Review The Raft - Tauranga

What a fantastic cafe! It was my first time, and that was only because our people we support, Idea Services had a ladies' morning tea date with day service and other residential homes to get together and catch up with each other. I can't fault the wonderful, friendly professional service from the waitresses who went right of their way to make sure our ladies were well catered to. The food 😋 was like no other I have seen coming out of a café anywhere. The coffees were to die for! Price wise 👌 for what they had on offer generous servings I thought were reasonable. Well, presented those little touches go a long way! We had the back conference room booked as we had a big group, which was warm with the heat pump set at a comfortable temperature. Good seating making it easier for everyone to socialise amongst themselves. I totally recommend popping into "The Raft" the next time you want your cafe coffee fix and nibble or a full-on meal! You will not regret it! 10/10 Thank you for making our morning tea date for our ladies a memorable one! 😊

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 with. The breakfast was absolutely wonderful and is a testament of all those qualities we want in a breakfast that ignites conversation, laughter and more importantly, whānau ties.  Thank you, very highly recommended

Called in for a lunch here as its a good place for my coeliac wife to eat. Their gf options are somewhat limited, and have never changed, so getting a little boring eating the same thing each time. I had their special Fettuccine for lunch which was delicious, but I thought it was a bit expensive for a lunch, took a long time to arrive, and there was way too much. I usually eat a lot, but it was too much for me. Still, a good place to visit occasionally with friendly staff.

Good service and amazing kai! Thank you so much we will be back ☺️

Best carrot cake in town I recon Breakfast was great

We visited on 11 April 23 and had breakfast as we have done on a number of occasions previously. The breakfasts have always been good but for some reason this one was great! 10/10 to the team at The Raft for a great meal and thank you!

Really enjoyed the food here. Thoroughly recommended. The empty plate says it all! #yummy #Burrito #ComeAgain #RateThisPlace

Thank you Hayley for you smiling face and efficient service . It makes our morning coffee and scone just that much better

Was recommended this place from a friend and the raft big breakfast was delicious. From the creamy mushrooms to the tasty ciabatta i thoroughly enjoyed this breakfast. Well seasoned, everything was on point scrambled eggs were fluffy and not overcooked great breakfast after a few drinks the night before. Had to finish it off with a piece of the peach and passionfruit slice which was delectable 😋. Breakfast was served within 10 minutes of ordering great service would definitely recommend.

Nice cafe, spacious and plenty of natural light. Good food selection and drinks. Toilets are available and also includes a board room.

Always walk out of here full and with a smile. Good food and coffee, and lovely staff :)

The Raft never disappoints. When we visit, we are often in a big family group. There is plenty of room for everyone. <br/>The Raft caters well for different dietary requirements, which we really appreciate.<br/>I recently had the salt & pepper calamari, which was delicious. There is definitely something on the menu to please everyone. Thoroughly recommend this place.<br/>

It was one of the worst dining experience that I ever had. Uncomfortable customer service showing them they don't care customer's feeling. After close to 30 mins waiting, our dishes finally came. Well, one of dish uncompleted: roasted nut and seed salad, without a poached egg. So we told the staff sth was missing in the dish, he said he will ask the chief to make it. But surprisingly no one got back to us since that. We were waiting and waiting until all our friends have finished their food. We have to ask the staff again what was going on. Finally, someone said the chief was making the poached egg. After another, a few mins wait a female staff dropped the eggs on the table and said sorry then left. How amazing?!

The customer service was really bad.<br/><br/>We ordered two salad dishes: The Roasted Nut and Seed Salad and the Squid Salad. We waited almost 30 mins for the food to arrive. By that stage, most of our friends had already finished their dishes. The portion size of the squid salad was good, but the portion size of the roasted nut and seed salad was extremely small. It felt more like a side dish. I felt a bit ripped off, considering it was the more expensive dish at $21.50.<br/><br/>We then noticed that there was no poached egg as was advertised on the menu. We told a staff member that the dish was missing the egg and we were not happy with the portion size. He said he would talk to the chef. We waited a while but heard nothing. We later went up to the counter to find out if they had forgotten. They told us the chef was still making it. Then later a female staff member came over and rudely dropped the egg on our table, then said sorry.

Always love coming here for brunch, coffee or one of their yummy smoothies! The place always seems busy. One of my favourites is the Eggs Benedict or the Hash Stack!

Disgusting rude staff, ghastly coffee,never again! Waited 30 minutes for a quiche to be heated up so we demanded a refund which was given to us eventually by a surly male staff member. I hope the Raft sinks LOL! Even 1 star is not deserved.

I have to say that I immediately regret my decision after placing my order with the member of staff who took our order. She seemed so "cbf" i felt bad for her. My almond latte came to the table looking like this (photos attached). It obviously sat on the counter for a while before coming to the table. Coffee grinds in the bottom of the glass really put me off, it was completely black with burnt grounds! Looks like you guys haven't cleaned your machine in a month! Nevertheless, i left without even taking a sip of it..The tables were dirty and not been cleared after probably a busy lunch rush, although it was almost 4pm when I visited. My chicken calzone was soggy. My sisters cheesecake had no taste of lime as it was advertised.

