Neil Cafe
CONTACT
2/29 Neil Avenue
Te Atatū Peninsula,
0610
Show on map
Opening Hours
SUN | 8:00am - 2:30pm |
---|---|
MON | 7:30am - 2:00pm |
TUE | 7:30am - 2:00pm |
WED | 7:30am - 2:00pm |
THU | 7:30am - 9:00pm |
FRI | 7:30am - 9:00pm |
SAT | 8:00am - 2:30pm |
The Details
Cuisine
- Turkish
- Modern Kiwi
- Middle Eastern
Need to Know
- Dog friendly
- Child Friendly
- Function Space
- Good for Groups
- Outdoor Seating
Serving
- Coffee
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
If you're looking for the best breakfast in Te Atatū—or Auckland, even—let us introduce you to Neil Cafe. Nestled in the heart of Te Atatū Peninsula along Neil Avenue (get it?), this groovy little spot is serving up some seriously delish brunch dishes, including a game-changing take on poached eggs.
Neil opened in late 2021 and has been charming the pants off of locals ever since. As soon as you set foot inside the door, you'll see why—from the cute fit-out, including an entire wall filled with local goodies (peanut butter, coffee, and hot sauce to name but a few) and other ephemera, through to the communal working space/private dining room next door and colourful courtyard out back—this place is an absolute vibe. There's even a resident dog, so naturally—extra brownie points apply.
Now, about those poached eggs... or Neils Eggs, as they're officially known. These are the unofficial star of the breakfast show, and like many other dishes on the menu here—which also covers lunch, and dinner on Thursdays and Fridays—they feature a subtle Middle Eastern influence (Ella Mizrahi, who owns Neil alongside her husband Oliver Driver, is of Turkish descent).
Pairing something 'old' (eggs) with something 'new' (creamy lemon butter bean mash, punchy aleppo chilli butter, crunchy housemade pickles, and toasted kumara sourdough), this is more than simply food on your fork—it's an epiphany. Indeed, to say Neil's Eggs is one of those dishes you'll be dreaming about long after the last bite is a gross understatement—we'll be dreaming about it until we die.
Now if you like your brekkie on the meatier side, you'll definitely be down for Neil's beef cheek. Not only is this, again, one of the most memorable brunch dishes we've tasted in all our years of food reviewing, but the portion size is super generous and that's something we can always get behind.
The toast itself is almost an inch thick and comes smothered in tangy whipped feta, buried beneath a mountain of juicy slow-roasted beef cheek. There's only one word for a dish this delish: glorious. Just don't let the size fool you into sharing—because we can tell you right now, you won't want to.
And for those who prefer their morning feed with a sprinkling of sugar, get a load of Neils' crepes. These wafer-thin pancakes are served with macerated seasonal fruit like rhubarb and strawberries, alongside the lushest cream known to man (the secret's in the added tonka). A trifecta of happiness, if you will.
And if none of that quite floats your brekkie boat, know that they also have a loaded mezze platter (yes, a mezze platter for breakfast!), salt and vinegar fries, and other delights up their sleeve.
Of course, drinks maketh the meal, and Neil has a great selection to wash down all that glorious grub. Chug back a Flight Coffee or check out their dreamy chai, featuring just the right amount of spice (something harder to get right than it sounds!) and laced with Mother Made medicinal mushrooms. The Al Brown hot choccy ain't half bad, either.
Brekkie—and lunch, and dinner (Thursdays and Fridays)—aside, you'll want to keep your eyes peeled for Neil's regular pop-ups with local food trucks, monthly markets, and more (this is the part where all of us living outside of Te Atatū Peninsula immediately put our houses up for sale).
Image credit: Neil Cafe | @inrhispantry Instagram
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