Review Relish Cafe - Waikanae

Today, I visited #relishcafe at Waikanae. Why haven't I been here before ..... It's such a lovely place. I can see by all the awards, reserved tables, it's a really popular place. Service was impeccable, atmosphere lovely, ka pai seating in and out, and as it was such a beautiful sunny morning, I sat outside. Kāwhe (bowl) was perfect, and the kai (big breakfast) only lasted seconds on the plate. Two ka pai sized pieces of toast to mop up all the poached egg and juices, yum. Will definitely return. I'm just not sure how I missed this place 😢.

Relish Cafe and Catering catered for our year end work lunch. The variety, quality, presentation and taste were all excellent. Will absolutely be looking to use them for catering in the future.

I was very impressed with everything at this cafe. The staff were very accommodating and friendly, even though it was a busy day, being Father's day. Whoever made our coffee today, well that was likely the best barista made coffee I have had all year.

Wow what a fabulous day my family & friends had here recently celebrating an engagement, sitting outside in the sun having a fabulous lunch. My prawn salad (with delicious balsamic dressing) was sooo nice with fresh abundant prawnsI. I added extra avocado cause I could, others had the BLT, Big breakfast and cabinet salmon roulade. Excellent happy service staff in a picturesque setting. Can’t wait to go again. Sorry so eager to eat forgot to take pics - next time lol

This is a really classy cafe very close to the main road through Waikanae. There is cosy seating, both inside and outside (in a beautiful garden). I would give it five stars if it had more vegetarian options, but the food and coffee I've had there has been excellent.

Excellent food and service. You can clearly see the owener's efforts in customer satisfaction. The interior is very homely and clean, though it can be abit cramped. I love the art for sale on the walls, good quality and not expensive. The food, of course is great. All the usual brunch favorites, with some wonderful new ideas. Slices, cakes, pastries and savouries available if you want something smaller. Great coffee and hot chocolate, all sorts of drink options. Water was supplied to the table, smiles all round. You can book, but it looks like they do keep some tables spare for the walk in traffic like us. We'll be back.

Very tasty food. Lots of menu and cabinet options - with eggs always perfectly cooked and authentic maple syrup for your French toast. Highly endorse.

Gorgeous little cafe. Loved having a coffee in the garden. The birds were very friendly!

Excellent Food, Top notch service and very warm welcome from Ian and the team. ( Janine, Kaytee, Donna, Paul, Nikau and Ash) Keep up the fabulous work. You are all amazing. BLT and Cornfritters were delicious and the Coffee.

We found this to be a pretty little cafe. Comfortable seating with indoor or outdoor options. The service was friendly with a cheerful thank you from behind the counter as we left. The coffee was very nice and the food was tasty. I had the corn fritters which were very tasty but there wasnt enough sour cream and relish with them. My husband had the relish big breakfast which he said was just average..meaning it was acceptable but it didnt make him go "wow". Overall tho it was a nice place to have lunch:)

Such a cute cafe! Friendly staff and a cozy welcoming atmosphere :)<br/>I ordered a White Chocolate Almond Milk Mocha (out of curiousity, sounded like it could be fun!) It was nice, though probably wouldn't get White Chocolate again.<br/>I also ordered a delicious Eggs Montreal, they were very generous with the amount of salmon and I left badly wanting to return for more one day 😁 my friend ordered a Bowl Mocha and a BLT, she found her meal nice though quite ordinary.<br/>Overall I'd love to come back here, definitly a good place to go in Waikanae! Also great outdoor seating if you have dogs!

Awesome little cafe, super friendly and generous hosts - the lemon custard squares are the best we've tasted, and they are my favorite!   We'll be back again, thanks heaps!

Amazing little funky cafe with fantastic coffee and a great range of food!<br/>Under New Management but still the same as it has been for the last 16 years, and it’s set to just get better too!

This is our favourite. Really friendly and helpful staff. Stopped there countless times and everything we've had we've loved - especially their liver and bacon!! But our hearts are left replete with their french vanilla custard squares. Superb, other worldly would be our experience. Whenever we want to treat ourselves we head north and hope they haven't sold out! Superb food, service and the loos are always clean, and have fresh flowers. Highly recommended.

Was really looking forward to going here after reading the reviews. What a disappointment. Ordered the corn fritters and my other half had the big breakfast. When asked what we wanted to drink we both said water. No water was given. I had to search it out myself. The big breakfast was small for the $18 price and the bacon was cheap middle bacon. The corn fritters came out with half a teaspoon of sour cream and when I asked for more the waitress gave me a pained look. I finished my breakfast when my other half was half way through hers and they came and took my plate. They are missing the basics of hospo. Would not go back and would not recommend it to others.

Amazing cakes and fantastic service.<br/><br/>Was in a hurry but they saved my day from being miserable with their quick service and amazing plum tart and fig cake.<br/><br/>Would recommend it to anyone passing through the area and in the mood for something sweet.

Called into Relish Café on way to Auckland, had a friend who enjoyed the coffee and said try a quaint quality café, loved the old house ambience, good indoor- outdoor flow, friendly helpful staff, nice music not to loud, we were travelling with a small child whom enjoyed the especially packed healthy lunch box available, I had the Lambs Fry full of flavour, also the French Toast was fab, food choice was excellent and covered all our fussy eaters esp gluten free items, lovely to see a café still run by the owners always a good idea to manage quality control and they obvious do it so well - as all food was made on premise's. Overall a nice experience will be back .

Kedgeree is my favorite meal here. Slices are yummy and the staff are very friendly.

Ok food but not very good value.

This place was very busy when we visited on Easter Sunday with an elderly aunt and 2 grandchildren in tow. We found the setting and the service as pleasant as one might expect. Despite their listing saying "child friendly" there was no childrens' menu, and there was nothing on the menu to suit kids of unfortunately narrow palate. Plenty of choice for the rest of us, but the meals were extremely small for the prices. Corn fritters with bacon was just that: 2 corn fritters and a bit of bacon for (I think) $15.50. My partner &amp; I had the "special" bruschetta ($17.50), &amp; it was not till after we left that we realised we never got the Greek slalad which was listed as part of the dish. Maybe there was supposed to be salad on the expanse of white plate beside the corn fritters as well? Obviously by its busy-ness &amp; the 5-star ratings on this site, some people in Waikanae consider this place the bee's knees. We felt it was simply not good value.

This is one of the best cafes on the coast and one of my personal favourites. I take many of my clients to Relish for the simple reason that the food is fantastic, and the service is second to none. We are always treated with dignity and respect and the staff (who we love), always go the extra mile to make my client outings memorable.<br/><br/>Yesterday we had our usual afternoon tea and were presented with a beautiful bunch of home picked roses to have on our table whilst we enjoyed our coffee and treats!<br/><br/>Thank you relish - we sing your praises far and wide.<br/>Driving Miss Daisy - Kapiti Coast

Love it here - this place has something very special! The garden is a delight, especially with the little pots of flowers and succulents. The food is consistently amazing - breakfast or lunch - and the owners absolutely lovely. My only recommendation is that they stay open for dinner - at least once or twice a week - we'd be there for sure. Keep up the good work! Thank you.

Relish Cafe is a cafe I would highly recommend. We live nearby and often call in (probably at least once a fortnight for a minimum of coffee and cake). On other occasions for lunch. The owners are lovely, nothing is too much trouble! They always greet you with a smile and are very good at remembering faces and previous conversations. As for the food, the vanilla slice for starters is to die for. All their cakes and slices taste so nice!! Lovely coffee as well!!

This cafe is our go-to alternative when we need a change from Waikanae Beach. The owners are lovely and down to earth and the food is fantastic. The home made baked beans are awesome and the mushrooms ... I'm not sure exactly what they do with them but they are delicious. Fantastic coffee too.

Highly recommended for the fantastic food and friendly service. Love those vanilla slices, superb. <br/><br/>We are lucky to live near by but its worth a journey to dine there.

Lovely ambiance and great food. Great smiles for the customers...even late into the afternoon. A well-deserved favourite place to be!

Best and busiest cafe on the coast. All food is made on site. It all looks wonderful. The staff are friendly and professional. Good inside outside seating options.

My husband and myself have been to all the cafe's in the waikanae tehoro otaki.<br/>We would highly recommend the Relish cafe,with their food,1st class service,the cafe is always spotless.<br/>We go every sunday for brunch,and we will not go anywhere elce unless they are closed