Big Time (BT) Cafe Thoughts

BT Cafe, right in the heart of Birkenhead was a great find for a quiet meal on Friday night.  BT Cafe is a fairly small (read cosy) restaurant located at 55 Birkenhead Ave.  It’s in the Auckland Entertainment Book for those with it, and with a complimentary main, it makes for a great value meal.

I wonder whether it has gone through a management change recently, as a number of comments about it on the web don’t mesh with our experience.  For instance, this review says that it’s not very good value, but with the most expensive main being around $20, I don’t think there’s any reason to complain about value. The common thread in these reviews was slowness and poor quality of service.  We didn’t experience this however, the waiter came outside to tell us the specials as we were reading the menu, sat us promptly, and provided us with water, glasses and cuttlery.  The entree was a bit slow (about half an hour after ordering) but the mains arrived shortly after the entree (40-45 minutes from ordering), well within an acceptable timeframe.

On the note of timeframes, I can imagine that the waits people have experienced could be common.  When we were there, the restaurant was being run by a husband and wife team with another waitress who seemed unable to speak English.  With one person in the Kitchen, serving the 5-10 people who came in altogether would probably have left the last people waiting at least an hour.

The food was wonderful.  We had the Scotch Fillet Steaks, and they were exquisite.  I would say (and did to the chef) that these were the best cooked steaks I had ever eaten.  Portions were large, with other patrons comparing them to the famous Lone Star portions, high praise indeed.

In conclusion I would recommend you check out BT Cafe, but do it sometime when an hour long wait isn’t going to spoil the experience.  The food’s worth the wait and I honestly believe the lovely couple that run the place are doing the best they can, so should be cut some slack.