At the heart of Puhoi Village, just north of Auckland, the Puhoi Cottage Tea Rooms have been a fixture of the community since 1972. Established along the Puhoi River, the cottage tea rooms are famous for their high teas served in the Devonshire tradition — a classic, time-honoured style of tea service that has drawn visitors north of the city for more than fifty years and made the tea rooms part of the very fabric of Puhoi.
The tea rooms open on weekends, from 9.30am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays, which makes a visit a proper occasion: a drive out to the village, a table in a riverside cottage, and an unhurried afternoon over tea. You'll find them at 50 Ahuroa Road, right at the centre of one of the region's most characterful small villages.
Puhoi Cottage Tea Rooms are now run by new owners Steven and Stephanie Roach, who are excited to welcome returning regulars and first-time visitors alike. Bookings can be made through their website, and news is shared on their Facebook and Instagram pages. As they put it: we can't wait to meet you!
Just north of Auckland, where the Puhoi River curls quietly through the countryside, sits Puhoi Village — and at the heart of the village, the Puhoi Cottage Tea Rooms. Established in 1972, the tea rooms have long been part of the fabric of Puhoi, a constant in village life for more than five decades and a destination in their own right for anyone with a fondness for a proper, unhurried afternoon tea.
This is not a place that chases trends. The tea rooms are famous for their high teas served in the Devonshire tradition — a classic, generous style of tea service that has kept generations of visitors making the trip north of the city. It is simple, time-honoured hospitality: a cottage by the river, tea served with care, and an afternoon that asks you to slow down.
The Devonshire tradition of high tea is the reason many people first hear about Puhoi Cottage Tea Rooms, and it's what they come back for. Served within a cottage setting that has changed little in spirit since the doors first opened in 1972, the high teas are the tea rooms' calling card — the thing locals recommend and visitors plan their weekends around.
There is something fitting about the setting. The tea rooms were established along the Puhoi River, and the village around them remains small and unhurried. A visit becomes more than a meal: it is a reason to drive out north of Auckland, wander the village, and settle in for tea the way it has been served here for half a century. Little wonder the tea rooms have earned a loyal following and a page full of testimonials on their website.
Puhoi Cottage Tea Rooms keep weekend hours: open from 9.30am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays. That makes a visit feel like an occasion rather than a quick stop — you plan for it, you look forward to it, and you arrive with the whole afternoon ahead of you. For many families and visitors across the Auckland region, a weekend run out to Puhoi for high tea has become something of a ritual, repeated across seasons and generations.
Because opening hours are limited to weekends, it pays to plan ahead. Bookings can be made through the tea rooms' website, and securing a table is a sensible move if you have your heart set on the high tea experience, particularly on fine weekends when the village draws day-trippers from the city.
The tea rooms are now under new ownership, and Steven and Stephanie Roach are excited to welcome guests — long-time regulars and first-timers alike. Their message to visitors is a simple one: "We can't wait to meet you."
For devoted regulars, the essentials are unchanged: the cottage, the river, and the famous high teas in the Devonshire tradition. For those who have never been, there has never been a better moment to discover what Puhoi has quietly known since 1972.
You'll find Puhoi Cottage Tea Rooms at 50 Ahuroa Road in Puhoi, New Zealand — an easy drive north of Auckland, with the tea rooms sitting right at the heart of the village. Doors open at 9.30am and close at 3pm on both Saturdays and Sundays.
Keep an eye on the tea rooms' Facebook and Instagram pages for news and updates under the new owners. Whether you're marking a special occasion or simply craving a pot of tea in a historic cottage by the river, Puhoi Cottage Tea Rooms remains one of the region's most charming destinations — a little piece of Puhoi's fabric, still going strong after more than fifty years.