Fools of Desire Cafe
Conway Lane, 176 High St, Rangiora.
We’d heard… Healthy, tasty food was the bread and butter of this fun cafe.
Sometimes you find… Yourself in lovely Rangiora with just one brief previous visit to the town and an almighty hunger. What do you do? You take your grumbling puku to Fools of Desire, aka F.O.D.
When Zest visited this licensed, local and seasonal produce-focused cafe in June 2016, our reviewer left a little disappointed. Not so on this visit.
The avocado smash ($18.50) with house-cured Akaroa salmon added ($5.50) was delicious with the feta and smoked tomato relish key to this dish’s success. The salmon add-on was a treat, but the dish could definitely stand as it comes.
I wanted an extra bit of bread, just to mop up any droplets of liquid on my plate, with the creamy garlic mushrooms on chargrilled sourdough ($19.50).
The smoked paprika sauce really added a nice punch to the smooth field mushroom cream sauce. The meal was gone in no time.
The long black was a good hit ($3.90), while the real fruit berry smoothie ($6.80) was a true delight. It was the honey (no doubt sourced from the in-house beehive) that had me coming back for more.
The homegrown pulpy orange juice was sweet and refreshing, but a tad pricey ($5.50). Extra beverage kudos must be given for the reusable straws.
While preparing to leave, we overheard other diners gushing about the cafe’s real hot chocolates ($6.50). Despite the use of delectable Trade Aid goods, we found them a little too milky and a tad hard on the wallet.
The service was… Friendly and quite fast from a young staff.
The vibe was… Busy, with a fun and eclectic interior, which is the first thing you notice.
With one wall of street art, another filled with simple Scandinavian-style wood panels, and a third featuring retro pot plants, coffee machines and a cuckoo clock, it’s a bit of a visual assault.
The old-school dentist’s cuspidor used for dispensing drinking water is quite the conversation piece.
If you go… Book, unless you’re in early. The menu isn’t massive, but be prepared for quality over quantity (and there’s cabinet food).
Rating out of 5: 4.5