Review Bach'n Cafe And Restaurant - Auckland Central

The cafe has a beautiful location and lovely view. The location and arrangement of the cafe gives a wonderful feeling to seat in the cafe and enjoy the hot drinks and snacks. Cafe is famous so it is busy during weekends. Good place for groups and families. If weather is good then you can take away and seat next to the beach and enjoy the lovely view and eat.

one and only cafe that I loved, worked and where my coffee dream started. It is my another hometown. really miss my NZ mom and papa and families. I will definitely be back to see you once COVID 19 is finished! please stay safe. love you guys so much. drink passionately. stay caffeinated. ♡

Service is slow but my goodness is the wait worth it! Food is delicious and very generous with their portions! Hot chips are humungous and YUMMY. I had the fish burger which was seriously huge but somehow I managed to eat it all 😏 Coffee was lovely. I especially loved the blankets that we used to wrap around ourselves as the beach did make it a little cooler weather wise

Stopped in for a late lunch. Nice views. Great staff. Plenty of parking along the promenade, free. He had the Thai beef salad and gave it thumbs up, I had corn fritters and bacon just yum. Nice ambience. Nice place to stop in if you are out this way or taking the scenic road to somewhere.

Fish and chips were great! Iced coffee was perfect and the view was amazing. Despite a long drive, the view and food was worth it. I couldn't even finish my meal, the fish was filling enough. Very affordable as well, especially for the location.

Love this place....staff is amazing...always so sweet and helpful.

Nestled in a lovely bayside village, the cafe is a beautiful spot to enjoy the view and a coffee. Breakfast options quite pricey and limited - no lighter/cheaper options. Food nice. We discovered the kids menu too late - stuck to the side of the serviette holder. Seating inside and out

BEST mussels with thai coconut cream EVER! I wish I could fit more of it in my belly! Definitely a must have! This place made our day, friendly and clean. Nice little toilet with small towels instead of paper for drying hands: awesome!

Love this place... great food, friendly service. Best first thing on a Saturday morning before the crowds arrive

Not sure what others were complaining about. Food was delicious!

Great breakfasts, good coffee, great views across the harbour to Waiheke

My favourite breakfast place in the area. Bach'n Bene with salmon and their famous hand-crafted hashbrowns. It's very busy at times, be patient. Especially if you're seated outside, make sure the staff is aware you're a person and not part of the furniture

love it! great service, especially with the kind and approachable staff members giving me a friendly service even if i just asked for some hot water. love the idea of Bach'n Cafe using utensils made out of wood as wood is eco friendly unlike plastics - cup noodle guy <3

Amazing place! Friendly staff! Delicious food!.....reasonable prices...sometimes you have to wait a little bit long...(so popular!!)..but hey...it's worth the wait! Great views from any angle - will go there again!!

If I could give zero stars I would. I cannot stress enough how bad the food and service was here. We came here for lunch on a Wednesday after seeing it had been recently closed for renovations. It reopened as “beach cafe Maraetai”. Iced choc was good but coffees and drinks took 30 mins and we waited for well over an hour for our food. When it arrived it was horrible. Old salad, calamari that tasted old and fishy, it was terrible. Left with a bad taste in our mouths, I can’t stress how terrible the food was. I honestly don’t know how they remain in business- obviously they rely on one-off customers. Will never be back. It’s a shame because it’s such a beautiful location. But I recommend avoiding like the plague.

I must be from another planet. Alipate. Went out for days outing as a visitor/traveller with my wife. Been all around the world but as an Expat and having read the reviews, you get what you paid for and from the Mussel menu to the Burgers and Chips out of 5, I rate it 5. OMG, what negativity we Kiwis and others expect. The scenery was worth the 5 alone and well worth the lovely drive out. Staffing, well after I had a friendly chat with Mr George the owner, I could appreciate the young staff, for God sake give it time? Never judge a book by its cover and the place needs work, but all in good time. For what it's worth, we loved it and thank all the staff especially the Chefs, keep up the GOOD work, well done, Cheers. If back in NZ again you're on top of my list and Kiwi/others, chillax OMG! :)

Would not recommend this cafe. The interior is old, sad and dirty. The place drastically needs a refresh. All of the staff are quite young and don't really seem too interested in serving people. I waited over 30 minutes for a burger, which was very disappointing considering it wasn't very busy at all. The burger is definitely not worth the $20. My beef patty was completely burned, which meant that the rest of my burger also tasted burned. This place has a great view, but not even the view can save bad food and service.

