A real café gem: Odelay, Frankton

Free range chicken salad

Back in 2001, well before this blog existed, I spent five weeks travelling round New Zealand with my sister, Ruth. I still have many fond from that trip. From the awesome natural beauty of visiting Fox Glacier and Doubtful Sound, to the lasting bond I built with my sister, how cheap everything was and the great food.

Food in the UK back in the 1990s frankly wasn't that great. Against this backdrop the food in New Zealand felt like a revelation. We visited dozens of small independent cafés and without exception we ate lovely fresh food served by friendly staff. Many of the flavour combinations were new and some of the ingredients too.

Steak sandwich

In the intervening years I'd put New Zealand cafés up on a bit of a pedestal. The UK has done quite a lot of catching up since then and my time in Australia spoilt me too. Would I have ruined the Kiwi café experience for myself by building up my expectations too much?

I visited New Zealand for a second time in 2012 and was sadly underwhelmed as nowhere we ate at was standout. On this trip we were four days in and hadn't eaten anywhere particularly special either (my mother in law's cooking excepted of course!). I was beginning to get worried.

Louise slice

Then we visited Odelay in Frankton and faith was restored.

Odelay is an unassuming café in the Remarkables retail park in Frankton. The staff were friendly, helpful and recognised us when we came back for breakfast the next day.

The food was fresh, well flavoured and most importantly delicious. Becks' buttermilk pancakes were given a 'best ever' pancake call. From a lady who loves her pancakes that is a big accolade.

Buttermilk Pancakes 

If there was an oddity about the place it was that all the magazines lying on the tables were from the mid-2000s. (I suspect someone had bought in their back catalogue.) And if there was a missed note it was the bircher muesli I ordered when returned for breakfast. It was a little wet for my tastes and flavours weren't quite in harmony, again for my palate.

Bircher Muesli

Thank you Odelay, I wasn't wrong, Kiwi cafés really are some of the best in the world. Faith restored.

Odelay
5 Hawthorne Drive
Unit 10 The landing
Remarkable Park,
Frankton,
Queenstown,
New Zealand