Preparing the perfect coffee at Toasted Espresso

When I simply want a great coffee, Toasted Espresso is probably my favourite spot. These guys are seriously good baristas and Toasted Espresso consistently produces award winning roasts. Their beans are used by a lot of local cafes and restaurants.

Toasted Espresso started life a bit further down Barry’s Pt Road Takapuna, but they moved into their current premises at number 42 a few years ago and have recently extended the cafe. I guess it’s more evidence of their success as a great local business that’s stuck to its core values. You can get a bite to eat – there’s a variety of sweet and savoury counter foods – but this place is really about drinking damn fine coffee. They sell coffe machines and all sorts of coffee paraphernalia.

The interior design is loungey, with collections of retro chairs and couches and the odd table. There’s usually some good local art work on display, good magazines to read, and the music is always groovy. Oh, and you can buy your beans here, too.

covered deck out the front of bungalo cafe

Great name for a cafe that’s housed in an old brick bangalow (cute spelling too) in Birkenhead. These guys used to have Villa in Birkenhead Point and they’re still doing great stuff. The coffee’s worth a drive across town for, and they know how to cook! (is that Mum in the kitchen?). I have a friend who calls in every morning on his way to work for a coffee and a cheese scone – says they’re to die for. Personally, I think the spicy apple bran muffins are divine. Plenty of seating, with a big, covered deck out the front and big tables. Friendly, prompt service-with-a-smile. Located at 96 Mokoia Road, open every day (8-3:30 weekdays, 8-3:00 weekends).

Busy lunch crowd at Jam Organic Cafe

I reckon if I were to open a cafe in Takapuna, it would just about look like Jam Organic Cafe in Hurstmere Road (behind Movenpick). We’ve had to follow owner Jules from her previous cafe in Milford, but it didn’t take long to find her, and her trademark blackboard menu, big pitchers of water brimming with chunks of seasonal fruit, and some of the best looking cafe food you’ll find on the Shore continue to draw a loyal following. Jam’s MO is to use organic and locally sourced produce where possible, and they don’t compromise on quantity, either. The Jam burger is massive (I could probably manage a half), packed with avocado, beef patty, bacon, lettuce, horseradish sauce, tomato, aioli (I think I got it all) – I’d defy anyone to get their gob around one of these monsters – Knife and fork required!

Jam has a liquor license and a fairly comprehensive range of wines (including some organic wine) and beer. The coffee roast is one of the best around (Toasted Espresso) and they have baristas that know how to do a good extraction. I have yet to be disappointed with a coffee from Jam.

This place is well patronised, especially by the road biking fraternity in the mornings. There’s plenty of seating, inside and out, including a big communal dining table with arty/foodie books to browse. Lots of fun, quirky details that will amuse, like getting a jar of jam to identify your table order, rather than a predicable old number.

During the week Mark and I were looking for lunch. Problem was it was late afternoon. Tried a couple of Albany pubs, and the kitchen was closed, and they were generally uninviting. We always get good food at Altura in Douglas Alexander Parade in Albany, so back we went.

Well Lordy! Altura is open and late lunch at Altura means you get their sandwiches for $4.50! Everything leftover seems to be half price. Yum Yum dig in. Coffee as always was perfect, rich and  strong after all they won Best Coffee in Auckland for 2009..which by the way means best coffee in the world!

Service too is fantastic, with the wait staff friendly, prompt and up selling us. I like to be upsold, I guess it ‘s the salesman in me! The manager, seems to know Mark well and greets us as old friends. Thoroughly recommended.

It’s been a crazy busy week (the blog has been much neglected) and friends suggest a “cheap & cheerful” at a local cafe. Zavito, at 6:30 on a Friday evening, is absolutely full and there are more people coming through the door. They’re happy to sit at the bar while they wait for a table. We resist the delicious sounding special of the day and stick to the plan – a couple of pizzas to share along with a good pinot noir (some things just can’t be compromised), We indulge in an entree of calamari and realise we’re in for a good night. Very tasty, melt in the mouth, not too salty, just a little bit spicy – perfect, really.

