Dear Jervois is a casual brunch cafe at 234 Jervois Road in Herne Bay, built around organic wholefoods and a menu that caters for vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diners as well as meat eaters. The kitchen buys fresh local produce each day and turns it into well-balanced dishes, smoothies and drinks. The coffee is fair-trade, served hot or over ice, and the superfood smoothies use ingredients sourced from around New Zealand.
The Smashed Avocado on Sourdough is the brunch icon, with avocado, poached eggs, whipped beetroot feta and dukkah. Many visitors also order the eggs Benedict and the waffles, and people praise the rosti as well. The Creamy Mushrooms come on sourdough with Portobello mushrooms, bacon, mascarpone and parmesan, and the Poke Bowl is a lighter choice, with sashimi salmon, a poached egg, black rice and pickled ginger. For something with more heat, the Kimchi Fried Rice comes with fried chicken, two poached eggs, sesame and nori. The DJ Complete is the full breakfast, with eggs, sausage, bacon, beans, rosti, mushrooms and sourdough. The DJ Burger is a double smash patty with Swiss cheese, pickles and a fried egg.
Visitors say the sourdough and eggs are very good, and that the portions are generous. One group of friends found that the food came out quickly even though they were a large table, and another guest took leftovers home to eat for dinner. People also say the coffee is really good and the service is great. The cafe has outdoor seating, and the all-day menu suits a slow breakfast or an early lunch.
Hours are Monday to Friday from 7am to 2:30pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 3pm.
Our pick in Herne Bay for a slow weekend breakfast with a flat white and the avocado on sourdough.
Step off Jervois Road in the leafy Auckland suburb of Herne Bay and you'll find Dear Jervois — a casual dining space built around a simple idea: food that caters for all diets and preferences in a way that promotes health and wellbeing. It's a cafe that asks you to sip, eat and socialise, whether you're settling in for a long weekend brunch or grabbing a coffee between errands.
Dear Jervois takes a natural approach to cooking, centred on organic wholefoods. Fresh local produce is bought daily and transformed into well-balanced dishes, smoothies and drinks, and the DJ team — self-described food-obsessed perfectionists — love bringing both local and international elements to the plate. Even the smoothie ingredients are chosen with care: organic New Zealand produce sourced from all over the country. The coffee, meanwhile, is fair-trade and treated very seriously, whether it arrives hot or over ice.
The all day menu stretches from brunch classics to plates with genuine creative flair. Eggs benedict sits on a potato rosti with sautéed silverbeet and house-made hollandaise, with a half portion available if you're after something lighter. The smashed avocado on sourdough comes topped with poached eggs, whipped beetroot feta and dukkah, while the creamy mushrooms pair portobellos with thyme, oregano, bacon and mascarpone on sourdough. There's a corn fritter with lemon zest sour cream and roasted pepper salsa, and a fluffy open omelet you can load up with mushrooms, bacon or chorizo.
Bigger appetites are covered by the DJ Complete — poached eggs, pork & fennel sausage, bacon, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, house-made baked beans and potato rosti alongside sourdough — and the DJ Burger, two smash patties with swiss cheese, pickles and a fried egg, served with shoestring fries. An international streak runs through the menu too: kimchi fried rice with fried chicken, two poached eggs and nori, and a fresh poke bowl with sashimi salmon and black rice.
Guests keep coming back for these plates. One visitor to Auckland managed three meals here in four days, working through the avocado toast, the creamy mushrooms with potato rosti, the vegan tacos and a harissa lamb with seasonal roast vegetables. Reviews regularly single out the mushrooms-on-rosti stack and the deconstructed breakfast taco with its feta whip, and the staff are often praised for happily handling amendments and substitutions.
The drinks list is as considered as the food: hot fair-trade coffee, iced coffee and organic superfood smoothies that guests call a must-try with any meal. And the story doesn't end when brunch winds down — as 'Dear Jervois by Night', the space transforms for special Mediterranean pop-up dinners, with reservations available for these evenings through the website.
You'll find Dear Jervois at 234 Jervois Road, open from 7am to 2:30pm on weekdays and from 8am to 3pm on weekends and holidays. Bookings big and small are welcome Monday to Friday; weekend and public holiday reservations are currently unavailable, so walk-ins should expect a wait on busy weekend days. Regulars recommend the quieter downstairs level when the ground floor is humming. A dedicated kids menu keeps younger diners happy, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options appear throughout the menu, and the venue can be booked exclusively for events and functions — just get in touch by email or phone to start planning.