Mint Cafe Wanganui

The Mint Cafe is a relatively new entrant to the Wanganui cafe and restaurant industry.  We've visited Mint three times this month!  Obviously we're very pleased.

Mint has very affordable cafe lunch menu, potentially most affordable in town for lunch menu. The servings are small but filling.

Coffee and cakes are priced almost similarly to other cafes in Wanganui, they are not as affordable as Orange but cheaper than Mud Ducks.

Mint has great location and beautiful design. I love the section under double glazed glass ceilings. That's very cosy.

Unfortunately the are near the TV is too dark and uninviting.

Sometimes children can be noisy but I understand this is a family café and they did a good job targeting that market segment.

One time we wanted to have a Wednesday dinner out at Mint and we were surprised they were closed at seven pm.

The lunch menu has good range of options. Affordable and tasty options.

The coffee is decent. Not the best.

The cakes are too sweet so I would just share my fries with my partner so we don't eat too much carbs. Fries is good value around $6 for a big bowl. Very filling.

Their toilets are clean! ")
Staff members are nice!

Easily Mint falls into our top five in Wanganui and the biggest issue for us is lack of wifi. Although if you sit closer to direction of the main street, you'll get free inspire wifi.

New Zealand Vodafone now offers cheaper mobile Internet so wifi access may be less of an issue for more people in thw future.

Yes I will recommend this cafe :)
I will also visit it again in future!

My recommendations:

1. Perhaps add some light near tv area. Add some colour if light isn't possible. I noticed people don't ever sit in this area too much. People tend to pick a comfortable corner in restaurants. If their regular seat is taken, they would like some more options. I believe each corner of a restaurant or cafe needs to be inviting otherwise waste of space and people would not get a satisfying experience. 

2. Wifi!!! :) 100mb or 50 mb free.  Just in case tourists are also the secondary market here.

3. Signature dish! What could it be? Has to be something people would talk about. There are forty cafes at least in Wanganui. A cafe needs to be known for something uniquely its own to make a mark.


Rotorua in spring!

This is the highlight of my recent trip to Rotorua!
Amazing display of flowers at the Rotorua government gardens!
As always, we had the pleasure of staying at MALFROY motor lodge,  51 Malfroy Road, Rotorua.  This motel is close to the city center and central to key tourist destinations in Rotorua. Highly recommended motel accommodation, affordable, cosy, very clean.  I always get the luxury of eight uninterrupted hours of sleep. That in itself is a treat.

Robert Harris cafe New Plymouth

Robert Harris cafe is located on the second floor of New Plymouth mall, facing the rough seas. New Plymouth is quite a windy city!

Robert Harris cafe is actually a franchise.  The price is pretty good and they offer up to 100 mb free wifi.

I like this branch because of it's fantastic view!

We love the service too.
The price is affordable and coffee is decent.

It is a safe bet. You'll enjoy a boutique experience even if it's a franchise.

Rapido Cafe, Wanganui


Rapido cafe in Wanganui - This cafe has good coffee, brewed coffee and cappuccino.  I've visited this cafe a couple of times this October. It's better to visit them in the afternoon when it's a sunny day, otherwise, it's a little cold and dark inside.

Their cake selections are not very good though and this time I made a mistake ordering the carrot cake. Carrot cake is easily my favorite so I would think it's a safe choice in cafes I go to. However, this time, it's just not my taste. The best carrot cake is Mischief on Guyton's carrot cake.

In terms of look and feel, this cafe has a semi-50's (old style appeal). It's located off the road from Victoria avenue very near Parnell's cafe.

Rapido cafe doesn't have wifi.

Just my two cents on what can be done to improve customer experience:
1.  new choice of pastries - a bit of taste tests


Restaurant and Food Reviews Accommodation Tips Personal Health Investment Ebooks Travel in the Philippines Living in New Zealand

Revisiting Orange Cafe, Wanganui


And I am back in Wanganui! It's time for another article about Orange Cafe in Wanganui. I wrote a review last year, inspired by the cafe concept. 

Orange cafe improved, overall. I enjoyed going to Orange cafe, almost every other day on my first 2 weeks in Wanganui.

This is your view from a window while having your coffee inside Orange Cafe, Wanganui

This year, I am watching my weight a bit more. So I stopped ordering the mochaccino. I now order the cappuccino or the latte. The price is still the most competitive in town. The food choices - affordable and good serving size. The cappuccino is the best I have ever had... in all the places I have been to. Yes it is still the best-priced, best coffee in town.


latte

passion fruit cheesecake

New improvements this year:
1)They added lights in the bar area. I thought that was interesting idea. It certainly looks good and inviting at night.
2)They may have changed the layout a bit because something seems more inviting inside the bar area now.
3)The toilet is ok. I think cleaner. Windows slightly up bringing fresh air in!
4)The staff - several occasions, they are quite friendly. They even converse with customers more now.

I would highly recommend their seafood pasta, less than $20 (lunch menu), big serving. You may not want to rely on me in terms of serving size evaluation because I am barely 5 ft tall. So I easily get full. The seafood pasta is very tasteful. I also love their eggs benedict with salmon and the price is also very reasonable. I haven't tried this year's pasta but the eggs benedict remains great.

They offer free wifi but there is now free wifi in key places in Wanganui via Telecom free wifi and Inspire wifi. Although I still think that offering free wifi is always a plus. Why? Because guests (specially tourists) can always check-in at Orange cafe on Facebook (for extra marketing on social media) and snap instagram photos of the place.

Orange cafe wins because of its location and *orange* concept. The orange umbrellas are very attractive.

So this leaves me to think about what they can do better...

1. More salads - pasta salad or vegetable salad options for weight watchers
I'd love to see this as I always feel guilty after having a piece of cake or a muffin.
2. Loyalty cards - just to encourage more people to visit the cafe more than once - 15 coffees = 1 free coffee
3. Their coffee is unique. I don't know what's in it. I ask for cappuccino in other cafes and it just doesn't taste the same.  This needs to be sold to tourists. So I guess they need to come up with a matching best-tasting pastry or cake that they will be known for.  People might want a combo meal :)

~~~~~~

Just a note, maybe not just for Orange but also for other cafes and restaurants in Wanganui, perhaps they can sponsor young singing groups every friday nights. Jazz music or young musician shows. There's lack of events in Wanganui and many people have an early night. I'd love to see Wanganui brighten up a bit more at night.

Wanganui (my last count) has about 35 + cafes. It's becoming a great cafe city!



Restaurant and Food Reviews Accommodation Tips Personal Health Investment Ebooks Travel in the Philippines Living in New Zealand
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...