Fat Dog Cafe & Bar

Fat Dog Café is usually one of my go-to spots in Rotorua – the service is consistently friendly and fast, and I’ve had great experiences here in the past. But this visit left me a little underwhelmed. I waited around 25 minutes for my food to arrive, and when it did, the chips were cold and the steak was overcooked (well done rather than the medium I’d ordered). The seasoning was a bit off too – didn’t quite hit the mark. On a more positive note, the Kiwi Sāmoan Shake was great – creamy, refreshing, and exactly what you’d want from a smoothie. Still love the vibe and energy of the place, but overall the food was pretty average this time. Hopefully just a one-off.

Absolutely loved this spot! The design is super cute, and the whole place has a really welcoming vibe. The food was great with decent portions—our Waffle was perfectly cooked, and the Chocolate Cake was rich and delicious. Service was fast, friendly, and made the experience even better. Definitely keen to come back and try more from the menu!

Absolutely loved this place. We all did. Super friendly staff. Amazing food. Cool set up of a restaurant. Will 100% go here again when i pass through or go on holiday.

The best cafe for breakfast! Friendly staff and you receive your drink and food quickly. A wide range of breakfast options. I would recommend Fat Dog Cafe & Bar to all, when you are visiting Rotorua.

Food and ambience are great. Families welcome. Quirky unique design. Have been a returning customer every time I come to Rotorua. Highly recommend a visit for their yummy cabinet food or staying for a delicious and generous-portion meal.

Very cool fun restaurant, kids and parents love the cartoon theme. Food was great, thanks guys. Rory from Naked Marketing

Best food, we love the breakfast here, coffee, amazing smoothies, great vibe, family friendly, fits everyone’s needs, one of the best caramel slices in NZ 👌👌👌🫶🫶🫶🎉🎉 Definitely one of the places that you must try 👌

I came back after 4 years and the food still top notch… French toast was good size and tastes just right… avo on toast same thing with some extra on the side

Food is fresh and all delish! The fat dog is gobup order they bring it to you go up to counter to pay. Casual food. Next to it is the fainting goat which I could not find on yelp. Delish too! I had cauliflower wings very good. Dude salad is an entree salad so big! Service is fantastic,

Ate there for lunch. Fish and chips were pretty good Would not recommend the vegan soup .

A solid breakfast place with quick and friendly staff and a charming style! Love the look of the handwritten menu (and if you have a hard time reading, they do have the menu printed out). My family and I ended up going there two mornings in a row. The first morning was a quick breakfast - had mostly muffins (huge!!), coffee chocolate cake or bagel (never had a marmite & cream cheese bagel before and it was delicious!) Second day was a bit slower pace since we had more time so we had some of the larger breakfast plates - bene, mushroom on toast and the corned beef hash. I mostly ate my corned beef hash and can't speak much on the others (although the hash brown with the bene with really good! Not what Americans would call a hash brown but just as good - more like a block of potato with a soft interior with a crispy outside). My hash was delicious - legit the perfect breakfast with the gooeyness of the egg, creamy hollandaise and saltiness of the corned beef. A+ Drinks were solid and straightforward. My only criticism is that their chai is made with syrup :(

Love this place! Such a cute theme and the waiters were all so sweet and nice! The place is very clean and they provide a bunch of condiments! The food is delicious, especially the fat juicy sausages! 10/10 recommend!

Rotorua is such a great place. The town has so many amazing spas and this place is where it is at for breakfast. Love the decor. Great portion sizes. Great selection.

We came into Fat Dog Cafe for lunch on the recommendation of my sister-in-law. When we first arrived, the restaurant was quite busy, but we were able to find a seat. After a quick scan of the menu, we went to the register to place our order. We ordered the Classic Kiwi Fish & Chips, Tropical Fish Burger, Crispy Coated Wings and The Wings & Ribs Combo. So far most of the food we have had in New Zealand has been fairly bland and not very flavorful (not much sugar, salt or seasoning) for American tastes, but to our surprise, Fat Dog Cafe, pumps out really delicious food and the serving size was decent for American standards. Small portion sizes in New Zealand has also been one of my observations, but not here! We actually had to request boxes to take leftovers back to our hotel to finish later. At first, I thought the prices were slightly steep for the type of food they offered, but when I saw the potion size and tasted the food, it was worth it! When in Rotorua, this is a must try!

