Le Cafe Telephonique is a cafe at 8 Huia St, Taihape, in the Rangitikei district. It carries a 4.3 rating from 855 Google reviews.
A good country cafe lives or dies by two things: fresh cabinet food and properly made coffee. In New Zealand the cabinet — that counter display of filled rolls, slices and savouries — is the honest measure of a place, and the good things are usually gone by early afternoon. Order a flat white and you'll be speaking the local language; a cafe that pulls one well tends to fill with regulars who never need to read the menu. In highway towns like Taihape, cafes serve the farming set at one table and road-trippers at the next, so a mid-morning visit often finds the cabinet at its best.
For anyone breaking the drive through gumboot country, this well-reviewed cafe on Huia St is a good place to stop.