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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.
This tiny Tinakori icon offers award-winning farm-to-table fine dining, without the fancy fuss or animal products. Even with a meat-free menu, you won't feel like you're missing out on flavor or putting up with tiny portions. The chef creates a new menu every day, depending on what's growing in the garden or what the team has foraged locally. Local and traveling foodies love Hillside, so reservations are essential.
Nestled inside a working vineyard, the Runholder is a meeting place for Martinborough's famous trifecta of wine, food, and gin. The venue is open, modern, and loftlike, but the menu is all about warmth and comfort, featuring featuring different-size plates, meat dishes, and wood-fired pizza using local produce. The restaurant's cellar door showcases the local Lighthouse Gin and rare and exclusive wines by Te Kairanga and Martinborough Vineyard. There are 30-minute guided tastings on demand, with no more than 12 guests per session. Bookings are essential.
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.
