A well-loved cafe at Shop 3, River Road, in the Flagstaff Shopping Centre, Hamilton, holding a 4.4 rating from 151 reviews. Regulars come for the coffee, the friendly service and the fair prices, and above all for the pies — the mince and cheese gets special mention — along with the sausage rolls and donuts.
The test of a suburban bakery cafe is the pie: pastry that stays light and crisp, a filling that is generous, well seasoned and served properly hot, and a cabinet that rewards early callers, since the popular lines tend to sell out first. Morning coffee is the other anchor: a flat white made consistently and served without fuss is what turns a first visit into a daily habit, and neighbourhood cafes live on exactly that repeat trade.
For locals around River Road, Flagstaff Bakehouse looks to be exactly that kind of stop.