Taste of Wellington

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New Zealand's cool capital is known for its huge food scene.
You are lucky to be in Wellington at that time of the year when it's one of the most anticipated culinary events of the year takes place Wellington on Plate. Every year since 2009, VWOAP has taken over New Zealand little capital with inventive burgers, grand dishes and beers to pair. The mission is simple: to feed your appetite for life with all that the Wellington region has to offer. Experience taste, touch, smell, sight, and sound.

Cafés

Excellent coffee is never a rational thing; it's a drink imbued with inspiration, freedom, celebration, history, dreams. It's about experience as much as refreshment. It's about personal space, about the pursuit of perfection, about the meeting of minds, about escape and reward. That's the Mojo and it's to treasure.

Centrally located only a couple minutes from Te Papa, the Joe’s Garage crew in Wellington have everything you need to relax and enjoy The Capital. Whether it’s for coffee, breakfast, lunch or dinner with a couple of friends or the entire office, you can stop in for as long or as little as you’d like. And because we’re open every day from 7am ‘til late you can get your day or night started – or both!

Nikau Café
The steady stream of customers at Nikau shows this really is one of Wellington’s favourite cafés. Situated at the Wellington City Art Gallery, Nikau is far from your boring, bog-standard museum café.

One of the busiest and most popular cafés in Wellington is Caffe Astoria, where, despite the large amount of customers, the service, food and coffee is always top quality. The traditional décor and furniture uses earthy tones and a consistent style that is uncluttered and creates a relaxed atmosphere. Taking ideas from many different cuisines from around the world, Caffe Astoria’s menu offers a huge variety of different dishes that are sure to please the tastebuds, as will the excellent coffee brewed from coffee beans roasted on premises.

Fine Dining

Each day, Atlas build a menu reflecting seasonal sensitivity and the best produce on offer. Working with local growers, they source produce that is predominantly organic with carefully sourced and ethically raised meat and fish interspersed throughout. The menu details the distance many of the ingredients have travelled to your plate including native herbs (within 10km), wild shot venison (20km), winter truffles (262km) and sea urchin from Bluff (1028km). Their butter is churned in-house and you can find the chefs, pickling, smoking, curing, and fermenting throughout the seasons.As meticulously as they source each product that enters the kitchen, so to do they source each bottle of wine that enters the cellar. As the seasons change, the wine list will too – ensuring that no matter which bottle a guest chooses, it will dovetail with the flavours of that space and time.

Award-winning Field & Green is a personable eatery where chef Laura Greenfield puts great care and thought into her food. Specialising in European soul food – think classy comfort food with dishes like smoked fish kedgeree, fish finger sandwiches but reworked with fresh, local and seasonal ingredients. There’s a menu of house-churned ice cream with 17 flavours ranging from homely vanilla to the more adventurous saffron and cardamom. The service at Field & Green is always warm and welcoming, and the restaurant space is classic and simple with lovely personal touches – the mid-century bone and silver cutlery is a family heirloom.

APACHE has a modern take on popular Northern Vietnamese hawker street food, with a touch of French influence. Using Angus beef, free range pork, chicken and eggs, our menu balances the 5 fundamental Vietnamese flavours: spicy, sour, bitter, salty and sweet. The food? Insane. With all their dishes designed with the intention of being shared, make the most of the variety and try a little bit of everything. We recommend their popcorn chicken with sriracha mayo and the green papaya salad. But in all honesty, you could close your eyes, point at any dish on the menu, and you’ll be in for a treat.

Based on a classical Italian style, Capitol's food is fresh, pure and uncluttered. Awarded One Hat by Cuisine Good Food Awards in 2018, the bistro-style menu is strongly seasonal and is carefully designed to take full advantage of local produce. Led by chef and owner Tom Hutchinson, Capitol pride themselves on using ethical produce and the best New Zealand seafood. The restaurant has an intimate feel and the service is warm and professional. Grab a seat by the windows and watch the world go by as you sip your expertly-made martini and decide what to order next.

Set in the heart of the city, Pravda Café & Grill is a Wellington institution; the perfect place to go for everything from a morning espresso to a leisurely lunch, afternoon drink or dinner out. By night, Pravda is Wellington’s best steakhouse, with a carefully curated selection of exceptional cuts, informed by the menu at Pravda’s siblings, the iconic Jervois Steak House restaurants. Executive chef Gareth Stewart sources red meat of the highest quality, and alongside the grill offering is a modern bistro menu, with dishes that offer something for everyone. Pravda is the quintessential Wellington cafe and restaurant, serving fantastic food and excellent coffee, complemented by an exceptional wine list. At Pravda, a warm welcome always awaits you.

St Johns Bar and Eatery on the Wellington Waterfront is where delicious food, drinks and good company all come together. The stunning art deco building provides the perfect place to socialise while enjoying a contemporary New Zealand menu, local craft and international tap beers, regional wines and cocktails. Socialise in the casually stylish interior or relax outdoors with outstanding food, drinks and service. St Johns, for every season. Outdoor tables are the perfect place to eat, drink, and soak up the sun while watching the world go by.
St Johns drinks range is impressive, with a noteworthy selection of Gins and tonics.