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In Wellington, restaurants, cafés, and sports bars spring up overnight like mushrooms. Although you'll never be without the classic meal of steak, fries, and ale, city eateries have also embraced more adventurous fare. Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Malaysian, Mexican, and Italian cuisines are increasingly common. Indigenous food, too, is appearing in restaurants around the city—native plants might be paired with traditional seafood or made into sauces to accompany meat or sweet-potato dishes.
In rural areas outside Wellington, the wine industry has revolutionized local tables, with excellent dining and wine-tasting spots. In the Wairarapa, restaurants are winning a reputation for creative cuisine.
Generally, lunch runs from noon until 2, and most restaurants close for a few hours before opening for dinner around 6. On Monday, many restaurants are shuttered. Dress codes are still really relaxed; jeans would be frowned on only in the top restaurants.
Famous for its "2-4-1" Thursday burger night and Sunday dessert night, this casual place is often packed to its brightly painted rafters from brunch until dinner. Upstairs, the restaurant offers a great selection of hearty meals, small plates, and quick cabinet food (sandwiches, scones, and cakes) for all dietary needs, along with tasty cocktails and coffee. Downstairs, the cabaret kiosk sells gelato, coffee, and doughnuts for those on the go.
Though right at home among the seaside cottages of Lyall Bay, this plant-based haven is anything but traditional. The Botanist offers tasty and innovative takes on traditionally meat-centered meals in a seasonally evolving menu, and it's open for brunch and then runs to late-night cocktail hours (well, 10 pm) every day. The menu is also complemented with appropriately botanical teas, kombuchas, and cocktails.
A wood-beam roof and oiled floorboards enhance the nautical vibe at this former warehouse on the wharf, and you can get close to the water on the large harborfront deck. Inside or out, it's a lively spot, particularly on Friday night, and as expected, the menu features a broad range of fresh seafood, though there are ample meat- and plant-based options.
The menu at stylish, minimalist, subterranean Egmont is all about celebrating seasonal flavors and New Zealand's unique produce in creative ways, so menus change regularly. Bookings are recommended for weekday dinners, but brunch and weekends are walk-in only.
Adorned with earthy-chic accents and wide wooden tables, Loretta makes a daily but effortless transformation from a relaxed brunch spot to a bustling candle-lit restaurant. Menus follow a seasonal theme with salads, wood-fired pizzas, savory pies, and hearty servings of seasoned meats to share. With a famously evolving menu, brunches typically begin with smoothies and spritzers, waffles, and crumpets, each served with seasonal fruits.
In this city of coffee fanatics, Peoples is one of the most beloved coffee brands. Its trademark organic and fair-trade beans are found across the city in a number of outposts, and this bright, airy café on Luke's Lane is one of the best for sampling the range of brews and pairing them with fresh cabinet food (sandwiches, scones, cakes) from local bakeries.
Located and independently operated within the historic Martinborough Hotel, the decor here is understated yet comfortable. The classic bistro menu offers updated versions of European favorites for lunch and dinner, and creative brunch options are avaiable daily; there's a nice menu for kids, too.
