Cafe Kia-Ora

Went there for lunch with a colleague. I wouldn’t rate it very high. The café concept is confusing because there is no one at the entrance to tell u whether u give your order at the counter and then sit, or do u seat yourself and someone will come to assist you. We entered and found a line, so waited in line at the counter for a good 10 mins only to be told to sit down because the line was for take away only. Didn’t understand why they still couldn’t take our order because after we sat down, the server took another 10 minutes to realise that we hadn’t ordered and were sitting with out either menus or drinks. Anyway, the food was the average sandwiches and salad. The Curries chicken sandwich was not so curried. The salad dressing that came with it was very delicious though.
I would walk a bit more further to get to a more gratifying place for lunch if I have to.

This place did not disappoint! It’s totally unassuming and doesn’t look like much, but the service and product coming out of this little shop is nothing shy of awesome.
I couldn’t believe how inexpensive breakfast was! I had the 222 which was two eggs, two pieces of bacon and two pieces of french toast for $ 4.95. I turn added an iced coffee with a shot of hazelnut. The total bill came out to $ 7.25.
If you want a quick bite, check this place out.

I’ve been eating here regularly for a few years. It’s called conveniently across from my office. I usually grab breakfast to go here. They have a good variety of your standard breakfast, eggs, sandwiches, bagels, etc. The prices are good, especially for midtown and the food is always quality. They serve a better grade quality than most breakfast places as well. I’ve done lunch a few times and never disappointed.

My coworkers and I dined here for lunch on a Friday and being a half a mile away from my office, it’s a pretty good hike, but I’ve heard great things about this place and my one coworker seems to be addicted. I thought, «Hey, why not?!» and joined them on their journey. We left the office at 11:15. Be warned that there is not much seating here and there are only a couple of tables for groups larger than 4. If you’re looking to dine in, I would highly recommend arriving early and snagging a spot.
We chose our own table and were greeted by a «drinks» lady immediately. I called her that because as she greeted our table, we asked about the daily specials and she replied she did not know the specials; she’s only here to take our drink order. Based on a couple of recommendations, I tried an Arnold Palmer – this was delicious. Most everyone else at the table ordered a sweet tea, and they enjoyed their tea as well.
For my meal, I requested an off-​menu special: soup + side salad. Fridays is loaded baked potato soup and that sounded like a must-​have! The soup was delicious– a bit heavy but packed with potato and generously topped with sour cream, cheese, and fresh bacon. Delicious! The salad consisted of mixed greens, cucumbers, olives, and tomato. All the ingredients at Kia Ora taste very fresh, from their crisp vegetables to their homemade soups, which is what sets the restaurant apart from the other «fast» food places around Midtown. For the entire meal, I paid about $ 9 including tax, so I’d say this place offers a pretty good bang of fresh, delicious food for your buck!
The only gripe I have about this place is the service. The restaurant filled up towards the end of our meal and we had to flag down a server for our checks, then to collect our checks. One of my colleagues commented that this is «usually the case», and I can’t help but think this is the acceptable standard here. Nevertheless, I think this place is definitely worth a visit for some fresh, good, healthy-​ish meal!

$ 4.25 for two eggs any style, ham, hashbrowns, and sourdough with jam? (Other meat and bread options, too, just listing my favs.) I don’t know where else you get a deal like that, let alone where you find a place with such a charming, friendly staff. The food here is good, but it wasn’t the quality of the food that inspired this 5-​star review. Great service and great prices are the bottom line at Kia-​Ora.

I’ve worked nearby for 3 months and finally decided to try Café Kia-​Ora, as I wanted something different thats in a short walking distance. So I went around 1:30pm and there was no crowd– so I guess I avoided the lunch crowd. The wait wasnt bad– I’d rather wait 10 mins and have a fresh meal. I didnt know what to expect but I was actually pretty satisfied with my meal. I order the grilled lemon pepper chicken breast sandwhich with fries. It may have been a daily special since its not on the regular menu. It cost about $ 8 but omg either I was hungry or it was really good. I had ranch with it (i love some ranch). This is no place I’d go on a daily basis but I will surely return and try the different things on the menu. If you are planning to go here for the 12:00 lunchtime, it may be best to call ahead bc I have heard the wait can be long. They also serve breakfast, which I plan to try one day. They close at 2:30 so this isnt somewhere for dinnertime.

I work in the area and I go to lunch here often the burgers are amazing, the salads are delicious, the breakfast and its a family friendly environment it’s an amazing place if you have not tried this place I highly recommend it.

