Review Aston Norwood Cafe, Functions & Gardens - Upper Hutt

First time to visit the place and see their Blossom Festival. A bit disappointed because the garden wasn't in full bloom. Not their fault though as the weather wasn't that great when I came and visit. Plus the weather wasn't that great too the past few days before so cherry blossoms could have been blown by the wind or not yet the correct time for the blooms to come out. Overall experience is still good as the place is nice. Good place to go if you want to have some quiet and /or alone time. A bit of a drive if you are coming from the southern part of Wellington. Took us about 40 minutes to get there via the motorway. But it is all worth the drive I say. Ample parking available and a nice coffee shop to serve your have hot drinks. One thing I may suggest is add extra direction signages to help people like me who are not that good with reading a map.

Really good food at the cafe and omg, the gardens are stunning! I need to go again next year at the beginning of the school holidays before the wind blows away all the blossoms 🤣 I love cherry blossoms so much, they're my favorite flower next to midnight roses! 🌸🌸💐💐🌳🌳

Was fortunate to enjoy the high tea experience followed by the garden walk. It was an amazing experience highlighted by the amazing lady who led it. It was comforting to have her go through standard etiquette and didn’t make us feel out of place. Would 100% recommend to someone wanting to experience something new! Then after the tea, while you’re still warm, you’re able to take a stroll through the gardens and see the amazing water features and flowers. Though we went during the day, the lights were also beautiful in the shaded areas and the sounds of tuis echoed through out!

Beautiful cherry blossom. Didn't get a chance to try the cafe, it was very crowded, full with visitors. But the garden is pretty, would be perfect if its sunny. It's a perfect place to walk with your love one.

Great cafe with new owners, definitely book in for the Blossom themed high tea for cherry blossom season, 14 September - 8 October.

The After Dark is experience is amazing! Besides the fact it was raining we all really enjoyed the walk around the garden! Highly recommend!

My sister and I have just had a beautiful Devonshire Tea at Aston Norwood Cafe. The service from Owen was outstanding. He also baked the scones which were absolutely delicious. Owen...you made our experience here an absolute delight. Thank you so much. We highly recommend this experience. Just go! 5 star+++ 😋😋😋❤️❤️❤️

Wonderful experience . Calm and peaceful. And beautiful scenery. Blossom valley was breathtaking

Beautiful & well kept. Ice cream 🍦 was a treat. There were coffee, hot chips & cookie options too.

Lovely place - calm, tranquil, and lush vegetation. Friendly helpful staff. I've passed this place may times, but not stopped - glad I did. Just a little disappointed by the food selection. I was in the mood for a tasty salad type lunch - blue cheese, pear and walnut or similar. Offering was mostly cakes, burgers, chips, wedges and all-day breakfast. I left well-fed and happy, but a bit fatter than I intended.

Beautiful gardens and lovely Cafe just about 30min drive from Wellington. If you arrive on a rainy day there will be house umbrellas available for your garden walk. Best time to visit would be a couple weeks before Labour Weekend (early October) to see both cherry blossoms and rhododendrons. There are friendly eels to feed and ducks and herons to greet. We had a Devonshire tea - scones, fresh whipped cream and selection of jams - after the walk. The list of available teas was impressive, but our Rose & Vanilla and Chocolate, ginger and turmeric ones came as Dilmah teabags. If you prefer, you can order coffee instead of tea for a small extra charge. Autumn colors are also breathtaking. SEPTEMBER 2023. New visit, new way to admire cherry blossom. I wish the place we love were still accessible for us. Unfortunately, it was hard for our grans to enjoy. Perhaps, the owners could apply some accessibility magic for the next season of cherry magic?

Great place with tons and tons of parking to pull into to grab a coffee and something to eat on your journey over the Rimutakas. Or have their breakfast special which is $10.00 and is just right. Friendly staff! And try the apple cake, it’s the best apple cake I’ve had. The staff are very accommodating and made me a sandwich that wasn’t on the menu! The coffee is good too! There is a plant shop there which has more unusual things and you get in the general plant shops. Lots more Here too if you look at the other reviews!

Amazing absolutely beautiful ...children need to go it is so pretty and worth going to look fairy garden the waterfall my highlights of the evening🌹

Very good and a wonderful $10 bacon and eggs special which was pretty good. Coffee was good as well given I'm a long black kinda guy

A beautiful place to experience cherry blossom during the spring season.