Fat Dog was the best breakfast my husband and I had in NZ. The food was fresh, creative and delicious! My husband had the corned beef hash. He loved how flavorful the corned beef was and said the hollandaise was 10/10. I had the Turkish eggs, which was a fresh and lighter breakfast option than the corned beef. We also enjoyed our coffee at Fat Dog. The service was quick and friendly.

The owner is a very nice guy and helped my two homeless friends Paul Denino and Sam Pepper. Great restaurant that serves high quality food!

This review is really just for their hot chocolate. I have never ever seen another place serve hot chocolate with a marshmallow and a small cookie! I think this might be the best hot chocolate I've ever consumed. How can chocolate syrup and steamed milk taste so good!! Aside from the hot choco, this looks like a nice spot to relax and study at. I really like the decor inside. I would definitely come back for another hot chocolate if I visit this part of New Zealand again.

Fabulous Food and extra large quantities! Gracious owners and understood my Texas draw with a smile. I would encourage everyone to stop by and eat at the Fat Dog!

Fat Dog looks like a fun local place with good food, but my salad was disappointing. Not only was the price on the high side, but the ingredients were not impressive and the chicken was drenched in satay sauce, basically drowning out the formerly crispy lettuce, which was completely wilted from the hot satay sauce. Also, the salad portions were modest and definitely not "huge", as another reviewer said. I was still hungry after eating every bite. I did see someone with a large burger and another with a giant plate of fries. So maybe the idea of huge portions would apply to the grilled items. But the salads are definitely not the forte this place. If you're looking for a great salad, move on...

Hearty juicy burger. Unique ingredients, I had a pork burger mixed with black pudding, which made for the best kick I've had in a NZ burger. My toppings were massive, I definitely got dirty eating this haha Open Wide! The fries were crispy, and the basket felt endless. I was using the burger topping juice to dip fries in : ) My husband got the Bollox burger which was a ridiculous stack of burger perfect after a long day of hiking. The spiraled beets on top were a new ingredient I quickly fell in love with. I wanted to order some to add to mine. Definitely worth a visit. The staff was also super friendly, they gave a free muffin to a toddler, and helped me google stuff nearby since I was a lost tourist asking about whereto go.

Extremely large portions, share a meal! We just wanted a small lunch, luckily we had decided to split a burger. This thing was huge!!! It had 2 large patties on it with a side of chips (fries). It was really good. Service was normal. Good place for a good lunch. Fries were really good as well

They serve breakfast until 1pm so we tried breakfasts for lunch. Waffles with banana, whipped cream, and bacon; corned beef hash with eggs and (hollandaise?) sauce. Both looked great -- really nice presentation -- but the waffles were just OK. Not bad, but nothing special: standard waffles, plain old syrup ... the bacon was very tasty, though. The corned beef, on the other hand, was very good -- I'd get that again! Cooked well, with enough sauce for every bite, and nice dollops of pesto on the plate. The bread was merely ok -- probably tastier if smothered in butter -- but the meal didn't really need it anyway. Looking forward to trying more from the big menu!

Ordinarily, I would shy away from any place with "fat" in its name, but I ventured in here for lunch. The menu is vast and I chose the Falafel Buddha Bowl. It was pretty good - falafel, coleslaw, tomato salsa, avocado/pea mash, hummus, and tzatziki (with flat bread - but I left that off my order). It came quickly and was very fresh. I enjoyed it, although the falafels were quite dry. They would have been impossible to eat without the sauces. I would come here again though - it's very popular, but no trouble getting a table as it's spacious.

Very good. Nice big meals for hungry men. The avocado toast was yummy with ciabatta bread. Very fun atmosphere with lots to look at.

Famous brunch spot in Rotorua - Overall, standard good - had the classic breakfast with eggs, toast, sausages, hashbrown - everything is cooked well but does not leave a particularly memorable impression - Large portion - Good coffee and very friendly service

This meal was just what I needed after a few days of lackluster meals. After walking down Eat Street and not really seeing anything that drew us in, we continued onto the street behind Eat Street and found Fat Dog. I liked the coffee house and relaxed ambiance, and I was surprised to find they offered entrees and not just burgers and sandwiches for dinner. We ended up getting the pork belly in broth with bok choy and rice noodles (28NZD) and the lamb shanks with kumara (sweet potato) mash and roasted veggies on gravy (30NZD). Both entrees came out piping hot and, as true to the other reviews, in a huge portion. The food was delicious and reminded me of something you'd find at a tasty gastropub, not at a low-key cafe. The lamb shank fell right off of the bone, and the dish had the perfect amount of veggies to meat ratio. The pork belly had a crispy, caramelized layer on top as the bottom sat in broth and rice noodles. If we didn't already have breakfast provided through our accommodation, I would definitely be coming back here to try their extensive list of drinks, breakfast, lunch, dessert, and bakery items.

