Pipiroa Country Kitchen

By CARROLL du CHATEAU for canvas

A roadside cafe that offers decent coffee is a rarity. One that provides delicious food, plenty of parking, shade and a roomy clean loo, separate from the dining room, is a miracle.

So when we spied the Pipiroa Country Kitchen, tucked off Highway 25 heading into Thames, we pulled into the next gateway, turned round and drove back. We could tell immediately it was the right decision. The tables were wooden and rustic, the verandah sunny, the food cabinet tantalisingly stacked, and the massive blackboard menu was headed "Starvation Stoppers".

It was late, we had holiday hunger, so Brian ordered the blue cheese and kumara soup with garlic bread plus a Hauraki Plains burger with cheese, onion and his choice of sauce (naturally he had tomato). Meanwhile I was wooed into breaking my resolution to never, ever, eat a panini again, by a well-stuffed pastrami, mozzarella, tomato and lime relish number in the cabinet.

"You can always tell," I smugly informed Brian as he chomped through his meal. "This panini is fantastic." And it was - tasty, just enough cheese, well-toasted and leaving just enough room for a slice of genuinely home-made hazelnut fudge brownie with my flat white.

The prices were right too. Soup, sandwich, even the big burger cost $6.90, while the brownie was $3 for a large piece. Our flat whites were $2.80, which left plenty in the kitty for a bag of crisp red capsicums from a box at the counter, for the thoroughly country price of $3.

Talking of locals, this place is obviously popular with farmers and Thames dwellers as well as travellers. By the time we left at around 2 that Sunday afternoon, the gravel parking area was packed, the verandah still crowded and the line at the counter as busy as it had been all afternoon.

*****

Parking: Plenty

Ambience: Casual