MELBA Hillsborough is the Hillsborough Road outpost of one of New Zealand's longest-running café names. Since 1995, when Café Melba opened in Auckland's iconic Vulcan Lane, MELBA has grown into a collective of eight neighbourhood cafés across the city, known for warm hospitality, quality coffee and fresh, locally inspired food. Each location carries its own personality — Hillsborough's is captured in its black-and-white emblem of a mountain with five trees — while sharing the same commitment to community, connection and consistency.
The café is led by licensee Joshua Pereira, one of the like-minded operators MELBA partners with across the group, under directors Shawn and Michelle Pope. Behind the scenes, head roaster Kate Volkerling oversees the beans behind MELBA's barista-made specialty coffee, poured with care at every site in the collective.
In the kitchen, Hillsborough works to seasonal menu offerings made fresh in-house — the local expression of MELBA's Eat, Drink, Enjoy ethos, spanning a quick morning coffee to an unhurried weekend brunch. Beyond the counter, meeting rooms can be booked through the group's events page, regulars can earn perks through the DoubleShot Rewards programme, and MELBA coffee and goods are available via the online shop.
Perched on Hillsborough Road, MELBA Hillsborough is the suburban expression of a name that has been part of New Zealand café culture since 1995. That year, Café Melba opened in Auckland's iconic Vulcan Lane and instantly became a favourite for locals and visitors alike. It was only a matter of time before the successful recipe moved beyond the CBD and out into wider Auckland — and today MELBA is a collective of eight neighbourhood cafés, from Ellerslie and Karaka to Lunn Ave, Manukau, Victoria Street, Vulcan Lane, Queen Street and Hillsborough. The group describes itself as a cornerstone of New Zealand's café culture: a family of cafés known for warm hospitality, quality coffee and fresh, locally inspired food.
Each location carries its own personality while sharing the same commitment to community, connection and consistency. At Hillsborough, that personality comes through in the branch's black-and-white emblem of a mountain with five trees — and in an approach summed up by the words printed across MELBA's signage: Eat, Drink, Enjoy. For regulars, it is the kind of café that fits both the weekday coffee run and the long weekend catch-up.
MELBA's story is, at heart, a story about people. The group is led by directors Shawn and Michelle Pope, supported by a team that includes operations manager Kriselle Lee, brand manager Aprille Joy Aquino and head roaster Kate Volkerling. Together they work to uphold MELBA's commitment to quality, creativity and genuine hospitality across every café.
Just as important are the licensees: dedicated, like-minded individuals who share the brand's passion for people, coffee and community. Each licensee upholds MELBA's trusted standards while bringing their own personality and local connection to the table. At Hillsborough, that person is Joshua Pereira, whose role is to turn a trusted group format into a genuinely neighbourhood café.
Coffee has been at the core of MELBA since the Vulcan Lane days, and it remains the thread tying the collective together. Across the group you'll find barista-made specialty coffee, poured with the care that produces proper latte art, with quality and consistency maintained from café to café. Behind the machine sits real roasting expertise: Kate Volkerling heads up roasting for MELBA, helping ensure the beans in your cup at Hillsborough meet the same standard as at any other site in the group. If the coffee wins you over, MELBA runs an online shop for taking beans and café goods home, and the DoubleShot Rewards programme turns a regular habit into perks.
Hillsborough's kitchen works to MELBA's promise of fresh, locally inspired food, with seasonal menu offerings made fresh in-house. Rather than a fixed lineup, the menu is designed to move with the seasons, and it covers the full run of a café day — from a quick coffee stop with something on the side to an unhurried weekend brunch with the table lingering longer. It is food made on the premises, treated simply and served with the same warmth as the coffee.
MELBA has also positioned its cafés as places to work and gather. Meeting rooms can be booked through the group's events page — useful for local businesses and community groups around Hillsborough who need a space with good coffee attached. When making any enquiry, the team asks simply that you specify which MELBA location you mean, and for anything time-sensitive, to contact the store directly.
You'll find MELBA Hillsborough at 1/602 Hillsborough Road, Hillsborough. Come for barista-made specialty coffee and a seasonal, in-house menu; stay for the relaxed neighbourhood pace. If you plan to make it a regular stop, sign up for DoubleShot Rewards; if you need the café's current hours or a quick answer, MELBA recommends reaching the Hillsborough store directly using the contact details on its Locations page.