Definitely a cool place to go when visiting Rotorua! It's a great place for breakfast and lunch, and the portions are HUGE! The place has a decent amount of seating so it's not hard to fit a group in there. My group got the butter chicken, the steak sandwich and fish & chips. All amazing! From checking out other people's orders, the breakfast looked really good. Definitely worth stopping by!

Stopped in here for a steak sandwich before continuing a drive up to auckland. Definitely kitschy vibe, the lion King soundtrack was playing at one point. My sandwich came out quickly and was fantastic, good cut of meat, cheese, focaccia bread, lettuce and slaw, potato wedges that were perfectly cooked and salted. At just over $21 NZD I think it might be on the expensive side, but it's a lot of food and we'll worth it if you're hungry - it's stacked so high you have to eat it with a knife and fork!

Great breakfast place open early and with a very tasty selection of savory and sweet options. The staff was very chipper, and our food arrived very fast to our table. Husband had the fry up and I had the beetroot salmon bagel. Don't know who's was better...ok, it was totally mine. Good selection of coffees and teas as well. They have lunch options offered after 11am. Seems to be a favorite of locals as we saw several walkers and newspaper readers in early.

This place was average but I'll give it five stars for being next to FTP Vegan Eats..

Nice staff and good food. We split the Bullox Burger and fries. Glad we did. The thing was huge. I like a messy burger, so I loved this; it an "everything including the kitchen sink" kind of burger. My BF likes his burgers plainer, so he didn't like it as much as I did. Location was easy to find and easy to park, right on one of the major shopping streets.

Came here with a group on our way back to Auckland when we stayed in Rotorua. Got to try several things and the food was very hit or miss in my opinion. The chowder they had was delicious but the bangers & mash were so sweet it was strange. A friend of mine ordered the most tasteless hot dog I've ever had but the chocolate caramel pie was out of this world yummy. Don't remember the staff being particularly friendly but we did come in fairly close to their closing time. Atmosphere is casual but very cute and inviting. All in all if I were local I would definitely give this place another try as I'm sure I would find a handful of things to enjoy.

Portions are huge, even by American standards ;-) Hamburgers are delicious and stacked high with numerous toppings depending on theme you choose (eg, onion rings, fried egg, bacon). Milkshakes are also spot on! Fries were okay; could use salt and a bit longer frying time. Cake was again sliced huge, and can def recommend carrot as long as it's shared with another ;-)

I was NOT expecting how much food I got and I had zero complaints. I ordered the fish and chips which was under the "for hungry people" section of the menu and I was hungry but I didn't know what I was getting into. Inside was a nice little café vibe with a fish tank and lots of colors, we sat outside though. I really liked how all the table markers they gave were different, my table was given a statue of forks and knives and my friends table was given a fish statue! It was super unique and really cool. My food came out and it was so much more than I thought there would be. I got basically a pile of fish with a bunch of chips underneath. To compare the amount of food to other restaurants, it was basically 3 times as much fish as the other places I ordered fish and chips. Yes, I ate the whole pile of fish and I have no regrets. 6/5

Pretty busy morning but the service was fast and the food was delicious. Outside alternative area with plenty of seating that is warmed.

Good service. Plenty of options to choose from, all the way from Breakfast to Lunch/Dinner to Dessert and some local beer. However, the food was okay - the servings were quite large but the quality could be a tad bit better. For example, the meat could be less dry and the ribs could have more substance in relation to the bone. Other than that, the place had plenty of seats and nice casual cafe feel.

Whoa what a selection to choose from! Where do we start??? Well we had the salmon salad, eggs bene, and the the kids had the kids breakie. The eggs bene was very good. The bread (not sure what kind) and the bacon blended perfectly with the eggs. Our salad was good. The blue cheese was especially good and the smoked salmon was nice and fresh. The kids enjoyed their breakfast mixed plate (eggs over easy, sausage, bacon, and hash browns) The portion sizes were very generous, and I would say this is a place easy to recommend for sure.

