Honey Cafe CBD

About Honey Cafe CBD

Honey Cafe CBD is a hidden gem tucked inside the Auckland City Library on Lorne Street — a peaceful retreat in the heart of the CBD, loved by locals, students and travellers. It pours quality coffee, including the branch's signature honey-infused blends, alongside quick, generous plates made to fuel your day.

The menu is seasonally inspired and spans all-day brunch and handcrafted drinks: free-range eggs any style with bacon and chorizo, karaage chicken on a house-made waffle, vegetarian shakshuka, creamy seafood risotto, slow-braised short rib ragu pasta, plus smoothies, fresh juices and matcha alongside the espresso classics.

Honey Cafe CBD is part of a small family of neighbourhood Honey cafes across Auckland — each with its own character, but all built on locally roasted coffee, a kitchen that cooks with the seasons and a warm welcome. Tables can be booked online, and the space is available for private events from corporate breakfasts to private dinners.

Honey Cafe CBD: All-Day Brunch and Great Coffee Inside Auckland's City Library

Some of Auckland's best cafe finds are the ones you can't see from the street. Honey Cafe CBD is one of them. Set inside the Auckland City Library on Lorne Street, it has quietly become a favourite of locals, students and travellers — a peaceful retreat in the middle of the CBD where the coffee is taken seriously and the plates are quick, generous and built to fuel the rest of your day.

Step in from the library and the city noise drops away. There's room to settle in with a laptop, catch up with a friend over a flat white, or linger through a slow weekend brunch. Tables can be booked online in advance — worth doing when the sun is out — and the team keeps things moving for anyone dashing between lectures or meetings.

Part of a small Auckland family

Honey Cafe CBD belongs to a small family of neighbourhood cafes, with siblings in Takapuna, Ponsonby and Glendowie Park. Each has its own personality, but they share the same foundations: locally roasted beans pulled fresh cup after cup, a kitchen that cooks with the seasons, and a warm, unhurried welcome. The CBD branch adds its own signature to that formula — honey-infused coffee blends and a seasonally inspired menu of brunch plates, fresh baking and daily specials that change with what's good right now.

What to order

Brunch runs all day, and the menu leans generous. The Big Brekki covers the classics — free-range eggs your way, streaky bacon, chorizo, mushrooms, a house potato croquette, roasted tomatoes and seasonal greens with your choice of toast. The karaage chicken waffle is the wildcard: crispy Japanese-style fried chicken thigh on a house-made waffle with bacon and a sweet-and-spicy sauce, plus a fennel and green apple slaw.

Vegetarian eaters are well looked after, too. Eggs Benedict comes on potato croquettes with beetroot hummus; shakshuka bakes eggs into spiced tomato and capsicum with chilli beans and warm focaccia; and the brie and caramelised pear toast stacks sourdough with brie, roasted pear, poached eggs, hot honey and dukkah. Sweet tooths are covered by the spiced apple French toast — cinnamon and vanilla soaked brioche with mascarpone icing, apple compote, butter crumble, salted caramel and bacon.

For heartier appetites there's a creamy seafood risotto with bread-crumbed prawns, clams and mussels, slow-braised short rib ragu with fettuccine, an open steak sandwich on sourdough, and a lemongrass chicken salad with quinoa, grilled mango and halloumi. The kitchen asks diners to flag any allergies and can point to vegetarian, vegan and dairy-free options — the menu marks vegetarian dishes and those with no gluten added.

Beyond the flat white

Coffee here is poured as a double shot unless you ask otherwise, with soy, oat and other alternative milks on hand. There's also a short list of house specialties worth detouring for: Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk served in a glass, tiramisu and peanut butter lattes, matcha and turmeric lattes, fruit smoothies, fresh juices and pots of tea. When the weather turns, winter warmers appear — an Irish coffee with whiskey and brown sugar, and a hot toddy with lemon, honey and winter spices — alongside local beers and New Zealand wines.

Before you go

Hours run 8am to 4pm on weekdays and 9am to 3pm on weekends, with the kitchen closing at 2:30pm every day, so time late lunches accordingly. The space can also be booked for private events, from corporate breakfasts to private dinners. Whether you're a student between classes, a worker on a coffee run or a visitor looking for a calm corner of the city, Honey Cafe CBD does what the best neighbourhood cafes do: it makes you want to pull up a chair.