Its one of the few places where everything is fresh and you can feel it in your food. Amazing Service.
Great folks all of them from the owners to the servers.
My Favorite is the Buffalo Blu Cheese Chicken Sandwich. Its so flavorful.

Everybody in this place strives to make your dining experience as pleasant as possible. I loved the food and the hospitality. I will definitely be back for more.

I’ve been coming here for lunch for years and love this Kiwi family-​owned, family-​run café.
Sandwiches are always good (try the curry chicken salad as a melt with sweet potato fried and tangerine ginger dressing to dip them in.) Staff is friendly.
As small family businesses do, they play by their own rules — if there’s a family situation, they close; if the soup runs out, it runs out. It seems weird in our instant-​gratification culture but I respect it.
Also, if you’re dieting, all 3 of their salads are to die for — so you won’t feel like you’re dieting with their Caesar, or cranberry/​walnut, or Greek salad.

Nothing special, but fairly inexpensive (under $ 10) and decent for a quick lunch. The gyro and fries were pretty standard, service was good, and I appreciate the little fruit cup. I work at the Biltmore and am glad to find a good, inexpensive option for when I forget my lunchbox. Cyprus Street or Spence are still my picks for a nice lunch in the Tech Square area, but Kia Ora isn’t bad in a pinch.

Probably more of a 3.5. It’s convenient and it’s inexpensive compared to many of the food venues in this area of Midtown. If you’re looking for a somewhat healthy (if you get the salad), fast meal, this is the perfect place. The food is decent. It’s not something I crave, but it’s good in a pinch. If you’re doing to-​go, order your food in advance because they get very busy. The staff is friendly.

Note: If you are looking for a «quick» lunch spot to walk into and dine-​in or get take-​out, I recommend you walk a few steps over to the Patio at Midtown in the 725 building for Chick-​fil-​A or Willy’s. This is NOT a fast food joint.
Having frequented the restaurant for well over a year now, I can confidently say that Café Kia-​Ora is a good place to order and pick up to-​go orders for lunch on weekdays. That is, if you’re in walking-​distance from the café AND call in as early as possible once you have decided you want something from there. Why? Because they get super busy every single weekday (they’re closed on weekends), primarily because the place is located in the structure next to one of the AT&T office buildings in Midtown.
Among the entrees that I have tried include their Bacon Cheeseburger, Grilled Chicken Club sandwich, Curry Chicken Salad, and Chicken Caesar (Kia-​Ora Style) salad. The burger was just «meh» (not juicy or flavorful), the chicken club was very good, Curry Chicken salad was good, and the Caesar salad was not bad. The «Curry Chicken» in the salad has a good flavor of yellow curry and spices. What makes the Caesar salad «Kia-​Ora» style is the tomatoes, kalamata olives, and bacon in addition to your traditional shaved Parmesan cheese and Caesar dressing. It’s good, but not a salad I would have every day. The fries, either regular or sweet potatoes, which typically come with a burger or sandwich, are also good but not great.
I have had both their hot and iced coffees on a regular basis for quite some time, but I grew tired of it. Honestly, I’m not sure exactly what brand of coffee they serve. It’s not terrible coffee but for some reason, the flavor started to remind me of corn flakes cereal (very strange, I know), so I just stopped getting it.
What I do, however, continue to go back for is the Cream of Potato Soup, which is only served on Fridays. The Cream of Potato soup is topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, and sour cream, and it’s served with buttered bread. I sort of consider it a «baked potato» in soup form. For a soup, it is surprisingly very good! It’s my favorite thing to order at Café Kia-​Ora. However, as I had mentioned earlier in this review, you MUST call your order in. Yes, even for something as «quick» as scooping a small bowl of soup. In fact, on some Fridays, I will call the order in soon after I get into the office at 9 am to pick up the order at 11:30 am. They don’t start serving the soup until 11 am, but what’s nice is they will let you put your order in early so that you can just go in, pay, grab the soup, and be on your merry way.
Overall, Café Kia-​Ora gets 3.5 stars from me for their good food, especially their delicious Cream of Potato soup! The employees are also very friendly. If the food was generally great, I would bump it up to 4 stars, but I would not give a 5 to a place that can’t seem to handle a lot of customers quickly and efficiently for being located at such a prime spot for those who work in the vicinity. Again, if you happen to be close by and are willing to call your order in and wait quite a while for your food to be prepared, then by all means, give Café Kia-​Ora a try! Otherwise, you won’t be missing out too much if you choose to go elsewhere.

