A Cuba St cafe that’s not a cafe in Cuba St

Last week I was in sunny Napi­er, idly strolling down Dalton Street, when I came across this curi­ous cafe.

Yes, it’s a cafe themed after a ’00s-era Wel­ling­ton-style cafe. Named after our cent­ral cafe dis­trict, Cuba St cafe serves Wel­ling­ton brands Havana cof­fee and t leaf T tea, and I was tickled to hear bar­be­cue dub being played inside.

It almost seemed like an elab­or­ate piss­take, or per­haps an artist cre­at­ing someone with an oth­er­wise empty shop, but it does indeed to appear to be for realz.

So if you’re vis­it­ing the sunny Hawke’s Bay and are some­how hanker­ing for a retro Wel­ling­ton cafe exper­i­ence, pay a vis­it to Cuba St cafe. Though, it must be said, there are much bet­ter loc­al Napi­er cafes worth a vis­it.