Review Zest Cafe - Tauranga

I actually had to call Zest and let the staff know that they did an amazing job of the Uber Eats Meals we received; hands down the most amazing meals via Uber Eats to date. Would recommend in a heartbeat...

Yummy and delicious food. Excellent staff. We had a fabulous evening out.

I unwittingly booked a reservation late when they normally begin wrapping up their service, but the staff did not mind. Hoani gave us some of the best service I’ve been given while dining. The whole stone grill experience was utterly delicious, enjoyable, and memorable. Definitely an awesome date spot to check out if you’re ever around in Tauranga.

I ordered "Grazing Time" which is the big breakfast I got extra bacon and mushrooms which this morning might have been an overkill as I had plenty to eat. It was soooooo good. The Cappuccino was nice too. Great service. I don't tip much. But I did this morning

Really, really recommend Zest if you haven't been yet. Friendly, happy staff who remember regular customers' requests. Quality food that is exactly what you need, and tasty coffee all round.

Great coffee and food. One of the places that we go regulary for lunch. Thumbs up to the amazing staff 👍

As visitors to the area, we asked a passing local on where to eat and have a good coffee. We weren't disappointed. Husband had seafood pasta salad, he loved it. I had a chicken paneni, it was nice but lacked flavour. The coffees were spot on - excellent. Lovely staff and owner. We'll be back.

Food plays a big part in our whānau as it not only links to what we eat but it connects us with the people when we share a meal together. I have been to many restaurants and this would have to be the best. The meal prepared for us was absolutely beautiful and is a testament of all those qualities we want in a meal that ignites conversation, laughter and more importantly, whānau ties. Thank you for a wonderful evening. Cold, windy and raining outside was complimented with warm staff who served us a superb dinner that triggered all the senses and memories.

Went for Breakfast and Dinner now. Both were nice. Definitely the Pork Belly was the best. So tasty!! Staff were nice.

Really amazing service with one lovely waiter and the chef. Stone grilled meals were really good. The steaks were good value.

We had lovely Stone Grilled meals. My husband had the pork and I had the beef and both were lovely and very filling. Would recommend trying their meals. The service was excellent too.

Lovely Brunch at Zest Cafe with the girls 👍

The food and coffee was great, the only issue was that you didn't get a plate to put your meat on to cut up for the stone grill, so your trying to cut meat on a hot stone, not ideal.

Love the experience I love the homey feeling and front bar and host he was absolutely amazing will be definitely back. Thank you too the chef 😊

Xcellent selection of food, love that you can order food to take away.Staff are so accomadating,& friendly.And the Creamy Mushrooms are to die for.High 5!! ZEST.

Great place to go if you enjoy getting the wrong food and waiting for 20 mins for your coffee, and then get sass from the barista when you ask where it is.

Nothing bad to say about the experience. Both menu and cabinet food were perfect, the team were friendly and patient. Tables were clean and spaced well, facilities clean. No reason to not go back.

The food and coffee are always delicious and the staff are absolutely excellent at what they do. 100% recommend dining here! Such a wonderful, hidden gem 😊

Started off OK......got our food promptly, unfortunately pancakes were still raw batter :( and upon asking where our ice coffees were we were told they won't be long. 20 mins later go to the counter and the rude young man behind the coffee machine was blunt and said there coming really gruffly. Its now been 10 mins since we asked and we can see them melting in the blender. This is actually ridiculous. Been here for 50 mins now all meals done and still no ice coffee. To scared to go back and ask as we will be sassed out by the Batista. The new trainee girl was lovely though blonde Maori girl and she should be working somewhere they appreciate her happiness.

Went here to celebrate a significant Birthday with a surprise breakfast. Unfortunately the over zealous staff member didn't appreciate the fact we had brought our own cake and insisted we pay a cover charge of $2.50 per person (which she 'kindly' reduced to $2). She explained they make cakes - great you are from out of town and basically walked in off the street. This particular staff members attitude left a bitter taste in our mouths.<br/><br/>We won't be back!

Quite disappointing they dont offer the bigger size of meat for stone grill during lunch time. The staff are very helpful and accommodating. The price is reasonable, worth the amount and taste of food we had. <br/>The mushrooms are wonderful and creamy.

What a little hidden gem! So delicious! Dinner is great - recommend the bread as entree - only $6 and it is a decent sized bread! Dishes were all rather big portions so you get value for money. Great presentation! A solid reliable place if you want a good hearty meal with the family!

