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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.
On the otherwise sleepy Petone Wharf is a vibrant Italian trattoria, where prestigious awards, relics of family history, and shelves of the finest Italian ingredients cover the walls. This spot with a welcoming family atmosphere was awarded the prestigious Ospitalità Italiana quality-approved seal and is recognized as one of the top 70 Restaurants with Pizzeria in the World by Ristorazione Italiana.
