice to see his apologetic reply to another reviewer.

Dennis Niu

No pets allowed Street parking No toilets Nice casual type cafe what I first noticed seating on the outside with covers protecting from the weather elements. Seating also inside . Nice for couples or small group Birds hanging around 🐦 outside I ordered the browns omelette 😋 $19.50 Delicious and also we had the browns big grill $23.00 😋 and the usual decaf-mocha Very happy with meals . Service was good and all in all will stop by again

Emiya Nada

Great cafe to drop by for a quick bite or coffee. They don't have a lot of kitchen menu, but shelf products are sold at a very reasonable price and tasted great as well. Service is also very efficient.

James Rofe

Came in for food late on the 31st 2022 staff were great. The cabnet food was obviously lovingly prepaid. Coffee was great. My wife's a chef and has owned a couple restaurants so we know the right staff and great in store foods, a winning combination. I highly recommend these guys

Nick Vanderwee

Would've given this place 5 stars. We've been coming here for years although got let down today buying a pie that got dropped so all the contents is no longer inside when going for a bite. Still taste great none the less.

Ngaire Askew

So good to sit in the sunshine and enjoy a almond milk flat white while munching on a delicious omelette.

Adrienne Heal

Great cabinet food. Prompt and polite service and the perfect spot for 'after sport' fare on a busy Saturday. Nice to be able to sit outside in the sun.

Mike Foster

Excellent coffee, service, and apple strudel

James C

Great customer service. Cheerfully prepared a couple of bagels with cream cheese (not on the regular menu) to take away along with really good coffees. 👍👍

Paul Hillier

Good coffee, staff are always pleasant

Tia Scown

Really lovely breakfast with a friend, delicious food and coffee. Staff very friendly

stew jessiman

Great coffee, friendly service and melting moments to die for

Sue Phillips

Whenever we stop by we get an iced coffee and a banana smoothie. The iced coffees are really nice, awesome flavour, and the banana smoothies taste really cool and fresh with quite a nice banana flavour. A great local cafe, only con would be the prices on the higher side.

LHAJ Cafe user

Amazing coffee. Always consistent. Their pies should win an award. Very tasty and always fresh. Nice to have fresh delicious salads. Food is just awesome. Lovely staff. Will keep coming back.

Marie Corcoran

I would recommend this cafe for coffee and their sweet treats. My partner loves the gluten free brownies and everything else in the treats cabinet looks amazing. We went there today for lunch. I had a teriyaki chicken sandwich which had nice flavours and my partner had an omelette with onion tomato and cheese. He did not like it at all. The chunks of onion and tomato were way too big and the omelette had a runny texture. We will definitely return for the delicious coffee but probably not to order from the lunch menu

Eduard Biermann

Good coffee, great snacks and friendly staff.

Ken Soppet

Reasonably priced and a good assortment of fresh food. Coffees were nice as well. This place looked busy ... a good sign of an eatery locally recommended.

Nzweston

Lovely food, great coffee and friendly atmosphere. I’m a regular visitor and love the savoury scones. But the pies are great too. Very hard to find a local cafe with such great food and variety.

Sofija

All the food at Browns is generally nice, and the smoothies and coffee are great. The staff are friendly and I would highly recommend trying the gluten free brownie.

Auckland Foodie

Coffee was okay (not my favourite) and the apple and walnut muffin was nice. Owners were friendly. Overall a nice cafe but there are probably better ones around.

Becks Fielding

5/5. Self proclaimed eggs bene connoisseur here, and the eggs benedict here, is absolutely delightful. Eggs are always perfectly runny and everything else is simply spot on!!! At $16.50 in Auckland.... tell me that's not great!!! Coffee is nice and strong... just what you need first thing in the morning. Get yourselves here... it's a must!!!

