The service were friendly, but declined to see us by a window, even though there was an open table…read more The servers did not seem to know much about the menu or how to make beverages. I asked for a Manhattan and I'm not sure what I got. We ordered mussels that arrived cool but the 3-4 tablespoons of lukewarm sauce was tasty. We also ordered scallops and calamari and were underwhelmed to discover there were a mere three scallops and 4-5 small pieces of deep fried calamari distributed on the plate with 4-5 balls of canned lychee.

Walked in today, 4th October. The bar tender finally acknowledged us, and I asked him politely if…read morethey were fully booked. He stared at me in a frankly p*ssed off way, and grunted they were. No "sorry sir/mam" or any nicities. His ponytail was distinctive, his poor attitude too.

Great atmosphere in the Cuba Street area of Wellington. My friend and I walked up and was able to…read moreget a spot at the bar counter without reservations. The place was bustling with after work diners on a Thursday night. You might need one on busy times. I had a passionfruit daiquiri to start. We ordered the Waiheke oysters and added a yuzu foam thing on two of them. It was so good! We also got some snapper crudo and lamb ribs (forgot the photo.). One of the best meals I had in New Zealand!

Yummy great food with nice crispy not oily batter Cheers to…read moreDaniel fora wonderful meal

We did the AirBnb experience here and it was absolutely incredible! We had Tom guiding us through…read morethe night and he was incredibly wonderful. Not only did he take the time to connect with us, but also genuinely showed the passion he had for the Thistle Inn. The head chef's menu was outstanding, letting us try dishes that we might never have had ordered before. That SHORT RIB! Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, blow-your-mind bite of the main dish was out of this world. Tom explained the local sourcing of the ingredients and the wines, which was great to hear. Loved learning about the history of the Thistle Inn over a fantastic meal.

Shepherd is not worth a visit in Wellington. The food is not nearly as inventive or interesting as…read moreit seems. The service is slow, both in terms of the waitstaff's intelligence and the kitchen's ability to deliver. Also the portions and tiny and expensive without a high quality. Go elsewhere and spend your money more wisely. The bar here is solid and merits 2 stars itself, but only because they know how to poor a stiff drink... Or two. Which you will need to get through an evening here.

Absolutely worth the time to find this place. While this place was a bit fun to find it was…read moredefinitely worth it. Since we were visiting Wellington we weren't familiar with everything but it was around the corner's corner. Fantastic food! They had a delicious grilled asparagus with angry goat cheese. The tart and creamy complemented the asparagus perfectly. We also shared a bit of salmon and hake, as well as broiled ribs. They also had a variety of whiskeys

Funky restaurant with an interesting festive menu…read more We were a large group of 35 and had the whole restaurant which was great, but also incredibly noisey - that'd just from conversation. Clearly the owners need to put some sound absorbing surface in there. The food was presented beautifully. I had a stater of seared tuna which was delicious with pomegranate, but the slices of chilli overwhelmed the other flavours. My main of grilled snapper was cold and chewy. Not pleasant. Sides included salads and yummy crumbed polenta sticks. Dessert was a saffron island on fennel custard. Wonderful subtle flavours although the fennel leaves on top were definitely inedible- like a mouthful of hair! Overall not a great experience, but I think it was more to do with being a large group. Would like to try it out with 2 or 4. Notice another review mentions noise so will try for a less busy night. Staff very attentive.

Excellent kitchen. Seriously good food…read more Not our style. Really noisy bad accoustics bricked dining room low ceiling stark decor. Food is highend cheffy and pricey. Hospitality lacking in major way ditto communication skills. Pricey. I said that.

Beautiful location to watch a jet take off while pulling on a long black or pint. Busy bee hive…read morewith a coffee corner and dining room in constant motion. We were there on a gorgeous day with 40km views. On to the food. Your your normal breaky all day menu with Benedict's, bacon, beans and burgers. We had the Montreal with smoked salmon and it was brilliant. Oozing bright yellow yolk shows the chook lived on a farm not a cage. Spouse loved the bread crumbed fish as a nice change from the normal beer batter. So easy food, fun aviation location and a nice break before your flight.

