Ben Gusto

I pop in here quite often for coffee and catchup with friends, but I struggle to recommend it to others as a must-​visit café. Coffee’s good, but the cabinet selection is the same as everywhere else. I never seem to order more than a coffee and scone, and today’s scone wasn’t great. Just saying…

We arrived here for brunch and sat out inside the back extension. Very disappointed — spent a great deal of time chasing the pidgeons and seagulls away off the uncleared tables as they kept flying in through the opening in the plastic weighted curtains. The area was quite grubby and very unhygienic with the birds pooping on the tables while picking at the leftovers on plates. Quite a shock really. I mentioned it to a staff member on the till. Obviously not too interested as minutes later a young staff member came out with an order and then immediately returned into front of café totally oblivious to the messy uncleared tables! both in the annex and also outside. No one had bothered venturing outside to clear tables during our visit.
A customer pulled out a chair to sit at a table adjacent to us only to discover she had put her hand in a pile of bird poo. She went off to wash her hands, someone then came out to wipe the table — we wondered what happened to that cloth when returned to kitchen!!! Hope it was not used elsewhere.
Clean up your act guys, not a good look.

Finally got out here for lunch– and got to order the best of both worlds with their Chef’s special which was a delightful Waffles Eggs Benedicts. Friend said they did waffles best as well as eggs bene. What a neat combination– never seen anything like it before!
Came on a huge plate– was pleasantly surprised by it’s size. A neat stack of two huge waffles with slices of bacon and 2 poached eggs on top with bit of greens and hollandaise sauce. Neat presentation! Thought the waffles were a good balance between crispy and soft and can’t complain about its size, for sure. Bacon and eggs cooked alright with decent amount of hollandaise. Friend had another huge plate of a chicken burger with a generous amount of fries on the side. Looked good– may have to try their lunch menu next time.
Got their feijoa smoothie which was really feijoa concentrated flavour– in a good way and nice semi-​solid consistency. Friend said their gelato smoothies were also a hit– so maybe for next time. Gelato order next time also!
A very cool space with nice décor — fan of their tables and seats. Can walk all the way into the back as well to go into the semi-​outdoor section with the tarpaulin walls. Be wary of the birds that slip in though– as they try and eat your food! Definitely would like to come back to try other things on their menu!

I have been to this café many times over the past few years as I am a local & it used to be THE café to go to in Browns Bay.
I have heard that the ownership of Ben Gusto has changed hands sometime last year & if that is true, it really explains a lot. I fully agree that all aspects of the café have gone downhill.
My most recent visit was with a voucher from a daily deals website & it was a complete joke. I ordered the lamb salad for takeaway & it was drowned in a caesar style dressing with the toughest, driest strips of lamb which were more like jerky. They charge $ 18.90 for it usually!
They still boast that they were in Metro magazine’s top 50 back in 2011. Give it a rest & stop trying to ride on someone else’s coat tails.

Unfortunately the chai my partner ordered was terrible, the milk was burnt, foam lumpy and the taste was weak, took it back and they apologised and happily replaced it. Unfortunately the new one was just as bad.
I’m not sure if it was just a bad day or what because other than that the place has a nice vibe and well priced menu. As well as good reviews.
I won’t be back in a hurry but I will give them another chance at some stage since they have good reviews and the staff presented themselves well and were genuinely sorry.

Ben Gusto is one of my favourite cafes on the Shore and that mainly for the following reasons:
* One of the best beach playgrounds in Auckland (for little kids that is) is just opposite
* They have got home-​made ice-​cream, fantastic Belgian waffles and filling vege quiches and they are not ripping you off price-​wise
* They have got a decent changing table which is still hard to find at Auckland cafes!
* They have got a great covered and uncovered outdoor area
* No plastic tables but different styled solid wooden ones. Just want to take one of those home!
* If you are lucky and get a slightly older lady serving you, your little one may get a fluffy for free
Enough reasons for me! Oh, and please pronounce Gusto the Italian way and not g-​us-​to…

For ages Browns Bay made the same mistake of places like Taka where they’d have a lovely beach and then have all the shops turn their backs to it. So I love that Browns Bay’s cafes are increasingly turning themselves around to embrace their beachfront location. Ben Gusto is one place which works really well facing the beach. They do awesome ice cream and gelato which is great for those hot beach days, and they also offer your standard all day breakfast favourites, really good coffee and a nice range of slices and cabinet food. Sometimes they have a bit of live entertainment out the back which makes for a lovely experience. Eating eggs benedict out back watching the world of the beach go by with a gentle guitar playing in the background is bliss!

I recently came here with a friend of mine who lives in the area and rated it pretty highly, mostly because they’ve got a little play area for kids and a good outdoor area out the back (if you have a pram this is handy). We didn’t order off the set menu but I really wish we had! Everything on it sounded amazing. Instead we got a couple of takeaway scones and muffins which were, um, average. The coffee was good… but not as good as I’ve heard — they really rate themselves on their coffee. I wished I’d tried some of their gelato instead. The place itself its pretty cool though and I’d go back again for sure, its a well-​rounded café with a bit of everything and the location is awesome, Browns Bay at its best.

Browns Bay is a cool place to go on the weekend. You can check out the excellent record shop, the English shop Bramptins and of course Ben Gusto. I have been meaning to try out some of their other food but the waffles are so good here, I simply can’t resist ordering them. They come with nuts, maple syrup and ice cream and are so good you would be forgiven for thinking you were sitting in a café in Brussels. We always sit out the back as you have a view of the sea and the fresh sea air on your face is always nice. The coffee is also very good and like most places in Auckland, you can tell they invest a bit of effort into making it just right. If you don’t have a sweet tooth there’s a big selection of cabinet food which I suspect is also very good.

If I’m in Browns Bay, this is the place I’ll choose to go for a number of reasons. The iced chocolates are supreme and their slices from the cabinet are delicious! Forgetting about my sweet tooth for a moment I will acknowledge that all their other food is also top notch! I love the muesli and the french toast and have tried some great sandwhiches. What I haven’t tried yet are the waffles. Every time I order my ordinary meal I get mad food envy when I see a plate of SCRUMPTIOUS looking waffles heading to the table next to me. I’ve now finally learnt my lesson… I’m ordering waffles next time I’m there.
Try grab a seat outside! It’s stunning out there right on Browns Bay Beach.