📍 Motions Road, Western Springs, Auckland
📍 Address: Motions Road, Western Springs, Auckland 1022, New Zealand
📞 Phone: +64 9 360 3805
The food serves well but the pasta for kids was kinda too salty. But the sandwiches we have ordered are great.
Overpriced. We went to the high tea event, $75 (per person) for a cup of tea with 3 pieces of bread (this included the entrance to the zoo). The piece of "lamb" in the sandwich was so thin that it was see-through. The cafe is very run down, the bread was old and dry, the tea tasted like pure water. The kids meal was all deep fried and it was burnt and dry too (paid extra $20 for this). We asked for an extra piece of fruit (the only healthy thing on the kids plate) and they wanted to charge us more. The view: a dirty wall. Never again.
We arrived right on time for our 1 pm high tea, as instructed, only to be told we couldn’t be seated yet. Despite the emphasis on punctuality, we were made to wait outside in the regular café area with no clear indication of when we could actually go in. When we finally were seated, we waited 25 minutes before anyone even took a drink order. The kids’ high tea we’d booked didn’t arrive until after my son had to sit and watch another table (who arrived after us) get their food 20 minutes before us, for no apparent reason. Meanwhile, we literally saw the chef taking photos of food instead of focusing on getting orders out, a clear sign of how disorganised and poorly managed the whole operation is. The staff seemed completely untrained and overwhelmed, with no system or coordination between tables. Some guests were getting their food long before their tea, and it just felt chaotic from start to finish. The food itself was not impressive. Mostly bought in, and the scones were the most dense and dry I've ever experienced. For what they charge, this experience is an absolute rip-off. The setting might be nice, but the lack of organisation, leadership, and basic hospitality makes it not worth it. Save your money, wouldn’t recommend this to anyone.
Hidden gem in the quiet part of the zoo on the south American track. Found was excellent comparable to any cafes in town. We had the eggs Benedict with bacon and chips with Parmesan and truffle
Popped in for a quick bite. Good food, good service.
We had a Mother's Day high tea here yesterday - it was really lovely. They had ensured that there were not too many people at each sitting and it was a delightful mix of elderly and young - quite a few new Mum's as well as the older Mum's. The service was totally amazing as it was throughout the entire Zoo. Well done whoever put this together :)
Great food and reasonably priced given the location. However I have to say it's not managed that well in terms of cleanliness. The place is run by friendly people but there is no one managing it al, I must have sat there for 30 minutes and didn't see one table get cleared after people ate even though they had easily 6-7 staff.
Actually pretty tasty. We were told that food would be 45 minutes as it was very busy that day, but in the end it only took 20 minutes. I had the Greek salad bowl with lamb and yoghurt dressing and it tasted great. The kids had the spaghetti and seemed very happy.
Old Elephant House is located at Motions Road, Western Springs, Auckland 1022, New Zealand
You can contact Old Elephant House at +64 9 360 3805
You can find directions to Old Elephant House by following this map link
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