Great site on the beach but service poor and food just ok. <br/>You can sit outdoors or indoors and , in winter, there was a lovely fire. We found a table, browsed the menu and realised we needed to order and pay at the counter. The menu is limited. Half a dozen breakfast menu item (plus a few for kids) eg eggs Benedict, big breakfast etc. Ditto for lunch - fish and chips, burger and chips etc. We discovered when we went to order that the Breakfast menu stops at noon.<br/>There were three young women behind the counter but I couldn’t figure what they were doing as they seemed reluctant to serve, and coffee was not received quickly. There was no service, despite the optimistic tips jar on the counter, and I had to go back to the counter to request water.<br/>The fish and chips we ordered were very good. The stack of three sweet corn fritters were more like fluffy pancakes with two slices of over cooked bacon between them. Sweet chilli sauce was squirted in thin stripes on top with a dollop of sour cream and a small salad. I was hungry. I ate it. <br/>There are only a couple of cafes in Maraetai so you may well eat here. Enjoy the location, don’t expect service or an extensive menu, and check what others are eating to guide your choice. Or take a picnic.

Place needs a good clean looking run down and dirty<br/>Young unfriendly staff who didn’t seem bothered with customers coming in and no menus just scrappy bits of paper <br/>Would never return so many other better places around

Disappointing to be honest.  My wife and I ate here on Sunday lunchtime (arrived 11:50) only to be told that we could not have the breakfast menu.  Undeterred - after a bit of a journey to get here - we ordered a burger and corn fritters, we had to wait for 25 minutes for the burger and a further 5-10 minutes for the fritters.  One meal was almost finished before the other one arrived. the cafe was not particularly busy which makes me wonder what the delay in getting the food out was.<br/><br/>Food was okay, nothing flash given the time we had to wait, quite expensive for what we had though, much better VFM to be found elsewhere.  No satisfaction checks, no apologies.<br/><br/>If I said that the staff had not a clue what was going on (that included the scruffy manager /owner ??) I don't think I'd be far wrong here.  I personally wouldn't make the trip out to Maraetei to eat here again.

I was expecting a great breakfast after a long hike but unfortunately we were never served. it was a little busy, the waitress walked passed us bout 3 times while we were standing in the middle clueless, she didn't acknowledge us at all, no greetings but just looked at us everytime she walked passed so I asked if we had to order at the counter and how things work here ? she said it was table service. so we picked the table outside that someone just left. after 10 minutes of waiting, no one came to clear the table or ask if we have been served. so we left. would never come here again.

Exceptional breakfast. Very warm reception from new owner, staff and an open fire. Will definitely be back thank you and would certainly highly recommend to anyone. Not to mention the view!!

Owner is a bloody joke trying to argue with me because I broke the structure of ordering and paying for food first. He walks around in bare feet. Trying to say they are table service, mate there is no one on the floor to greet or take your order. If you have been in the industry for 13 years then you would know what the hell your doing!! Lucky the cheffing team know what their doing because you would be screwed other wise mate

Very disappointed after visiting today, was first told there was no avocado, then no fish cakes and lastly no mussels. This limited the menu considerably. I ordered a halloumi salad, which was small, with a handful of leaves, 2 cherry tomatoes and 3 very stingy thin strips of halloumi. Costing $18.50, which I felt was terrible value for money. Staff not apologetic or helpful, we understand that ingredients can run out etc, but staff didn't seem to care. <br/>My families meals were average at best. <br/>This is a shame, as I have had great meals here before and the location is lovely.

Complete rubbish, terrible service and the food was largely inedible and vastly overpriced 😡The lamb salad had a pathetic amount of lamb and the accompanying bulgar wheat salad just drab and uninteresting (& once again really small). I would normally have just sent it back but didn’t want to make a scene as I was with my daughter who had the beef burger.....which looked very ordinary.<br/>Won’t be back

We have been here at least 4 times and the experience has always been yeah nah here, coffee is bad and food is not good at all, the only reason why we keep coming back is the ice cream is a hook for the kids and to be fair is generously served which is great, so the recommendation is have an ice cream as well and avoid the coffee and the food

This was one of those times where all I wanted was a good long black and eggs bene (the craving was real) and boy did they deliver. Our table had 3 adults and also Mr 5 and Mr 1, not only were the staff lovely, they interacted with the kids and provided a high chair pronto. The coffee was spot on, so much so that I had two. The eggs bene with salmon was delicious, Mr 5's French toast (kids size) went down a treat, the big breakfast (those hash browns were addictive...stole one off the plate) and mushrooms (also addictive...had to try) on toast looked amazing! And to top it off, it was a beautiful day with a high tide. Thank you for the lovely experience.

