East West Organics

7 whopping dollars for a coffee and a bollucking from manager.
The starter price for a small mocca was 5.50 with 50 cents for decaf and 1 $ for soy milk. When I mentioned that I thought that that was too expensive to barista and could he pass that feedback on to the boss, he said that he’s done that several times because I wasn’t the first person to complain about coffee prices but boss didn’t do anything about it.
So I went to speak to the manager who asked which barista had said that. I said that it wasn’t important who said it. The point was that the coffee was too expensive and nothing has been done about it. Manager went charge-​ing to baristas and gave them a bollucking for having said that boss didn’t do anything about client feedback. He said that was not a smart thing to say to clients. However it seems ok to have a go at his personnel in front of clients?
Manager did say though to reimburse the coffee.
They may sell fair trade products but fair treat of their personnel and clients is not a top priority it seems.
The reason I am giving 2 stars is because the coffee is good but, as you can tell, am not impressed with management

Calling all Westies! East West Organics is the place to go to satisfy all your organic needs. Located on Portage Road, New Lynn (just off Great North Road), EW Organics is in a warehouse-​type building, with the café (Ethos) down one end, the shop in the middle and a couple of smaller shops selling gift items near the entrance, and more. There is a nice open fire in one corner of the café which gave much appreciated warmth from the howling gale and piercing cold outside.
The only downer was on the day that I went was that they were really quite low on stock in the shop — maybe this is standard to keep the stock moving through? I really like this place for its non pretentious nature — that’s what I’d expect from salt-​of-​the-​earth Westies :-)

I stepped out of my comfort zone today and met friends at a vegetarian café. I even ordered a lentil sausage roll (quite nice at the start where it was crispy on the edges but mushy in the middle, pushed that to the side of the plate). Big salad selection, tried the Waldorf and a cauliflower one. Had a bite of a citrus and chocolate macaron which was surprisingly tasty. Passed on the coffee, everyone was having soy milk lattes and showing me the strange curds in the top of their cups, eeeeww.

I’ve found this place disappointing the two times I’ve been, and all because of the staff. The counter girl was unsmiling and unhelpful and seemed annoyed to be asked for an extra plate so the children could share a muffin. My juice was given to me in a unopened bottle, no glass and again no smiles. Unpleasant experience.

Ethos Café is located inside the East West Organics store and offers vegetarian, vegan, gluten free food and the like. Although I am not fully vegetarian, I really enjoy the food and I love vegan baking. They serve delicious savoury and sweet food, homemade juices and smoothies and hot beverages.
Upon arriving, you first notice how large it is! It reminded me of Wise Cicada (in Newmarket), except Ethos Café has a large outdoor seating space at the front entrance with huge umbrellas, which would be lovely in the summertime!
There is just the right amount of cabinet food — colourful and healthy salads, soups, meals, vegan baking (!!!) and a range of drinks to choose from. My sister and I both had salads. All vegetarian, and using ingredients like chickpeas, quinoa, beetroot, beans, dates, various other vegetables and vermicelli noodles. All the salads were fresh, delicious and healthy.
We then chose two desserts — Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake and Vegan Chocolate Caramel Slice. I cannot fault either, as they both tasted delicious and just like an original cheesecake or chocolate caramel slice! The best thing about Ethos Café though is that it has plenty of seating (indoor and outdoor) and a range of foodie options.
The food store (East West Organics) sells fruit, vegetables, vegan/​gluten-​free/​vegetarian food, health and beauty products and best of all, delicious ‘Nice Blocks’. I recommend trying the vanilla one which is made with Samoan coconut cream — yum!!!
While the food is healthy, organic and delicious, I am torn between coming here or just going to Wise Cicada which serves the same food and drinks. They have the same prices for food, which is quite expensive, so only ideal for a ‘once in a while’ breakfast or lunch.
Also, if you are living in Central Auckland, it is not ideal. It took us about an hour to drive there and another hour back. If the two factors above were not a problem, then I would have given Ethos Café a ⁵⁄₅ and I would be coming every weekend. However, if you are living out West Auckland way, then it is perfect! (And I am very jealous of you!)

East West Organics New Lynn is owned by Peter and Korin, the same couple who own the Glen Eden East West Organics, the difference is that this one has an arts and craft gallery, onsite bakery (100%organic!), natural health clinic upstairs (acupuncture, shiatsu, yoga classes, the list goes on!), a heritage garden centre and a fabulous café called ‘Ethos’; I can highly recommend the orange cake, peanut butter cookies, maca snacks, raw cheesecake… ok, I am starting to see a pattern with my sweet tooth — I have also tried lots of their yummy salads too! Lots of vegan and raw food choices if your that way inclined.
The shop attached under the same roof allows us to go buy all the ingredients to make our own healthy snacks and salads like Ethos too which I love! The café opens early — 7:30 — so you can get your coffee on the go, but the shop isn’t until 9am.
BTW, both the Glen Eden store and this one have onsite Naturopaths that you can go ask advice from — really, really handy addition and I have found them to be very friendly and helpful each time.