Woodward Optical Ltd

Woodward Optical Ltd Excellent eyewear expertly done Eye exams, contact lenses and all sorts of prescription eyewear are on offer from Woodward Optical.

We are qualified Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians offering great service and advice, plus your new favourite brands you've never heard of.

THE RESULTS ARE IN!The prestigious Hot Cross Bun Eyeball award goes to . A solid 9.05/10Honourable Mention and Easter B...
01/04/2026

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

The prestigious Hot Cross Bun Eyeball award goes to . A solid 9.05/10

Honourable Mention and Easter Bunny Eyeballs to Clareville Bakery and the Indulgent Biscuit filled hot cross buns with their 9/10 scores - so close team! Plus the Woolworth traditional hot cross buns with a 8.75/10 so you can get good ones for cheap too!

Thank you for joining us on our Hot Cross Bun journey to diabetes.

BUN OF THE WEEK!These I was really excited for. is a favourite in our shop for any celebration. Their donuts and cookies...
31/03/2026

BUN OF THE WEEK!
These I was really excited for. is a favourite in our shop for any celebration. Their donuts and cookies are amazingly decadent and don't upset any dairy shy bellies.
There were three flavours to choose: Classic, Chocolate Chip and Biscoff filled. I went with the Biscoff filled as:
1. Best flavour in the whole entire world. Ever dipped pretzels into Biscoff spread? It's your new "I really shouldn't" snack.
2. We started with a Biscoff filled Hot Cross Bun, it feels right to finish with one too.

PREPARATION:
Janeen - toasted
Jim, Fraser and Rachael - microwave

TASTE:
I was excited to know what Earl Grey steeped sultanas would taste like. Alas, they tasted like ordinary sultanas to me. DISCLAIMER: Despite years in hospo and a love affair with coffee, I have zero palette for nuanced flavours. Potentially they are the final "YES!!" to others, but I'm not sure any of us recognised it.

TEXTURE:
Not as messy as other filled hot cross buns so that's a big win.

PRICE:
$24 a 4pk = $6 each. You can get a goody bag 4pk for $16 with random flavours. I forgo this as I wanted us all to sample the same flavour.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
Kinda bummed to be honest. Belen is the tippity top for so many baked goods, but these were merely fine. They are an expensive treat, so it is a bit disappointing. Note - their service, other treats and coffee is great. I feel they're giving others a chance to shine here.

Fraser - 7
Janeen - 7
Jim - 6.5
Rachael - 7

BUN OF THE WEEK!!Yes, this is coming out on a different day. But that's because suddenly we've had a deluge of the spicy...
29/03/2026

BUN OF THE WEEK!!
Yes, this is coming out on a different day. But that's because suddenly we've had a deluge of the spicy baked good and not a lot of time before the chocolate weekend and we want to get everything in before then.
Fraser brought to the Hot Cross Bun tournament this week.

PREPARATION:
Everyone had it toasted with butter (or Nutellex)

TASTE:
A very decent hot cross bun. Does what it says on the tin.

TEXTURE:
Usual hot cross bun expectations.

PRICE:
Don't know. Fraser picked these up from their shop on Jackson St Petone and couldn't remember how much.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
Really lovely but I think they are in danger of being at the end of the tasting tournament and our tastebuds are slightly over it all.

Fraser - 8
Janeen - 6
Jim - 8
Rachael - 7.5

Janeen brought this week's Hot Cross Buns in from Moore Wilson. came 6th this year in the nationwide competition and, o...
26/03/2026

Janeen brought this week's Hot Cross Buns in from Moore Wilson. came 6th this year in the nationwide competition and, once again, we tasted the quality.

PREPARATION:
Everyone toasted with butter

TASTE:
These suckers have dried apricot in them. DRIED APRICOT!!!! Talk about taking the yum factor all the way up!

TEXTURE:
The right type of density and fruitiness.

PRICE:
$19.50 / 6pk = $3.25 ea

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
Heck Clareville - that's a tasty hot cross bun. I LOOOOOOOVED the addition of the dried apricot and see why you're in the top 10.

Fraser - 8
Janeen - 10
Jim - 8.5
Rachael - 9.5

After the recent National Hot Cross Bun awards, we had to try the silver placed entry (gold went to someone in the South...
19/03/2026

After the recent National Hot Cross Bun awards, we had to try the silver placed entry (gold went to someone in the South Island won gold 2025 and silver this year so we were very excited to give it a taste, plus had a guest judge.