Love this place. The gyro was the first thing I tried. Yum is all I can say. The yogurt sauce on the gyro, was thick, rich, and luscious.
The atmosphere is casual and comfortable. The proprietors /​chef are fantastic, and so caring and accommodating.
Oh, and did I mention the cupcakes?!? The best I’ve ever had. Truly. Although banana was my favorite, each flavor is a joy on the tastebuds.
Honestly, my only issue is that they don’t charge enough for their delicious food.
Must try

This café has the best food. I decided to try the café for breakfast, considering I have had lunch there numerous times. .and to my surprise the breakfast is even delicious. I called in for pick up and ordered a Parmesan bagel with an egg and a slice of feta cheese and turkey bacon… it was unbelievable. .
Definitely try this café fir breakfast and/​or lunch… you won’t regret it!

TL: DR; Mostly harmless. There are better options within walking distance if you have the time. If you don’t have the time, any review I write doesn’t matter.
This café is built into a parking deck. This should tell you what purpose it serves, just like the dry cleaner’s next door. I don’t fault it for valuing convenience over excellence, and it achieves its goals perfectly well, but it’s not anything I would direct anyone to unless they have work appointments nearby, a tight schedule, and a dislike for the food court Chinese and Chick-​Fil-​A nearby.
Servers are friendly and they provide you with cute china if you’re dining in. Their breakfast options aren’t far off from what you’d find at a Waffle House, but they’re made decently well. Fresh ingredients, good texture in the omelette (even though cheese slices were laid atop instead of being worked into the dish), and a decent number of choices for bread and cheese. On the other hand, their coffee wasn’t to my liking, tasting overly bitter and flat, and their grits were rubbery and tasteless. Despite the things I didn’t like, it’s obvious that they’re trying.
But hey, at least there’s parking.

I am a regular here and I love the food at Kia Ora. I eat here at least once a week and their food is always consistent and delicious.
They have a variety of breakfast and lunch foods that are cooked to order. They use fresh ingredients and they take care to offer a healthy variety of foods and desserts.
Some people complain about the service. I have never had a complaint. Yes, when the original manager came back a few months ago I did see a small decline in their customer service at the take out counter, but those are college kids who are working hard. If you want more of the «touchy-​feely» type of service, then I suggest eating in the dine-​in section at the back of the restaurant.

Café Kia-​Ora is hard to find. Technically, it is on W. Peachtree Rd. But you won’t see it on W. Peachtree Rd. The building this café is located in is on W. Peachtree. You have to go behind the building to see Café Kia-​Ora. So take a right on 5^th street and go behind the building. Then you’ll see it.
Café Kia-​Ora is a small New Zealand and Greek Café. It gets very busy during lunch time. They serve breakfast items, salads, and sandwiches for lunch.
They seem to use fresh ingredients for their meals. I got the Gyro. You can choose between regular or sweet potato fries. The tzatziki sauce could’ve been more flavorful though. Otherwise, it seemed like a decent Gyro sandwich. It also comes with a small cup of fruit.
The people who work here seem nice and friendly. It’s not bad, but in the end, it’s just another sandwich place. I wished they did something with their New Zealand and Greek background and served something more unique. I give it about 3.5 stars.

Café Kia-​Ora is the definition of a Unilocal «Hidden Gem»…
Tucked away (and barely seen) amidst the office towers along Peachtree Street, West Peachtree and Seventh streets, Café Kia-​Ora is a great choice if you are working nearby in those offices or near the Fox Theatre…
Their menu consists of an array of homemade specialities, including soups, sandwiches, breakfasts and deserts… and daily specials. Everything seems really fresh.
There is table service and take out available. They make an effort to get you served in a reasonable amount of time, which is helpful if you are on a lunch break. Credit cards are acceptable and prices are reasonable.
As of this writing, the only telling signage is on the corner of Peachtree and Fourth street on the black AT+T monolith … you may notice a listing with the logo ‘Café Pharr Out’, and that is the where you need to walk down the block (west) to CPO’s former location to find Café Kia-​Ora.
…and just so you know: the words «Kia-​Ora» means be well” or «be healthy» in a native language of New Zealand.

I was in town for meetings at the AT&T offices. Café Kia-​ora showed up as a close by option with decent non-​fried food. It was a bit hard to find, but after I circled the building I ran into it.
At 11am the place was empty. There’s waiter service, but it looks like you can also order to-​go at the counter. I choose the gyro with fruit and and iced tea. The gyro was average. The meat was flavorful, and a bit charred which I like, but it wasn’t stuffed full. And the tsaziki wasn’t all that tangy. However, it was way better than the fried options that are available at the office.
Service was ok. At first it seemed like they had way too many workers. But by 11:45 the place was full. So much that I felt bad for still sitting there using their free Wi-​Fi.