Tuihana, Mt Eden

5:30 AM Tuesday Oct 4, 2011

We came here because we'd driven past this newish cafe at the city end of Dominion Rd a couple of times and thought it looked rather appealing.

Parking was okay on a rainy Sunday morning - it's a busy part of Mt Eden but there are a number of parks on-site.

We walked in and immediately thought the cafe's black and white décor was very appropriate as it was the opening weekend of the World Cup - and they'd hung up a few All Blacks flags and decorations to get in the spirit. We particularly liked the black and white floral wallpaper at the back, and the Kiwiana art on the walls.

The most unusual thing on the menu was not an issue. It's all pretty standard breakfast fodder, though the lunch menu looked a little more adventurous, with items such as a whitebait omelette.

We ordered the Tuihana big breakfast, which came with any style eggs, bacon, two kransky sausages, mushrooms, tomato, two petite corn fritters, toasted focaccia and antipasto relish ($18.50), and the creamy mushrooms also on focaccia with bacon ($16). Both were perfectly fine, though there was a little too much cream with the mushrooms for my liking.

The service was very impressive - super friendly and efficient and one of the cafe's best assets.

The coffee was Mojo - and good enough to have two. Beautifully decorated with ferns, also very appropriate.

We recommend if you come here take away a couple of the rugby ball-shaped biscuits for your colleagues in the office. They go down a treat.

Overall we thought Tuihana is a nice little spot in a part of Mt Eden which is lacking in cafes and its Kiwiana touches are a great addition, especially at the time when we're feeling particularly patriotic.