The Bakehouse Cafe sits at 26 Princes Street in Putāruru, a small South Waikato town, and holds a 4.2 Google rating. Cafes in country towns run on their cabinets — the counter of filled rolls, scones and slices laid out each morning — so the best choices are usually gone well before the lunch rush, and many wind down mid-afternoon once the road trade passes. Putāruru sits on State Highway 1 between Tirau and Tokoroa, so the room tends to hold a mix of farmers, locals catching up and travellers stretching their legs; if the corner table is taken at ten in the morning, that says more than any review. Regulars keep it simple: a flat white, whatever came out of the oven first, and no hurry. On Princes Street, The Bakehouse Cafe makes an easy stopping point for anyone passing through the South Waikato.