TL;DR The wait times are long but overall it's worth it…read more This is a reasonably priced cafe, that is not just in the vicinity but also the overall ballpark and feel of the more established Maranui Cafe. This child friendly venue is a common choice for families looking for a brunch location close to the beach. The menu is diverse enough, ranging from egg dishes to burgers and salads. Having beer and cider on tap is very appreciated on a hot summer day. The outdoor seating should be avoided on a windy day, mostly because sand should not be the main ingredient in any dish... The coffee was much better than I expected and came quicker than the beer. The desert selection was quite generous, too, and it helped wrap up a great outing. The only real complaint has nothing to do with the venue itself: it takes a while to be seated because of the popularity of this stylish Wellington Cafe.

How can you get better than this? Foredeck is the fine dining restaurant at The Bay of Many Coves…read moreResort, with a genius of a chef in residence. Each night after ordering we were presented with a platter of little crafted breads, salted butter and a blended cream cheese spread (beetroot one night, mushroom the next) - so simple... yet so delicious and flavourful. Each dish is cleverly crafted with an almost deconstructed style so that you can enjoy each individual element (of which there are many) with every mouthful. I'm talking a harmony between texture, balance of flavour, colour - the whole 9 yards. Surely this is food at its best... It's so hard to pick a favourite dish because they were each so unique and enjoyable. I would highly recommend the degustation menu if you want to re-discover flavour! Combinations included Beef Tartare (never thought I'd eat it in my life, but the mix of citrus and some sort of little salad was out of this world), Pork Belly with Scampi, poached apple balls, sultanas and a divine sauce, Terakihi with a creamy black rice, it goes on and on! We had the wine pairings too, which were really well matched and a real experience. Very highly recommended. Last comments from me are that the service was also very friendly and attentive. Perfection!

Atmosphere - 3/5 (loved the Avril Lavigne in the background. Place felt a little empty, in fact it…read morewas empty.) Coffee - 4/5 Food Selection was good. We had the chicken salad and it came out almost instantly. Not bad flavours but chicken was a bit gristly but otherwise well cooked.

Expensive version of Cobb & Co. Service was good but the food was over priced and tasteless.read more

Our last winery stop (out of six) was Hans Herzog Estate. Every other winery in the area seems to…read moreclose at 4:30pm. Hans Herzog is the only one that's open later. This place has a bistro and restaurant that seems to be incredibly popular. It's $$$$ prices (3 course menu - $94.00, 5 course menu - $125.00 and 7 course degustation - $155.00 NZD). High end stuff indeed. There's a secret garden (behind the Cellar Door). Would look into this if you're planning to eat here. For the wine tastings, there's three options: classic ($10.00 NZD/person), indulge ($15.00 NZD/person) and ultimate ($20.00 NZD/person). The more expensive options let you sample from the limited release wines. We stuck with the classic which let us try three. The pours are on the smaller side. Service was excellent. We had a French server who really knew his stuff and you could tell he was passionate about his trade. - Gewürztraminer - this one was good, well balanced. - Grüner veltliner - we weren't sure what to expect from this one. It was a bit more savoury. - Pinot gris - first pinot gris we've seen that's been pink in colour. It wasn't too sweet. A bottle of this would have been nice but pricey at $40.00 NZD. Good quality but it comes at a high price point. If you've got moola to burn, come here.

This luxurious restaurant nestled in a vineyard is probably the most exquisite and romantic place…read moreI'd ever dined at. I was beyond mortified when my sister and I walked in wearing just our biking clothes having just finished a day of biking around to the various vineyards. However, the staff was more than welcoming making no comments towards how we may have been dressed. We were seated outside next to the fountain, a trellis path and a perfect view of the sunset. I couldn't get over the view, breath taking. This is the kind of romantic place you take a girl. Boys, take note. We ordered the aged beef from the special menu and the rack of lamb, pairing our dishes with their 2009 cabernet. Absolutely delicious meal, we savored every bite! I know tiping isn't customary in NZ, but the service, food, and atmosphere were fantastic, I couldn't leave without leaving them something to show my appreciation and satisfaction. I highly recommend coming here!

Very disappointing, changed hands. I will not be back. Poor…read moreambiance, breakfast grill was dry, needs less meat less bread, it seemed as if the food had been standing around sometime then loaded on the plate lukewarm.

Disappointing. We're local, been here a few times recently and it's been all good, but today is…read morelike it's a different restaurant all together. Suspect new chef. Super slow. Change of menu, over priced. Drinks never arrived. Hopefully they're having just a bad day...