Strawberry Alarm Clock

A great little Parnell café to head to for eggs benedict and good coffee. You must head out the back to the little courtyard for some rays. This is hard to see from the small boring front of the café. What more can I say… straight to the point.

Great little place where I can count on a great coffee every morning and a smile to go with it.
The staff are always as friendly as ever and there is a great indoor vibe, as well as a lovely little garden outside for you to hide away with a coffee and the morning paper.

Great place (especially the back garden) for a coffee and/​or something to eat. Good breakfast and coffee especially for the price. Friendly service without the normal Parnell pushiness. And most importantly they do know how to make a long black!

A long time Parnell classic, this funky little café does good Allpress coffee and a nice selectin of juices and smoothies. The food is reliable with a good selection of bagels or your normal Kiwi breakfast options of eggs, mushrooms, and what not. There are also good lunch options along the lines of wraps and even a salad or two so you can eat reasonably healthy.
An unpretentious, comfortable and artsy looking interior at the front, but the hidden secret is the garden tables at the back. If you are looking to eat and talk this is definitely the better option than sitting in the front tables.

In case you were wondering, the ‘Strawberry Alarm Clock’ was a psychedelic band in the 1960s. You would think with a name like that it belongs in Haight Ashbury but it’s based with all the other well healed shops and cafes in Parnell. Came here for breakfast once or twice and was reasonably happy with what I got. I got eggs benedict which were fine and the coffee was ok. The problem is this place has a lot of competition in Parnell and there are nicer places for brunch nearby. The Mink for instance is a better café experience all round and if you want to go cheap, you can go to Dunk. It’s a small café and it’s a bit cramped but I was not aware till I read the reviews that there was an area out the back. It was busy the Saturday I went there and the staff could have let me know there was seating out back.

One of my favourite cafes. Deceivingly small seeming from the outside, but if you feel your way past the kitchen you will discover a very charming, very peacfull outdor area at the back. There are few places in Parnell who can offer such a nice, quiet space to enjoy a coffee or some brunch.
A good menu, which does not stray to far from the standard café blueprint, but it certainly does not feel like the chef is just phoning it in. Their food is rich and delicious, quiet indulgent — just what you want from a café. I recommend either the French toast or the eggs benedict.
I have occationed this place for years, and I have always found the service to be quick and friendly.

First timers note — Strawberry Alarm Clock has a secret back garden! Don’t spend your time at the small tables out on the road (unless that’s what you like) — walk through the kitchen to the gorgeous, sheltered garden and eat your meal in peace! It’s always a little bit weird walking past the place where food is prepared, but you won’t regret it — the back area is so nice. I used to go to Strawberry Alarm Clock religiously when I worked further down Parnell Road, but I still try and make a pilgrimage to the café from time to time, just to continue my support. The food is amazing, the coffee is really good and the staff are really friendly to deal with. The best part is still the surroundings, though — there’s nothing like heading to an unpretentious place as a bit of a reprieve from the sheer… Parnellness of the area.

This is a tiny little café on Parnell Road, the coffee I find the coffee to be fairly average and the last time I came here with a friend for lunch the service was not spectacular either. Inside the seating is very cramped, you have to sit too close to other people and outside there are two tables with chairs but then you’re pretty much out on the footpath.
This café is more suited for getting coffee and food to go because considering the competition as Parnell is café central it doesn’t offer the sit in experience some of the other cafes do. Maybe they have their regulars I would not come back again given that there is much better coffee to be had at either Mink or Penelope.