Jam

Counter service was slow. The busy atmosphere felt empty and uninviting. I eventually had to seat myself. Don’t expect service to come to you quickly either.
Food took a while to arrive, even from the cabinet. When it did finally arrive, it was mediocre at best. My salad was drowning in sweet chilli sauce. The chicken salad was dry and decorated with bland, unseasoned, sweet potato which resembled eating dry rice-​paper.
Over priced for mediocre menu and sub-​par service. Would I recommend to friends? Only if I had no choice. Bummer and I’m a local.

Awful, just awful. Our food took more than 45 minutes to arrive and were told they were busy — some tables were empty and barely any food was coming out of the kitchen. Scrambled eggs were tasteless and dry, bacon also tasteless and very greasy. Service was good when we sat down but after we ordered we got no attention, coffee cups not even cleared from the table the whole time we sat there. Would not go here again.

An amazing indoor and outdoor café serving cabinet and menu food, with fantastic coffee to boot.
A menu on the board inside is where you start with a standard array of options. Thus you have to queue and pay before sorting a seat and that can mean you and your guests are stranded without a table for a period of time.
The seating is available under a covered area, indoors, or the outdoor «public» shared seating — although there seems to be a general feel that the seating is for the café on the weekend. The service is decent albeit they tend to send things out as they become available rather than with any co-​ordination — coffees included.
The food is generously portioned and of very good quality no matter your selection. The coffee is very good and the cute jaffa touch is always welcome as an added tiny extra to your order.
Overall this incredibly popular and worthwhile spot is very good, let down only by a non-​traditional ordering system and scatter gun delivery of your order. That should not stop you going again and again though, as the food and coffee are worth it.

Jam Organic Café is absolutely delicious! Its very health conscious by providing free range products such as bacon, eggs, chicken and everything organic where possible. A huge tick which I totally follow in my own weekly food shopping.
This is a great venue for a sunny day, because most of it sits outside in the sun. So not the best place to visit on day with rainy weather. The quinoa fritters were a great modern take on the boring corn fritters, served at most cafes. Mixed with beetroot, they are light and airy with no grease. The candied walnuts gave it the texture it needs with that tad of sweetness to balance a savoury dish. Its a very innovative dish and something different to order. The only issue was there was too much feta, which over powered the dish slightly, also I personally am not a fan of feta so that could just be me. No complaints with the egg white omelette from my mate.
The banana smoothie was delicious — and wow soooo big! Couldn’t believe the size. Big tick for value for money right there. I would happily return, even if its a short drive to the north shore.
Great service, value for money and love the healthy vibe the café provides.
Rating
Food: ⁹⁄₁₀
Service: ⁹⁄₁₀
Value for Money: Very Good
33 – 45 Hurstmere Road, Takapuna
Opening Hours:
Mon-​Sat 7am-​3pm
Sun 8am-​3pm

Finally got out here for lunch with a friend. Got the Healthy start with optional added smoked salmon slices that came rolled up to one side of the toast. Came in a large white bowl with a piece of 5 grain toast topped with a poached egg and baby cos, a couple of juicy, roast tomatoes on the side and fried small capsicum-​cube salad. Lovely artistic circle of sauce around the meal. Pretty good.
Friend got their Jam Style Eggs with extra free range bacon. Came on a similar plate with poached eggs sitting on their homemade bacon hash, creamed spinach and hollandaise sauce. She was happy with her eggs bene.
Water available in jugs in the corner of the store that you can pick up with glass tumblers. Lovely outdoor communal timber tables just above the green area and pathway to the beach. We sat outside to get some of the lovely sun– would be great in summer. Also indoor seating available.
They have a great cabinet with sandwiches and sweet things. Glass cake stands above it with a few different cake flavours available as well as pretty cupcakes near the till.
Would love to try one of their smoothies next time and some cabinet food. Definitely on a nice day at one of their outdoor tables.

3.5 stars***
This café is a favourite amongst the locals and is always heaving on the weekend. The food here is pretty delicious — I’m a huge fan of their chicken salad and their eggs benny with hash serves as a pretty decent hangover cure. They have also recently rebranded themselves and I must say their new logo is preeeetty cool!
My only problem is that the service doesn’t quite seem able to keep up with demand. To be fair the tables do turn over quickly but the last time we went we were sitting at a table for well over 15mins before someone came over and told us that there was a wait! We had no idea and already read the menu and decided what we wanted to order. Of course we were happy to wait but it would have been nice to have been told from the get go!

