Norita Cafe & Board Games

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  10     

Went to this great place for a birthday with a large group of people, comfortably cozy but not squishy even so full up.

Norita is a quaint little cafe hidden amongst a busy city street with a lovely atmosphere and comfy seating as well as a good selection of board games (plus jenga and some card games).

Service for most was great, though I should mention that several of our group did not get their meal, only desserts. The food I tasted was pretty good, and all almost too pretty to eat! The cakes were amazing and the drinks very tasty.

The language barrier was not an issue, but if trying to sort out a problem, it will probably cause some difficulties. An adorable concept and value for money, I was simply so excited to visit such a place that would likely feature in a british love story!

Sep 04, 2011 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  8     

Lovely place to just hang out with a partner or a group of friends. Dessert portions were quite generous.

Jun 30, 2011 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  7      Value  9     

Relaxed, fun and delicious desserts. Good place for some chilled board gamin'... couple of language barriers but funny lost in translation moments. Go check the games out from the display the menu doesn't show them all. Highly recommended for laid back peeps.

Jun 04, 2011 

7 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  8     

I came here today after lunch because I had heard from many friends that it was just a great spot to talk and relax out of the heat of the summer City. Pre-warned that the food wasn't the greatest, I wasn't surprised when my friends ordered takoyaki and I didn't particularly enjoy it. My lemon lime bitter was very nice though, and I thoroughly enjoyed that.

The board games don't feature a great variety and our Monopoly board was missing pieces. I suppose this can't be helped though and was willing to accept.
Liverpool Street offers hardly a spectacular view and coupled with somewhat murky looking sofas (though undoubtedly comfortable I suppose) doesn't provide a somewhat noticeable and enjoyable ambience of the cafe.

Staff were friendly. Value is top-notch in terms of food, and I suppose average for drinks.

Jan 25, 2011 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  8     

Awesome cafe, probably the best place in the city to relax with a good friendly atmosphere. What I love about Norita is that at most cafes, you finish your coffee and cake you leave after a few minutes but at Norita you can play board games and stay longer. I found the service to be excellent and very friendly. The only negative aspect I could find about this cafe was that their dinner menu is very limited but this is probably because this cafe specialises in desserts and gelato.

Oct 02, 2010 

4.3 Below Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  3      Value  2     

It's been over a month since I first went and I'd prefer to keep that to be my last. Just visited eatability to look up something for a friend and thought I'd share my bad experience there.

We ordered our mandatory drinks and also played a few board games. There were 7 or 8 of us sitting in one of those long sofas, they were pretty full that day and one person sat on an add on stool at the end of the table (which is fine) but they didn't have another so I had to half sit half stand on the sofa armrest, narrow walkways meant I had to dodge the staff whenever they walked past. Then the table beside us left so I sat there for a few minutes before getting shooed away as the next customers arrived. I reverted back to my throne - the sofa armrest.

So that's $70 or so to get some mandatory drinks which were refreshing, but that's enough money to buy ourselves a new boardgame. Plus they didn't want to honour the 10% discount we were meant to get. After some negotiation at the counter for several minutes they ended up giving us 5%.

Everyone's having a relaxing time there chatting and playing games so it does have a decent atmosphere if you actually get a proper seat. As far as I observed, there was no air conditioning (open windows) so that detracts from ambience as well, care for some carbon monoxide with Jenga?

Sep 18, 2010 

4.3 Below Average

Food  6      Ambience  2      Service  4      Value  5     

Not actually very good, I went with some friends the other day - the tables were too high to eat from, they played a pirated copy of Sherlock Holmes in the background with some kind of Japanese pop playing on top of it, rice was badly cooked [although I guess you don't really go for the food] and the service was not good in any sense of the word. Overpriced food and drink. Probably easier and better to buy your own board games unless you play mah jong.

Feb 15, 2010 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  10     

Probably my favourite hang-out in the city! The food is alright, the drinks are great and the staff are always friendly and enthusiastic (though I can't say I understand them most of the time, since I don't speak Korean). I'd give this place a 10 for ambience, except there are sometimes people smoking which is annoying. Very cheap, huge selection of board games, I could sit here for hours.

Nov 14, 2009 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  9     

Norita is brilliant. I have been there a few times. The new menus are out. Rumour has it there's another one being made. I can't wait. What an improvement though.
The service is brilliant. They offer cake and ice cream on the house which is very kind and generous of them. The drinks are actually standard price, compared to cafes in Strathfield.

The atmosphere is always bright and welcoming. It's a place where people are guaranteed to laugh. There have been staff changes again. There's about 4 original staff members. The new ones are very friendly too. There are two fluent english speakers. There have been an increase in western customers which is fabulous. This place is hard to find as it is on level 2 and not so obvious.

The minimum order policy is understandable. There are so many people that come in large groups that don't order, they just smoke. Speaking of which the smoking area is no longer there. The air conditioning works, there have been lots of changes. Lots of new games too. You can always suggest games to the staff. They will go out and buy it. Such as the game taboo. They finally got it!

Fridays and saturday nights are their busiest so the service might not be top notch, but they do try their best putting up with all the noise and slammed orders. The staff feel a little guilty about minimum order. It is crucial for fridays and saturdays.
Other days they might let you off the hook. They have two tv screens and one projector. It's such a lively ambience.

The only downside to it is when they turn on korean music/dance tv programs. It would be okay if they played it on screen but had different music playing. Feel free to chat to the staff. Preferably the two english speakers. Unless you're korean, talk to the other staff. Whatever suits you best. Spread the word. Norita is one of the best places to hang out with your friends.

Oct 14, 2009 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  10     

I really love this place! It's such a fun and friendly place with comfy seating where you can just hang with your friends for hours playing board games or chat over a drink and cake. The young staff are extremely nice and service is quick. I do wish they'd expand their food menu though, just so there'd be something we can nibble on during our stay.

Jul 31, 2009