Signature items

• Karaage Chicken Waffle
• The Big Brekki
• Brie & Caramelised Pear Toast (V)
• Seafood Risotto
• Vietnamese Coffee
• Honey-Infused Blends

Menu

Sides

• Karaage Fried Chicken Thigh — Three to four pieces of crispy fried chicken thigh with slaw on the side.
• Chips — Golden chips served with house aioli on the side.
• Potato Wedges — Wedges served with sour cream on the side.
• House Smoked Salmon — A side of the cafe's hot smoked salmon.
• Streaky Bacon — A side of streaky bacon.
• Grilled Lemongrass Chicken — A side of grilled lemongrass chicken thigh.
• Grilled Halloumi — A side of grilled halloumi.
• Chorizo Sausage — A side of chorizo sausage.
• Portobello Mushroom — A grilled portobello mushroom side.
• Roasted Tomato — A side of roasted tomato.
• Potato Croquette — A side of the house potato croquette.

Coffee

• Flat White — Double-shot flat white (all coffees are double shots unless requested).
• Cappuccino — Double-shot cappuccino, regular or large.
• Latte — Double-shot latte, regular or large.
• Short / Long Black — Double-shot black coffee, short or long.
• Americano — Double-shot americano.
• Macchiato / Piccolo — Short or long macchiato, or a piccolo.
• Mocha — Chocolate and coffee mocha, regular or large.
• Hot Chocolate — Hot chocolate, regular or large.
• Chai Latte — Spiced chai latte.
• Tiramisu Latte — Latte with tiramisu flavours.
• Peanut Butter Latte — Latte with peanut butter.
• Fluffy — Small hot chocolate served with marshmallows.

Beer & Wine

• Heineken 5% — Lager by the bottle.
• Corona 4.5% — Lager by the bottle.
• Garage Project Chipper Hazy Pale Ale 5% — Hazy pale ale by the can.
• Somersby Apple Cider — Apple cider by the bottle.
• Garage Project Tiny PA 0% — Non-alcoholic pale ale.
• Squealing Pig Sauvignon Blanc — Marlborough sauvignon blanc by the glass or bottle.
• Awatere Valley Pinot Gris — Marlborough pinot gris by the glass or bottle.
• Oyster Bay Chardonnay — Hawke's Bay chardonnay by the glass or bottle.
• Stoneleigh Wild Valley Rosé — New Zealand rosé by the glass or bottle.
• Gancia Prosecco DOC NV — Italian prosecco.
• Huntaway Reserve Pinot Noir 2021 — Marlborough pinot noir.
• Rua Pinot Noir — Central Otago pinot noir.
• Yalumba Galway Vintage Shiraz 2021 — Australian shiraz.

All-Day Brunch

• The Big Brekki — Free-range eggs your way with streaky bacon, chorizo, mushrooms, potato croquette, roasted tomatoes, greens and toast; add halloumi, bacon or hot smoked salmon.
• Karaage Chicken Waffle — Crispy Japanese-style fried chicken thigh on a house-made waffle with streaky bacon, sweet & spicy sauce and fennel & green apple slaw.
• Eggs Benedict (V) — Potato croquettes, poached eggs, baby spinach, house Hollandaise and beetroot hummus; add bacon, halloumi, mushroom, fried chicken or smoked salmon.
• Shakshuka (V) — Eggs baked in a spiced tomato & capsicum base with courgette, eggplant and chilli beans, topped with feta, served with warm focaccia.
• Chorizo Chili Scramble Eggs — Soft scrambled egg with green chilli sauce on house-made flatbread, crispy vege chips, deep-fried shallots and Sichuan-style chilli oil.
• Apple Compote Porridge (V) — Creamy porridge topped with apple compote, butter-poached apples and toasted seeds & nuts.
• Bruschetta Creamy Mushroom (V) — Creamy mushrooms on ciabatta with a poached egg, parmesan and truffle oil; add bacon.
• Mince on Toast — House-made prime beef mince cooked with cherry tomatoes on ciabatta, with a poached egg, parmesan and sour cream.
• Brie & Caramelised Pear Toast (V) — Sourdough topped with brie, honey & olive oil roasted pear, poached eggs, hot honey, dukkah and cranberry compote; add prosciutto.
• Spiced Apple French Toast — Cinnamon & vanilla soaked brioche with mascarpone & crème fraîche icing, apple compote, butter crumble, maple syrup, salted caramel and streaky bacon.

