Industry Cafe

Someone from this business manages this listing.

92 reviews

#13 of 74 Restaurants in Invercargill$$ - $$$, Cafe, European, Contemporary

+64 3-218 9263+ Add website

Hours

Mon

7:00 am - 4:00 pm

Tue

7:00 am - 4:00 pm

Wed

7:00 am - 4:00 pm

Thu

7:00 am - 4:00 pm

Fri

7:00 am - 4:00 pm

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Ratings and reviews

4.5

92 reviews

#13 of 74 Restaurants in Invercargill

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Details

Someone from this business manages this listing.

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CUISINES

Cafe, European, Contemporary, Fusion, Healthy, New Zealand

Special Diets

Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch, Drinks

features

Location and contact

33 Arena Avenue, Invercargill 9810 New Zealand

+64 3-218 9263

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Does this restaurant have a full bar?

Yes

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Details

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About

After purchasing Industry in July 2018, head chef and owner Mark Heffer’s lifelong dream of owning and operating a cafe alongside his family and close friends was complete. With eight years experience as a chef with a passion for good food, that passion is now directed into bringing Invercargill the very best food and drinks possible. We want dining with us at Industry to be an experience, not just a meal.

CUISINES

Cafe, European, Contemporary, Fusion, Healthy, New Zealand

Special Diets

Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch, Drinks

FEATURES

Takeout, Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Free off-street parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Wine and Beer, Free Wifi, Table Service

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4.5

92 reviews

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Brittney W

Hamilton96 contributions

Great Eggs

Oct 2020 • none

Our visit to Industry Cafe during our stay in Invercargill came about as it was the top rated cafe on Trip Advisor. The lovely lady on the counter was really friendly and helpful when we arrived. She sorted us out with menus to look over. Once decided, we placed our orders without any fuss. We must of arrived at a good time as 10 minutes later the cafe was packed! People did not stop coming and going the entire time we were there. I ordered the eggs benedict with bacon and switched the hash browns for ciabatta + a flat white with coconut milk and my partner ordered The Bad Boy meal with a flat white. My partner was a little disappointed in the size of the meal when it came out but commented it was more filling than it looked and ended up being more than enough food. My meal was absolutely delicious! The eggs were cooked perfectly - nicely cooked whites with runny yolks. The hollandaise sauce had good flavour and didn't have an overpowering taste. The were a couple of downsides, though nothing too major. I would have preferred my meal to be served on a plate as it was rather difficult to eat out of the bowl type dish it was in. Also the crust of the bread and bacon was a little too crispy. This made it very hard to cut with a knife and try to pick up with a fork. This definitely did not affect the flavour and the meals were still very good, just slightly awkward to eat. My parents ordered the Tried and True Toast, Plain Old Eggs on Toast with bacon as well as coffees. Very satisfied with the taste of their meals also but had the same experience with the cripsy toast and bacon. We weren't too keen on the coffee but my partner and I decided that it was due to personal preference on the taste of coffee beans they use. No reflection on the cafe at all, they were definitely well made, quality coffees which we were still happy to drink, just not quite our flavour. The cafe had an awesome design. I loved the colours and how bright and open it was. It had a lovely atmosphere and feel about it. We experienced great customer service during our visit, everyone was so friendly. The food was of very good quality and the meals were worth the price. This was a lovely experience out for us and is somewhere I would happily return to. Thanks for a great breakfast :)

Written 29 October 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Industry Cafe

Thanks very much for your review, ones like this are extremely helpful as they have heaps or feedback for us to digest.

Written 16 April 2023

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Explorer747143

36 contributions

Faulty Towers

Sept 2020 • friends

We visited for lunch 10 September 2020, 3 of us. Food very nice, and coffee also good. However the service was the closest to “Faulty Towers” I have seen for years, a complete shambles. Four times we had to ask for water before it arrived. Waitress completely unfazed and informed us she had forgotten our request. It seemed to us that there was no one in charge and all the waitresses were doing their own thing in a haphazard way. Won’t be back I’m afraid.

Written 9 September 2020

IndustryCafeNZ

Hi there Thanks for your review and feedback, as im sure you are aware everywhere is struggling currently to keep up with all the regulations set out by the government to keep people safe in hospitality. Our front of house staff are having to juggle multiple tables at a time, and being that you are only aloud 1 person to seat, take the order, run the meals and take payments it is sometimes easy to forget a request unfortunately. We hope that you understand that this is trying times for us and we hope you will give us another chance when we are back to normal. P.s we love your faulty towers reference and next time you come in we will make sure that Manuel is not serving you 😂

Written 12 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Aanon

Invercargill18 contributions

Favourite cafe in Invercargill

Jun 2020 • family

Love this cafe! Food is always great service is always great and it has a great atmosphere about it. Wish it opened at weekends but love how much they respect their staff and how important weekends are for people. Manage to get here every month or so whenever I can wrangle a visit it is my first choice. Keep up the great work, looking forward to Friday nights happening again.

Written 4 September 2020

Industry Cafe

Thanks heaps for the review and it is a breath of fresh air for someone to understand why we shut weekends.