Didn't try out the facilities but went on the Cherry Blossom after dark tour. Absolutely beautiful. The colors, the lighting, the sounds. They've even got a bar area half way through with fire pits and marshmallows!! Only downfall was the rain had caused quite a few of the walk ways to become boggy and a little dangerous.

I bought grabone vouchers for Devonshire tea and garden entry. A couple of friends and I went along yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the tranquillity of the garden and the tea selection and scones were to die for, the family and staff were very friendly and attentive. I would recommend Aston Norwood as a top 10 things to do in Wellington

I just cant recommend this place enough. Had a fabulous high tea today, with the most amazing service from the lovely staff. The gardens are just spectacular to walk around. It's a really fabulous place to spend a lovely couple of hours.

We decided to try the Cafe for my mum's birthday today. The platter that 4 of us shared included many different dishes and was delicious. When they knew it was Mum's birthday they brought out an extra dessert with a candle. Megan was really lovely and the venue is in a wonderful setting. A hidden treasure for Upper Hutt. Highly recommended. The Baby Doll Sauv blanc is a nice drop of wine too. A must place to visit again especially when the trees and rhododendrons will be in flower.

I lunched here with a very special lady, turning 92. The staff couldn't be more polite and helpful. They made s fuss of my gust, who loved it. The food was delicious, beautifully presented and very generous servings. The surroundings were great. We sat by the window and enjoyed the view of the lovely fauna. Had a walk around the stunning gardens after the meal. A gem of a restaurant just a short drive from Upper Hutt. We will definitely return. Many thanks.

Beautiful gardens and food! Friendly staff but service could be slightly improved. Overall recommend!!

Had a wonderful spring afteroon in the gardens enjoying the beautiful cherry blossoms followed by a delicious afternoon tea. The staff were amazing, friendly and ready to answer any need. Hats off to you at Aston Norwood.

Lovely setting, beautiful gardens. I had brought some Treat Me vouchers for Devonshire Tea to celebrate my mums birthday. I booked 2-3 weeks in advance but when we arrived there was no table set for us � One was soon set for us however it was a table with 2 seats (there were 3 of us), the table cloth had crumbs on it which the waitress quickly turned over, shaking the crumbs on the floor and resetting it. We were pretty quickly given our tea cups and water glasses however no napkins, no teaspoons and no water. Our scones arrived quickly however we then had to wait at least 15 minutes for our tea order to be taken. Who wants to eat scones without tea? I was very disappointed with the service. I was looking forward to having a nice afternoon tea as a treat for my mum and sister for my mums birthday but felt very let down by the experience. It is noted however that we did get great service from Graham but only after we had been waiting a while. Not sure I'd go back in a hurry as feel very disappointed.

I have been before and thought it was a lovely venue, with a good menu. Took 2 family members recently, on a very wet day. Ordered quiche and salad X 3, 20 mins later we were brought meats pie and salad X 3. They removed 2 plates , returned after another 20 mins with vegetable lasagna and salad X 3 ??? By then tired and hungry so ate it. We were offered free coffee, poor compensation, very poor service.

We went claybird shooting absolutely loved it sadly our platters were not up to scratch rather disappointed service and staff were fantastic plenty of parking lovely grounds

A wonderful experience, lovely food and then followed by an amble in the beautiful gardens on a beautiful Hutt Valley day

The gardens were beautiful and wel worth the admission fee. However we ended our experience buying a couple of drinks and a snack. There was no pricing up for the food so was shocked when charged $18 for a quiche and piece in ginger slice. The drink prices were what I'd expect.

Went out to Aston Norwood for a relaxing dinner with friends. We had an amazing night, hosts couldn't do enough for us and the food was devine and the dessert platter was fab. Thanks for a super evening - we'll be back soon! What a bonus for Upper Hutt having you in the neighbourhood.

Had a lovely high tea there, service was good and very friendly, will be back in the springtime to see the blossoms

Admittedly there was also a wedding function on next door. However, we waited at the till to order a good 5 minutes. Our order was taken, and we sat outside on the deck - this had a distinct odour of cat urine. Our beverages arrived quickly, and were hot. It took at least 15 min for the 3 slices to arrive - these were served with cream and chocolate dressing, like a dessert - this was not expected and may be responsible for the slow service.

Stopped in for the $10 breakfast which basically says "bacon and eggs" but they didn't skip on anything. Came with toast and was cooked perfect! Definitely worth it!