It's my second time here and it was just as fantastic as the first time. I got the Zest Benedict and my boyfriend got the Mushrooms with an extra egg. My eggs bene came with 4(!!!) slices of great shoulder bacon and ample hollandaise. My boyfriends plate was full to the brim of mushrooms and they tasted great (I'm not a mushroom fan myself but even I would have eaten them) and his egg was cooked the way he asked for it without compromising my eggs. To top that off he was given some complimentary hollandaise as well. I'm from Auckland and you would not get anywhere near the amount of food we got and especially for the price of the food. The man friend was stuffed after this and that's no mean feat. Seriously well done Zest!

My complaint is not with staff or premise but with a customer I can only assume to be a regular, as he was addressed by name.<br/>I travel in from out of town and always get my coffee from Zest. Great coffee and great staff. The girls are always polite and friendly. The other day I had to watch one of the girls endure abuse from this elderly man. He raised his voice, yelled at her, got right in her face and then proceeded to threaten her. You sir are a BULLY and should be ashamed of yourself. It was a disgusting display of how people should NOT be treated. You asked a question and she tried to tell you but you would not listen. I was sitting away from the register and even I heard her. She was not rude, she was not moody and she was not disrepectful, all of which you claimed her to being. You were simply NOT LISTENING! If the said elderly man is a regular, I hope someone shares this with him, because I am pretty sure I was not the only person who felt sorry for that young girl. My coffee was lovely as always and she was polite as always and very apologetic for the wait and scene. I asked if she was alright and wished her a good day. I truly hope she had a good day.

Slowest coffee I have ever had!! But it was very nice. I believe the barista was attending to something the manager wanted done at the time, which I wasn't very impressed with. customers should always come first!! Ambience of the place very nice, it would be really good for a private function, but the service would have to be a lot better before I would even contemplate going back again!!

We went to Zest this week - meal and presentation excellent!!.<br/>Staff friendly and smiling!!<br/>However- the kitchen needs a new or an "extractor fan"- the cooking smells - fatty smells, and cooking haze permeated the restaurant - and unfortunately our clothes.<br/>A great night was spoiled by the smell of the ??? deep fryer or just the kitchen. - An efficient extraction system would solve this minor problem which became major!!!<br/>Will definitely be back for the food and service, but not until the kitchen smells have been sorted!!!<br/>Cheers - Sue

Came here for lunch with family several weeks ago. <br/>Very polite and friendly young waitresses behind the till, and food was very yummy, and decent value for money. <br/>Will be returning! Definitely nicest place in Greerton!

I ordered pancakes off their breakfast menu and a Bundaberg Lemon Lime and Bitters... the food arrived promptly but I was dismayed at how cheap it looked, there were 3 pancakes which looked store-bought and some reheated frozen berries (still partially cold) and a pot of cream on the side... Won't be going back again.

Called in with family today (11/01/2013) Took over 15 minutes to get coffee to the table by which time had eaten the muffins, staff stood back as i tried to carry 3 plates even though it wasn't that busy. No idea of what good service is.<br/>It's a shame as the location is really nice.

Revisited July 2013: What a difference! Friendly greeting, efficient service and good food. The young lady on the till was well groomed and polite, order arrived in good time, delivered by a smiling waitress. (Thankfully no sign of Mr Too Loud..) The café now has a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere despite being quite busy on occasion. So, credit where it is due - well done ladies!<br/><br/>(Sept 2012: After poor service and rude waiter a few months back, gave Zest another try this morning. We were not greeted at all, and whilst standing by the counter reading the menu, the over loud and unrefined voice of the "manager'? reverberated through the whole cafe despite the fact that he was apparently speaking to the guy on the till only a metre away. The young man at the till did greet us politely eventually and commenced to take the order.<br/>My companion (who is ill), asked if a smaller portion was available. At this, the "manager" standing at the coffee machine, starting shaking his head and making comments about "orders being orders" etc etc. Rude, disrespectful, and totally unprofessional. I told the till guy to leave the order and we walked out. We then enjoyed a tasty, courteous brunch at Colombus, Gate Pa. So, second chance - blown! <br/>(Add a very inferior, amateurish iced birthday cake from bakery next door earlier in the year. Both businesses owned by same people). Nothing's changed - we won't be back, nor will we be recommending either places. Very poor.)

We went for breakfast a few weeks ago and it was absolutely awful. The coffee was luke warm but the food was shockingly bad. We had the full breakfasts which included a lump of egg! It should have been scrambled but I think it must have been microwaved. Seriously, give this place a wide berth.

Great food, great staff and a nice venue. Can't get much better than this. Thanks Steve, an awesome night made even better with you as our host.

Went in with a group of seven. One member asked if she could have bacin and banana instead of the berrys. The waitress said they had no bananas. A man then pipped up and said the purpose of the menu is to be a menu. We then went to le chat noir where they cooked eggs benedict even though it was not on the menu.