Great food and service. Fun with family. Fish and chips is huge serving and burger presentation is good. Great size of rum and coke as well. Hoghly recommended

The best place to get good food in Maraetai itself as there were not much choices available. Service was fast and accurate. Food was average but the ambiance here is great especially after swimming or tanning by the beach.

I will start by saying that I have never rated anyone like this before, but I find complete lack of service so disappointing (& thank goodness quite rare these days). <br/>I have been to Bach'n many many times over the years. There has been mixed service & reasonably good food from many different chefs & owners, but this is the first time I've visited where I have sat, & waited, & waited. I completely appreciate that cafes are busy sometimes & have limited staff, but having the time to walk out the back & chat while tables are waiting (not just me) to even be acknowledged (couldn't even get eye contact)...hey there are plenty of other options & I voted with my feet. Currently elsewhere, have been served & have food on the way. Come on guys - at least get the basics right. #hopefulfornexttimebutdoubtillbeback

Went there for lunch, had the fish & chips which was delicious! To top it off it's an awesome location with an amazing view, will definitely be back :)

Good view from the cafe. The food was nice, there wasn't much to choose from and the ice coffee that I had was disappointing. It wasn't iced coffee at all, it was like a coffee smoothie or something. The food was nice though for a very good price.

Decided to pop in while we were visiting the beach for a little bite. I ordered the corn fritters which were named an all time favorite. The flavors were soo good, I really enjoyed it, the only negative was that it was really wet in the centre, and just mushy so I kind of ate around it. All in all, still delicious though!

All it has is just the mesmerising view! The coffee was purely not up to the mark! It had no taste and seemed to be made by someone who doesn't even know how to make one!

Just went for coffee which sadly wasn't the best. Was a busy day and the staff seemed rather unenthusiastic. Nice view across to the harbour though

With a midweek day off and beautiful winter sunshine, my son and I decided to head out to the beach for some fun and vitamin D. Many times in the weekend we've been past Bach'n and it has always been too full to try so I figured that midweek might give us a shot. We entered and selected a front table by the window. I didn't see any high chairs so I'm not sure if they're available but the tables are suitable for portable clip-on high chairs. Our waitress was very friendly and took our order promptly, including maintaining her service with a smile when I popped up to the counter to add a fluffy to the drinks order.<br/>We ordered the potato skins to share and this turned out to be the perfect amount for a light meal. The cheese was delicious, but the ability to add a little more to taste would have been ideal. The hot beverages were where Bach'n fell down a little - the mocha had a ridiculous amount of froth whereas the fluffy had barely any, much to my son's disappointment. Still, these were minor bug bears in the grand scheme of things.<br/>If you're looking to visit during the weekend or during summer I suggest you make a booking - the views just can't be beat. But it's also worth a visit on a stunning midwinter weekday; just avoid getting the fluffy.<br/><br/>Sarah Reynolds #challenge

Had lunch here today very long wait for below average food what a shame stunning setting.  I had the Rubén corn beef lovely but served on the driest piece of so called sourdough and potato skins which were cold and dry.  Just moved to area very disappointed won't go back  :(

Ok positives first: Lovely location, friendly staff, husband's fish and chips were good. BUT, we waited half an hour for drinks, and another half an hour for food. I ordered fried chicken with coleslaw and fried potato skins, and I was not impressed, certainly not worth waiting for. There was very little chicken, two small chicken nugget sized pieces in a little pot. The crispy coating was nice but the chicken inside was overcooked and dry, and it was room temperature at best. The skins were cold and dry. The coleslaw was just shredded red cabage with no dressing, sitting on a slice of plain bread. There was a tiny dollop of sweet chilli sauce on the plate - nowhere near enough to counteract the dryness of the dish. Very dissapointing, and I wouldn't go there again.

Probably one of the worst cafes. The staff were quite friendly but that's about it.<br/>Ordered the iced chocolate, the drink wasn't even iced, it was more warm than cold. My friend ordered a glass of wine, the glass was dirty on the rim/sides. Would not come back anytime.

