Saddleback Cafe

I love Saddleback. The dinner meals are exceptional and it's certainly not hard to see why they've won silver & gold beef & lamb awards. Both my husband and I had their surf & turf special for dinner and adored it. From the garlicky potato gratin to the salty and crunchy onion rings to the creamy bearnaise and of course the perfectly cooked rib eye it was just divine. Can't wait for our next visit, most likely an informal weekend brunch before we go back again for a birthday dinner at the end of the month. Wonderful, friendly service too. Love you guys!

Idyllic country setting. Well worth the effort of venturing down the Ohariu valley. Good value for money. I had the gf salmon and spinach eggs Benedict and kumara hash browns. It cost around $18. Well presented with just the right serving size. We had a child with us who enjoyed feeding the eels and ducks. A bonus is the small playground. While there were tables inside, we were able to dine outside. Tables were available with or without umbrellas, and there were tables in the shade. We had a view of a wooded stream and riders going out on horse treks. The only recommendation is that it's time the cafe accepted credit cards.

Had a family brunch here. Lovely setting. I ordered 2 poached eggs on toast, and was disappointed when they came out like 2 bullets. Completely solid yolks, with an inch cube of butter just sitting on the toast. Everyone else's more complex dishes were fine. I guess they just forgot about my eggs. I was surprised the chef would still serve them overdone like that. I didn't send them back as it took quite a while for them to arrive, so I didn't want to delay everyone another 20 min. I will definitely be back again, but next time I will ask for runny yolks, and explain why. 😊 The staff were lovely.