The raft was highly disappointing with over priced meals for both their quantity and quality of food which was below average.<br/>One of my friends had the eggs Benedict with salmon - the salmon was not fresh and seemed like it was from a can. <br/>Two of my friends ordered the "workout breakfast" which was $22 for what seemed to be a large breakfast on the menu but was hugely disappointing.. the picture I have attached says it all.. They even forgot one of the eggs and it had to be sent back to the kitchen. <br/>In addition to the below average food, our meals all came out at various times and I had finished mine before others had received theirs. <br/>I would not recommend this cafe and we will not be returning.

Went to Raft after walking around the board walk. <br/>It was around 11 am and we were feeling a bit hungry. So my partner and I ordered a salad each, I got a small honey chicken orzo salad and Callum got the potato and chorizo. Priced at around $9 the serving size was pretty decent. <br/>I tried some of both salads and they wee a bit bland, and the chicken salad was a tad oily. <br/>Mum got the cheese scone, it was nice but a little gluggy. We really needed our coffees to wash it down. The coffees did not talked too long to arrive and they were a good size. <br/>I got a sweet chai latte instead of cake and it was really good. The coffee got my boyfriends seal of approval. All up I would maybe come back for a coffee and slice but not for lunch. The service was friendly. Maybe next time I might try a meal off the menu and not the cabinet. I would suggest giving raft a try. The atmosphere is relaxed. Good music.

Getting a glass of water with a cup of coffee is like getting blood out of a stone.  Been twice and experienced the same problem both times.  If it's so hard delivering water to the table then provide it at the counter for customers to help themselves.  Wont be back.

The entertainment was awesome....the Squid meal was fantastically tasty, great night great venue...

Second visit there. First time it took an hour not to be served and we left hungry.<br/><br/>This time we did get served, albeit with indifferent wait staff. Unfortunately the food was bad, bad, bad. My wife has had a few visits to the toilet after eating truly disgusting sausages. My lambs fry was smothered in an indescribable sauce. Never again will we visit The Raft.<br/><br/>Rating. Food 1. Service 2. Atmosphere 0.

Went for an evening meal with my wife, (after finding this a pleasant venue for coffee).<br/>Despite not being over busy, we had to re ask for our drinks, having noticed them sitting on the bar!!.<br/>Staff were friendly, but the meal was a disappointment, vegetable stack was cold and the steak was luke warm and fatty and chewy (Poor cut of meat for price paid).<br/>Probably the best item were the chips.<br/>Have written to the owner to give feedback, with no response !!<br/>Won't be going back, for the price paid there are much better restaurants.

I went for lunch today with my husband, the restaurant was not overly busy. We sat and waited, for just a calzone, after 20 minutes I went to the counter to ask where it was, I was told it was just going in to the oven (microwave), and then it would be put in the sandwich press. I then said that I had come in for coffee on Friday and had a 25 minute wait for coffee. The woman asked me what time I normally come in and I said lunchtime, her response was, well that's our busiest time.. sorry - yes that would be right you are an eatery close to the CBD, so it will be a busy time, therefore perhaps more staff so people who only have an hour don't have to wait too long. There was no queue when we ordered. I saw other friends there today, who were as, they were leaving, carrying their food in their hand saying - the wait was too long have to eat on the run now.<br/><br/>Felt I was brushed off when I said that both times I thought the service was poor.<br/><br/>Customer Service and satisfaction should be of the utmost.

This Cafe revamped from Zaggers reflects a positive energy. We experienced good service, nice food, and a happy buzz of other diners. Reasonably priced. A good place to go!

I had lunch at the Raft today. They had a nice selection to choose from, I decided to have pan-fried fish, it came with a side-salad and curly fries. I followed that with a delicious rhubarb tart and banana smoothie. The food was wonderful, service was prompt and staff very polite. I will be going back again. :) Great to go to a place where parking is not too much of an issue. Well done Raft.

Have been there twice now and while the first visit (in December) was a bit better than the second, both were good experiences, great atmosphere (like a more sophisticated Imbibe), I ordered the calamari - it was fresh (not frozen deep fried crap) and was meltingly tender. The waiter was ok, had a good sense of humour, and offered our 2 year old some colouring sheets and crayons. We really enjoyed our food, wine and overall experience and will go back again for sure.

We have been to the Raft a couple of times and really like the way it has been renovated, it is a lovely place to visit.<br/>The coffee is very good. My only complaint is the butter served with our delicious date scone, is it really butter? It looks very pale, has a strange texture and tastes like margarine.<br/>But we will be back maybe not for a scone though!