We used to go to Zest as we felt it was family friendly, but not anymore.....<br/><br/>We were seated in the outdoor area of Zest last weekend with our three school-aged children. They were having fun playing in the communal area adjacent to the public library. Some new customers walked in and the manager apparently pointed to us and said "well there goes business!". When they pressed him on whom he was referring to he again pointed to us and said "Them, that family!". I guess he should have checked to see if they were friends of ours before disparaging us.<br/><br/>Would you really want to dine somewhere not knowing if the manager is bad-mouthing you to other patrons? If he had a problem why didn't he approach us? For the record we try very hard to be good parents and monitor our kids behaviour, they were not and are not allowed to run amok in public places.<br/><br/>Our friends have vowed never to go back and neither will we.

I believe in second chances, but after this week I should never of bothered going back to Zest. First experience was terrible, the man behind the counter was incoherent and away with the fairies that it should of been no surprise that the coffee's ordered came out cold and not what we had asked for. No apologies were offered, and the replaced coffee's were not any better. Second time round this week was a bitter disappointment, service was rude, yet again coffee was cold and food was nothing to rave about. Myself, family and friends will not be returning.

always stop in at zest for breakfast or lunch when we are in tauranga. was last in last thursday and as always food, coffee and staff were great. best we've had in town so far, would highly recommend :D

I went to Zest for Sunday Lunch - my first visit and can honestly say best meal out for a long time - would highly recommend.

Food was very nice, the older blond lady behind the counter ruined the experience totally for her rude, self important behavior! <br/><br/>I ordered a Caesar salad, and my fiancée a platter. she left out the knife and forks.<br/>Maybe by accident I’m not sure. <br/><br/>when i went to ask her for the knife and fork x2 she made issue, asking a co-worker if she should give me one or not. Then handed me one knife and fork, and told me we could share!<br/><br/>She made nothing into a complete scene, and made me feel pretty bad about the whole thing. I was left just short of begging for a second knife and fork for my fiancée!<br/><br/>its no wonder Le Chat Noir a few hundred meters down the road are doing a roaring trade. Great food, Great customer service, great experience!<br/><br/>Boycott this particular lady if you value your dignity! its a shame the food was actually very nice!<br/><br/>Would i go back, yes if they got rid of the older blond lady. If she is the manager, my advice would be to sell an otherwise perfect business to someone who knows how to treat paying customers… with a little bit of old fashioned respect!<br/>

Have dined at zest on many occasions, food is always fabulous, took my elderly mother in for lunch today and she loved it also, she had the lamb salad. staff are always friendly and helpful. stonegrills are good fun with the family! and good value for money to :) would definatly return and recommend to others.

went to zest for lunch on the way home from hamilton on sunday, decor was impressive and the food was lovely. service was mainly excellent, except for the older blond woman who seemed to be quite rude. the other waitress who brought our food to our table was very pleasant. overall was a very nice dining experience, would definatly return =)

Have now been to zest a few times for breakfast and every now and then just for coffee, excellent service and reasonable prices. would highly recommend. good to see greerton finally has somewhere nice me and my wife can go and relax for a hour or so!

Service was crap! I have not been to a cafe and been treated worse than here. It was very disappointing. The woman behind the counter was rude and obviously hadnt had much experience in customer service. I realise that they were busy, but there is no need to be downright rude.<br/><br/>We didnt even get to eating the food as we left. Will not return.

Went to Zest today for morning tea. Nice fitout and decor although that was the only nice thing there. The service was dull and not accomodating, there wasnt any labels in the cabinet so you didnt know what was what, the coffee was very average a tad bitter. Now to the food, I have been told it is all bought in and now ive tried it I can say it was very dissapointing. I had a cake that tasted like a supermarket cake if not as good, my partner couldnt even finish his slice he disliked it that much. Sorry Zest but will not be returning.

I have visited Zest 3 times now, breakfast, lunch and dinner, the food as been excellent every time and the staff were friendly and helpful. The prices are very reasonable.<br/><br/>Its great to have a new place with a great outdoor dining area, and it beats going into town.

At last Greerton has a funky modern cafe - somewhere to sit on Chadwick Road that doesn't involve canteen chairs and formica tables!. The outside area opens up to a reserve which was handy for the kids. The staff were friendly. The food is good and fairly priced. Give it a go.

A real disappointment really. Yes it was fine dining with nice peaceful music but the atmosphere wasn't marvellous. The portion sizes of the food were disappointing and overpriced. Not what I would call value for money. Won't be returning :(