Written 16 April 2023

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Southerncrossflyer

Auckland18 contributions

Terrible service

Oct 2020 • none

I visited Industry for a late lunch on the way to the airport. After ordering a chicken filo, I sat down and patiently waited with my order number. After 30 minutes, I asked how much longer my order would take. The staff initially said they had no record of my order, but with my insistence finally found my order on their computer. They then advised me that they no longer had any chicken filo and offered me a cake instead! At that stage I needed to leave to catch my flight and didn’t think a cake was a suitable lunch (they had sold all of their other lunch food during my 30 minute wait), so I asked for a refund and left. A complete waste of time, resulting in me catching a flight without lunch. I strongly suggest you avoid Industry at all costs. The cafe called “The Batch” down the road has much better service, better looking food and a much nicer interior. Go there instead.

Written 14 October 2020

IndustryCafeNZ

Hi there, I'm very sorry to here your dining experience with us wasn't a pleasant one. From what we could tell there was a problem with our till and your docket didn't print out in the kitchen. Im awfully sorry about how this was all handled i informed my staff to offer you a full refund, aswell as something on the house to take with you for your troubles. If you would like to get in contact with us I would be more than happy to send you a voucher so we can show you this is not a usual occurrence for us. Mark

Written 16 October 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

rap28

Queenstown71 contributions

Great food but shame about the attitude

Oct 2021 • business

The food here is always great, the speed it comes out is amazing and the tea is sublime. However this was all ruined today by the fact we booked our regular monthly table for 7-8 people for breakfast, we were running late and so called to let them know - only to find on arrival we had been bumped from the quiet meeting corner to a pushed together set of tables in the middle of the cafe. We asked if we could go to the usual table and was rudely told by the manager that - ‘had you been here at 8 yes but not now’. The attitude was unnecessary and unwanted by our MD. We spend a lot of time here and come each not just month, but almost daily, and usually find the service top notch but this hit us hard with a lack of respect. The table was booked at 9am for the next lot of people, however when we come for 8 we stay for at least 1.5 hours anyway so we wouldn’t have been clear in time regardless of whether we got there at 8 or not. A simple discussion to say apologies we tried to hold the table for you but we had to swap you over, I’ll do my best to hold it next time for you would have been the correct and professional way to handle it. As a company owner if my staff acted like that to my long standing and regular paying customers I would be highly displeased. Out of respect to cafes ran with a smile and a friendly attitude I’ll take my business elsewhere.

Written 28 October 2021

Industry Cafe

Hi there I'm very glad you enjoyed your food and usually the service, however I'm very aware of what happened this morning as my front of house manager informed me straight away. To be completely honest I agree with her, you rang to say you would be 15 mins late and then arived 30 minutes later. Upon booking you didn't specify that you were in for a meeting and needed a quiet room. The booking for 9am is a weekly booking that always has that room for their own meetings. I think it's pretty selfish of you to expect us to move you in there after arriving 30 minutes late. How would we have explained that to the group that normally has that table? Honestly I'm surprised my staff held the table that you had actually booked for 30 minutes. (Especially on Friday at one of the busiest times ot the day) To be honest I wouldn't of and I can't imagine any other food establishment in the country would. We are still in a pandemic and every penny coming in counts, I think people are very quick to forget that. Rather than worrying about my Staff members attitude when you arrive 30 minutes late, maybe try being greatful that you were served at all. We are a family and a team and I back my Staff 100% Have a great weekend 🤣

Written 28 October 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

rewa l

4 contributions

Hollandaise

May 2022 • friends

This was my 3rd lunchtime visit with friends and the third time I was told there was no hollandaise Left to go with eggs Benedict! I would have appreciated being told before I ordered and paid for the meal. The waitress arrived later at our table to tell me and I was given a choice of 2 other sauces, neither of which appealed or to change order completely. I felt the waitress could have arrived with the menu. To save a further wait to ordered the same dish a friend was having! Deffinitely check on the hollandaise status before ordering!

Written 8 May 2022

Industry Cafe

Hi there, thanks for your review, our staff member on the till has been with us for less than 2 weeks and is still learning. We are very sorry that she didn't inform you at the time of ordering your meal, this is the usual protocol. As I'm sure you are aware dairy is incredibly expensive at the moment and as we make our hollandaise fresh every day it isn't something we can risk wasting. If you arrive later in the day or after a very busy morning/lunch I can almost guarantee that you will miss out again. To break it down for you we make 1 litres worth of Hollandaise for the day and quite often we have to make a decision part way through the day if it is busy enough to make more and run the risk of wasting money or just offering other sauces if people are still craving bacon, eggs and hashbrowns. Unfortunately we are dammed if we do and dammed if we don't. Glad to here you have been back 3 times you and your friends must be enjoying the food 😉 I also see you have made another booking with us for a friday lunch . I'd advise you ringing up and pre booking your meal to make sure that we will have hollandaise for you. Otherwise we will almost definitely be sold out again just by how popular it is. Mark

Written 17 May 2022

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

67TravelBug67

Auckland1090 contributions

Yum Cheese Rolls

Nov 2020 • friends

When in Southland gotta have a cheese roll and Industry did not disappoint. Tried the chorizo and bacon cheese roll and it was yum. All the cabinet food looked awesome, I am surprised this cafe isnt more highly rated. Its located a bit out of the main area but the parking is great so if you have a car give it try.