Friendly staff makes all the difference, great affordable lunch menu too. I booked outside weather permitting, 4 of us celebrating my birthday. Due to windy weather, they showed initiative and consideration by reserving us a table just inside the doors, with a view across the road to the beach. This suited my elderly mum well too. Service was prompt, food great, and staff went the extra mile to chat to us and particularly mum. Thanks - you made our day!

Went for a Sunday morning coffee and cake- ordered chocolate brownies and an order of fries. The brownies arived with the coffee promptly. The brownie was delicious, but unfortunately the coffee was only barely warm. After a wait of about 20 minutes, and still no fries, I asked the very friendly young waiter where they were- we wanted to leave. He checked with the kitchen staff; unfortunately the kitchen is open so we could see and hear the two chefs yelling at the waiter. Not a great look- we won't return.

Nice sunny Sunday drive, decided to have a quick lunch and coffee before heading out for a walk. Waited 10 minutes for a waitress to take our order. Ordered one serving of fish and chips and two coffees. Then had to wait an hour to get our lunch! Noticed that people who came in after us were being delivered their meals but not us. By the time we finished eating the temperature had dropped and our planned walk went out the (cafe) window! A man apologised for the delay and offered one free coffee, they should have given us the free meal!! Very poor service, if any! Shame about this because it is such a great location for a cafe.

Pretty location but Maraetai deserves better! Lack of selection on menu, bad for those on gluten free diets, shouting from the chef from kitchen, no atmosphere, food 45 minutes late and after mucking up our order we decided to leave. Shocking service. Not recommended!!!

Took my 2 year old son for a hot chocolate mid week before work as a special treat. Ordered two hot drinks Specifically asking for a warm choclate and a scone. 45 minute later we finally got our order! My son's HC was scolding, lucky I checked it first as burned my mouth. I asked for some cold milk to be added, got back a slightly chocolate cold milk.<br/>Key frustration was several other groups arrived after us and were served their drinks before us, perhaps because they were having a cooked meal. <br/><br/>This was my first time back in over a year due to previous poor service and not sure if I will return...service when i got it was great however. Just a shame it wasn't in the right order.

New Years Day drive from North Shore to the attractive Eastern Beaches. Chose to have lunch at this lovely beachfront cafe. Josh introduced himself with a firm handshake, and along with his fellow waitress provided friendly service on such a busy day. The owner operating the coffee machine was also rushed off her feet. The chef was able to keep up with orders. Although we had a wait, it suited the leisurely beach-side atmosphere we were looking for. <br/>Husband had Mince on Toast, which was flavoursome and came with little hash-browns and perfectly fried eggs. A generous serving.<br/>I had the Eggs Benedict which came with 2 perfect runny poached eggs, the spinach and Bearnaise sauce and my choice of the mushrooms. Other options are bacon or salmon.<br/>Great lunch, good coffee, and lovely staff. a nice way to celebrate 2014.

We haven't been to Bach'n Cafe for ages as the service was so bad. A friend commented that it was under new management (no idea when they took over but this is something they should probably advertise!) so we thought we'd give it a shot. We had brunch and the food was fantastic and beautifully presented. The staff were all very friendly and the service was great. We're going back!!

I went with my daughter in law, her 12 week old baby and my mother for lunch today. What a lovely surprise to be greeted so warmly by the staff as we entered and the service for the rest of our stay did not change. We ordered the sweetcorn fritters followed by the homemade carrot cake and coffees'. The food as well as the coffee was excellent to say the least and you can be assured we will return as there are a lot more dishes I cant wait to try.<br/>Thanks Bach'n for a wonderful dining experience.

I haven't been here in a long time and thought I would pop out with my toddler for some fun on the beach and why not have brunch while we're here. Well the beach was great but the service at the cafe ruined my morning. What service! The first waitress abruptly told me to sit down and wait when I asked for a menu. I asked for a plate so I could give my child a snack I had while we were waiting and it was like I'd asked her to jump off the harbour bridge. So anyway I ordered. I then asked if they had a high chair and was told yes. I asked where it was as I couldn't see it. I was TD it was out the back. Like getting blood out of a stone to dare ask if I could borrow it! Our ppancakes arrived without maple syrup so I double checked the menu and sure enough says it comes with it. So I asked if the maple syrup was coming as it says it comes with it. Again I got spoken to rudely and asked well do you want syrup or not, ah yeah that's why I'm asking! I told her it wasn't my fault and not to be so rude. I got told that I was the rude one. We begrudgingly ate our meal and at no time did anyone come over to ask if everything was ok or offer any water etc. I spoke to a male owner at the end who thanked me for bringing it up, but he didn't offer any incentive for me to return. The food however was good.

