Cafe Ephesus (Rotorua, New Zealand)
I have been to Rotorua many times already but never came across this place called Eat Street until recently. If Auckland has Ponsonby then Rotorua have this, basically a street where you find quality restaurants, cafés and bars like our restaurant for today.
Before I tell you about our restaurant today, it’s worth noting this location as it’s a great cool hotspot in Rotorua where all the restaurants focal point is in this Central walkway with retractable roofing which is good for all-weather Al fresco Dining, in winter the footpath is also heated and at night the place turns really vibrant because of that ambient lighting that gives a really nice atmosphere.
Cafe Ephesus is conveniently located Centrally at this place and that was our first choice when we dined in here since we haven’t tried the Mediterranean cuisine for quite some time.
And without thinking we just grabbed the basics, Pizza, Pasta and Meat.
The pasta of choice was this Penne Carbonara
Then for the pizza we had the Hawaiian (NZ$16.50), I know it is not very Mediterranean but that was my daughters favourite flavour.
And for meat we had the Mixed Grill which is a plate of kofte, rump steak and grilled served on rice with salad green (NZ$30.00). This dish reminds me of the one we have in Austria but this was the smaller cousin.
We loved the pasta and pizza, the bread on the pizza has that great wood fired oven texture. While the grilled meats were also great and seasoned really well, the serving size was not what I was expecting specially if it’s quite priced above average.
Serving here as well specially on peak hours was slow but what’s good they will warn you beforehand because during the time we dined in here there was only one chef doing the work.
So, would I recommend this place? Well yes but I suggest you order the pizza which is quite near to the ones you get in the Mediterranean as well as the pasta. What’s even better they even sell Greek beer here, so if you are after that then this is the place to be.
Cafe Ephesus
Address: 1107 Tutanekai St, Rotorua 3010 New Zealand
Phone: +647 349 1735
