Review Hamilton Gardens Cafe - Hamilton

Okay, this review isn't for the cafe itself. We ordered a picnic for which the cafe packed a great selection of food (that only those with the very biggest appetite might get through). All this in a lovely 'old school's picnic basket and blanket supplied. The atmosphere relates to the gardens - we were able to lay a blanket on the slopes by the lake under a tree... Hard to beat. The cafe itself is rather more ordinary. Service was great on the day - the staff appear to include many casual staff, so this will always be a bit variable, but I was there twice in two weeks with different staff on both occasions and they were all very friendly. The food itself isn't 'haute cuisine' but it was fresh and tasty and lots of variety... A bit like a home made picnic. The only thing I would highlight is that a lot of boxes were used to pack the food for two of us... Maybe an opportunity to improve sustainability a bit, but there is an argument that it may have been necessary for the variety.

My hubby had a delicious mince and cheese mini pie from a cabinet full of amazing selections to choose from. I appreciated that many of the foods had allergen notes on them and was able to enjoy a nut-free slice of carrot cake. The cafe had a lovely outlook over a large pond and staff were happy and friendly. We will come back!

Great food.. good selection. Nice friendly staff. Very busy at 2pm when we were there. Loved the little bird beggars. They're too cute.

What a lovely place to rest at after walking through the beautiful gardens. Service was excellent, staff are very friendly and welcoming. The food was great we ordered fish and chips and a steak sandwich. Drinks we had an ice Mocha and Iced americano very delicious! Ka pai !

Awesome gardens would be great place to go in the summer with the family 🥰

We stopped here before exploring the gardens for a quick breakfast. Lots of pastries and baked goods to choose from but we felt like quiche - they had about three kinds to try so we tried one of each! Coffee service is quick - I got an almond milk cappuccino with cinnamon and hubs tried a flat white. Lots of other drinks. The patio area is great and very picturesque overlooking the garden pond. Quick order at the counter service too!

Came by for a late lunch. The eggs Benny were alright, though the eggs were overcooked and the muffin at the bottom was burnt. The taste was decent. Strawberry milkshake was also decent.. lacks the strawberry taste; more of a hint of flavour. Service was good. The staff were friendly. Ducks were swimming about. All is good.

I wasn't hungry but enjoyed an English tea. The service was great, and views were lovely

Beautiful gardens - free entry. I would allow a minimum time 1 hr maximum of 4. Fun for kids and adults alike. Always beautiful - best seen in spring and summer 🌺 Child friendly - a little tricky to navigate if you have knee or leg injuries

Friendly staff and good food. Sorry don't have any photos but the place is really worth a visit to have a nice meal with a lovely view.

Good selection of food and friendly staff. Super location.

Nice place to sit and eat something, although we got the wrong order twice. Staff was very kind fixing it quickly though.

Nice lunch at the gardens, great offerings and nice views. Good for a break and breakfast or lunch.

Love this Cafe at the most beautiful gardens I've ever been too. Good selection of delicious food in the cabinet for Gluten-free people. Keep up the awesome food & service 👌

Aucklanders here, we love coming to the Hamilton cafe, food is magnificent and cater to gluten free. Lovely wine and beer together makes it a great brunch. Thanks team!

18 minutes in line to order. That’s okay it’s probably good. Ordered 2 cooked meals and 5 items from the case plus a flat white, hot chocolate, milkshake and OJ. (4 people) Included was a cheese scone. There were 2 on display and the cashier physically checked all of the previous orders ‘to make sure one was available’. It was. <br/>OJ was not fresh but came in bottle from fridge. <br/>Went to table. <br/>Coffee (very good) arrived immediately. Asked server for glass for OJ. <br/>7 minutes...cashier arrives to inform that the scones had sold out and requesting another choice. When this offer was declined cashier quite rudely agreed to give a refund. (When the refund arrived it was slapped on the table and there was no recompense for the extra butter that had been charged)<br/>After 8 minutes the first hot meal arrived. Asked again for glass. Told to go and get one from the water cooler. Hmmm. <br/>1 more minute the next hot meal arrived. <br/>4 minutes later, the milkshake and the got chocolate. <br/>Hot food almost eaten and we went up to ask where the Salmon Tart, the Brownie and the other case food was. And there it was lined up on the bench behind the counter. Told <br/>... it will be out immediately. <br/>Joke. <br/>Poor male server swings past with a huge smile to ask if we were enjoying our meals?<br/>He certainly did not expect a resounding NO!!!<br/>Poor guy runs away and after another 5 minutes the food that could have been served first finally arrives. Brought out by the unsmiling cashier who clearly regarded the debacle as our fault. <br/>No suggestion of an apology or any sign of gracious behaviour. <br/>The next time I come to Hamilton Gardens I will buy my food at Couplands Bakery in Te Rapa and eat from a brown paper bag. <br/>A hugely pretentious and expensive disappointment. <br/>

this is a quaint cafe, with a beautiful atmosphere at the hamilton gardens. the service was very friendly, one of the waitresses complimented my outfit which was really sweet. it's reasonably tidy but could be improved, and the one thing that disappointed me was the wait it took to receive something from the cabinet. not only that, it was still wrapped in glad wrap and cold. we had to ask for our pies to be heated and removed from the wrapping.

