The River Kitchen

We moved to the Waikato years ago. We thought it was going to be a cultural wasteland but one Saturday morning we stumbled across The River Kitchen Cafe. What a lovely place. Great coffee, happy and helpful crew and then out came the Salmon Hash. I don't even really like salmon, so I'm not sure what I was thinking, but years later I still delight in ordering it and I've never been disappointed. Sometimes I wonder how Maria can afford to cram so much salmon on a single dish and sometimes my wife has to steer me towards other things on the menu, but here's the point. When you find a place that feels like home, delivers every time and you know that whatever youi order is going to be great, why wouldn't you? The less said about the mad detour into The Sconery the better. The world was a lonlier, sadder place without TRK but the madness is over and this old favourite is back. Welcome home Maria. I'll be in later this morning and who knows what I might order? Well, I think we all do really.

Got the pancakes and s’mores hot chocolate. The presentation was simple - just pancakes with ingredients on top, but I didn’t mind as the food speaks for itself, no messing round with extra bits and bobs, just good ol bacon maple syrup and banana. Great portions, good quality pancakes, super light and fluffy. And the presentation of the s’mores hot chocolate made up for it, loved the biscuit and home made marshmallow. The hot chocolate itself was not too sweet, wish there was more of it go with the s’mores part. We sat by the kitchen which was awesome to see the food getting made, food came out nice and fast, staff were super friendly 10/10 service, even offered to take a photo of us with the food :)

It’s my birthday brunch and we decided to check out the Sconery. Food: We got the big breakfast and had it to share. Even after splitting it into two the servings were still huge. Good quality bacon, sausages, egg and hash brown. Quentin was fascinated with the round sourdough biscuit tasting cookie looking pastry that came with the meal (brioche or English muffin - we had to ask the chef what it was). For dessert we got the Dates + Custard Scones and it was heavenly. Ambiance: Love the straightforwardness of the decor. Exposed brick as interior?Yes to that! And who would have thought green pool tiles would work? It did. My favorite part is the exposed kitchen. You can see how your food is made. Makes for great entertainment when waiting for your meal. People: The staff were friendly and accommodating. Love how the cook acknowledges people as she makes the meal. Room for improvement: Quentin’s flat white was good but my iced latte needs a bit of work. Overall it was such a great brunch experience. I can see why people line up to see what’s on the cabinet and grab one to go. P.S. As we were paying for the extra coffee Quentin got he told the crew it’s my birthday. They went out their way and got a pastry with candle lighted come out for me. It was sooooo sweet! They feel like family. Something someone like me who comes 8,000+ miles away needs.

Visited The Sconery for lunch, really enjoyed our drinks. The custard scone was nice, the gluten-free hotcakes with butter and lemon were nice to start with, I really enjoyed the first one. I found the second one a bit dry and couldn't finish the third one. In the little jug was more lemon juice, not something that would've made much difference. The experience would have been much better if there was something to cut through the dryness, a compote, a sauce, fruit, anything. Overall a nice place to stop in.

I went with my family for breakfast and the staff were really accomdating and friendly. On top of that the food was really well done, even though there was a little bit of a mistake with our order they kindly made up for it with no hassle so thank you for that! Would definitely go again :) Little bit of feedback, it would be really nice if the cinnamon roll had a bit more of the filling inside 😅