We were a party of 5 and the first to arrive on a Saturday morning (5 November 2013).<br/><br/>Coffee orders were placed and our waiter (young enthusiastic male) proceeded with his café set up. Coffees arrived strong and hot as well as water for the table and our orders were placed.<br/><br/>1 Bach'n Breakie<br/>Bacon Benedict<br/>Salmon Benedict<br/>Bagel + Salmon + Crème cheese (from the build your own menu)<br/>Bagel + Bacon + Hash Brown (from the build your own menu)<br/><br/>Approximately 30 minutes later, all but one of our meals arrived (Bagel+Bacon+Hash Brown). At this time the cafe had 7 tables and the stress was staring to show on the face of our young waiter. The children on the other 2 outside tables were getting restless and fathers were dispatched for beach walks as mothers read newspapers to contain their impatience. Diners made a few jokes at the wait times and we shared a few giggles.<br/><br/>Our table finished all our meals and our plates were cleared and no sign of our 5th meal so a 2nd round of coffee was placed. The young waiter at this time had apologised at least 5 times which was very sweet but somewhat awkward for him and us. <br/><br/>The remaining meal finally arrived just over an hour since it was placed. The female chef who is also the owner personally delivered this. She too apologised profusely and explained that our meal was given to someone else and this "has caused a delay in the kitchen.” She also had removed this meal off our bill along with a 20% discount on the total bill.<br/><br/>The food: Standard fare nothing spectacular. The eggs well poached, hollandaise sauce right amount of zing, bagel lightly toasted and warm, hash brown were crispy. Overall food was well standard.<br/><br/>The service: The young waiter seemed fairly new. To his credit he apologised profusely and we couldn't help but have an awwww moment for him. <br/><br/>Overall: Driving from Herne Bay to Maraetai to wait this long for food was disappointing. When I was settling the bill I could hear the stress coming from the kitchen with the chef/owner raising her voice in panic at getting orders out. There are two other cafes in Maraetai and I think next time I think I'll try the other two.

Service ... What service there is none. We went for lunch only to wait for over an hour for food. We went through two rounds of drinks ( well most of us) some drinks never arrived. Food was average. Table cluttered with dishes that were never cleared. Apology apology but from reading these reviews apparently an apology is empty as nothing changes. Won't be back

The food is generally good each visit but the service is not good. Think my last visit will be my last.

Today was my second visit for breakfast. Mainly I come back here because of the beautiful views and the fact that it's much quieter than say Mission Bay. <br/>Basically what others have said. The service is very indifferent. <br/>The first time I came I waited awhile at the till and was then impatiently told to sit down and wait. Today the service by a young, bubbly brunette was much better. At least she smiled. <br/>But there are extra touches you can make to a diner's experience that weren't carried out (I'm a restaurant manager myself). No water was given, no query about the meal, no apologies for the delay (at least half an hour for one eggs benedict) and no offers of a coffee top up. <br/>The coffee was okay. Kind of bitter and my flat white seemed more like a foamy cappuccino without the sprinkles. The food, when it arrived, was good. The portions are always extra large and the eggs were perfectly done. <br/>I really love coming out here but it's a shame the service isn't a bit more of the extra-mile variety. Yes, hospitality can be tough work but no, it's not hard to smile and make your guests feel welcome at the very least. Probably won't hurry back based on this.

Very slow and indifferent service.Two groups left without eating while we waited for an hour for soup and a salad. Only 12/15 people there, so they were not rushed off their feet. Coffee is very bitter and food is OK but definitely not worth the long wait.

What can I say...... Absolutely amazing experience.<br/><br/>My wife and I and couple of friends decided to go for breakie, and we all felt welcome and that the waitress was trying to do everything in her powers to make our experience one to remember. Our friends two little kids were treated so well by the staff, and the food was amazingly fresh and scrumptious. <br/><br/>We will definitely recommend this little cafe in paradise to all our friends, and also will make it our new favourite place to relax and enjoy weekend breakfasts.

