Review Sweet Vanilla Kitchen - Lower Hutt

We had the garlic mushrooms for breakfast. They were already busy at 7.30 am. Still prompt serving our breakfast. Coffee was even quicker. Very tasty breakfast. The only problem was the cabinet food. It all looks so good and it would have been so easy to buy alot we did not need. Staff were very helpful.

It was busy but service spirit was still great and patient! We had salmon bagel stack, pancakes, cheesecake and coffees. They have a nice keto and gf selection too. Dishes were delicious and nicely presented. As it was my first time heading there, I was not sure if we had to be wait to be seated.

SVK ... you are my favorite secret! I knew when I saw your loaded cabinet and heard the buzzing of happy people that I had struck gold! The only thing I struggled with was what to order because this girl wanted ALL. THE. THINGS.. So I got the avo smash - not a lot to hide behind with that, and OMG I was not disappointed. Generous amounts of avocado and feta The nut dukkah was insane and a perfectly poached egg to top it off. The balsamic glaze provided the right kind of sweet and sharp, and that little squeeze of lemon took it all to church. Yes, I'd do that again, and no, I'm not telling my friends. Wifey ordered the Irish Breakfast with some heavy persuading from me and was not disappointed. The sour apple was delish, and that onion marmalade? I'd have that on toast every day! All those delish things made the black pudding seem like caviar. The location of this wee gem might seem off the beaten track, but ya know, that's where all the best adventures begin! Tally-ho!

Reserved brunch for two as it's necessary when busy. Preorder meals, that way your not queued up in service. Ok, meal was absolutely delicious. Pancakes were light & fluffy & bacon was top notch. Egg Benedict were well presented & went down a treat. Corn Fritters were fantastic, thoroughly enjoyed the flavours in everything. Will definitely be planning another outing again. Well done, SVK.

Went to SVK for brunch today, catching up with friends & their 6month old. The staff had a high chair ready & were accommodating with heating his food while we had the tough job of deciding what to order. Coffee came out & was good, followed by our food which looked amazing, was very tasty & large portions. My friends also grabbed sweets to take away. It was constantly busy but the service was good, a great experience overall on the long weekend.

Usually long waiting time. Nice place with good food. Definitely good portion sizes! Only item I wouldn't recommend so far are the blue Berry pancakes which were insanely sweet - covered in sugar and for some reason with an orange flavour theme.

Always a pleasure to visit. I've never had a sub standard meal here and the service is always great. Love that the menu changes with the seasons and the cake cabinet is always full of fab goodies! Best to book as they're busy.

This place never fails to deliver great food with excellent service!

Lovely lunch here. Was very busy, but found a spot in the little courtyard outside. Staff were great and food was nice. My eggs bene were perfectly cooked. Coffees were great too. The kids meals were visually unappealing and not filling (for our kids 9 & 11), but also quite cheap. Possibly adding a $1 - $1.50 on and adding another element might be an idea to consider. But overall, great experience and will definitely be going back.

What an amazing little place! The selection of food is impressive. Meals are great. Lunch time is busy so plan ahead

I had the delicious beetroot stack which was a risotto ball with all sorts of delicious cheeses inside and out! Good value and very filling.<br/>My friend had the Chicken salad which wasn't as great as mine but was served beautifully :)

The chicken filo parcel is amaaaazing! So delicious. Cheesy rolls were a bit overpriced but taste good, wish you could buy separately instead of in a pack. Can’t wait to come back again.

Easily our favourite cafe in all of Wellington. Coffee is always great and we have never had a bad bite of food. Highly recommend the grilled halloumi or any sweet treat in the counter.

Love sweet vanilla. Their coffee is consistently great and their food too. True it is small but that's what makes it so cosy. They have a great selection of cabinet food and have a range of vegan, gluten free and non options so something to please everyone.

Great cafe - the coffee is well made and the food is delicious. The cabinet is always full of yummy treats and the service is lovely. The only down side is that it can get rather loud at peak times and the bathroom facilities are in an awkward area.

This is our local and we have never had a bad meal or cake. The caramal and rhubarb cake is a must try. It does get really busy so book if you want a table in peak periods.

