The Horsemans Cafe

19 Plimmer Terrace, Shannon, Horowhenua, Manawatu-Wanganui

Physical address

based on 2 review(s)

Telephone (06) 3627 907

hayleyj1

29th November 2010
Staff were awesome, really welcoming, had a great choice of blackboard menu options as well as cabinet food. My mocha was TO DIE FOR the best one i've had in a very long time.
Prices were very cheap and in some cases i would say too cheap (not that i'm complaining)
The only small teeny tiny critism would be the tables outside were all on a uneven surface which made for a fun balancing act when the food and drinks arrived..no biggie though (had to find SOMETHING wrong) lol Will be and have been back again....:)

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SmithRyan

8th January 2011
We were heading south January 3rd 2011 to drop off holiday family members in the Waikanae area and stopped at this cafe mid-morning for a cup of coffee. The cafe appeared reasonably clean and tidy although available tables were generally un-cleared and un-cleaned from previous occupants. They appeared to be doing steady trading and tables were around 60% occupied. We cleared a table onto an adjacent table and mopped up the slops on our table with tissues from a counter dispenser. Four coffees were ordered and a couple of light snacks also purchased. The service was slow with an explanation that they were under staffed for this (transferred) public holiday. The coffees were well up to expectation. Toilet (singular) was clean and tidy with a queue. Noting a reasonably interesting range of light meals on the professionally written blackboard menu we decided to consider, appetites permitting, a late, light lunch on the return journey. Fish fillets with chips/fries and salad appealed. Around 2 p.m. we returned to find them still trading around 50% to 60%. Unoccupied tables were again un-cleared and un-cleaned. We did the 'free clean-up' bit again and ordered the fish and salad with coffees 'with the meal'. Meals arrived in an unexpectedly short time and were immediately 'uh-oh!' Limp pale fries and supermarket pre-frozen, pre-battered more or less identically shaped 'pre-stamped' fish(??) fillets. The fish batter was particularly visually unappealing with the appearance of lightly browned smooth concrete plaster. No 'coffees with the meal'. We tentatively explored our selection. The fries had been lightly warmed in (presumably) a deep fryer for way too short a time and although not too fatty/greasy, hung limply on the fork. Cutting through the 'batter' coating on the fillets liberated a trickle of cloudy water and a decidedly 'well past its best' fishy smell. We picked hesitantly. The fillets continued to drip cloudy, stale fish smelling water and the fish had a texture resembling a slightly damp fiber door mat. The salad was fine and reasonably innovative with green leaf, fresh sliced mushroom, various other interesting vegetables and not so good canned asparagus. Asparagus best left out if you can't source fresh. Coffee eventually arrived long after we had finished the salads and pushed our plates to the side of the table 90% un-eaten. The waitress was requested to convey our displeasure with the fish and fries to the cook. After a short 'huddle' of staff in the (visible) kitchen area the cook came to our table and after confirming our dissatisfaction pronounced that he and the staff had tried the fish and considered it 'fine'. Subjective, I guess. No accounting for taste. Unfortunately he then muddied his opinion somewhat by launching into an explanation of how this wasn't their 'normal' fish, that they had run out, and had been forced to obtain pre-prepared fillets from their wholesalers Toops. Blanking out the item of the menu might have been a more prudent solution. We were also treated to his somewhat bizarre advice that they had also had 'trouble' with this supplier (Toops) over the holiday period with a previous customer complaining of 'off' chocolate milk. Really! Was this really something the customer should be interested in? I'm sure most cafes have supply quality problems from time to time, but WE were purchasing from Horseman's Cafe, not Toops. And a 'cafe' that can't mange to drum up freshly prepared chocolate milk! Curious. Anyway, no refund was offered and we were advised that 'the only thing he could do was to refer our dissatisfaction to his supplier' (Toops). Yeah, right. We left without further discussion. In all fairness, other reviews indicate that they do manage to 'get it right' sometimes, but their attitude toward preserving some form of customer satisfaction shows a remarkable lack of appreciation of the 'Kiwi grapevine'. Admittedly not a unique attitude, particularly amongst amateur 'Mom n Pop' operations of this kind. There are many 'Mom n Pop' roadside cafes on the road to/from the Wellington area. We won't be trying this one again and will be recommending similar to friends and associates.

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hayleyj1

29th November 2010
Staff were awesome, really welcoming, had a great choice of blackboard menu options as well as cabinet food. My mocha was TO DIE FOR the best one i've had in a very long time. Prices were very cheap and in some cases i would say too cheap (not that i'm complaining) The only small teeny tiny critism would be the tables outside were all on a uneven surface which made for a fun balancing act when the food and drinks arrived..no biggie though (had to find SOMETHING wrong) lol Will be and have been back again....:)

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