Cafe Alba is a cafe on Bowen Street in Waiuku, Franklin, holding a strong 4.5 rating from 230 Google reviews and sharing news with customers through its Facebook page.
Good cafes live or die on the details: coffee that has been roasted recently and pulled properly, and a cabinet stocked fresh each morning. In New Zealand the flat white remains the true test of a barista, while cabinet food — slices, filled rolls, scones — is at its best early in the day, so first pick goes to those who arrive before midday. In small country towns like Waiuku the cafe often doubles as the community's meeting room, which means weekend brunches fill tables quickly, and regulars soon learn the quiet windows and which favourites run out first.
For a proper flat white or an unhurried weekend brunch, Cafe Alba sits right on Bowen Street at the heart of Waiuku.