Was expecting good service as the owners themselves were running the function. The female owner was extremely rude to members of our party and had awful customer service skills, also just a sour demeanor that was very off putting at an elderly person's birthday party. Clearly unpolished glassware and cutlery, the front of house staff don't seem to do much, as all orders are made through the counter, and they don't bother to take dishes to the kitchen. Dishes are left dumped in big trays in the dining area, absolutely disgusting and terrible practice. Food was below average, muffins are worse than what you get from the supermarket. All in all, terrible service, rude owners and below average food. Bring your own food and drinks when you visit the Gardens for a much more enjoyable experience!

Amazing brunch out with my hubby! The lemon polenta cake was my favourite! My hubby loves his BLAT so much that I didn’t even have enough time to get a photo of it. He also enjoyed his savoury scone. My only thought is with the banana choc chip muffin was good but wasn’t sweet enough for my taste sadly. The staff were very helpful in cleaning tables quickly and it was good they informed us when they ran out of tables. We only had to wait three mins to get a table and then the ambience was lovely. Looking forward to coming back.

Amazing coffee with a beautiful view! Unfortunately it was raining but I can imagine the views from here on a sunny day. Service was friendly and quick.<br/><br/>The mocha we ordered was delicious and well presented. Cabinet food looked yummy but we weren't hungry so didn't try anything.<br/><br/>Can't wait to be back during summer!

Unfortunately the fires and the fish were way too salty. I’ve had better $5 fish and chips at the local Asian takeaways. A bit over priced for the lacklustre food. I did however like the cabinet burrito & we had a great view of the lake.

Love the brownies and other cabinet slices here, They also stock my favourite grapefruit flavoured San Pellegrino that I can't find anywhere else. We stopped in on a busy Saturday afternoon and staff seemed genuinely cheerful.

The toasted muesli with a berry compote was absolutely stunning to look at and to taste! Full of flavour and very filling! Unfortunately I can't say the same for the smoothies, they're rather unpleasant. The smoothie I has was quite watery and had barely any flavour. Apart from the smoothie mishap, I was extremely satisfied with my breakfast!!!

Has a wide variety of cafe food, good prices, a nice place to sit outside adjacent to the view of the gardens! But there's nothing that amazing about the food, that I can recommend.

Absolutely one of my favourite places to go! Very nice area so sit in with amazing views and quick, friendly service. Will continue to visit frequently :)

Stopped in to have eggs on toast and flat white x 2.<br/>While looking in the food cabinet we spotted a dead fly on one of the cup cakes it was an hour after opening so not a great look. Cost for us $30.00 meal looked okay tasted fine wife was happy although I felt for what you get per cost was a little high. Lack of bread being toasted swimming in water from eggs 😣<br/>Seating was great being next to small lake.

Service is good despite the busy weekend lunch. Overlooking the turtle lake which is a big plus. Food were tasty but nothing too exciting. My cappuccino on the other hand was really good. Cabinet food looked delicious so might try them next time we come back.

Popped in for a quick coffee before looking around the gardens - the drink itself was nice enough, but the service was incredibly unfriendly!!  <br/><br/>My lactose-free friend asked for almond milk but was told there was only soy available - something she's pretty used to, but this information is usually given with a smile and an apology, not a flat "no" with an equally flat expression.<br/>I had a couple of queries about the drinks menu, all of which were responded to tersely.  When I ordered a regular size latte (as was advertised on their board, which I pointed out) I was told that actually no, there was only one size available.<br/><br/>The worst came when our drinks arrived and my friend asked for a side of hot water with her tea - this was followed by an audible sigh, and our waitress walked off - we could only assume to get the hot water as opposed to just walking off completely.  To her credit, she did bring back the water a few minutes later, which was plonked on the table in front of us without a word.<br/><br/>The food would have to be pretty spectacular to prompt me to return again, as opposed to just bringing my own picnic to enjoy in the gardens...

I have been here a couple times and the food is always pretty tasty! Love the iced chocolate! Service is usually fast, and the setting of it in the Hamilton gardens is wonderful by the lake! Saw some turtles the other day while we ate :)

I don't know why it only has 2.7 stars. The food was good and they served great coffee. But more importantly, it had the best customer service I've ever experienced in New Zealand. The staff were friendly and helpful, one even brought my dog a bowl of water! Would definitely recommend.

The surrounding of the cafe is nice, besides of the lake where you can enjoy the beautiful view. The food is above average but is better than what I expected. I tried bagels with cream cheese and jam, the jam is yummy. :)

great Visit , great All press coffee, great setting, opened the whole place up now so there are plenty of seating options with possibly the best view in the waikato across Turtle lake to the waterfall. Plenty of gluten free options and vegetarian and dairy free options. The prawn tacos of the blackboard are different and delicious.

went for lunch  today, food was crap,the service was terrible, a big deffinate won't be back to this café. great surroundings,  love the gardens, and will take our guests to Hamilton or Cambridge for lunch in future..