The fat dog is located in down town Rotorua. They have a HUGE menu! So their are lots of options and a meal for everyone. I had the gnocchi lunch special and it came out promptly, hot, and delicious :)

We came to Fat Dog on the recommendation of a tour guide, who raved about the place. We ordered the steak sandwich and chili beef nachos to share as the portions are very large. The food presentation is very good but we felt that the flavor didn't live up to the visual experience. We were disappointed that neither the sandwich or the nachos had the flavor we were expecting and we left full but not entirely satisfied. The atmosphere and ambiance of Fat Dog is a lot of fun; we loved the quotes that covered everything and the quirky decor and table markers. Even though we weren't impressed by the food, the restaurant itself helps make up for it.

Enjoyed breakfast here. Easy going staff, delicious breakfast and coffee. I also tried the chocolate caramel slice, which powered me straight through the Tokorangi Pa trail in The Redwoods.

Years ago Fat Dog had a great reputation and served good food. I returned back to Rotorua yesterday and was so hungry that I headed to the closest cafe which was Fat Dog. The serving sizes are still enormous but the quality of the food was poor - bland, tasteless - and my family member and I were wishing that we had gone somewhere else. We ordered a vege fritata and small fries - the fritata little more than a large serving of baked egg, the fries soft and unsalted. The service was okay, the staff pleasant enough but the table we sat at were so sticky my sweater kept catching on it. I wouldn't recommend this cafe at the moment.

Great place to eat! Open early so we could start our day with a wonderful breakfast before our hike. Coffee comes with a delightful shortbread cookie which I would order more chefs just to get the cookie. If you are in Rotorua this is a must!

After reading all the rave reviews, this place looked like a must visit for dinner when we were visiting Rotorua. It was very busy when we first walked in, we couldn't even find a place to sit at first and asked a large group if we'd be able to use end of their table since it was just the two of us. The order was taken at the counter and the food was brought to our table, it took a little while probably since there were so many people there. The food was definitely worth the wait, because it was delicious. We tried the NZ Lamb Shanks and the bangers and mash kiwi style. The lamb shanks were fall off the bone tender and flavorful, the mash was sweet potato (kumara) in gravy which made for a perfect compliment. My husband enjoyed the bangers and mash, which contained beef and lamb sausages paired with sweet potato mash also. The lamb sausages was really unique and good because there aren't very many places that offer lamb sausages in the US.

Awful. Hoped to eat at the neighboring place, Che Chorizo, but it was closed for lunch so I stumbled into Fat Dog, their neighbor for a quick bite. Overview: Food: 1/5 Price: 2/5 Service: 3/5 Atmosphere: 2/5 I've been to worse places, but this was hard to take given the string of great restaurants I'd been to while touring NZ. I ordered the steak sandwich which was accompanied by ~2 kg of roasted potatoes. The sandwich itself was a strange mix of 99% role, ranch/mayo mixture, sweet and savory cheese and sliced cabbage, and underneath that, I discovered what I had ordered --- a petite, rubbery, steak only edible via vigorous cutting and chewing. Not trying to be poetic here, just accurate -- I sat there the entire time thinking WTF is this. It was like a Ruby Tuesdays with poorer food sourcing and slightly higher prices.

Went there this morning... had eggs on toast with a side of avocado and an americano. The eggs and toast were fine... the americano was harsh and bitter... the avocado was completely spoiled( I had a mouth full and had to spit it into a napkin).

Try the carbonara- delicious, quite rich but oh well. Service is quite fast and the prices are quite reasonable, portions are large. Enjoy!

Good coffee and food. They have some veganizable options and the girl at the counter knew what vegan meant, which was nice. The veggie burger uses seasonal veggies and is super tall!! I had to eat it with a fork. It was pretty funny. Also, it comes with fries, which was a nice little bonus. The quotes all over the walls are entertaining to read. Fun yet chill vibe. Kinda wacky in a good way and very friendly staff. They also package and sell some of their foods elsewhere. We went mountain biking later the same day and came across a falafel sandwich from Fat Dog at the bike rental shop's snack stand.

