Rosetta Cafe is a neighbourhood cafe on Rosetta Road in Raumati South, serving breakfast and brunch daily from 8am to 3pm. Run by owner and head chef Letitia Thomas, it pairs a relaxed, holiday-feeling atmosphere with an independently crafted menu built on fresh, locally sourced ingredients.
The seasonal menu leans into cafe classics with its own spin: a Benedict, Florentine and Montreal series served on hash browns with Rosetta hollandaise, shakshuka with whipped feta and dukkah, smashed avo, hot honey halloumi and a proper vegan breakfast with falafel and chilli beans. At lunch there are the much-loved chicken waffles, a double-patty Rosetta Smash Burger, toasties and salads finished with chilli crisp.
Dietary needs are well covered, with more than a dozen vegan, keto and coeliac-friendly options across meals, snacks and cakes, plus gluten free and keto breads. Coffee is a highlight — reviewers have called it the best on the Kapiti Coast — alongside locally made cakes including a much-loved gluten free carrot cake. Free parking, friendly service and a kids menu round out the visit.
On the Kapiti Coast, just back from the beach in Raumati South, Rosetta Cafe has become the kind of local spot people plan their mornings around. The cafe on Rosetta Road serves breakfast and brunch every day from 8am to 3pm, with a relaxed, welcoming feel that the team describes as a permanent holiday — and from the reviews, regulars seem happy to go along with that.
Rosetta is owned and run by Letitia Thomas, owner and head chef, and the menu is independently crafted rather than borrowed from a franchise playbook. Everything is made from fresh, locally sourced ingredients, and the menus are rewritten each season to keep things fresh from farm to fork — a stated point of pride for the kitchen.
Supporting local runs through everything, with the cafe sourcing locally across meals and drinks to back the Kapiti economy. Free range eggs and free range streaky bacon feature across the breakfast list, and the summer menu runs from eggs on toast and homemade granola to the full Rosetta Classic — eggs, bacon, cheese kransky, hash browns, roasted mushrooms and roast tomato with toasted bread.
The 'on hash' series is a point of difference: a Benedict with bacon, a Florentine with spinach and a Montreal with smoked salmon, all built on hash browns and finished with Rosetta hollandaise. Shakshuka brings eggs in a hearty harissa sauce of spiced tomato and pepper topped with whipped feta, dukkah and fresh herbs, while the Hot Honey Halloumi stacks pan-fried halloumi on toasted bread with creamy garlic mascarpone and a drizzle of chilli honey.
Then there are the chicken waffles, which the cafe itself calls legendary. Deep fried chicken thigh sits on a homemade waffle with streaky bacon, brie cheese and aioli slaw, all drizzled with hot honey. For savoury-sweet brunch fans, this is the plate people talk about.
The smashed avo is a standby: freshly smashed avocado with a poached egg and roast tomato on toasted white bread, topped with whipped feta, house-made dukkah and pomegranate molasses. Plant-based diners get a proper vegan breakfast with hash brown, falafel, chilli beans, avocado, spinach and mushrooms, while the homemade seed granola with dark chocolate, coconut yoghurt and berries covers the lighter end.
Lunch runs from 11am to 2pm and centres on the Rosetta Smash Burger, built on two brisket and chuck patties with burger sauce, cheddar, pickles and the cafe's own red onion jam, alongside a fried chicken buttie in toasted turkish bread and fried chicken or halloumi salads finished with chilli crisp. Sides are treated seriously too, from kumara wedges with sweet chilli sauce and sour cream to extra hash browns, kransky and smoked salmon.
The menu is clearly flagged for gluten free, keto and vegan diners, and the kitchen keeps more than a dozen options across meals, snacks and cakes for vegans and those on keto or coeliac diets. Gluten free and keto breads are on hand, and many dishes can be adapted — just ask the team.
Coffee is taken seriously. One Google reviewer called it the best they'd had in Kapiti, praising a dark roast that is flavourful and not bitter, and the same review singled out the gluten free carrot cake as divine. The cakes are made locally with premium ingredients, with vegetarian and keto options among them, and are a genuine drawcard in their own right.
Expect a warm welcome and a holiday state of mind: the cafe is open Monday to Sunday, 8am to 3pm, with the all day menu served from 8am to 2pm and lunch from 11am to 2pm. There is free parking, a kids menu with toasties, nuggets and waffles, and an online form for future bookings — if you are hoping to come in today, the team asks that you call 04 902 5040 directly. Reviewers mention it is worth the drive up the coast, which is a fair endorsement for a neighbourhood cafe that keeps things fresh, local and friendly.