Georgina Townley

We have been here a few times and it has never been great. However today was exceptionally bad. My boyfriend's mocha had an overpowering taste of artificial chocolate syrup and my long black was burnt. His corn fritters were doughy, soggy, literally completely flavourless. The salsa and bacon served only to distract you from the soggy pancake consistency of the fritters. My sausages were certainly store bought, poached eggs unseasoned, and thin flavourless rosti soaked by the vinegary overpowering salad dressing which did not belong anywhere near it. Obviously we would never go back, and nor should you.

Hanna Doolan

It was so bad the salad tastes terrible and old look like keep so many days and the coffees and not hot enough and the sausage rolls very dry like a rock, not recommend to go there.

OldGoatsKnowBest

Too crowded down on the waterfront? On a fine, calm day this is worth a look. It has a relaxed suburban outlook encompassing the harbour north. Easy parking. Popular with its regular locals. Who knows? It might even be your cup of tea. Nice outside.

Mike

Just popped in for a coffee ...coffee ok ...service by the Asian chap was very surly and rude ..no thank you or how was the coffee ?,,the toilets were a disgrace !,,flys every where and un hygienic ...no good by come again ?,,appalling ...so much more to choose from !,won't be back ..

Diogo Reck

Nice place to seat, have a coffee and some snack. Price is reasonable and coffee is OK. They also have a lot of options of sweets and savouries that worth a try.

Comestible Consultancy

AMBIANCE: Compact. A little noisy being that close to a main road. They really are short on space inside so next to the road is your best bet. Otherwise, nice decor and good natural light through the large windows. SERVICE: Food came quickly but there was no time spent on friendly greetings or being courteous. COFFEE: Not ordered but they use altura beans (not a pick of mine but probably because all of the altura coffees I've had have been made poorly). FOOD: Devine sausage roll. Nothing special about the sandwhich. Bacon and eggs were great, perfect eggs, wholesome toast and properly cooked bacon. PRICE: Fair for its quality and experience. OVERALL: Just another cafe.

BeeQueUU

This is a small cafe by todays standards maybe with 8 or 9 tables including outdoor seats. Roots are in delicatessen sales rather than the bakery trade and gourmet retail but there is a boutique level of cafe savouries, sweets and bread based foods. usual coffees and high end bottled juices. Having just been to a more midrange specialty baker at Ed's thought another comparison was in order on the gourmet pies. Browns use to sell the mini sized gourmet pies which never took my fancy unless a snack was needed. However now they stock some good sounding full sized pies for lunch. I had the portobello mushroom steak with red wine. Excellent eating what struck me was the good filling it was solid and not just gravy. Large tender beef pieces and great pastry with a sesame coating. This was a outstanding pie but it came at a price. At $5.90 it would be at the high end for gourmet pies. Not a complaint as its quality deserves the premium and its valued. Compared to say 3 $2 Big Ben pies from a dairy I'd suggest you'd feel similarly full and not have indigestion from the fat you'd consumed. Can't wait to find a reason to try another pie. Update from this weekend tried the corned beef salad roll and this was fulling and taste great with clearly fresh sharp flavours and super textured herb bread roll. 10/10

Peter Katelaan

Very good and family friendly! We took this cafe over our "default spot" and didn't regret it. The food was delicious and the coffee was outstanding. Overall the everything seems to be very clean and the staff was also very friendly! Well worth a visit!

Marsha Laskey

So very impressed with this cafe. The food looks beautiful in the cabinet and the homemade pies are very yummy. The prices are extremely reasonable too for the quality. Coffee is very good too, would highly recommend!

Kathryn Bird

I have been to Brown's Cafe twice now and enjoyed the experience on both occasions. The decor is simple, modern and clean, with a nice 'neighbourhood' feel. The board menu isn't extensive, but has everything you'd want from a local eatery. There's also an opportunity to select something from their cabinets, which includes delicious looking pies. I think the best way to sum up Brown's Cafe is that it serves great coffee, has pleasant surroundings, uses superb fresh ingredients, and does the simple things really well.

Louise Simonsen

The new owners are so friendly and keep making improvements to the decor. Fantastic coffee! The breakfast menu is not large but covers all the usual, with good quality ingredients. I'm not usually a pie fan, but the homemade ones here might convert me.