Manuka Kitchen

An intimate and friendly setting with lovely food. Our favourite neighbourhood restaurant.

Great breakfast, cannot wait to go back! Service not the fastest but the food quality meant it didnt matter. They had forgotten that I called to change time so we did have to wait but luckily it wasn't long.

The food was absolutely delicious and service fantastic, will return!

Great little place with good service. Portions vary a lot, some orders are huge, some are pretty small! Smoked salmon was so salty it was hard to eat but everything else was lovely

Brilliant service and delicious food! We didn't have much time, so we mentioned this to the waitress and we got extra speedy service. I would definitely recommend.

A real find. Good food, warm and friendly staff, great atmosphere. What's not to like

First, let me start by saying this is my third visit to Manuka Kitchen and on two occasions the food from the small menu has been lovely. The service however, has been in decline since the restaurant first opened, and I am upset to report that today's visit has confirmed my initial misgivings. I made a point of booking a table for brunch, as this place is tiny and therefore fills up quickly. The booking was for a table of six (for brunch); upon arrival only four seats had been made available. I advised the wait staff that we required the small table next to us for the rest of our party, which they consented to. We sat down and shortly received notice that the sixth guest would not be joining us. At which point, we were advised that the staff had given the small table away to another party who had walked in. The staff asked my guests and I to squash up against the back wall. We suggested that as we were now a party of five, we could use a chair on the end so the small table that was originally ours could be given away ... to be be told there were no chairs available. So we took one from the small table that had been given away, as no-one was utilising it at the time (there is no way even three small ladies could squeeze up on one side of the original table and be expected to eat comfortably). It should be noted that the table that was given away was not utilised for over 45 minutes during our stay. Now credit where credit is due...for the staff helped retrieve a handbag. I've never designed a restaurant, but closing a gap between a booth seat and a wall would seem to be a sensible thing to do. So when one of our party, being scrunched up to accommodate three people seated at a table designed for two, went to place her handbag behind her, it promptly fell down between the booth and the wall. Thank goodness the handbag was zipped closed, or else the contents would have been lost until the next business moves in and redecorates. The staff came to the rescue with a broom handle and retrieved the handbag in short order. Perhaps we should have beat a hasty retreat at this point, as that was the high point of the service. Once all that drama (not enough seats to meet our booking, tables being taken away, handbag retrieval) had settled down, we were able to order our food and drink without much ado. There was no grapefruit juice for one of our party, but it was no problem to change to orange juice. When the food arrived, we were all satisfied although one of our party found her corn fritters a bit dry - but still enjoyable. So praise goes to the kitchen, as this is obviously what keeps the punters coming back for more. Now, dear reader, we come to the part that rewards you for staying through this disappointing scribe... When paying the bill, Manuka Kitchen count the cash in front of you ... and then announce to the manager - across the restaurant! - that the table is not paying a service charge!! We normally leave tips in cash form after we settle the bill and if any one of our party had intended to leave a tip (I had, although I found the service on the poor side), that settled it for me - definitely no tip. We advised the waitress that the service charge is optional, told her that she had been very rude, and also said the same to the manager. Needless to say, as much as I like to support my countrymen in their endeavours on this side of the world, I and the rest of my party will not be going back to Manuka Kitchen again.