It’s a fair wait for the pizza, but the atmosphere is friendly, relaxed and happy, and we’re happy, too. The wait staff are chatty, but not intrusive, and the owner is front of house, busy working along with his staff = great teamwork and good spirits. The woodfired pizzas arrive and are duly dispatched – a seafood variety which is a special of the day, and a Morroccon style with generous slices of tender lamb, black olives and spinach. The crust is deliciously thin and crisp. We’re delighted with the quality of the food, the prices and the excellent service. We’ll be back another day to try something that is perhaps less cheap but I’m sure will be just as cheerful. You can find Zavito at 404 Beach Road in Mairangi Bay. They open every night for dinner, and they do brunch on Sundays.

Passion Cafe

Passion by name, passion by nature. Owner Julene Payne has plenty of it and it shows in her cafe. The food is cooked onsite – all the old favourites, presented with flair, like cheese scones, sweet and savoury muffins, friands, brioche, club sandwiches and pies, as well as daily specials like mince on toast and quiche. Every time I’ve eaten here, the food has been delicious. The coffee is also superb – supplied by local roastery Planet Espresso.

This little suburban cafe, located at 60 Jutland Road in Hauraki / Takapuna, is a real hit with the locals. At 11:30 it is filled with busy happy chatter. By 12:15 there’s not much left on the counter – they appreciate good kai around here. Call in for a big breakfast in the weekend, sit out on the pavement if the weather’s good, and let the Passion rub off on you. Follow Julene on Twitter -she’ll keep you up to date with the daily menu. You can also check out the Passion website. Passion Cafe is open 8am to 2pm Monday and Saturday, 7:30am to 3pm Tuesday to Friday, closed Sunday.

Visit the Lake House Arts Centre in Fred Thomas Drive, Takapuna. In a beautiful garden setting (formerly the site of the Barry’s Pt tip), which often has fantastic outdoor sculptures, the Lake House is a fine example of Victorian and Edwardian architecture, preserved and lovingly maintained by a charitable trust. It was a boarding house in earlier times, built at the northern end of Takapuna Beach and was moved to its present site in the late 1990s.

You can visit the Lake House galleries to enjoy the rich variety of artworks on exhibition, you can join an art class for a term or more (adults and children’s classes are offered), or enjoy breakfast or lunch at the on-site cafe, amidst this wonderful piece of North Shore heritage. Perhaps you’d like to book your kids into a school holiday programme. Check out the timetable here.

So much yummy food to choose from!

A cafe with a name as cute as this has to be on the list of things to do on the North Shore. It’s little indeed -  a commercial kitchen with a bit of space out the front for customers. And it was only supposed to be open on Fridays. Fortunately, they’re now open Wednesday to Sunday, between 8 am and 3 pm.

The kitchen is separated from the public area by a glass counter that’s just bursting with  delightful looking goodies – quiches, cakes, brioche both sweet and savoury, and wonderful pies. Homemade fudge is piled high on the counter and the individual-serve cakes are works of art. They serve Supreme coffee (an awesome Wellington roastery) and the friendly barista makes a great espresso.

Sitting in Little and Friday is a bit like being in your mother’s (or grandmother’s) kitchen. Wonderful aromas waft out,  you can see everything that’s going on, and you get to sit around the big old dining table with its linen tablecloth, array of cookbooks, bowls of fruit, vase of flowers and fresh baked cookies under retro glass covers. It’s cluttered, homely and unpretentious. Even the outdoor furniture is an intriguing collection of old wooden beer crates, packing boxes and odd chairs.

This wee cafe is very popular with the locals – it’s run by people who are passionate about food and the passion is contagious. Read what the locals say about Little and Friday. You can order whole cakes and anything else on the menu by phoning 489 8527 or email kim@exquisit.co.nz

Piles of delicious fudge with samples to try