Lower hutt is in need of a decent cafe, SADLY this is not it.<br/>this is not a good experience. one staff member was rudely asking customer to leave an area of the cafe. "is that all you bought, you'll need to  move to the next room." <br/><br/>the food corn fritters, were horrible, dry and inedible and the green stuff looked like the cat had been sleeping on it. obviously not fresh - frozen and rehydrated.<br/><br/>will be driving past in future.

This is a regular Friday lunch destination for my mother and I as it’s a cute and quaint cafe for Lower Hutt. I always get the Halloumi Stack and it is super yum each time, absolutely adore the vibe of this place!

Was looking forward to having lunch here at around 2PM. Was fully packed when we arrived — good atmosphere. Sadly, when we placed our order, we were informed they had run out of avocado. <br/><br/>For a cafe with over half of its menu containing dishes that incorporate avocado, this is pretty poor mis-management. Thankfully, we were informed before we placed our order (thus 2/5 instead of 1/5). Do I want to substitute avocado with Halloumi or Bacon? No. Not really. So, we left.<br/><br/>Manage your stock a bit better next time. Disappointing :/

So lovely! Went in this morning for breakfast with a friend, I got the Banana bread and they were very kind and accommodated when I said I just wanted the poached pears as the fruit. Super friendly staff and the food was very quick to come out! My portion was huge, the photo does not do it justice- the poached pear was a little hard and not very sweet and the flavours in the dish were a little unbalanced but the banana bread itself wasn’t that bad! Filled me up for over half the day.<br/>I also got a banana smoothie- wasn’t the best smoothie I’ve ever had- no flavour and wasn’t sweet. I think they may have used green bananas instead of ripe ones so wouldn’t recommend getting a smoothie- however again, massive portion.<br/>My friend got the eggs Benedict and it looked divine! She said it was amazing and once again, portions great.<br/>It is a little pricey, but I figure that as it keeps you full throughout the day and has lovely staff, and fast cooking time, well worth the money and a visit.

Lunch here today. The food was really good. Fantastic cafe meals in relation to taste, portion size, gluten free options and value. The coffee was also of a high standard.

Very cramped but food is great. Typical NZ cafe fare so nothing too inventive but very well done, and cakes/coffee etc are also very good. Seems to get a lot of 'ladies who lunch' which put my partner off a bit but the food is excellent and service is friendly.

Very cute cafe in a good location, so I thought I'd try it out with a couple of friends. Got a sausage roll and a hot chocolate. Both average. Service wasn't great. The lady at the counter got angry at us for taking literally 5 seconds to breathe between orders. A little cramped as well as we went at a busy time. Water cups we're dirty and had crumbs in them. Might be different at a less busy time but based on my experience I would not recommend.

Decent Cafe in Lower Hutt, its a really small confined area which meant I was sitting shoulder to shoulder with others. The food was delicious, and I could literally smell other people's dishes. portion sizes were pretty good, you get what you paid. I'm not in a rush to go back, but will go back in the future.

I find it hard to write a review on this place, the reason being that I am somewhat ambivalent about it. The location is weird being off the main drag in Lower Hutt and the parking situation is appalling, so oft times you may spend more time looking for a park and walking back to the cafe than actually being in the place.<br/><br/>Then there are the clientele, many are 'Ladies who lunch' or Yummy Mummies who clog up the place with kiddie strollers. <br/><br/>The staff are variable and not always welcoming. However, the food is more than acceptable and thus in many respects redeems the place.<br/><br/>Overall, I do not dislike Sweet Vanilla, but in reality it is not a location I feel at home in.

Really can't see why people like this place, it's so old fashioned and not in a good way, just in a tired and grubby looking way. Was asked if I wanted a large or small long black which was a bit odd. Cramped tables and SO noisy in the smaller room at the back, got sick of shouting to be heard. Lots of older ladies in active wear so perhaps I'm not their target demographic. In saying all that, the coffee was fine, although it took me longer to find a park than it did to drink it.

Lower Hutt' best kept brunch cafe. Small corner cafe not far from the city centre. Offers healthy twists on kiwi classics. Super fresh ingredients, great coffee, and welcoming staff make this a must try destination!