My fiance and I went for lunch yesterday. The place was relatively quiet. We waited 15 minutes before any staff member approached us and another 25 minutes before our meals arrived. My partner had the lamb burger and I had the aubergine stack. The lamb burger was nothing special and rather bland. My stack was more a hummus stack with 1 slice of aubergine, 2 small pieces of courgette and uncooked slices of tomato. The mozzarella was only half melted. I added tabsco and pepper but still couldn't give the dish the flavour it needed. No staff member asked how our meals were and the girl who served us was unfriendly and unattentive. The only positive was the curly fries that I ordered as a side dish. They were crunchy and presented in a basket on faux newspaper. Overall rather disappointing and not a place I will be eating at again.<br/><br/>I received an email from the owner explaining butter issues. Obviously this was meant for someone else's review. Highly unprofessional. She can't even get the right name with the right reviewer.

Chaotic and not in the least bit relaxing. On arriving we went up to the counter to order only to ordered to sit down, what is the point in having a cabinet with food in if you don't get the opportunity to see what is in it? I expect the cabinet and cake turnover is very poor here because you don't get to see what is on offer.<br/>Trying to get the attention of a waitress to take our order was ridiculous as the serving staff aimlessly wandered around looking clueless.<br/>We ordered 4 main courses and we did not finish a single one of them. I had the sticky beef roll. The homemade bread was laughable, tasteless and doughy in texture. The beef had no hint of stickiness and when I called the manager across to ask where the sticky sauce was she shrugged her shoulders and said that's it! If I had wanted watery braised beef then my expectations would have been met but I didn't and my expectations were far from met.<br/>It is bad enough getting the food wrong but it is worse not to deal with a customer's feedback appropriately.<br/>Raft can sail away for all I care, this is one boat I won't be catching again.

My wife and I went to the restaurant last Saturday. First and last time. We ordered a long black and tea which came to our table. Then we waited...and waited. After 10 minutes I went up to the counter to place an order and was told to sit down and someone would come over to take our order. No-one did. So after another 10 minutes that was that. When I went to the maitre'd she took our money for the coffee and tea and gave no more than an indifferent and cursory apology. And kept calling me "bud". One thing was sure I was not and never will be her bud.<br/><br/>Terrible terrible service.<br/><br/>This is an update on my review. I got a very prompt response from the owner, Debbie G. That was impressive and deserves a positive response from me-and another star. We will go back and try out Raft.

I was honoured to be invited to the opening of THE RAFT and have been back there weekly since. The Raft is unique in Tauranga because of a few very crucial ingredients...the staff are always pleasant and professional, the food is fresh, beautifully prepared and presented, the service is fantastic even when full on a Sunday Jazz afternoon, the location and parking is great, the menu offers variety, the manager Debbie is second to none. Debz has a passion for people and an eye for what works in this industry. Congratulations Debz on what you have achieved in such a short time by bringing The Raft to us. It was desperately needed and it's great to relax in an eatery/bar/cafe where both staff and customers appreciate YOU Debbie Griffiths. You're a legend.

What a lovely revamped place. The staff that served us were very professional. But can you check that the staff understand the difference between a decaf coffee and a normal one? I came with two friends tonight and ordered a decaf flat white at about 8pm as any other coffee coffee will keep me wired into the early hours of the morning. It is <br/>Now the early hours of the next day and I'm showing the classic signs of having been served a fully caffeinated beverage despite having paid fore a decaf!<br/>The staff member told us he wasn't a barista hence my suspicion as to<br/>Why i'm now wired awake!

We lunched here a couple of weekends ago. We experience the best service we've had in Tauranga. The staff were very attentive without being intrusive. They were also very helpful when asked questions about the opening hours, menus etc.<br/>Being a weekend we sampled the brunch menu which had plenty to chose from. The choice of cabinet food was available for those needing to 'eat and run'. <br/>Food was great. Service was excellent. Enjoyed the coffee too!<br/>Thanks guys. Keep up the good work.

Went for lunch at The Raft with friends- the food was fabulous, small portions but was yum and it arrived very promptly. We were told everything is made from scratch, however you should concentrate on doing a few things well rather than trying to cater to everyone! We saw meat lasagne, Mac n cheese, salads, a full range of cabinet food plus baking, sandwiches, danishes, pizzas, a la carte .. you name it they had it!! Service was great - apart from an older lady with bleached blonde hair my friend heard her yelling at her staff in the kitchen... And the staff appeared to be walking on egg shells! Great new look big improvement from Zaggers, would recommend the food but the older woman was scary!!! We felt sorry for the staff and they were so friendly- even the chefs were smiling at us! Just heard the best jazz band plays Sunday arvos yess!!!

Don't go here if you want a decent coffee and good service. I went on Saturday during the day and it took just over an hour to get my flat white. When I did get it, half of it had spilt in the saucer and half left in the cup. <br/><br/>On top of it, I saw the owner, Debbie, yelling at her staff in front of customers on the shop floor. She is incredibly rude and highly unprofessional. Do not go!