Windermere Berry Farm is a working berry farm just five minutes north of Whanganui on the Whanganui–New Plymouth main highway (State Highway 3), where the same family has been growing berry fruit and produce for over 50 years. Through the season — from mid-October until the end of April — its cafe and shop welcome visitors every day from 9am to 5pm.
The cafe is famous for its buttermilk pancakes, served with crispy bacon, caramelised banana, maple syrup, berry fruit sauce and plenty of fresh berries, with your choice of cream or natural yogurt. Alongside the pancakes there's a blackboard all-day brunch and lunch menu, Eggs Benedict, cabinet baking with freshly made muffins and scones, and a range of gluten free options. Espresso coffee, real fruit smoothies, thickshakes and sumptuous berry fruit ice cream round out the menu. Note that the grill closes at 2pm.
The shop is where the farm itself takes centre stage: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries in season, plus the farm's own jams, wines and honey, alongside specialty products like St Andrews Limes and L'affare, and a range of gifts and accessories. No bookings are needed for the cafe, though groups of more than eight are asked to text ahead — and there are alpacas on the farm to meet.
Five minutes north of Whanganui on the Whanganui–New Plymouth main highway, Windermere Berry Farm has been quietly doing one thing for more than fifty years: growing berry fruit. What began as a working farm on State Highway 3 has become one of the region's favourite roadside stops, where the season's strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries end up on your plate, in your glass, and in jars to take home.
The cafe and shop open every day from 9am to 5pm for the duration of the season, which runs from mid-October until the end of April. Come winter, the cafe closes its doors and the farm rests — so if you're driving past in July, don't be surprised to find it quiet. Locals know to watch for the spring reopening, and travellers who time their trip right are well rewarded.
Ask anyone in Whanganui about Windermere and one word comes back: pancakes. The cafe's buttermilk pancakes are its signature — two to a plate, served with crispy bacon and caramelised banana, drizzled with maple syrup and berry fruit sauce, then finished with plenty of fresh berries and your choice of cream or natural yogurt. Large and regular plates sit alongside a child's size, and extras like bacon and banana are there if you want to build.
The grill also turns out Eggs Benedict, made with bacon or with spinach and mushroom, with a gluten free option available. One thing to note: the grill closes at 2pm, so brunch plans need a morning arrival. Brunch plates run from 9am, with the blackboard carrying an all-day brunch and lunch menu alongside the cabinet.
If you're not here for a full plate, the cabinet does a brisk trade in homemade baking. Strawberry sponge cake, caramelised onion and blue cheese muffins, white chocolate and berry cheesecake, and savoury or sweet scones are among the most popular lines, with freshly baked muffins and scones a constant — and gluten free options woven through the menu.
The berry fruit ice cream deserves its reputation. It comes in waffle cones — with a gluten free waffle cone available — or in plain cones and tubs, with kid's sizes and a yogurt option. The real fruit smoothies are another crowd-pleaser: All the Berries, Strawberry Smash and Blueberry Booster, each made with your choice of ice cream or frozen yogurt as the base. Prefer to drink your fruit another way? Thickshakes and milkshakes come in nine flavours, from chocolate and caramel to lime, spearmint and creaming soda. And there's espresso coffee throughout, served fast to travellers passing through who need it to go.
Next door, the farm shop is where the growing side of the business shows. Depending on the season you'll find the farm's own strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, along with Windermere's own jams, wines and honey. A selection of specialty food products rounds it out — think St Andrews Limes and L'affare products — plus a range of gifts and accessories for anyone passing through with a hamper in mind.
Then there are the alpacas. They've become part of the visit in their own right, and meeting them is one of the things regulars bring their kids back for. Between the animals, the ice cream and the open space, it's an easy stop for families.
No bookings are needed for the cafe — just turn up. For groups of more than eight people, the farm asks you to send a text with the name, number of guests, date, time and any special requirements, and they'll sort you out. If you're travelling through Whanganui and in a hurry, the team prides itself on fast, friendly service with takeaway coffee, so the farm works just as well as a quick stop as it does a slow morning.
Whether you come for the pancakes, leave with a jar of jam, or stay to meet the alpacas, Windermere Berry Farm is the rare highway stop worth building a detour around — as long as you get there before the grill closes, and in the right season.