Every time I come to Rotorua, I always make a trip to the Fat Dog Cafe. Despite the Dog's Bollux burger being difficult to eat, it's so tasty and alluring. Love the vibe of the place and the drinks on offer are always well selected. I also love the fireplace and the unconventional order markers. Only criticism is sometimes their menu seems a bit overwhelming, but overall really one of the best! PS: my partner gets the BLAT everytime!

Surprisingly fancy for a place called fat dog! We had the BLAT and the bangers and mash. Both were great! Also there were many desserts which looked amazing, though we decided not to sample any this time. Big temptation for a sweet tooth though.

Extensive menu and large portion sizes but I must have ordered the wrong thing. Got the fish and chips but it was way too greasy, I couldn't even finish it all. It comes with a side salad to balance but it was dry and in a tiny bowl that was hard to maneuver.

When I was in Rotorua, I got to stop by a popular local restaurant called Fat Dog Cafe & Bar. Their chalkboard menu was packed from one end to the other. You definitely needed the long line up that you would be waiting in to decide for what you wanted. The restaurant had a chill and fun vibe to it. It was great for groups to hang out at. They also have a back patio for you to enjoy your meal. The Seafood Curry with Rice I had wasn't exactly amazing, but it was edible. I think I should've tried something else. I wanted to get the most bang for my buck since seafood tended to be more expensive. Though now that I think of it, seafood is a lot cheaper down south compared to Toronto...

This was our best meal while visiting Rotorua. But perhaps the circumstances surrounding our meal had a factor. It had been our rainiest day yet in New Zealand, and our meal at Fat Dog was a welcomed warm and homey one. We got the BLAT and their Vege Soup of the Day, along with a Latte. Everything came out in gigantic portions. The BLAT was more of an open-faced sandwich or stack, and we made a mess eating it, but enjoyed it thoroughly. There was a decent amount of each ingredient so every bite can be complete. The soup was heartwarming and tasty. The bread for the soup and also for the sandwich was very good. It made us truly appreciate breads in NZ. The coffee was legit here, so be sure to order a cup (or bowl) if you're feeling up to it. Definitely a worthy stop in Rotorua.

I'm from America and really wanted to find a good place to eat that wasn't Thai, Asian, or Indian (as a lot of the places surrounding Fat Dog are.) so we came across this place and it DID NOT disappoint! They were very busy but had a few tables open and we were able to sit right away. EVERY SINGLE WORKER was friendly, helpful, smiling, and on top of their work. This was despite the people piling in to eat this delicious food. Portions are very big but that is great because you will want the leftovers. THE GARLIC BREAD. BEST OVER OMG. The lamb rack melted off the bone. The BLAT was hearty and the bacon was the perfect amount of crispy. The salad was full, hearty, and not lacking any of the delicious toppings. The Belgian waffle with bacon, banana, and maple syrup was hot and gooey and soaked in a delicious maple syrup, just the way my boyfriend likes it. The staff was very helpful in us deciding on their amazing baked goods and even helped us with local spots to check out. We ate there for dinner and will be returning there for breakfast. That should say it all! Thank you FatDog!

We stumbled across the Fat Dog thanks to our guide book. It was very vibrant - the atmosphere is very relaxed and there is some really good local artwork displayed. There is also a poem that is stretched-out across one of the walls which is very funny! There is a good selection of burgers, salads, meats and vegetarian options The portions were extremely generous and nicely presented. We came back for a second night and would have headed back for a third if we didn't have to be at National Park Village the next day!

Delicious Jumbo Scramble Eggs! I enjoyed the scramble eggs here because it was not too salty, great texture, not rubbery or overcooked, and it had bits of chopped tomatoes inside. The eggs taste better in NZ compared to the States. The color of the scrambled eggs were a deeper yellowish orange. My hubby ordered the pancakes which was very filling. If I could return, I would order the waffle because their waffle iron was huge (12in diameter?).

Visiting New Zealand on our honeymoon and thought this place was going to be a quick eat. In fact the food was amazing, the atmosphere was fun and the staff was friendly. The seafood chowder was the best we ever had and even the nachos were yummy. On our way out they offered us as many muffins as we wanted, which I ate for breakfast. Thanks for that. We went back for lunch the next day.

We loved this place! Great menu, great service, and great ambiance. Very large portions! The fish sandwich came with four large pieces of fish stacked on a skewer. It was delicious.