4 adults and 2 kids went along this morning for an early weekend brunch. Arriving at 9am the cafe was still pretty quiet and we were happily greeted at the door.<br/><br/>The service throughout was helpful and friendly. A high chair was provided without any hassle and even paper/crayons and toys too.<br/><br/>The kids split the pancake stack and the adults enjoyed various items from the brunch menu. All the food was tasty and fresh. It came within a reasonable time frame.<br/><br/>We were very happy with our visit and found the food and service excellent. It's a lovely cafe on a gorgeous beach with a playground nearby - all the elements of a nice family outing.

Hi, this questionnaire asks you "how was your meal?" well I honestly do not know! This was our mother's favourite cafe' and we often went-a-calling when I came to visit family in Auckland from Dunedin. <br/><br/>This recent past Mother's day (2013) we (my sister, brother-in-law, myself) made a booking to celebrate Mother's day (with a picture of our mother in tow) as she died last September after a long 7 year journey with cancer.<br/><br/>We made a booking from 11.30am. My brother-in-law arrived at 11.35 and did not get service at all! Even after ordering coffee, he was asked to move to another table. My sister and I arrived some 20-25 minutes later. The three of us waited for 15 minutes to give our coffee order, when it arrived it was cold, but the wait staff nicely re-heated them. The wait staff are marvellous.<br/><br/>However... after ordering 'three' all day breakfasts (mine pancakes with bacon and banana with extra maple) and waiting till 2.30 pm without obtaining our meal; and after several polite requests as my brother-in-law had work commitments, we left un-fed! <br/><br/>We did drive 2 cars from Pokeno to this cafe' to honour our mother, however I guess the lack of service gave dishonour to our Mother's Day celebration.<br/><br/>We finally had lunch at 3 pm once we got home after the 55 minute drive.<br/><br/>Lovely spot, OK coffee, marvellous wait staff for their young age doing their best, but we left hungry and dis-illusion ed for a second time in a row.<br/><br/>The Cafe' at Cleveland is now our "Best go-to" cafe', they were great on our way home making a quick side order of fries to take home.<br/><br/>Best pack a play-lunch if you want to eat here, or just book next door! <br/><br/>Martin J.

The Bach was recommended to us by a shop in clevedon. we visited to book in the afternoon on 1st march. we were welcomed shown the menu and asked where we would like to sit. Five ladies returned at 7.30pm and were greeted. the view looking over to waiheke island spectacular. the waitress was friendly and very attentive and helpful. all our meals were great and the onion rings amazing. loved the almond beans too. meals generous size so much so that we couldn't order dessert. we intend going back on Sunday for the home made Bailey cheese cake and home made ice cream.

Having talked up the idea of Maraetai and a cafe lunch with our "not so keen" friends on New Years Eve Monday 2012 we were happy to find the place lively when arriving at just before 1.00pm.<br/>A group of approx 8 people entered just prior to us and were seated quite happily by a staff member. <br/>As a group of 6. we pulled together a couple of tables to assist the apparent lone waiter who seemed a bit under pressure. We were handed a single menu between us and sat waiting for a drinks order to be taken....and waited...and waited...you get the picture.<br/>All in all, we waited almost 2 1/2 hours (I kid you not) for our meals to finally come. We ate at approx 3.15pm - when I say ate - we pushed substandard basic, simple cafe food that was overcooked and subsidised with a veritable mountain of chips (best thing on plate) around our plates. Salad, sandwich and kids chicken nuggets don't take Masterchef to make OR a trip to NOSH for ingredients.<br/>This we could perhaps come to terms with...but the lack of communication by any staff member, apology, explanation, cajoling, humour or just some bit of attentive service would have made up for a lot. We weren't even asked during the 2 1/2 hr wait whether we would perhaps like another drink OR a water.<br/>btw - we think the larger table actually ate (after 2 hrs waiting) and legged it...we felt like doing the same but morality reigned. Needless to say no apology came when we paid...<br/>The moral of the service industry story is an easy one...we could have been recovered as clients with a simple apology and a voucher to come back and have a free coffee or cake so that their "Team" could show that this was an unusual occurrence and not the standard they would normally provide. Easy Peezy...ah well, we voted by walking with our feet.