Nice location, simple yet elegant décor.
Slightly slow service on a busy Saturday morning we visited.
I ordered the Marinated Lamb Rump Open Sandwich, it arrived after a slight wait and was presented as you would expect from a modern café. First impressions seemed to suggest they had been slightly heavy handed with the tzatziki which was confirmed on my first bite, it was icy cold and overtook the flavours of the lamb rump. The lamb was supposed to be the star of the dish yet was left firmly waiting in the wings behind the tzatziki, lemon rocket and black bean couscous. It wasn’t an unpleasant dish but neither was it a great one.
Jam has potential, but I’m not sure after what I just ate I’ll have the enthusiasm to try it again, especially knowing there are now probably a hundred fantastic cafes in Auckland left to try.

I would normally give them a higher review but I think the new outdoor seating has thrown them a bit as the wait, even just for a coffee, lately had been too long. Perhaps they need a rethink in the kitchen? Food is consistently good and so is the coffee. Best savoury muffins in town for sure, chicken salad and burgers are also a fav.

Despite being a highly rated area, Takapuna didn’t actually have a lot of good cafes for a long time. So no wonder everyone was super excited when Jam came along. It is sooooo good. I have never heard anyone say a bad word about it, and every meal that I have had or seen be carried past me is insane.
The ingredients are so fresh and colourful and flavourful. Jam is nuzzled in down a little walkway thingy off Hurstmere Road. It used to be surrounded by construction, but due to the new big park opening in front of it, it’s now got a lovely outlook. Sit inside in the light and airy café or out on the terrace in the sun.
The food is seriously delicious, so much so that every time I go I am tempted to try something new. And the coffee is great.
Service is friendly, professional and attractive. Yep, everyone who works here is a bit of a babe.
Such a great place to spend the morning or afternoon, and guaranteed meal satisfaction. Thanks god for Jam.

I remember years ago watching a doco about local basketballer Kirk Penney which showed him grabbing a bite at Jam. Kirk seemed to enjoy his food, and he’s a top shooter, so I thought I’d come down and see if the food here is his secret! Coffee was decent, and I grabbed a poached egg dish where the eggs were served on hash browns rather than toast — divine! Service was top notch too. A little pricey, but it comes with the Taka territory. Haven’t been in a while, but I imagine it’s even better now with the redeveloped Hurstmere Green next door!

I tried out Jam Café for a coffee one busy Friday morning, and loved the chance to people watch. This central Takapuna café is super popular and fills up with the working crew, retired or older patrons and even the young and hip, plus young families and little kids.
Jam has a great café location, and super outdoor seating which is great with the warm and sunny burst of weather we have had of late.
Also just below the café is great grassy area where you can grab your velvety smooth coffee to go and let your littilies have some play time.
The menu is filled with delicious organic free range food that looks scrumptious to say the least, I look forward to returning for a full breakfast or brunch again soon. They have very reasonable pricing for a high standard of food.
I would definitely recommend a meal at this Takapuna fave!

I’ve been to Jam about four times so far this year, twice for brunch and twice for coffee, so suffice it to say I’m a fan. I have tried the chicken salad, the eggs bene and numerous cappucinos and all were delicious. The terraced location shaded by trees and overlooking Hurstmere Rd and the new park area are also idyllic.
The fact that it’s organic, healthy and tasty always makes me feel virtuous after a weekend night out. The service is also good although let down by not having a free water station or carafes you can take to the table, instead you have to ask the busy staff for a glass and wait 10 minutes or so for it to arrive.

I remember when this place opened there was a hell of a lot of hype. People were talking about it left right and centre. I never got round to trying it out however, until recently. Wow. Everyone was right. Everything about Jam is exceptional. It looks out onto the newly re-​vamped grassy clearing in central Taka so it’s an ideal place to soak up the sun. I visited with a gluten-​free friend of mine, who was thrilled to see this organic café had much in the way of gluten-​free food. I ordered a hot chocolate and caramel slice and they were both entirely scrumptious! My hot choccy came with a Jaffa and a marshmallow and was perfect. My slice was layered with huge macadamia nuts and slathered in caramel! It was so delicious. But next time I will probably make an effort to half a slice, as it was super rich and not that small.
Cutest thing about Jam is the staff uniform. The waitresses were decked out in adorable old school aprons and the guys wore pretty funky shirts. Loved it.