PREPARATION:
Everyone had them toasted with butter.

TASTE:
These are binge worthy. The tastes were all there but not so strong that they stopped you for diving in for another. Janeen however found the taste overwhelming by 3 bites in. I think Fraser said it best with "It's what I like about democracy. It gives Janeen the freedom to be wrong".

TEXTURE:
Every bite included a lovely ratio of bun and fruit.

PRICE:
$21 / 6pk = $3.50 ea

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
Worthy of their accolades. The only thing stopping me from necking a 6 pack in one sitting is the price. One mustn't indulge in such behaviours anyway - quite unseemly.
But I could, if I wanted to.
Just saying.

Fraser - 9.75
Jim - 9
Janeen - 8.5
Rachael - 9.5
Mike (of former Woodward fame!!) - 8.5

Yes it may be Friday 13th, but we were lucky today. Today, we have come across another cafe that makes their own hot cro...
13/03/2026

Yes it may be Friday 13th, but we were lucky today. Today, we have come across another cafe that makes their own hot cross buns. Janeen and I had been scouring the streets all week long and were about to put up with another odd flavour concoction from the supermarket (home studies have proven the caramello ones are disappointingly gross).
Puku Pies to the rescue! Beating the queues this morning, I picked myself up a Mince & Cheese pie and a 6pack of their own hot cross buns. Before we get into the discussion of the buns, a massive shout out to the staff there. Wonderful service, very personable and friendly. A massive delight.

PREPARATION:
We all toasted with butter.

TASTE:
There is no skimping with the fruit or special hot cross bun spicy goodness. It is not too strong to be overwhelming, but strong enough to chill any desire to binge on the whole 6 pack.

TEXTURE:
Perfect. Great doughiness.

PRICE:
I was too excited about finding the hot cross buns and talking to the friendly staff that I really do not know exactly how much. $25.50 for the 6pk and a mince and cheese pie (complete with instructions on how to reheat at lunch time).

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
Due to the strong flavours, the after taste did linger like that painful couple at the end of a party. However, it was nice so it's the couple that helps clean up so still a win.

Fraser - 8
Janeen - 8.5
Jim - 7.5
Rachael - 8.5

Surprisingly, we are struggling to find another local cafe / bakery that makes their own hot cross bun. If anyone can re...
05/03/2026

Surprisingly, we are struggling to find another local cafe / bakery that makes their own hot cross bun. If anyone can recommend another place, we'd love to check it out.
Thus, we went back to Woolworths where we picked up the flavour that it started it all. We had seen an ad for the Indulgent Mudcake Filled Hot Cross Buns and figured that looked like a bit of us. Surpringly, it was only this week that we finally sourced a packet.
Here are the thoughts.

PREPARATION: Considering we knew of the gooey centre, we approached it in different ways.
Rachael & Jim: Microwave
Janeen: Toasted
Fraser: Fresh

TASTE: The amalgamation of the hot cross bun & mudcake flavouring resulted in very little hot cross bun taste and yet not sweet enough for the mudcake.

TEXTURE: Fine

PRICE: $8.00 / 4pk - $2.00 ea (on special)

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS: There are better ways to get your chocolate this Easter. This is too messy, not tasty enough and leaves your teeth looking like you've enjoyed years of chewing to***co.

Fraser - 6
Janeen - 6.5
Jim - 6
Rachael - 5

https://woodwardoptical.co.nz/product/la-eyeworks-lazaro/FRAME OF THE WEEK!!!Last week I showed you a chunk yet light fr...
05/03/2026

https://woodwardoptical.co.nz/product/la-eyeworks-lazaro/FRAME OF THE WEEK!!!

Last week I showed you a chunk yet light frame. This week I'm going to show you a chunky yet light frame. It's a consistency regime my running acumen craves.
Lazaro is a beautifully oversized frame with vivid colouring delightfully named 'Sea Turtle'. Lazaro even has nosepads so itty bitty noses also get the opportunity to fall in love and take her home.

Come in and check out the full LA Eyeworks range.

MON-FRI 8:30am - 5pm
SAT 9:30am - 12:30pm

https://woodwardoptical.co.nz/
https://woodwardoptical.co.nz/product/la-eyeworks-lazaro/
https://www.laeyeworks.com/collections/la-eyeworks

03/03/2026

Jim used his skills and got the sunnies back to working order.

Address

5 Woodward Street
Wellington
6011

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm
Saturday 9:30am - 12:30pm

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