Deciding to waive the bad reviews on this site, we headed to the Bach'n Cafe on New Year's day. <br/><br/>I wish we had taken heed.<br/><br/>After a 10-minute wait for service and 30-minute wait for sub-standard coffee, from start to finish it was a bad experience. The simplest part of the order, a scone from the cabinet, was not even completed. <br/><br/>Grumblings from the table next to us and sighs from across the room reflected similar experiences from everyone who made the mistake of walking in there.<br/><br/>The staff were mildly apologetic but overall flippant, resulting in shabby service.<br/><br/>Just don't do it to yourself.

Popped in for a quiet Sunday lunch and coffee, we were not disappointed and had a great meal. Kids were full and we had generous portions on the lunch menu. Service was good even though the place was very busy. Weather was lousy but the full tide and sea pumping in made it a great day for us!

Went there for an evening meal on a cold Saturday night in May. High tide outside, and high expectations, as I class myself as a local.<br/><br/>We were not disappointed.<br/><br/>Warm welcome. Warm, attentive but not intrusive service, meals presented beautifully. Why travel to the City when you can come here. You may find higher prices, but not better food.<br/><br/>Enjoyed every delicious mouthful.<br/><br/>Only comment that I would make is that the menu is rather limited, otherwise just enjoy.

Having looked forward to our weekend away we were very disappointed by the experience we had here. We had previously enjoyed a really nice evening last July. What a change this time round. No one else in despite 2 reserved tables. We ordered and ate which was adequate however out evening was spoilt by an over zealous waitress/Maitre'd who seemed on a mission to get rid of us so that she could go home. At one point she was dragging my lovely wifes plate as she took her last mouthful. The atmosphere was rude and lacking in any hospitality. Such a shame as the place used to be so nice<br/><br/>How this place has gone downhill. No wonder the locals do not frequent it. Did we return on the Saturday night as we planned? No we did not. We had lunch at Jolly rogers instead where we at least felt welcome.<br/><br/>Advice to staff. Might get home early that once but at what cost in the long run. We won't be back

I read all the reviews on this site before deciding to go, wish I had listened. I grew up in Maraetai and decided to go back there for my Birthday dinner with family. It was exactly what everyone has said on here, and worse. There were about 5 tables in total, we sat near the window and were attended quickly. Straight away we were told there was no Chicken or duck left and only 2 pieces of Salmon (how do you run out of Chicken breast?!?). We ordered antipasto platters for starters and they were OK, nothing special, but how hard is it to get that wrong. For mains we ordered 2 steaks, 2 salmon, 1 mussel pot. The steaks were cooked very well, good medium-rare, but they put about 100g of butter, so much that it covered the entire meat, melted down and now covered the whole plate. The salmon's were cooked to death, as white as paper, and the mussel's were underwhelming. Worse overall was the potato bake which was uncooked, completely raw in the middle, and absolutely inedible. We showed the waitress, she apologised and offered 2 new ones, we declined and walked out laughing. Overall it was very sad, I wanted so badly for the restaurant to be a nice meal at my favourite place in Auckland - instead it was terrible in every aspect. Don't go! When will Maraetai get a descent restaurant?!

Thought it would be a nice treat to drive out to clevedon and round to the bach, the cafe next door was shut and would normally prefer that one as they never charge extra surcharge on long weekend. however we gave the Bach another go. On entering we saw a waitress and asked should we order at counter or take a seat, she said take a seat, we were ignored for 15 minutes, so I went to counter and 2 people before me were ordering food to eat in, one guy in front of me was told to order from his table, he refused as had been waiting too long, I said I would order and was told i needed to pay, I refused as I was not confident the food would arrive in time, they made a fuss and treated us as if we were queue jumpers and felt important. In summery staff are un-organised and seem to see you as an inconvenience, we were told the salmon for my wifes bagel was not available, to be told 5 mins later it was available! it arrived toasted but cold. Lucky for the bach the were one of the few open that day, I nearly walked twice, by the way staff clear the tables and greet people at the door, you lost at least 3 customers as they looked lost in the doorway with dirty tables and no direction to sit down, 8 tables were reserved but in the hour i was there no one used them. major work needed to service, food was good eventually

