River Haven Cafe - Huntly

During our journey from Auckland to Rotorua, we made a stop at this cafe and were impressed by its beautiful location. Situated right by the highway on the riverbank, the cafe's seating all faces the river. Additionally, there is a lovely lawn sloping down towards the river with benches and tables where you can enjoy your coffee while taking in the scenic views. We only stopped for a restroom break, but found the facilities to be very clean. Our afternoon coffee was also delicious. The cafe also has a souvenir shop. We highly recommend stopping here on your way to Rotorua - it is a charming and pleasant place that will leave you feeling refreshed.

The restaurant is always well-maintained and has a great selection of food options, ranging from fruits to full cooked meals, both hot and cold. The staff is friendly and attentive, ensuring that the cafe remains clean and orderly. However, one drawback is that the staff should smoke further away from the building, as the ramp/balcony is too close to the seating area, causing smoke to drift into the dining area, which is not appealing.

The staff at the river haven cafe are absolutely lovely. A very kid friendly place here. Nice views of the river. Was happy with the gluten free slice. A little bit on the higher price scale. But overall a very pleasant little tea room.

We did not enter the cafe here. We were looking for the merino clothing shop that we used to visit in the past. Very sad that the merino shop and i-site building now empty as it used to be such a buzzing place. In 2015 we visited all 3 places with an overseas visitor and all up and running although cafe was not looking great and not a fan of 'railway ' cups to have tea in! The food was very average and the place looked very tired. Such a shame as it gas a great outlook over the river.

I only had some cake and a short black but the coffee was excellent and the cake was nice and rich. I am very fussy with my espressos and this definitely passed with no notable bitey acidity which usually comes with a cafe style double espresso,it tasted more like a home made one. Yuuuuuuum