Huge portions, the staff were great friendly staff, who wouldn't love it. I will definitely be returning especially for the breakfastThanks so much :)

Not a café that is easily comeacrossable, but it is worth a slight detour. An old, rather cute, solitary corner shop in a residential area south of Hutt hospital. There are windows on two sides, the counter of corrugated baby iron (like “the little teapot”). A reasonably sparse counter cabinet, blue-grey ceilings, white walls. Cosy. <br/><br/>As well as the main (small) dining area there is a darker, wallpapered (? early 50s feel) separate dining room. The toilets are very tired, accessed by venturing through the commercial bowels of the establishment, and unpleasant (smelly on the day we went).<br/><br/>“Most” organic juices in evidence – now common to a lot of cafes. Cabinet food a bit sparse but it was soon after opening in the morning.<br/><br/>The tea range was the standard English Breakfast, Earl Grey and a range of flavoured teas. We ordered EBT ($3.50) and a date scone.<br/>I was not asked about milk.<br/><br/>Date scone had some nice density and richly dated. Dark brown, moist, very good.<br/><br/>The tea arrived in a small round tea pot – loose leaf (t-Leaf). After 5 minutes it had a good colour, was hot at first but cooled quite quickly. Flavour interesting, slight citrus, mild astringency.<br/><br/>A slightly above average café.<br/><br/>So for tea:<br/><br/>1. Specialist tea offerings (the variety of unflavoured teas): 1/5<br/>2. Brew temperature (the likelihood that the tea was brewed with boiling water): 5/5<br/>3. Cup temperature (how much of a heat sink was the cup – a thick, cold pottery cup scores 0, a warm thin china cup scores 5): 2/5<br/>4. Milk requirements (was I asked about milk and what type of milk): 0/5<br/>5. Strength (too weak or strong =0, just right = 5): 4/5<br/>6. Taste (bad=0, excellent=5): 4/5<br/><br/>Sweet Vanilla’s Total 16/30<br/><br/>Scoreboard:<br/>Soho Brown : 8/30 (Harney’s – sachet)<br/>Sweet Bakery and Cakery : 9/30 (Harney’s – sachet)<br/>Bon Gusto : 10/30 (Twinings – tea bag)<br/>Bellagio : 11/30 (Twinings – tea bag)<br/>K and S Cafe : 11/30 (Harney’s – Satchet)<br/>Astoria : 11/30 (Enzo – loose leaf)<br/>Rosina’s : 11/30 (Bell - tea bag)<br/>Hangar : 11/30 (t-Leaf – loose leaf)<br/>Lamason : 12/30 (Twinings – tea bag)<br/>Ombra : 13/30 (Chai Ui – loose leaf)<br/>Hey George 16/30 (Stash – tea bag)<br/>Lido : 16/30 (t-Leaf - Loose leaf in sachet)<br/>Sweet Vanilla : 16/30 (t-Leaf – Loose leaf)<br/>Chocolate Frog : 17/30 (t-Leaf – loose leaf)<br/>The Little Tea Shop : 18/30 (Tea-Total - loose leaf)<br/>Louis Sargeant : 19/30 (?Harney’s – loose leaf in large sachet)<br/>Clark’s : 19/30 (Tea-total – loose leaf)

Enjoyed a lovely breakfast, very beautifully presented. Quantities suitable. Taste lovely. The one drawback was fridge-cold salmon in the Eggs Benedict that made everything else around it cold as well.

When looking for a place to live, distance to the nearest coffee/ brunch place is a key factor for me. Imagine my delight then, while exploring the streets of Lower Hutt, I stumbled upon Sweet Vanilla Kitchen. So one Saturday morning we decided to venture there to try it out. After ordering food and coffee, we decided to take one of the tables in the back room. Little did we know this was where the kids toys were located and although good for keeping children occupied bad for those wanting a calm and quiet meal.

Great wee place for coffee and a sweet treat. Cabinet selection is gorgeous but there is more to choose from on a Saturday. Very friendly service from all staff and food and coffee arrived within good time. Will be back!