Mains & Plates

• Seafood Risotto — Creamy risotto with bread-crumbed prawns, prawn cutlets, clams and mussels, finished with dill and parmesan.
• Slow-Braised Short Rib Ragu Pasta — Fettuccine with slow-braised beef short rib ragu, cherry tomatoes, parmesan, herbs, a touch of red wine and a chilli oil finish.
• Open Steak Sandwich — Beef scotch fillet with lettuce, tomato, onion relish, aioli, jus and chimichurri on sourdough, served with battered chips.
• Citrus Cured & House Smoked Fish — Cured and smoked fish on sourdough with pickled onion, capers, dill and trout caviar, with a fennel & green apple salad.
• Lemongrass Chicken Salad — Grilled lemongrass chicken thigh with quinoa, roast pumpkin, grilled mango, halloumi, spiced cauliflower, vege chips and yuzu dressing.
• Omelette (DF on request) — Three-egg omelette with romesco and any three fillings from salmon, spinach, mushroom, onion, cheese, bacon, ham and feta.
• Lamb Fry (Lamb Liver) — Lamb liver with potato croquettes, free-range bacon, grilled vine tomatoes, a poached egg, chilli oil and herb butter.

Winter Warmers

• Irish Coffee — Hot coffee with Irish whiskey, brown sugar and cream.
• Hot Toddy — Warm whisky with lemon, honey and winter spices.

Smoothies & Juices

• Blueberry Smoothie — Blueberry, banana, peanut butter, vanilla and almond milk.
• Strawberry Smoothie — Strawberry, banana, mango, vanilla and coconut milk.
• Green Tropical Smoothie — Mango, pineapple, banana, spinach and coconut water.
• Mango Lassi — Banana, yoghurt, vanilla, milk and mango syrup.
• Yellow Juice — Orange, lemon, ginger and apple.
• Red Juice — Carrot, lemon, ginger and apple.
• Green Juice — Cucumber, green apple, green pear, lemon and ginger.
• Apple Juice — Fresh apple juice.

House Specialties & Other Drinks

• Vietnamese Coffee — Black coffee with condensed milk, served in a glass — the house specialty.
• Matcha Latte — Matcha latte, regular or large.
• Strawberry Matcha Latte — Matcha latte with strawberry.
• Turmeric Latte — Golden turmeric latte.
• Iced Chocolate / Mocha / Latte — Iced versions of the cafe classics.
• Honey, Lemon & Ginger — Warm honey, lemon and ginger drink.
• Pot of Tea — English Breakfast, Earl Grey, green or jasmine tea by the teapot.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Honey Cafe CBD?

Inside the Auckland City Library at 44-46 Lorne St, Auckland CBD — a peaceful retreat in the heart of the city, popular with locals, students and travellers.

What are the opening hours?

Monday to Friday 8:00am–4:00pm, and Saturday to Sunday 9:00am–3:00pm. The kitchen closes at 2:30pm every day.

Can I book a table?

Yes — tables can be booked online through the Honey Cafe website for the CBD branch.

Are there vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free options?

Yes — ask the team for vegetarian, vegan and dairy-free options. The menu marks V (vegetarian) and GF (no gluten added), and coffee can be made with soy, almond, coconut or oat milk.

What if I have an allergy?

Tell the team about any allergies. The kitchen takes care with food safety but cannot guarantee any dish is completely free of nuts, gluten, dairy or other allergens.

Is the coffee a double shot?

Yes — all coffees are poured as double shots unless you request otherwise, with vanilla, caramel, hazelnut and alternative milks available as extras.

Can I hire the venue for an event?

Yes — Honey Cafe CBD is available for venue hire, from corporate breakfasts to private dinners. Send an enquiry through the contact page.

Tips

• {"body":"The kitchen closes at 2:30pm daily — earlier than the cafe itself — so order brunch or a main before then.","title":"Watch the kitchen clock"}
• {"body":"Saturday and Sunday hours are 9am–3pm, versus 8am–4pm on weekdays. Plan weekend brunch accordingly.","title":"Weekends run shorter"}
• {"body":"The cafe sits inside the Auckland City Library on Lorne St — a quiet spot to work over a flat white, popular with students and travellers.","title":"Find the hidden gem"}
• {"body":"The kitchen cooks seasonally with daily specials, so check the current menu for the latest plates and baking.","title":"Menus change with the seasons"}
• {"body":"The space can be hired for corporate breakfasts and private dinners, and tables can be booked online for busier visits.","title":"Planning a group or event?"}

Good to know

• {"family":"Relaxed, all-ages cafe inside the central library; the marshmallow-topped Fluffy is on the drinks list.","dietary":"Vegetarian, vegan and dairy-free options on request; menu flags V (vegetarian) and GF (no gluten added)."}