We ate breakfast here. The food and cappuccinos were decent, and the presentation was good.
Tourist-oriented restaurants in tourist towns have little incentive to cultivate repeat customers. Price, service, and quality can suffer as a result. Our visit to Ivy and Lola’s provided a small example.
The menu did not list any full vegetarian breakfasts. We discussed this with our server, and decided to just order three side dishes each: hash browns, pouched eggs, and gluten-free toast. When the bill came, instead of being charged for the side dishes, we were charged for two meals called “eggs and toast,” and two sides of hash browns. “Eggs and toast” was not a dish listed on the menu, and it cost NZ $4.50 more than the same two items ordered as side dishes. We asked the server about this, thinking it was an error; but it was not. Apparently, an old menu item had been resurrected at additional cost to us.
Would we ever go back to Ivy and Lola’s? No, not after charging us the way they did. Does the restaurant care that we will not be repeat customers? Probably not. It makes its money off tourists, not locals; and it is right in assuming that we will probably never find our way back to Queenstown. This is just one of the costs that tourism adds to travel.