Written 19 November 2020

Industry Cafe

Thanks heaps for your review ! We do love our cheese rolls and we are glad you enjoyed them to 😊

Written 16 April 2023

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

mank

14 contributions

Expensive under cooked fries

Nov 2023 • friends

Arrived at 10.30am, not overly busy on s Tues. Ordered a smoothie & fries. Both average, smoothie lacked flavour & most expensive out of several other up market cafes in Invercargill. Fries were pale, under cooked almost soggy. Friend had scrambled eggs, toast was dry & cold.

Written 17 November 2023

Industry Cafe

Hi Gerhard, Sorry it has taken so long for me to get back to you. Not that this is an excuse but my Staff where extremely short staffed when this happened. Both myself and my front of house manager where in the UK due to a death in our immediate family. Sorry that you had this bad experience and we will be sure to be more thorough in the future.

Written 20 April 2024

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Compass27259253589

1 contribution

Wait on cabinet food!

Jun 2023 • solo

I had to wait 15min it’s for cabinet food, the cashier was flustered and I heard her talking under her breath to another about me waiting which she instructed me to do! Rather than just grab my cabinet food and give it to me like any other normal cafe would have. Ridiculous

Written 20 July 2023

Industry Cafe

We are so sorry to read this ! unfortunately on our busiest day of the week we do sometimes have waits on takeaways and I'm sorry that you weren't told that there would be 1 when you ordered, this is not ok and we will work on this in the future. I would Like to think that the muttering part is just my staff telling someone what you were waiting on to ensure it is coming. I truly am sorry that this was your experience and I do hope you will be back for a better one. kind regards, kerry (foh manager)

Written 21 July 2023

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

xbirdx

Invercargill45 contributions

Best place for Lunch

Feb 2020 • none

Whether you want a big lunch off the menu or son=mething delicous from the cabinet, then this is the palce to go. It is especially good for anyone with food allergies. Im Gluten free and never have a problem with finding something on the menu. I use this as one of my regular meeting places with clients because the chai's and coffee are so good

Written 8 March 2020

Industry Cafe

Thanks xbirdx we really enjoy making Gluten free options and messing around with different ideas to suit dietry requirements.

Written 16 April 2023

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

solveitandescape

Invercargill2 contributions

Awesome food and staff - Wife says the coffee is amazing

Aug 2022 • none

Always a great experience when in there, food is delicious and they have been great with allergy requirements. I dont drink coffee, but my wife says it's the best coffee in town..... based on thorough testing hahaha. Staff are always very welcoming, even when rushed off their feet.

Written 11 August 2022

Industry Cafe

Thanks heaps guys! We are really glad you enjoyed your visit.

Written 16 April 2023

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Rielle

New Zealand57 contributions

Vegetarian Benedict

Apr 2021 • couples

The food was great. The vegetarian benedict was deliciously different and the eggs were awesome. Only let down was the till girl seemed to be passive aggressive but could have just been stressed out... unsure. The lemon tart and benedict was just fabulous hence why I have given a 4 star.

Written 30 May 2021

Industry Cafe

Thanks Grinvc, I'm really glad you enjoyed your food. The odds are you are correct and she would of been stressed out due to how busy we get. Nevertheless I will mention it to her. Thanks for your feedback.

Written 16 April 2023

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Mavi5

Invercargill92 contributions

Good coffee

Apr 2022 • friends

Consistently great coffee, industry has a great range of cabinet food as well as menu options. The food is usually very good. Industry is a little out of the way but is a good spot to meet friends or grab a coffee. Its biggest drawback is that it isn’t isn’t open on the weekend.

Written 21 April 2022

Industry Cafe

Thanks very much for your review we are really glad you enjoy our food.

Written 16 April 2023

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

moleseymum

Dunedin51 contributions

Quality food & service

Mar 2023 • family

Generous portions of quality food. The addition of a talented guitarist helped to disguise what could probably be quite a noisy place. The staff were excellent & willing to meet any requests. It I had to criticise, it would be that we were fairly tightly packed but that shows how popular they are. There was a little too much dressing on the food for my taste, but I'll just ask for it on the side in future.

Written 25 March 2023

Industry Cafe

Hi there, thanks for your review but I believe you are getting us mixed up with another Cafe. We don't have live music.

Written 16 April 2023

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Angus Wishart

Taupo25 contributions

Good Taste in Design and Drinks

Jan 2020 • couples

My partner and I checked out this sleek cafe in the Industrial section of town. A modern trendy vibe with top class hot drinks. Loved the chai latte and caramel slice. The interior design is beautiful and the tables and chairs reek good taste. A good mix of families, professionals and the elderly havin' a cuppa.