Was over in Hamilton on Saturday and stopped in to the beautiful Hamilton Gardens. After our stroll around the gardens we stopped into the cafe for a coffee and a light lunch. Wow this place was busy! But service was prompt and with a smile. I had the chicken roulade from the cabinet, which was delicious. And they serve seriously good coffee.<br/><br/>We had a very pleasant experience and will definitely be back.

We went for a walk in the beautiful Hamilton gardens. Which I must say are very well maintained and the reason for me giving the cafe a rating of 2.0. The surroundings of the cafe are exceptional. Unfortunately, that is about the nicest things I can say of the cafe. Admittedly we didn't eat anything, as we reached at 1450 hours and the kitchen was closed. The selection in the cold cabinet looked average. The coffee and the tea we ordered was passable. But what really did not impress me was the staff. They weren't rude but just indifferent. Like when the waitress served the coffee, she reached over my baby and tried to give it to me. Hmmmm she could have walked around the table! Same when the table behind was being served she just tried to squeeze through not once but three times. No excuse me or sorry. And I am not talking about the same waitress! Maybe I am being pedantic but I won't be recommending it to anyone!

As from October 1st 2015 the Hamilton Gardens Cafe has new owners, Craig and Jenny Fraser, we would love to see you so come on in and enjoy the beautiful gardens, have a fabulous Allpress coffee and try our great range of food.

Pedí café, Sandwich y pastel. El café desabrido para el estándar de Nueva Zelanda. El Sandwich bueno. El pastel no sabia fresco. La atención no especialmente amable.

Great location and there was lots of options to choose from. Also nice to be able to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine now it is getting warmer. Our food was tasty and the service was good and friendly. I'll be back

Edited 31/5: Probably worth revising, as it seems we were really unlucky that first time. Been there a few more times subsequently, and the food and service was much improved.<br/><br/>Gorgeous surroundings, but the food and service was rather lacklustre. It’s a pity, really, because you would be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful place for a cafe setting in Hamilton City – the gardens themselves are lovely and well worth a visit in and of themselves. To start with, the dishes were cleared from tables very, very slowly. Everyone just ended up having to clear their own tables and dump the dishes onto a neighbouring empty table before seating themselves. To be fair, though, the staff were probably struggling as they appeared to be pretty short-handed, so I would probably fault the establishment for this, not the waiters themselves.

Went to the gardens a couple of weeks ago for the first time in years. Cafe has a great setting and stopped in for a coffee on the way out and found both the service and the product rather a let down compared to the gardens. Would not bother dining after the experience, actually thought such a great attraction would have had a better establishment

Had lunch here today, at frist glance there's a good selection of savory options, I chose the chicken roulard which arrived at the table quickly, served with salad and a beetroot relish. It wasn't warmed through enough but was tasty. I was served a small coffee when I requested a larged, which I queried and was told "no she put it through as a small" no suggestion of changing it.. oh well it was a good coffee anyway. Overall lunch was pleasant, service was lacking a little but wonderful surroundings.

This is a very busy cafe' situated in a beautiful spot in Hamilton City. I don't think the cafe did itself any favours by furnishing the outdoors area with cheap looking furniture. That made the dining area appear more shabby than it is. Our table rocked on an uneven surface.<br/>The food bar selection is great. I ordered my meal from the menu and was presented with a tasty eggs benedict on a hash brown. For the price that I paid ($20) I expected to get at least a salad on the side or is that asking too much. It was warm and so was the coffee. Cold water is offered free of charge. <br/>The service was friendly and efficient.

Went to the Garden Terrace Restaurant on a Saturday, for the first and last time, for my mother’s birthday lunch.<br/><br/>The wine list was limited with approx 7 wines in total. We ordered the Pinot Gris after a while was told it was not in stock, we then ordered the Sauvignon Blanc and once again after a while was told that was not in stock either – this left 3 white wines to choose from, we asked if either of the chardonnays were unoaked - the waitress had no idea meanwhile a beer was ordered and none of that was in stock either! The restaurant should have let us know before we ordered what wines / beers were available or printed up to date drinks menu or gone and bought the wine we ordered so as not to let the customer down. <br/><br/>When I spoke to the manager – she was very rude and said it was my fault for not pre-ordering the wine (the wine list is not advertised anywhere and it is not up to the customer to know what is / is not in stock). Not getting any of the wine/beer that the table wanted upset my mum and spoiled her birthday lunch and as the manager was not prepared to do anything I asked if she could apologise to my mum for the upset on her birthday. The manager said she would apologise but did not – we left not at all happy with the experience.<br/><br/>The food was very average at best – nothing special but edible. Not what is advertised: “Experience the culinary delights of a mouth-watering seasonal menu in our fully licensed restaurant.”