Clean space with lovely set up counter. <br/>Only my personal opinion. I have been here many times with all different quality food. <br/>The food needs more consistency. Sometime their coffee is great but so bitter when I go there another time. Not only me also my friends. Had lamb kidney at my first time here, was average. Sauce was a bit running and smell a little bit too strong which can be washed off with garlic and cooking wine? I think. But taste is still alright. I remembered that I ordered salmon salad from cabinet another time. That was looking very nice. But taste was wired. I let my friends try it and asking if it is just not a type of foods for me. But they feel same way. I also tried their carrot cake. This one was very nice with yogurt. <br/>This kitchen or their staff has skill to display food in cabinet. Always looking nice. <br/>when I decide to go there, i alway think "will I be lucky to have nice food today?"

The hubby and I went today for the first time. Our drinks arrived right away but there was a 23 minute wait on our meals - I had the salmon eggs with a pot of tea and he the eggs benedict with a mocha (the whole thing came to $40.50 which we thought was quite reasonable). Given the place wasn't exactly packed we were quite surprised at the time taken to poach and scramble a few eggs. The meals were cooked and presented beautifully though. The food in the cabinet looked very appealing, though a tad on the overpriced side (eg: $6 for a relatively small sausage roll). We found the place to be quite breezy and noisy.  I dare say we will go back as I would like to try the toasted banana bread with Greek yoghurt & poached fruit.<br/><br/>Here's what the hubby thought:<br/><br/>Okay, let's get the environment rating resolved first. Today was a Saturday in spring, so it's as windy as ...that. The outside area is nice, though with the wind and road traffic noise it was hardly inviting on this day.<br/>So management decided we would sit inside. This little area at the entrance is just that - little. It also got the wind through the open door to outdoors and it wasn't a pleasant place to be. It is also very noisy and you bump shoulders with new entrants queuing to order. Not a place for a relaxing brunch and certainly not a place to take someone for a brunch first-date. However, in saying that I'm sure in summer the rating would easily be an 8 with the outdoors area, so it's a seasonal thing. Orders were made for an Eggs Bennie and a mocha, and a scrambled eggs concoction with salmon and tea for her. After whatr seemed a very long 23min wait the food arrived and it was worth waiting for. My Eggs Bennie was ordered with bacon, and there was a lot of it and it was very well cooked. A bit more hollandaise would have been welcome, but all in all it's an 8/10. Management liked her salmon dish and again there was plenty of it. My coffee was one of the better cafe coffee's. Could almost imagine they extra-shotted it, but maybe it was just a good coffee brand. The tea I was told was alright, though when she asked for some more hot water it came in a tiny jug. Stingy was the word used at the time. The service was to an expected standard and all up $40.50 was reasonable.  Would go back if we were driving by and had the urge, but unlikely to make a special trip to do so.

A small cosy cottage. After reading the reviews, I decided to have a try. Lunch time is really busy, not easy to find a parking in the street. Quite satisfied of the food, it's a little good place to hang on with friend (but not at lunch time) in Hutt Central.

Great location. Great food, Good service. Tricky if you're a big group - sad for others if you are - can be a bit noisy - but the food more than makes up for it!

Delicious food, friendly service and a homely atmosphere. <br/>Had breakfast here on a Saturday morning at 9:15am, not too busy and plenty of tables available. <br/>Were greeted by friendly welcoming staff who catered to my picky needs for my order when I asked to exchange certain foods. <br/>The Works' breakfast was amazing!! Well worth what we paid :-)<br/>Only one teeny tiny little thing, the coffee could have been hotter. Only because I like mine scorching hot so it takes longer to drink so really just a personal thing. <br/>A must go cafe!!!! Thanks so much Sweet Vanilla Kitchen, we will be back :-)

I really respect a cafe that bakes their own cakes and slices. Vanilla's prices are very good and the portion sizes are more than enough. I would highly recommend a visit to this little cafe but get their early as seating is snapped up fast. Dont let this put you off as the food is worth waiting for or take it away to enjoy at home. I went halves in a coffee walnut slice with someone one day and now I buy a piece just for me as its that good!.

