Ginger & Honey Cafe on Victoria Street in Beerescourt, Hamilton is the dream venture of a young couple whose names hide in plain sight: Ginger (husband) Kamal and Honey (wife) Mandeep. Kamal is a New Zealand-qualified chef with culinary qualifications and close to a decade in hospitality; Mandeep is a competent operations manager who loves meeting new faces and making sure every guest leaves wearing a smile. They discovered the cafe during lockdown, fell for it at first sight, and took it over when Covid closed its doors — destiny, as they tell it.
Their guiding principle is Atithi Devo Bhava — the guest is God — learned in their culture and practised daily at the door. Cakes and savoury items are baked on site, meals are cooked with local produce to suit Kiwi taste buds, and the menu is updated with the seasons, with gluten-free and keto options available. Guest feedback is loved and actively folded back into the menu.
House favourites include the loaded Chicken Waffle and the Crab Benny, backed by a full breakfast menu, bigger brunch plates, and three playfully named kids' meals. The drinks list runs from espresso classics and the house Machhito to house-made refreshers, ice blends, almond-milk smoothies, an eight-strong tea wall and chai, turmeric, matcha and beetroot lattes.
A substantial catering menu extends the kitchen beyond the cafe, with finger food, per-person bites, salads, sweets, platters and morning or afternoon tea packages. The cafe is open every day from 7:00am to 3:00pm, and tables can be booked ahead.
On Victoria Street in Hamilton's Beerescourt, Ginger & Honey Cafe is run by a young couple whose names hide in plain sight: Ginger is Kamal, the husband and chef, and Honey is Mandeep, the wife who keeps everything humming out front. The cafe is their dream venture, built on an idea they grew up with — Atithi Devo Bhava, the guest is God — and they try to live it by making every visitor feel genuinely welcome.
There is a little serendipity in the story, too. During lockdown the couple drove past, peeped inside the closed cafe and, as they tell it, it was love at first sight. When Covid forced the cafe to close and it came up for sale, they grabbed the opportunity. Kamal is a New Zealand-qualified chef with culinary qualifications and close to a decade in hospitality; Mandeep is a competent operations manager who loves meeting new faces and sending every guest off with a smile. They describe themselves as lifelong learners who keep a traditional touch in everything they do.
Cakes and savoury items are baked on site, and the kitchen leans on local produce to suit Kiwi taste buds. The menu is updated with the seasons, and gluten-free and keto options sit alongside the classics — the team takes guest feedback seriously and folds it back into the menu.
Two dishes headline the House Popular section. The Chicken Waffle stacks marinated chicken breast on a homemade waffle, loaded with cheese, maple syrup, slaw and a fried egg, finished with sriracha mayo. The Crab Benny pairs homemade crab croquettes with spinach, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.
Breakfast runs from the full Ginger & Honey Feast — streaky bacon, kransky sausage, mince, hash browns, grilled tomato, creamy mushroom and eggs with multigrain toast — to a Classic Eggs Benedict on toasted ciabatta with herb potato rosti, a bacon omelette, creamy garlic mushrooms cooked with white wine, mince on toast and simple Straight Eggs. Avocado puree plates come topped with crispy bacon, cold smoked salmon, or mushroom and halloumi.
Brunch goes bigger: a chickpea Shakshuka with Spanish chorizo, grilled halloumi and a layer of labneh; Hash Potato built on grilled Agria potatoes with poached eggs and hollandaise; a Chicken Burger of herb-spiced chicken breast, bacon and garlic aioli with fries; an Angus Beef Burger; layered Pancakes with berry compote and maple syrup; Smashed Pumpkin on sourdough with feta and labneh; and a gluten-free Avocado on Toast. Three playfully named kids' plates — I Am Starving, I Will Eat a Little Bit and I Am Not Hungry — cover bacon-and-egg types, nugget fans and quesadilla lovers.
The coffee list is broad: latte, flat white and cappuccino, long black, espresso, mocha, vienna, piccolo and the house Machhito, plus hot chocolate and a Fluffy for the kids. Syrups and plant-based milks — almond, coconut, oat and soy — are on hand. House-made refreshers, including the namesake Ginger & Honey Refresher, Strawberry Fields, Passionfruit Punch and Triple Peach, sit beside ice blends, almond-milk smoothies (Mango Green, Tropical Breeze, Berry Berry Delicious, Salted Caramel) and an eight-strong Tea Total Tea list. Urban Blends covers King Chai, Turmeric, Matcha and Beetroot lattes.
An extensive catering menu extends the kitchen beyond the cafe: finger food such as bacon mini potatoes, glazed chicken bites, roast vegetable frittata and buckwheat blinis; per-person bites from quail scotch eggs and lemon ginger prawns to bacon and egg pie and sausage rolls; five salads; sweet slices, muffins, danish pastries, fruit skewers and granola cups; and platters of fruit, vegetables, wraps, baguettes, point sandwiches and macarons. Morning and afternoon tea packages cater for groups of eight or more.
Doors open at 7:00am and close at 3:00pm every day of the week, and tables can be booked ahead. Regulars call it a bright, fun addition to the Beerescourt shops, praising the coffee, the cabinet food and the generous plates — one reviewer could not finish the sizeable Chicken Waffle. There are even water bowls outside so the dog can stay hydrated while you brunch. Feedback is welcomed, and the couple keep refining what they do: a neighbourhood cafe that treats you like the guest of honour.