Tara Road, Papamoa
This week we round off our journey North to the Bay of Plenty with a special visit to Pacifica Café located on Tara Road, on the outskirts of Papamoa. A bustling beach resort known for having as many retirees per square metre, as grains of sand along its sparkling coastline. Andre takes particular joy in this review as it was his mother Wilma’s café of choice for many years, and he’s looking forward to the trip down memory lane.
Pacifica is a well-deserved 5 star establishment. (Our regular readers will notice this early disclosure of stars awarded as a break from tradition where usually we conclude with a rating.)
From the moment we enter the spacious car park we find ourselves in a semi-rural setting with the café, a gift shop and a boutique garden centre all located on a sheltered site surrounded by what appear to be orchards. We quickly make our way inside and find it is busy but there are plenty of tables inside and out and we’re the only ones at the counter. The cabinet food looks inviting and there’s a wide selection of sweets to tempt the most discerning taste buds.
The lady behind the counter is friendly and efficient and even suggests a particular table in the outdoor area which she says is sheltered and comfortable. Our orders are placed, Andre a raspberry shortcake followed by a Moroccan lamb filo and salad, Rachael a chocolate caramel cake and for something a little less ordinary…scrambled eggs on ciabatta, all washed down with English Breakfast tea and a regular flat white.
The kind lady also points out the help yourself style arrangement of cutlery by the door, and reminds us not to forget to collect some as we make our way towards the egress. There’s a moment of stupidity as we both cannot seem to figure out how the serviettes are dispensed from a no doubt fiendishly clever Scandinavian style dispenser. After a moment or two Andre decides it’s time to make his ignorance a matter of public record, and takes the dispenser to the counter to ask for help. Having set his expression to sheepish, Andre is informed that the reason he can’t dispense any serviettes is because the dispenser has literally done the job and dispensed its entire load. In other words…it’s empty.
We find the table outside and the setting is marvellous. We’re right next to a magnificent display of lavender and we see what looks like an entire hive of bees busy visiting one flower after another. Our drinks and sweets arrive moments after we’re seated and the mains arrive as we eat our last mouthful of cake.
Rachael’s eggs are described as adequate although, given her impossibly high standards, we decide it’s more a case of “It’s not you…it’s me.” Andre declares his Moroccan lamb filo and salad an absolute winner, with which he can find no fault.
Once food and drink are consumed, Rachael takes a leisurely stroll through the gift shop while Andre plays with his new friends the bees and catches up on his social media commitments using the free wifi, provided courtesy of Pacifica.
We eventually take our leave and both agree it’s a great place to enjoy a leisurely afternoon. (a word of caution though…last time Andre was there with his dear old mum the road outside could best be described as “single lane country”. There’s now a four-lane highway so approach with care as traffic moves reasonably fast even in the slow lane!)
Sunday at 10 O'clock 