It’s hard to say whether it’s Wellington’s art or food and drink scenes that are a bigger pull for me to our capital city. Fortunately there’s no need to choose! Whenever I visit, I feel like I’m out there brunching, lunching, and craft-beer tasting all day long. Honestly, life is tough. Read on to find my picks!
Brunch
When staying with my brother a couple of years ago we started the day off right with breakfast early at Fidel’s Cafe. Its Cuban cool translated to delicious brunch, albeit only barely discernibly influencing the style of our meals. No worries about that on Tom’s side of the table as he dealt to the huge Fidel’s Feast, while I had my daily dose of avocado.
I’ll always try to squeeze in a visit to Floriditas, partly in homage to my friend Gin who loves the place and in particular their five-seed loaf. I say partly because I also know I’ll always get a delicious breakfast with great coffee there. The perfectly scrambled and dairy-free eggs combined beautifully with Aoraki hot-smoked salmon and lemon, furnished with great service and all in this incredibly well-designed space. And I’m not alone in rating it – they are so popular they’ve opened Loretta up the road. There you can nab lots of delicious baked treats (and that amazing bread) so you can indulge at home too.
Another excellent pick by my brother on a different visit was the classic Scorch-O-Rama out in Karaka Bays. Across the road from the sparkling harbour, there was a bit of a wait on a sunny Saturday, but it was worth it for the epic brunch.
Café Favourites
My friend Laura’s meeting point of choice is Nikau Gallery Cafe, back on the waterfront and tucked into the Wellington City Art Gallery. I had this amazing take on kedgeree. One of my favourite things about food in New Zealand is the amount of different influences that our cuisine incorporates – from British to Pacific to Asian. It makes for some seriously tasty meals and a lot of variety.
It’s no secret I’m an avocado fan and Cafe L’Affare in central Wellington really delivered, with an unusual combo of radishes, cherry tomatoes and sprouts with lemon. It totally worked!
In a glorious Kiwi blogger moment during my 2016 trip, I made sure to snap these gorgeous boat-sheds in Oriental Bay. I’d first seen a picture of them on Kelly’s post about a fab day out in Wellington with Kat of Lady Loves Cake – the very lovely blogger that I then had lunch with. We tucked into salad and sandwich at the super-cute FRANK’S and gossed about London and expat life.
Drinks & Eats
Lounging on a beanbag in the sunshine with a spritzer is always a great time in Wellington – provided the weather cooperates! St John’s Bar is perfectly located on the waterfront and has a huge lawn with beanbags, volleyball and lawn games. The food ranges from pub classics to verging on gourmet, and the wine and beer lists are long. No complaints here!
At The Rogue & Vagabond, we sampled the craft beers on the ever-changing menu. I was particularly partial to this lemony Stone & Wood Pacific Ale. And then there were curly fries… oh SO GOOD! R&V also has a lovely sunny spot on the grass, meaning you can combine craft beers with some serious lounging. Ideal.
If you’re a craft beer fanatic the other place you need to check out is the brilliant Garage Project. They are craft beer producers extraordinaire, located in an old petrol station in Te Aro. Similar to a swappa crate, you can buy plastic and glass flagons and have them filled straight from the tap to take away – genius. They have a huge range of beers available and we sampled the Artful Dodger, one of many great names.
After a wander along the beautiful waterfront in 2016, my lovely buddy Sarah, whom I’d last seen in London, took me to Dragonfly. We chatted non-stop in their gorgeous courtyard over incredible cocktails, catching up on the last nine months. The drinks list was long and choices were difficult – thank goodness for a 2-for-1 deal to ease the decision-making process!
Extras for Eating Experts
The pop-up market by Te Papa was the perfect central spot to grab a quick, unusual lunch – I went for a sushi burrito! It made for excellent fuel for my explorations.
When I heard about the vegan bakery treats at Sweet Release on my latest visit to Wellington, I made sure to put a visit here at the top of my list. I promise I didn’t eat these all at once! Both the banoffee cupcake and the cinnamon bun were divine, and such a treat to be able to eat them when I’m lactose-intolerant.
My brother has lived in Wellington for years and one of his favourite restaurants is Arashi Kushiyaki Bar. The service wasn’t the most attentive, but the fresh flavours more than made up for it. Tom knew exactly what to order – lots of starters to share for one varied, delicious meal.
Have you been to Wellington? Did you rate the foodie scene?
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Originally published in 2016 and updated September 2020 to make sure all those good eats are still there for you!