We went here today and it was busy (sunday lunch) but managed to get a table. The staff are very friendly and attenative, there where some very good kiddies toys to play with although you have to watch the door as it leads to the toilet and you little one might get a bump on the head! The food came out quite soon and was very good! The kiddies breakie (we ordered scrambled eggs) was cooked well and the toast wasn't too hard as some cafes make it. However the coffee was dissapointing, bitter which means the barista hadn't changed the grind or else the machine hadn't been cleaned properly. I hope they address this as having good coffee is paramount for a cafes success. This is why i only gave then 4 stars.

We love Sweet Vanilla. The staff, the food, the coffee. Great variety, nicely thought out and well presented. A choice of several rooms to suit your mood and the weather.<br/>A very well run kitchen with a passion for their food.<br/>Congratulations.

I had my baby shower here last weekend. There were 22 of us in total and the staff had put one room completely aside for us. We all came up and ordered at the same time and although it must have been full on for them, ALL of the staff were smiling, helpful and patient.<br/>The food was of a fantastic quality and everyone was really happy with what they had ordered. Once again, the staff were cheerful as they made their way around us all delivering our meals. The food and drinks arrived in pretty good time even with so many of us.<br/>I would absolutely recommend going to Sweet Vanilla for any kind of occasion as they really made my baby shower a pleasure for all of us.

Excellent coffee (they do Coffee Supreme!) and yummy Portobello meal and French Toast. Friendly staff with nice outdoor area for seating. Definitely worth a visit :)

After hearing great things about Sweet Vanilla Kitchen, I was keen to try it for myself and was not disappointed. Set in an old house, there is a lovely villa-type feel to this cafe with attractive art for sale on the walls and quaint decorations. It got extremely loud when full during the lunch hour and we found ourselves shouting at each other across the table. The counter selection looked very appealing, as did the blackboard menu. I settled on salmon potato cake for lunch, which I really enjoyed, and a delicious chocolate pear brioche as a treat. Yum! We will definitely be back.

We go every Sunday to this restaurant.... Staff and owner are fabulous, always ask where our 3 yr grandchild is if we don't take her. Food Devine and they cater for toddlers. See you next weekend ....Jennie T

Wow!!! Amazing food and fantastic service. The food in the cabinet always looks fresh and the girls always have a smile on their face even when they're busy. Everytime I have been there to eat the cafe has been spotless.....So impressed!!! :) A++++

I've taken the special lady in my life for breakfast and it has been the best breakfast we've had in NZ to date. After being here for 3 years i think its pretty good. In terms of waiting, its a cafe not a resturaunt so expect the odd delay but overall good experience and amazing food. Will be going there again for sure!

Had lunch at this cafe on Saturday. The food was some of the best I've had at a cafe. The coffee was nice and hot, not luke warm like a lot of cafes serve it these days. The girls were friendly and had a nice smile for everyone even though they very very busy. I would certainly return on my next visit to Lower Hutt.

The place looks great and the food is even better!<br/>Will be going back! Had some caramel slice and my friend had the passionfruit cheesecake. We both thought it was yummy - and good coffee too.

I disagree with the previous review. I have been going to Sweet Vanilla Kitchen since they opened 4 weeks ago, as it is so good having something in the neighbourhood.I absolutely love the Housemade Muesli with poached fruit, and Honey roasted macadamias. To Die For. Have also had French Toast with Bacon, Banana and Maple syrup.Yum Yum Yum. The Coffee is always hot, and have always found the Barista smiling and friendly, as it is a new Cafe and so busy, its no wonder at times they are frantic. Give them a chance.I have found this Cafe spotlessly clean and will continue to patronize this local cafe.

My Parents and my children and I went there this week to check it out seen it had changed management.<br/>The service was so friendly and the coffee was so good and exactly what I ordered! <br/>The food was outstanding, so tasty, and very generous portions for the price. We had french toast, bacon butty and piklets and chessy mites for the kids. It was great to see the kids meals came out first to keep them happy, and my child loved the sparkles and sprinkles-very fun! Would love to add nice to see food on the counter covered unlike other cafes!<br/>Overall we will be going back, was a truly great experience there!