Review Karaka Cafe & Summer Bar - Wellington

Was here on 7th Oct 2023 as part of the Weta Workshop tour package that included lunch here at the Karaka. Brilliant staff and could not fault them at all. Pleasant and personable. Food was pretty good. It was kind of funny to see the hygiene award/certificate etc on the wall and at the same time have a pigeon wandering around inside the restaurant and also a dog at the door trying to get in. 😆😆😆 I'd come back.

My wife and I had brunch here this morning. We ordered the Breakfast Burger and the French Toast. The staff were very attentive and professional, and they kindly allowed us to order off the breakfast menu despite us ordering 10 minutes after the 10:30am breakfast cutoff. We were very appreciative of this as my wife really wanted to try the french toast! The coffee was also excellent. Unfortunately, we live in Australia, otherwise we would definitely return again.

Great kai and lovely service, was dining earlier in the day so not too busy but can imagine this place would get crazy! Excellent service, great conversation. Food was quick and big portions, far more than I could manage. Coffee was good.

Great location on the waterfront. You can sit outside and see the lagoon or inside where it's cosy. The staff were lovely and good delicious. The hot chocolate was really tasty!

Great service nice food and big portions for the value lovely staff definitely go have a try recommend iced chocolate and hangi the iced chocolate was huge for $10

First hangi I ate so I can't compare but it was really amazing, and I took the sparkling water with Manuka honey which was really good as well. If I could give a 6/5, I would. And all the waiters were really nice.

We were out and about at the waterfront, and came across a small door with the telltale signs of a cafe, it turned out to be the rear entrance to Karaka Cafe! We just wanted somewhere for a coffee and small bite to eat... I have to call our visit a "happy accident" as we stayed for much more! Although we had no reservation, we were warmly welcomed, My partner and I had a couple Monteith's Apple Ciders and shared a plate of Mince Nachos (perfect size to share), while our son had cheese toasted sandwich and Apple Juice, we could not be more happy with everything, from the service to the food, it was all on point!

what a great way to start our day for our whanau. Once our brains caught up with our eyes from all the visuals surrounding the cafe, our pukus were ready to order. Eggs bene, raw fish served with kumara chips, steamed hangi kete, Pacific plate, watercress sausage, rewana bread & drinks. Wow! the presentation ❤ tino pai. Our kai was delicious and we couldn't eat it all. We experienced beautiful manaaki from staff including the handing out of blankets to keep patrons eating outside warm. Neat alright, they thought of everything for cold welly mornings. Average cost pp: 50$ with drinks. This cafe is blessed. Great place, people and food. Nga mihi Nui,

Great menu, delicious breakfast and traditional meals. A good place to work or relax in front of the water

Delish food and beautiful atmostsphere! Will def return for the other items on the menu! 10/10!

Great location, cheerful room. Coffee smooth and not bitter. My eggs Benedict with smoked eel was good. My partner ordered poached eggs and kranskies but it arrived with smoked eel. The manager handled it quickly and got it was back in 10 minutes. But they order wasn’t fully remade. So he ate poached eggs that had gone cold as we couldn’t wait for a third attempt. Too bad; it’s a nice room with friendly staff.

Nice location at the waterfront of Wellington. Atmosphere and decor was really nice and staff were friendly. <br/><br/>Good food with big portions. Ordered steak and egg with coffee and milkshake which was a fulfilling meal. Great meal just before an important interview.

Great experience with friendly and helpful staff. Good portion sizes and fantastic taste. Loved the overall vibe of the place too!<br/>(Ordered Hāngi and Mīti kau)

Disappointing service, had to wait for a while to be served initially and I missed out on the breakfast menu because of it. I ordered the bacon butty and it had two over cooked tiny pieces of bacon. Then we waited for about 20mins for my partners food out of the cabinet, I think they forgot it... you guys can do better.

Came here for lunch. It was really disapointing. I ordered the hangi pizza. The menu sounds really nice and like it has interesting kiwi/maori twists to modern food. The pizza had way too much cheese on it and that was pretty much it, there was barely any chicken or kumara on it and it had none of the usually lovely smokey flavours that hangi type food would had. The only reasons I am giving it a 3 is because the pizza base was actually fantastic and I think the food is really well priced and not overwhelmingly large like most places make there food.

Loved the ambience and being on the waterfront made it special <br/>We had the steak sandwich, the seafood sandwich which was whitebait and the Ika Mata (Raw Fish)<br/>We enjoyed all of our meals in the Wellington sun<br/>Love the music as well<br/>Very friendly staff <br/>

The hangi here was the best I’ve ever tasted! Service was fast and awesome and coffee was good too. Would definitely recommend this place to Family and friends!

Great food, reasonably priced. Perfect location. Can get a bit noisy at night. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner here. We love the fish basket.

Great location overlooking the Wellington lagoon. Great service and menu providing a truly authentic kiwi experience. A gem in the heart of Wellington city. P.s. You have to try their ribs and beer batter fries!!

Must visit cafe cuisine in Wellington. I just loved their style of serving really tasty food. Best place to make your dining experience special.

I would recommend this place for Cafe in Wellington. Their staffs are very friendly and attentive. I love their buffet menu...for Restaurant and cafe

Had a really nice breakfast and coffee, the food took a while but it was worth the wait. A very nice outdoor seating, especially great on a nice sunny day. Josh

Really disappointed with the customer service. Went in today with my toddler for an afternoon snack. 45min to get an order of a fluffy and flat white. The fries we ordered still didn't arrive after almost what seemed like an hour, even though I followed up with two of the staff on it! Seems like they only worry or cater for the people who buy alcohol! And when I complained the staff didn't empathise, felt more like they were doing me a favour. Not somewhere I would take my family to in future.

Brilliant location with a relaxed vibe. We ordered cabinet food because we had a hungry toddler who couldnt wait but it took ages and our friend's burger came out faster. Luckily the food was good and well and evenly heated but I felt the portion sizes were small for the price.

Lovely location for brunch/lunch on a beautiful sunny day. Food wasn't really mind-blowing but still good and enjoyable. Service was pretty good too.

Food was great, however the service was incredibly slow. Had finished my coffee and gotten so bored I was ready to leave before my food was brought out. Lucky for them it tasted good!

Been here for a drink a few times but never for food. However had lunch there today. I had the Paua Fritter which was amazing, the rest our group had the sliders, eggs bene and pulled pork taco and the presentation of all was fantastic. Such a great venue as well right on the water. I'm keen to return to try their dinner menu. Definitely rates highly in my book in both food and location.

This place is really well located by the water where you can see life going by. Waiters tend to be nice as well, on a sunny day you better get in early as it gets packed really fast.<br/>Food is okay. Not amazing but this is a cafe for a light bite it does the job.

Office lunch with a table of 11. Staff were attentive and service was reasonable. The atmosphere is slightly awkward as Karaka struggles to find its true identity...cafe vs restaurant. This is partly due to the space they are in. If the sun was shining (and the wind wasn't blowing) then sitting out next to the lagoon would have been great. Good selection of food but very much cafe based. Around $30 per head for lunch (with drinks).

Was Welcomed by friendly staff as soon as we walked through the door, Was full so had not much choice where to sit but that was okay. The food was great.. a bit expensive but to be expected in such a nice place right on the viaduct, so well worth the cost if you want nice food and somewhere flashy to eat and again the staff where friendly, oh and yes the coffee  was okay..Not bad but not great either.<br/> Would definitely go back there

Great food and service. First time there and we will be back also a fantastic location. Reasonable price food. We had wedges, chicken quesadilla, glass of bubbly and a latte; cost $33.

First Impression : Impressive view, seating, cabinet variety <br/>We ordered the chicken salad burger (really nice), the steak sandwich (did not like it) and the tomato bruschetta (great filling but too much salt) <br/>I would have given it a 3 rating. The plus 1 is only for the view and the outside seating area.<br/>PS I loved their concept of having sun hats and picnic mats which can be used for free by anyone... Something I had not seen or heard of before.

Stumbled on this cafe some months ago, and been back twice since. Nice place for a quick bite and for chilling with your friends or family. Lamb Kofta was tasty and good sized. Also happy with their buffalo wings. Kids went for the chips and wedges with sour cream. I was not crazy about their version of Hangi, though. So far not had bad service, and no unusually long wait times either.

Always come here for happy hour if you're after wine because they give out a seriously good deal. 225mL for $15 is always a winner and sitting in the sun on a bean bag leaves every girl happy. The food is not my first choice but I did try the seafood platter which came out very promptly and was good value.

Locals say ya can't beat Wellington on a good day and today was perfect weather for a bite to eat out and about near the water.<br/><br/>Haven't been to Karak a before and was expecting mediocre given the mix of reviews on here, but overall I had a good experience.<br/><br/>The bilingual menu is a good idea done well; not as kitsch as I thought it might be.<br/><br/>I had a GF roast vege stack which looked like a work of art and tasted awesome. Really simple kiwi food food done well.<br/><br/>Service was ok; the guy running the restaurant was really friendly and the wait staff were not bad either.<br/><br/>There was a wee wait on our coffee, in fact my meal came out first, but it hit the spot when it arrived. Not the worst I have had but I wouldn't pop in for the coffee alone.<br/><br/>Only slightly sour note was the cruise ship tourists walking passed and staring while we ate. Felt a bit like feeding time at the zoo but that certainly isn't Karaka's fault!<br/><br/>Overall pleasant experience and for the most part enjoyed eating al fresco given the gorgeous weather.

Wellington's Summer had lasted all of two days and it was back to severe rain. I was at work so wanted to go somewhere close for lunch. The BP station was the closest but I didn't want a service station sandwich or pie.<br/><br/>Karaka was the next closest. <br/><br/>Cabinet food isn't my go-to when choosing a meal, but I saw a vegetarian Quesada. $9.50. I asked for it heated up. Took 3 or 4 minutes.<br/><br/>Back at the office I tucked in, and it was fantastic. Full flavoured with great seasoning and big tasty mushroom chunks. There was a good amount of jalapeños too.<br/><br/>A very satisfying dish, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Well flavoured prawn skewers on a great salad, and interesting menu choices. The cabinet food is also varied and fresh. Unfortunately it took a long time to get service, however the staff were friendly.

Have been to this establishment a handful of times now and it's fair to say that the service is horrific. Nobody knows what they're doing. I think the turnover must be high because the staff always seem confused and lost. It's confusing to order food - the bar is right by the entrance you naturally go there but no.. You need to go to the cabinet down the back and even then the staff might look at you and then walk off again.. Not even kidding this happened to us! More than once! The bar staff don't even turn around ever. If this wasn't in such a prime spot it would have closed down a looooong time ago.

After visiting Te Papa we decided to stop for a drink and a snack. Karaka is on the waterfront and the grass slope outside lend a good place for bean bag armchairs. The going down Sun warmed up the area and made a great lounging spot see the photo. Overall was impressed with the service and atmosphere. Well done Karaka. We had a nice glass of Cider with wedges to eat. Would recommend as a great spot for an avo drink and bite.

Had an amazing time in karaka cafe especially with the view and the atmosphere of the place however i am very disappointed by the food , i ordered pulled pork taco and the taco have no flavour at all , it was bland . And the vienna coffee was over powered by the whip cream thats just pilling on top of the cup , other than that very friendly staff and amazing atmosphere .

20th July, we came for lunch for the first time at Karaka Cafe. Coffee was good. I had the Hangi pork belly, and my wife had the fish of the day. The meals looked fantastic, tasted wonderful, just my pork belly was abit salty for my liking. The services were relaxed and friendly. Definitely a great spot for a nice day out in Wellington.

Avoid, avoid, avoid. This place has bad service and mediocre food. Went here for some lunch last Sunday and was very disappointed. There were a couple of friendly staff members but most of the others were disengaged and disinterested. Our cutlery was dirty. I ordered the seafood chowder. The flavour of the chowder was actually quite nice but the seafood wasn't fresh and hadn't been treated with respect. I found prawn tails without the rest of the prawn. These people seem to have a "chuck everything in, scraps and all" approach to cooking. I only eat free-range pork so was horrified to find bacon in my bowl of chowder. The "manager" didn't charge me for it, and my friend and I swapped our meals as soon as I discovered the bacon, bless her heart. Her dish was the prawn risotto. Although the prawns were still intact, there were only three of them! They call something prawn risotto and then give 3 prawns, yet, they don't mention bacon is in the chowder, but have strewn it through every inch of the dish! I do like the concept of this place and the Maori influence, but this poorly managed cafe needs a complete overhaul of the food and service.

Excellent brunch. Awesome Eggs Benedict. So nice not on bread when u r gluten restricted. Awesome place all round. Service good. Really central too. <br/>

These guys know what they are doing when it comes to service and yummy kai. Loved the view on a nice sunny day too. Absolutely a fave cafe of mine now if only I lived in wellywood :-)

Wonderful location and very good food. We chose to go for the large hangi bowl. It easily fed the five of us and was the most flavourful hangi I have had. Unfortunately the service was slow and they got part of our order wrong. Nothing outrageous and more than made up for by the quality of the food and the location.

I dined here today with my father and nephew. We ordered two lattes and a hot chocolate. They took thirty minutes to bring it and still mixed up our orders. Then bought out one hot chocolate and a latte and Once I went to complain that one drink was missing they still missed another latte and instead made two hot chocolates. No apologies or anything. Rude, incompetent staff who need training !

It really seems to be luck of the draw with this place. I went for breakfast on Thursday 29 January . I was greeted by a lovely young Maori-looking man who worked there and he told me I could choose my seat whilst he got me a menu. I set myself up in a spot sheltered from the hot day, whilst still getting lots of fresh air with a beautiful vista  of the lagoon and the city.  I ordered poached eggs on quinoa with beans and kale. It was $17 and it was extremely filling, in fact I struggled to finish it all, but did just because it was so yum and I was so excited to find a cafe breakfast that gave me protein, greens and no bread in a delicious way. My waiter gave me great service - He quickly gave me the free wifi password so I could start working on my laptop, he took my order when I was ready, and was there for my second pot of tea order.  I loved everything. So much so that I went there again the very next morning. However, I was very disappointed to get a completely different experience. The young man from Thursday was not there on Friday.  Staff behind the counter saw me sit down, but after a good ten mins no one had come to see me at all. I sought out the only waitress I could find and asked her for a menu. She gave me a different menu to the one I'd had the day before and this didn't have my prized egg/quinoa/greens meal I'd had the day before. I wasn't going to have it two days in a row, but would like to know it is a menu staple for when I next need breakfast in town. I decided to have poached eggs even though I didn't want toast , but 15 mins later I still had not been approached by anyone to see if I wanted to order. My phone rang and my husband wanted to meet me so I left karaka and took my business to the cafe in my husband's work building. The waitress saw me leave but didn't approach me. My husband told me he had taken our son to karaka one evening with about two weeks ago whilst they waited for me to finish work and the service they had experienced that evening was terrible. What a shame.

Nice music and great location on a sunny Wellington day however, to be told that "the coffee machine is turned off" in a cafe like it's no big deal and with no further explanation forth coming was pretty confusing for my friend and I. <br/>While most of the staff were friendly there didn't seem to be any clear system for service, when we arrived at the counter we began being served by 1 staff member and then another staff member began. It didn't seem worth the $20 outlay for 2 "mocktails" and chips (which were yummy).

Group of 6 had lunch here last weekend. Great spot and a lovely ambience. Friendly staff - although we got a second wait person later on after our original guy, who gave a few the wrong orders but a minor glitch. Food tasty and lovely presentation. My only complaint and why Karaka doesn't get a 6 stars, is the food portions were rather small. I had fish n chips and it was so good I could have eaten another serving! Everyone else enjoyed the food as well, just not enough of it.

Cafe looked appealing with big tables in the sun. We waited 10mins for a table to be cleared so we could sit down. We then waited a further 30mins for 2 cold drinks, 1 of which eventually came the other we had to get ourselves. We were offered other peoples coffees 3 times while we waited. After 40mins our Meals came without cutlery (we had to go in and ask for this) - the mushrooms with a side of bacon was cold. Pancakes were ok. Don't eat here.

My family and I recently had breakfast at Karaka and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The location and view was lovely, the service in general was brilliant and our waitress was outstanding (unfortunately I didn't catch her name). She looked after our every need and also took time to actually interact with us. The food not only tasted awesome it was immaculately presented. Absolutely LOVED the fry bread with butter and golden syrup!! Our coffees were perfect. Will definitely be going back to Karaka Cafe on our next visit to Wellington :-)

Fantastic service, especially great with kids, like really really great - cornflakes and colouring while the adults have eggs on delicious hangi hash with horopito hollandaise. Perfect. <br/><br/>Can't wait to come back, keep trying to arrange breakfast meetings there to get back sooner.<br/><br/>Definitely a good spot to bring visitors, will be taking overseas visitors for sure.

We had booked a group of 20 including some young children, for lunch - happily it was a hot day, unhappily the service was very poor and we did not get any drinks for over half an hour - we had to fill our own water jugs as no staff ever came near our table other than to take our orders and then to deliver the very late and spasmodic food - our last plates were served about 40 minutes after the first plates - most of the food was good except for hard poached eggs and very small meal portions.<br/><br/>About an hour after arrival some of our group went to the counter to order more drinks and food - these oddly arrived before some of the original orders.<br/><br/>There was a large function upstairs and we thought this must be why the staff were overrun. Indeed when I rang the manager some days afterwards to express disappointment, he was not having a bar of it! And he told me about the large function they had to feed! I said that was irrelevant to how we should have been served - nope - he said it was relevant!! I guess if the café management overbooks so their staff can't cope it is up to other customers who are not a priority to subsidize the cafe!<br/><br/>Not a good look for the city when as in our case half the guests were from overseas.

A friend and I decided it would be nice to have a drink on the waterfront before the dragon boat festival on Saturday. <br/>We walked in the main door and had a look at the cabinet food and the menu's up on the wall, there were at least five staff behind the counter, none of which acknowledged us even after a good few minutes of standing around not knowing what to get.<br/>Finally after waving a young man down we were served, we ordered 2 ginger beers and some fries (the ginger beers came out at least 15-20minutes later).<br/>We do realize it was a busy day for you however a simple Kia ora or hello would have been nice as it really makes a difference. <br/>We won't be coming back in a hurry!!

I visited for lunch recently with a group of 6. Most of us had cabinet food which was all brought to the table quickly &amp; was delicious. Outlook from cafe great which matched food &amp; service standards. I shall be back!

Apart from the great location and beautiful scenery I MUST comment on the outstanding service I received at Karaka Cafe. I went in for lunch and straight away the bar man helped me choose a beer (offered me samples to make sure I liked it before pouring me a lovely glass), and took my food order straight away.<br/><br/>The food arrived quickly, with lovely presentation and was in itself delicious. Things only got better when I asked what kind of balsamic vinegar they used (because I really liked it) and they really went the extra mile writing down the brand for me and even bringing out the bottle and suggesting where I might be able to pick up some of my own.<br/><br/>All the way through they were friendly, professional and really made my visit memorable. I would definitely recommend other people to go there and I certainly be back when I'm next in Wellington!

I have visited the cafe a number of times with work colleagues and have enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff. This cafe has an upmarket kiwi-feel to it and food reflects kiwi themes.<br/>The staff are genuine and helpful. When you enter the cafe, you are greeted with a smile and 'kia ora'. The seating is comfortable and not cramped. <br/>I love the food and continue to work my way through the menu with the great fusion of traditional dishes with a modern twist. The seafood chowder was my favourite from the winter menu, for the new menu I have to say the 'boil-up' is a tasty twist and unique in a CBD setting.<br/>The WiFi is easily accessed which is great when catching up with clients over coffee.<br/>The location takes full advantage of the sun and continues to be a favourite eating place for me and my colleagues.<br/>Merry Christmas Karaka, I look forward to a lazy summer afternoon visit in the sun with a lovely meal and great company.

What a beautiful, stunning place. I am a kiwi at heart I live in Australia. Last week I was on a cruise with my wife we are Newlyweds and I wanted to show her New Zealand. We walked by only to stop for a coffee at this stunning place while the sun was out, we were greeted with a KIA ORA by a young lady with an amazing smile. We asked for just coffee as we are on the cruise ship and want to walk around she said we have the best coffees and she was dam right best coffee ever!!! Always thank the barista Carlos. On top that a 10% discount for cruise passengers we stayed longer for lunch and was recommended hangi salad and a hanawhiti poaka it was fantastic it was a busy day but they did a great job so thank you karaka and especially Emmy you made an amazing host keep up the good work KARAKA CAFE. he ata mea nui? he tagata he tagata he tagata what is important? It is the people it is the people it is the people

Despite what other reviewers have written, I love the Karaka Cafe and return there once or twice a week. The coffee is good, I have had no complaints about the food, and most important the staff are always very welcoming in an honest, earnest sense and not the false we-have-to-do-this smile one gets in many other establishments. There is free wi-fi, the day's newspaper is always available, there is stuff for kids to play with, and you don't feel hassled in any way if you want to spend an hour or more over a single coffee browsing the web and watching the world go by.

Unfortunately our experience was not good. And by looking at other reviews it seems to happen quite a bit. <br/>It was very disappointing when my meal arrived a good 10-15mins before my friends. When we asked where my friends meal was they told us they had run out of eggs and had to go and get some more, it's quite disappointing that they couldn't wait to send mine out with my friends. I specifically asked for my eggs to be well done as I am pregnant however they did not come out well done. I returned them to be cooked further and when they came back my whole meal was cold.

We dined at Karaka, on Sunday for brunch for my partner's birthday after it was suggested to be one of the best brunch restaurants in Wellington. What a joke. The food and service were an absolute disgrace to the hospitality industry. As a table of 6 we waited over 40 minutes for the first 2 of 4 coffees to arrive another 10 minutes for the third , and another 10 minutes for the fourth. Had to ask on 3 occasions for a pot of tea which arrived after the last coffee, so over an hour for 6 drinks. When the food finally arrived, I couldn't believe what I was looking at. Soggy bacon, over cooked eggs, mushy baked beans, revolting form of hash with dry spinach, not one ounce of seasoning on anything. Again the food arrived as disjointed as the drinks, 2 meals then another one 5 minutes later etc etc, then were given the wrong meal to top it all off. We were given a number of excuses as to why everything was seemingly going wrong, from people calling in sick to there was a big table and lastly food had been dropped and that was why our meals came at different times. I have worked as a chef for 18 years, and if it was my restaurant I would have sacked every staff member. Best thing about Karaka was leaving and not having to pay. This place shouldn't even get one star.<br/>Dont waste your time or money

It's a real shame that the beautiful location is not matched by great service and great food. I say this after having eaten here a number of times. <br/><br/>Although having experienced lacklustre service and food previously I couldn't resist sitting at a sunny table by the lagoon and giving it another go. This was a mistake. Yet again the service and food was terrible and overpriced.<br/><br/>They forgot my orange juice and tried to give us two lots of tea when we had only ordered one. To top it off I was served the worst bacon and eggs I have ever had at a Wellington cafe. The toast, eggs and bacon were all cold and there was not enough on the plate to fill even a small child. <br/><br/>It appeared that the tables around us were all experiencing similar problems; food and drinks were being sent back and there seemed to be a confusion over table numbers. <br/><br/>It was shambolic.

Delicious food and beautiful setting, ended up staying alot longer then we thought we would! Drinks, entrees, mains and desserts were all fab. Super busy place but efficent staff. Good idea for drinks and nibbles on a nice day. Will be back!

We love eating here &amp; often meet friends here for meals &amp; drinks as they offer something a little bit different to other cafe in Wellington. The food is excellent, well priced and the staff are friendly &amp; attentive. The new menu rocks !!!

Wow what a beautiful place and what a busy cafe. Service great and friendly, food delicious. We had to order at the counter, which is common in cafes but the service was quick and efficient, the staff lovely. We sat down on the first table we could find and just enjoyed ourselves. I could see the staff were run off their feet but doing very well. Can't wait till I return to Wellington I will be back. First timer on Menu mania but they have these cards that encourage you to log in and put your comments up, great idea.

This is the second time visiting and the second time with appalling service. First time we were in a hurry so decided on cabinet food and they just forgot us, so we were cutting it fine when our food did arrive. Our visit the second time a week later was a bad decision too, I was thinking maybe it was bad luck first time but no, apparently not.<br/>This time we ordered off the menu and the food was average at best, but then it wasn't too pricey, but again bad service. The Maitre D' was very lovely and they always greet you with a friendly greeting but the wait staff are just clueless. I guess they will always do quite well here because of the lovely location. It is just like they have hired family to do the job, no one with any real experience. Service is vital in this industry, guys sort it out!

I went to Karaka Cafe yesterday with a friend from out of town and we were only planning to stay for a drink and then head off to explore other parts of the city but 1 drink turned into 3 drinks, a meal, dessert and a tea refill. Loved the location, the design (with NZ culture incorporated), the food (it's hard deciding as everything looks so delicious) and the service was excellent!

Had the yummiest breakfast just after 8am this morning. Casual and of course greeted with Kia Ora! Smart staff. No fuss. But efficient. Greatest breakfast selection and something for everyone. Beautifully presented. Yummy. There were 3 of us and we all loved our Kai. Didn't have to pay first. This leaves your options open for more......would have liked to have been asked if we'd like more coffee but that's minor. Great setting and relaxed folks serving. Tino Pai and that's very good!

We love Wellington for it’s food. This place is just poor. Easily the worst service in Wellington. A pity because it’s is in a great location. Clearly looks aren’t everything.<br/><br/>They have a Maori saying on the wall, with it’s english translation, something like;<br/><br/>he aha te mea nui o te ao? he tangata he tangata he tangata. <br/><br/>what is the most important thing in the world? it is the people, it is the people, it is the people.<br/><br/>Karaka could do well to learn this. <br/><br/>There are too many good food places in Wellington to put up with sub standard cafes like Karaka.<br/><br/>Karaka you were a terrible experience, being in your establishment, being lied to repeatedly, being ignored, being misled, being mistreated, served poor food and not having my order taken. Had you finally asked for my order there was little point given my wife had finished her meal. What crap service.<br/>Your complete lack of service and her meal would suggest I’d be unwise to order food here. And all this with us talking with you in a reasonable manner. Incredible. <br/><br/>It was disappointing to be planted at a table that should never be in a cafe, that is best for kitchen staff to take a break or someone to do the accounts on. We waited for the promised table and watched as group after group arrived and got it before us. Tables even sat empty and we still couldn’t get a table. Appalling.<br/><br/>We ordered coffee at the counter, my wife, food from the cabinet and I chose to take a menu to order. The cabinet food looked uninviting. <br/><br/>The cafe was fairly full. We looked outside, no seats and a smaller table had just filled so we sat at this very large table on one corner figuring other diners would sit at the table. It’s a huge square, and oversized for the cafe.<br/><br/>We were asked to move by a guy in a white shirt running front of house and directed to seats at two tables placed hard against the back of a high brown couch, facing it’s imposing rear. We were between this and the water table and back wall. It felt like being made to sit in the corner. Who seats people facing a big brown high back chair across a small table?<br/>After a time I went to look for another table. The white shirt asked if I was looking for another table. I said I was. He told me it was his job to decide where people sat and we were to sit where he told us to. I explained they were appalling seats and and we were facing this huge brown wall that we couldn’t see past. He just walked off. <br/>At all times I spoke nicely with this person and didn’t make a big deal out of this. He returns and asks if we want he will move us when a table comes free. We agreed. Things were looking up. Then he darted off without taking my order.<br/><br/>Table after table came empty. More people arrived and just sat. He lied. He wasn’t directing people to seats, they sat where they wanted. He didn’t make others sitting at large tables move. He didn’t offer us another seat when it came free, over and over. Lies. It even got to the point where there were many tables empty. That’s just offensive.<br/><br/>I’d made eye contact with him many times. He’s either incompetent or ignorant and rude. It seemed he had no intention of moving us. My wife does not like to make a fuss and I respect her way of handling things when I’m with her. <br/><br/>My wife’s cabinet meal arrived well microwaved. She was unimpressed. She went on to finish her meal, and was on her last mouthful of coffee when the white shirt returned. I’d given up ordering. He offers to move us to one of the by now many empty tables. My wife declines as we’re about to leave. He still doesn’t ask about my order. My wife says she feels he’s arrogant and rude. I would agree. His tone and attitude was dismissive. <br/><br/>This guy is out of touch with service reality. The food is subpar. I can’t tell you what the food on the menu is like because he never took my order.<br/><br/>I personally think he was the perfect example of how to mismanage front of house and alienate people. I don’t believe he has the skill to manage this when busier. He’s out of his depth and retraining may be in order.<br/><br/>We let counter staff know as we left that the guy was officious.<br/><br/>If anyone from the cafe reads this. Please rearrange those tables between the back of the brown couch and the water table. There are many ways this can be rearranged to make the tables useful or just remove them.<br/><br/>Karaka Cafe is not worth visiting. Funny thing is I have no recollection of what the coffee was like. It was well buried by the crap service.

OMG... tha caramel slice is to die for! <br/><br/>I honestly loved it so much had them courier some more up to Auckland as couldn't do without :-)<br/><br/>I will definately be back in person, it's a delightful setting, I'll absolutely be eating more of the caramel slice, but in the meantime, think I might have to spoil myself and have a few more slices sent up my way. nomnomnom

Loved the overall experience of this cafe. <br/>Will definitely be back!

I first came to Karaka Cafe when they opened in 2011..I was not over the moon with my first experience although I came back recently as I wanted to give this place a second chance. I'm so happy that I came back because it has improved since then and the staff are friendly, onto it and very helpful. I love that Wellington has a cafe with such a strong Maori influence..loved the music too :) lovely cabinet food and great coffee. Keep up the good work.

I had a delightful time at Karaka Cafe and my friends who live in NZ highly recommended it. As a person with a vision impairment, I and my friends found the lady who served us absolutely fantastic. She read us parts of the menu and even called us a taxi when it was time to leave.<br/> <br/>The food was great and I could have sat there all afternoon. It was the second last day of my two week holiday in NZ in June 2012.

It is so cool to find a café with an emphasis on Maori culture and language – Maori Television playing silently on a TV on the wall, Katchafire on the stereo and a bilingual menu. I was greeted with a very friendly kia ora :) <br/>The café was relatively busy but had unusually good acoustics making for a very quiet relaxing ambience. I really love the architecture of this place from the outside too, a beautiful setting right beside the lagoon.<br/>The cabinet food all looked good, I chose a beef rendang filo, which was filling and delicious. Feeling a bit greedy, I ordered the kumara fries and sour cream too. I haven’t had kumara fries in years – they’re pretty uncommon – and these were probably the best I’ve ever had – really yummy. My flat white was good too. <br/>The service was fast, professional and very friendly throughout. So overall I can’t really fault my experience here – nga mihi nui ki a koutou!<br/><br/>UPDATE IN DEC 2013: Went back here again, this time to have a beer in the sunshine as the sun was going down. They put cushions outside and it was the most beautiful ambience with families and couples sitting around looking out on the rowing club and the harbour. Pretty idyllic!

It takes either a good or a bad experience to motivate writing a review. Sadly my experience was the latter. Cafe dining in NZ is expensive and Karaka isn't cheap, so you expect a good standard. For me a nice cafe experience is good company, good atmosphere / location, good food and good service. The company was excellent, the location great, the service poor and the food abysmal, with some of the counter items aged and too dry to digest. I thought about our experience over the following day, then decided to have a friendly chat with the manager and called. He was genuinely receptive and grateful for feedback ,then said that the issues about dry food and sloppy service were things "he was aware of", but he had only been the manager a month and to try again in a months time. That sounded fair enough. Then I looked at the other 15 reviews and the same problems were repeating, going back to 2011. I liked the manager's optimism, but I'm probably going to wait until others write some good things about Karaka before chancing it again.

Me and a friend met at Karaka for a late lunch date on Saturday. The cafe was relatively quiet, apart from one large group. After being seated and waiting a little while my friend, who was very thirsty, decided to go up and order our drinks which was fine. <br/><br/>After waiting some time no one came to take our food order, my friend and I wondered if we had to go to the counter to order (this is not the case). We looked around and staff were just standing around and chatting. Finally when our drinks arrived we had to ask the waitress if we could order. We ordered fries to share (they had run out of kumara chips which we wanted), the steak sandwich and the grilled chicken. After a 45 minute wait and no sign of our food we were on the verge of walking out! This amount of wait is totally unacceptable! The fries finally arrived, with apologies for the wait. The waiter offered us free drinks. <br/><br/>The food was okay, nothing amazing and definitely not worth the massive wait!<br/><br/>Will not be coming back - and have already told others about the terrible experience.

After a poor experience earlier in the year on an extremely busy day at Karaka I was willing to give it a 2nd try on a quiet day. My friend and I stopped there for a light lunch after a walk along the waterfront. We both ordered iced coffees and then ordered fries with gravy and a plate of maori breads with manuka smoked salmon mayo, hummus and pesto to share. <br/><br/>The restaurant was quiet with only 3-4 other tables occupied. After sitting for some time we began to get frustrated about not getting our drinks. About 20 minutes after we ordered they finally brought the drinks to us. They tasted fine, nothing exciting. We drank our drinks slowly as we were waiting for our food to arrive, but after about 40 minutes of waiting there was no food. I stopped a waiter to ask after it and he said it was on its way. 10 mins later and still no food so I asked again. Finally after another 5 minutes a small bowl of chips and a sad bowl of gravy no thicker than water was presented. I asked about the breads and the waiter said they were on their way. The chips were completely cold and so was the gravy. Despite trying to take our time eating them the whole bowl was almost gone by the time the breads arrived. The bread was burnt but yet cold and the dips were hummus, pesto and some sort of sundried tomato and capsicum thing. No manuka smoked salmon mayo anywhere. At that point I just wanted to leave so we cleared out quickly. <br/><br/>My first experience was similar with the service being terrible and the food lukewarm. However last time it actually tasted nice. I will definitely not be going back to Karaka. There is a range of fantastic cafes in Wellington. The location does not make this place worth it.

Early August I came to Karaka with my parents and brother. After walking in, we were seated promptly where drinks and mains were taken and we are left pleased. <br/><br/>15minutes passes on and the only drinks at the table are cold drinks. Our two coffees are yet to arrive after two reminders to our waiter.<br/><br/>Our lunch arrives. 2x Chicken, salmon, big breakfast and a bowl of fries. Big breakfast was barely big. Pitiful actually. But the biggest disappointment was the chicken and salmon. <br/><br/>Having once been to Karaka before, I couldn't help noticing how the portion sizes for everything has decreased. <br/><br/>The chicken is half the size with four potatoes and a pathetic looking salad to garnish I suppose. Around $20. <br/><br/>Salmon a third of the size it use to be. Around $20.<br/><br/>Our coffees show up after our meals. Cold.<br/><br/>When paying for my food, i overhead a staff member saying that she had another complaint about food portions, followed by the other saying she was ashamed to take the food out because they are so small.<br/><br/>Down sizing meals but increasing prices. Cold, late coffee (pick up your game, we are in Wellington). Staff who are ashamed to take out such small meals.<br/><br/>Everlasting impressions, Karaka.

My friend and I visited Karaka for brunch on Saturday. 15 minutes after we arrived our table was cleaned and our order taken. Another 20 minutes before our lukewarm coffee and chai tea arrived. My friend's poached eggs came 10 minutes later. The meal was cold and looked like a five year old had plonked it on the plate. My pancake came another five minutes later minus the side order of bacon. Apart from no bacon my meal was reasonable. The bacon was deducted from the bill but we had to wait at the counter while the party in front had their bill corrected. I cannot comment on the service because there was none. I will not give Karaka a second chance and will be advising friends not to attempt to dine there.

My daughter was visiting from Auckland and thought this would be a nice place to try something new. Never again! The coffee was luke warm, probably because it took 20 mins to arrive. Both our meals looked beautiful but mine was cold - and I mean cold as if some of it had just come out of the fridge! My daughter's was luke warm and of she felt a bit off colour the rest of the day. In hindsight we should of complained on the spot but we just paid and left. We Kiwis need to get better at complaining I think!

It was a cold day in Wellington, but the atmosphere at Karaka was warm and welcoming! <br/>It was the first time the 4 of us (girls catchup) had been together since last year, so thought we would try something new. One of them had previously been there for brunch and highly recommended it.<br/>The service was very good, but not great, as there were a few occasions when we just about ended up with other table drinks!<br/>Apart from that minor issue, the rest of our experience was very good.<br/>We had three different things off of the menu... Salmon, Hangi (Chicken and Lamb, I think) and Chowder... I had the Salmon and it was beautifully cooked. The Hangi, was lovely and had a wonderful gravy which accompanied it... The chowder was apparently "wonderful"... Hence, everyone was very happy with their meals. <br/>Only one of us had a dessert, which was the brownie and OMG, it was wonderful...<br/>We had a lovely experience and what made it feel more comfortable was that we weren't rushed out the door either. <br/>We will definately be going back there again. <br/>Thanks for a lovely experience. :)

This was an amazing cafe the cabinet food look amazing and tasted great i really enjoyed it will be back!! thanks

We ate at Karaka Cafe with my family on 7th April. There were initially 5 of us at the table, then later on 6. The cafe was not excessively busy, there were 4 people in the kitchen alone, and an excess of staff working the floor.<br/><br/>My family ordered cabinet food and coffees, I ordered from the menu. My food came out well before the coffees had even been served (around 10mins). After 20 mins they finally brought out half of the drinks order, another 10mins the other half of the coffees arrived. At this point, an enquiry was made as to the location of the cabinet food, and we were advised it would be out soon, though the waitress was clearly non-plussed about being challenged.<br/><br/>40mins after sitting down, my partner arrived, ordered from the cabinet and sat down with us, also checking on our order, whilst my father got up and made a complaint.<br/><br/>60mins after we had arrived, all of the food (including my partners which was a cabinet roll ordered 20min prior) arrived on the table EXCEPT for one basic chicken roll. 10mins later after we were all well fed up, my brother in law went to the counter and asked for his money back, and my father laid a second complaint.<br/><br/>Thanks Karaka Cafe - for tainting an otherwise wonderful weekend with my family: even had your food been of 5 star quality (which it wasn't) it would not have redeemed the appalling level of service.

The first time I went to Karaka I was impressed with the location and how child friendly the cafe was. Although the waiter bought out glasses of Sauvignon before we had ordered - just decided we wanted the house wine!<br/><br/>Today however, we found the food to be expensive with very limited vegetarian options (this is Wellington! Come on!) Also the kid's menu was full of unhealthy options - and the cheapest was coco pops or $8.50 fish bites and chips. The chips were cold when they were brought out.<br/><br/>This cafe could make a killing if they were more family friendly and the staff were a little more attentive than bored. The location is amazing. Today the cafe was empty - a shame.

This Cafe should become a must try for any true Kiwi or tourist wanting a Traditional (Exquisite) New Zealand meal.<br/><br/>Karaka Cafe combines fine eating, Earthy Kiwi flavours with a truly enjoyable atmosphere.<br/><br/>Karaka highlight all the great things about our beautiful country...<br/><br/>- 100% of the music played comes from New Zealand Musicans.<br/>- Traditional Artwork.<br/>- Whare Waka next door.<br/>- Smiley and attentive staff who greet you with warm Kiwi greetings.<br/>- Delicious (Did I say AMAZING) food.<br/>- Beautiful scenery and a great outdoor area with small Karaka Trees blooming at the front.<br/><br/>This is a must eat place when visiting/living in Wellington. <br/><br/>Don't miss out during Summer!<br/><br/>*** Reply to other comments ****<br/><br/>I've become a Sunday morning regular, as have half of Wellington by the looks of things. I have always had great service and a friendly smile. I realise the service can be slow at times, but when I see the demand... I can definitely understand why.<br/><br/>Try the Hangi Hash... delicious! It's a Kiwi spin of Eggs Benedict :)<br/>

Well, I love the food and have been there before. But today went with husband and small grandson for lunch. Ordered rolls from the cabinet and chips for boy. Were surprised that we weren't just given our rolls at the counter as they were there in the cabinet. But were given a number so went and found a seat. Had to wait ages and ages. One roll arrived, then chips but no second roll. Finally after 15 mins, husband asked a passing waitress to look into it - she was not happy about this and answered him back! So then someone else came out and asked what he had ordered as they had lost the order. There were no rolls of the kind he had ordered so he had to order another which came out immediately. Waiter apologised, for the lateness, but not for the rude waitress. The system is not good. Can they not hand you your cabinet order there and then? Seems a lot of double handling. (Some cafes in Welly could do with a visit to Clark's at the library as they have got counter service down to a fine art.) <br/>Whilst we were waiting for our lunch, some people waited in queue and gave up and went elsewhere. Not surprised. It's a shame as it is a gorgeous cafe and the food is really nice. But service slow and needs the odd tweak.

This place is nice and friendly and gets the last of the afternoon sun. <br/>We went late on a Saturday afternoon. We just had some cake and a hot drink, but the staff were nice and there is a small whare for kids to play in. <br/>We went in July and they could use some more tables and chairs inside. <br/><br/>--<br/>Second visit<br/>Our second visit during a weekday for lunch was not so glorious. I had a frittata, which wasnt fully heated through but my friend had a nice carrot cake. There was little or no gluten free options and the two vegetarian savoury options both had mushrooms in....

I went to this place a couple of times. On one occasion the server lied about what was in my food. The server said that it was chicken and tarragon but it ended up being meat and potatoes. Not what I wanted. Quite frankly it tasted awful. I forgave them for that thinking that the server was just confused and I went back again. Silly me.<br/><br/>I ordered my food which took the cashier seemingly forever to ring up. Then I found my seat which was at the only available table at the time. One of the servers brought part of my order and my drink to my table. I sat drinking my hot cocoa and reading my book, while I was waiting for my hot breakfast to arrive. At least 15min had passed but instead of bringing me the food that I ordered, another server came and told me that I had to move to a different table. He claimed that he had reserved the table I was at - but saw no “reserved” sign at this table. Not only that but this cafe is one of those "find your own seats" type of a place. It is not a "wait to be seated" place. The server asked me to move to a table that had not even been cleared yet. Needless to say, I was very angry about the rudeness of being told to move and to move to a dirty table.<br/><br/>If he did not want me to sit at that table, then he should have asked me to move when I first sat down or when my hot cocoa was brought to me. But none of that happened. The server who also turned out to be the manager waited until I was nice and comfortable in my seat, after I had already started drinking my beverage and after part of my order had been brought to me to be rude. I am not sure why this happened. I am not sure why I was singled out for rudeness. All I can say is that it was wrong.<br/><br/>I hate to say it but I am extremely disappointed with the service in this place. As for the food, it really is not good enough to bother going back to again. As a tourist in New Zealand, I have found other friendlier places to eat at with much better food. I will make sure to tell everyone I know back home to never eat at the Karaka Café when they come to Wellington unless they want rudeness served with their order.

Fantastic place! Went there for brunch. Food was great, location was too, loved the Te Reo touch on the menu. Love that they have a variation of eggs benedict but with hangi instead of muffin. Great flavour. Got coffees to take away when we left which was a mistake. It seemed to take forever to get the coffees but maybe that was because I watched the guy making it at snails pace. Surprisingly it was still reasonably hot when I got it and I would definitely go back. The rest of the staff were great.

Had lunch with a friend at Karaka on Tuesday. It's great. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. Staff extra friendly and great service. The setting is fantastic - lovely to be able to sit outside and look over the water.

Awesome place, went for an evening meal on a Wednesday. I had the salmon and OMG it was beautiful. I was with a group and we all found our meals were a very good price and was of a very high quality. Service was a bit slow to begin with but the bloke that took over was great. Good selection of wines. Have recommended the place to friends and family and will be going again.