Oaken Cafe - Dunedin

Slow service and my friend finished eating 10mins before mine even came out. 40+mins wait for waffles that had raw banana and didn't have the bacon I thought I had ordered (it being listed on the menu) . Very average cabinet food but decent coffee

First impressions of Oaken are good but with room for improvement. Most of the tables are upstairs, so if you have trouble with these, you are probably best to go in a quiet time. There is one table downstairs and outside seating when its fine. I was served on arrival and was the only one in line at 9 am. I was quite surprised at how long it took for my order to arrive. It took 18 minutes for the tea and 25 for the food. The food was fine, but I felt like a little chutney or hollandaise would have gone well with it. I asked for a side of hollandaise, the staff member was happy to help but then carried on clearing tables before going to get it. That sounds a bit petty, but it's those little things that make you feel looked after at a hospitality venue. The atmosphere sells this place. I was left with the feeling that what they were doing was more important than serving the customer, but at the same time, they were friendly and polite. You are upstairs watching the morning traffic and leafy gardens through floor to ceiling windows. It's a nice space. I'll come back if I'm in the area.

The muffin and coffee were very good. The omelet I had was OK. I would go back again.... Update: 05/08/23, Oaken is now 'My local '

Decent feed for $24. Seemed slightly understaffed for the busy brunch period, but the food was brought out promptly. Some ciabatta for the eggs would have been good with the Oaken Stack, although I know it's not listed in the description.

This was onThursday 24th Feb at 1230pm I delayed making a review until I heard that the others in the party were just as disappointed as me. Despite having changed our booking from 4 to 5 we arrived to find the table set for 4 only. Very disappointing to then have 4 of our party of 5, finish the meal before the 5th meal was ready even more disappointing that the meal was not as ordered (this meal was for a pregnant woman who was clear on ordering that she did not want hollandaise sauce.