The Boy & The Rose 21-23 North Avoca Parade, North Avoca, New South Wales 2260

"The first thing that I thought when we sat down and looked at the menu was ‘why on earth is everything so well priced??’ I think Melbourne cafes have cooked my brain into thinking that $25 for a meal is just totally normal haha. Both my partner and I ordered a poached egg on our meals because it was really cheap to do it and we still would have saved compared to something we would have had in Melbourne haha. The location is really lovely. You’re more or less a street away from the beach so the vibes are incredibly relaxed. It’s beautiful and the weather really was idyllic that day. The food and coffee here were not bad. Definitely not what I was used to but I think for the price, what we got was fair."

"We based our choice on this cafe from reviews. We drove from Newcastle and met others who drove from Sydney. We sat down at 11.30am on the only table available. This was 29 March 2023. 3 other tables were out at the time with customers and the rest stacked away. At 11.30. Over the next 15 mins the staff were stacking chairs and packing away other tables as customers left. We queried if the cafe was closing early as they were clearly packing all seating etc away. We had only had a coffee and yet to order brunch. We were advised the kitchen closes at 1.30. All of us felt it was odd that they were packing away. We ordered at 12.15. in the meantime the staff started to sweep the floor and stack all the chairs etc inside the cafe. By the time our food arrived the inside of the cafe was basically full of stacked chairs and we had the distinct impression we should eat and get moving. It was far from relaxing and enjoyable. We also saw another customer arrive - look at the staff sweeping (this was around 12.25) and walk away - he went next door and purchased food. On the food - my buddy ordered Avo and poached egg on toast. The poached egg was pre-cooked and stored in the fridge. It was minus the white and rock hard. The egg was cold. Not room temperature cold but ice cold. Absolutely the worst cafe experience I have had. If you do not want custom after 11am then just close. Edit:: In response to staff claiming we left earlier I am happy to provide a screen copy of my bank receipt to the owner showing I purchased a drink at Aromas at Terrigal just after 1pm same day where we moved to. I assume the staff have us confused and I’m certain the cctv footage would show your cafe full of furniture By the way it was fine weather while we were there. None of this was raised for any other purpose other than to highlight the point of view from a customer. How you use this information is entirely up to you."

"The food and coffee were delicious. Great value as well! Definitely worth the walk up the beach from the south end!"

"Overrated. I have visited a few time and unfortunately compared to other cafes this one is really not very good. It feels like a cafe set up by young kids employing their coolest friends. Very Newtown in the 90s but it needs a VERY good clean and the staff wearing proper aprons. Food served on oily wooden chopping boards - no thank you. The menu is good and the coffee is ok. Lack of ventilation inside will make you smell like burnt butter for the rest of the day. The outdoor set up is on the road so even though it's close to the beach you don't see anything. The lack of cutlery and serviettes is annoying and the consumed decor is 'cool' but so very sticky. The staff are all young and kinda friendly but have the tired 'please don't bother me I work so hard' attitude. This is the only cafe in its location so the locals don't have much choice and maybe with no competition it gets a few stars but I cannot possibly give it more than 1 star! Sorry."