Nestled in behind the New World Victoria Park, Queenie’s Lunchroom is in a great position to serve the corporate types on College Hill and the western slopes of the Auckland CBD.
The cozy lunchroom has a retro Kiwiana feel with décor reminiscent of a trip to grandma’s house, and plenty of royal memorabilia.
Queenie’s serves up a solid flat white, though I was a little disappointed the usual foam finish was just a spoon-induced swirl – attention to detail!
The service isn’t bad, it’s not that good either. The staff are friendly, but can be slow so make sure you have plenty of time in the diary for this one.
When the food arrived, it didn’t disappoint. I ordered the Turkish eggs, which were poached to perfection and smothered with delicious babaghanoush, yoghurt and hot chilli.
Queenie’s has a small but unique menu. It was refreshing to see a cafe menu that doesn’t include eggs benedict! What it lacks in size, it compensates in creativity and the cafe seems focused on doing a few special things well as opposed to the stock-standard cafe fare.
Queenie’s has a lively vibe - its size means you are often in close proximity to others, fine if you are casually catching up, but not really suitable for discussing sensitive business stuff.
The limited menu is also problematic if you are meeting someone for the first time and unsure of any dietary requirements they may have.
All in all, Queenie’s is a charming little cafe with character to boot, but is not without its flaws. It’s a great option for an informal catch up.
Overall rating: 7.5
- Location: 8
- Value: 8
- Service: 6
- Quality: 8
- Environment: 7
- X-Factor: 9
Queenies Lunchroom, 24a Spring Street, Freemans Bay, Auckland