I agree with the review on 11 March 2012 - we had a similar experience! We just popped in for take away coffee's and some date scones. The wait for coffee was long, but this wasn't as big of an issue as the stressed out, rude, abrupt owners were! We were there on Saturday 31 March - it was relatively busy and very under-staffed. The waitress was very stressed out, but the lady owner who was stationed behind the coffee machine was ridiculously rude to her. She had just made two coffees for a dine-in table and called out for them to be taken to the table. The waitress at the time was serving a table and then cleared some dishes on her way back. The lady owner was very abrupt, raised her voice again for the coffees to be taken to the table and then starting going on and on and on about how they were now ruined! My goodness, the owner needs to take a chill pill! She was very clearly stressing her staff out and quite frankly, customers really shouldn't have to witness it. I swear the coffee's were not there for more than 60 seconds and were far from being ruined. Meanwhile, I finally got our two coffees, 2 scones and a muffin and with my 4 year old daughter in tow, asked if they had a bag for the food (they didn't have a tray for the coffees and obviously my hands were full) and she let out a puff and then literally RAN out back to get a bag. To the owners - you really shouldn't let your customers feel like they are a pain in the backside! On our way home we stopped in Clevedon - we passed a couple heading to the Clevedon Cafe and I overheard the wife say to her hubby, 'if it doesn't look good we will just go to a cafe in Maraetai'. After my experience I spoke up and told her to definitely go in as we had just been to Bach N and it was atrocious. I guess the old adage that one person tells on average 10 people is true!

Went here yesterday. What a disaster. Couldn't agree more with reviews from August last year and February this year.Obviously the restaurant owner isn't reading them. We dropped in for a coffee a few weeks ago and had one of the longest waits for a coffee in a long time. We thought we'd give them a second chance yesterday and order lunch. Wished we hadn't. The place was hardly buzzing, with most diners finishing up and several empty tables. I counted about 3 tables waiting to be served. Hardly stretched. After clearing the table ourselves a stressed out waitress told us it would be at least 20-30 minutes before we saw any food. We said we'd start with coffees first and then decide if we were prepared to wait. The coffees took an age again and we decided just to order some scones and muffins. The delay between getting the coffees and the scones etc was interminable. I counted two in the kitchen and at least 3 staff out front struggling to cope with at that stage about 3 tables of diners. One person on coffees would be an immediate improvement. Obviously no decent systems in place to deal with a moderate number of diners or very slow moving staff. Owner,start listening as you are losing money and will be going out of business if this keeps up. Good job you have the view as there is little else to recommend this place. Can't comment on the food as the staff seemed relieved when we decided not to order! Wouldn't want to stress them out now-would we?

OK We have been going to this place for a couple of years, food was always delicious, beautifully presented, and excellent atmosphere and service as well as beautiful views....went there last night and OMG it was like a different place, only 2 other people dining when we arrived, ordered mussels which were very nice, waited about 15 minutes for our main course to be ordered, 30 minutes after we finished our mussels the plates were only been cleared, ordered chicken for main but they had run out!! got our mains mine was salmon which was meant to come with pumpkin souffle it didn't so i took it back to be told they had run out of pumpkin???? Presentation of food was not good, tastes quite bland, then i overheard another table order the duck and Thai chicken which they were told had also run out of....we were there for 2 1/2 hours and only 6 diners in the whole time how can they run out of 4 main ingredients.!!! Waitress told us new chef well you can def tell that cause when we were there 6 months ago the food was first class!! very disappointing Bach N will not be going there again!!

This place is a pearl right at the seashore! The ambiance is fantastic with direct view on the sea and Islands. The food and Coffee varieties are excellent at a reasonable price. The staff is is very friendly and forthcoming. My favourite place to be at the seaside. Cheers Manfred

I have been going to this little place for a number of years - the view is amazing and the drive there is spectacular...however. I took my family for a birthday treat in the weekend and had to wait for over half an hour to be served, then a further half an hour for the food to arrive. The waitresses are young, untrained and definitely needed to be advised on appropriate attire for hospitality service. The food was average and very disappointing. We then went for a walk on the beach and returned for coffee, which after a further 20 minute wait, I finally cancelled. I would understand if the cafe was full but as it was a cold blustery day, it was definitely not buzzing. Sorry, but I will not return until they clean up their act.

We went here a few week ago and it was awesome. We go out for breaky every sunday morning and try to get somewhere new each time, but this one is top of our list so far and we will be going back. The best Eggs Benny I have had so far in NZ

Well brought the wife out for breakie and very nice . <br/>Walked along the beach , and returned for Coffee and a piece of Ciste Milish . Very nice .<br/>will be back again . Oh met the owner too .<br/>Class act bickies with the coffee ect .<br/>Well worth the trip to Maraetai .<br/>Oh and my compliments to the chef .