11 of the best Wellington restaurants
New Zealand’s capital is a picturesque city, curled around a sparkling harbour notched into the very bottom of the North Island.
Wellington is surrounded by emerald hills rise, and bright, weatherboard villas spill down their steep slopes to meet the waterfront.
In the compact city centre is an impressive number of restaurants, spanning cuisines from Asia to the Middle East and Pacific Islands.
Wellington is more than just the political capital of New Zealand. The city prides itself on being New Zealand’s culinary, coffee, and craft beer capital as well.
Wellington delivers some of the best food experiences you’ll find in New Zealand (Hiakai has famously pushed the Pacific food scene to new heights).
Here are some of Wellington’s top restaurants you have to try.
1. Rita
Rita is located in a 1910 worker’s cottage. This intimate 28-seater resturant serves modern Pacific cuisine with a focus on seasonal produce.
The three-course menu, $95 per person, changes daily, depending on what’s in season.
What you get will always be a surprise, but you can expect creative takes on classics, like lamb shoulder with rhubarb tagine and sauteed radish, orrange semolina pudding with saffron yogurt ice and orange cardamom syrup.
You can also choose to have vegetarian options for your three-course meal.
Book in advance, especially for Friday and Saturday evenings.
2. Mabel’s
Mabel’s for example, is a cozy restaurant bringing Burmese cuisine to Wellington.
Opening on central Tory Street in January 2022, Mabel’s is named after co-owner Marlar Boon’s grandmother, who was a notable figure in the Wellington restaurant scene back in the 70s.
Boon honors family recipes through innovative burmese dishes like la phet thoke, a fermented tea leaf salad.
3. Kisa
On Cuba Street, one of Wellington’s great eating streets, you can find Kisa.
Kisa started off as a Turkish pop up but was so popular it’s now a fully fledged restaurant.
The earth-hued interior is a warm and inviting space for savoring the Middle Eastern shared plates.
4. Damascus
Damascus is a Syrian restaurant that started off as a gazebo at Wellington’s food markets in 2017.
It became so popular, Damascus found a permanent home on Tory Street in late 2022.
Syrian-born chef Hasan Alwarhani serves up soul-nourishing portions of hummus, baba ganoush, and zahra, a dish of deep fried cauliflower.
5. Logan Brown
Logan Brown is one of Cuba Street’s find dining institutions.
6. Noble Rot Wine Bar
Noble Rot is a chic wine bar with an extensive wine list, covering around 500 different wines with around 80 available by the glass, including plenty from the wider Wellington region.
The wine collection is displayed proudly along the walls, leaving no doubt about the focus of the bar.
Don’t let that fool you into thinking Noble Rot’s food is secondary, through.
The bar serves sharing plates, charcuterie, and cheeses which are all outstanding in their own right.
From salt-baked celeriac with walnut velouté and mushroom purée, to grilled squid with spinach and ricotta tortellone and squid bolognese, each dish is unique and surprising.
7. Egmont Street Eatery
Egmont Street Eatery is tucked away down one of Wellington’s laneways.
A former industrial carpark is now a modern, multi-level restaurant. The minimalist interior and contemporary menu create a relaxed yet refined experience.
The food menu is local and seasonal, with an emphasis on small bites designed to be shared.
Egmont Street Eatery is also a popular brunch spot, with creative takes on staples, like the kimchi, cheese and mustard toastie.
8. Shepherd
Shepherd, named after chef and co-owner Shepherd Elliott, is a fun and quintessentially New Zealand dining experience.
Small touches like classic New Zealand tea towels in place of napkins make it feel comfortingly familiar.
Located within the famed Hannahs Laneway, Shepherd focuses on comfort and quality, with a menu that playfully puts kiwifruit in red curry and kimchi with fish.
The creative twist to dishes here makes it a memorable place — I spent weeks nostalgically trying to recreate the delicious crispy brussels sprouts I had here.
9. Hiakai
For a truly exceptional experience, try and get a booking at Hiakai. Bookings are released seasonally and highly sought after, for good reason.
Chef Monique Fiso started this restaurant as an avenue for exploring Māori ingredients and cooking techniques. Since its launch, Hiakai —which means hungry in Māori — has established itself as one of New Zealand’s most innovative restaurants
Fiso continuously challenges ideas of what Māori and Polynesian food culture can look like.
10. Margot
Margot is a little restaurant in Newtown, reminiscent of European wine bars. The menu rotates around seasonal, organic New Zealand produce, with some creative options I haven’t seen anywhere else.
I was excited to see panisse on the menu, a fried chickpea snack from the south of France — it takes me back to my time living in Marseille.
There are also distinctly New Zealand dishes, with options like tua tua and raw trevally.
11. Kuikui Lane
For cocktails, head to Kuikui Lane, a bar focused on manaakitanga, a Māori concept which loosely translates to taking care of people.
Kuikui Lane serves cocktails in an unpretentious and relaxed environment, inspired by the hospitality of the owners’ grandmothers.
Cocktails use New Zealand sourced ingredients, like Martinborough’s Reid+Reid gin infused with native botanicals horopito and kawakawa, and Kiwi Spirits Distillery Greenstone Gin, distilled with native Totara and Kahikatea berries.
Thanks for reading this far! I hope you found a new restaurant to try in Wellington. If you enjoyed my recommendations, you might like to check these out before you go:
