On a recent trip to Wellington, I stayed at the newly renovated Trinity Hotel, which also holds The…read moreArborist. I was thankful to have this place right in my hotel, as the weather was still on the cold side at night. It's located conveniently in downtown Wellington and ended up being a popular spot, especially on weekends. This is two places in one: the rooftop bar has cozy seating both outdoors with great views of the city, and bar area inside kept warm and away from the elements; downstairs is the morning/daytime cafe with a full breakfast and coffee menu, that also turns into a bar and lounge in the evening and at night. The staff both upstairs and downstairs was efficient and friendly; it made me want to keep coming back. For hotel guests: if you don't need your room cleaned each day, you can waive that service and get a NZ$10 voucher to use at The Arborist. I mostly put that toward coffee and breakfast.

The food is Devine. Every time i come here i have something different, and i'm not let down…read more This time I had the lamb shoulder, it makes your eyes curl up behind your head, it's so nice

Love this fantastic, wonderful little new eatery in Hataitai. The menu, food and customer service…read moreis just great. Would definitely recommend people to check it out.

This was my family and I's last meal in Wellington and this restaurant was a great way to end our…read moretrip here. It is beautiful inside and the staff are all very friendly. It is great for a nice dinner to sit down and enjoy a meal. We ordered quite a few appetizers and entrees to share as this was our last night here. We started with some raw oysters, smoke fish croquette ($9.50 each), focaccia bread ($9) with artichoke dip ($12), seafood chowder ($30), and the beef tartare ($28). Our favorites were probably the oysters and the focaccia bread with the spread. The oysters were fresh and we enjoyed trying them all. The focaccia bread went great with the spread as the bread was warm and the spinach dip was a nice cool dip to match. The bread was also perfect to dip in the chowder. For the entrees, we ordered a side of green beans ($14), fettuccine ($27|$37), Lumina Lamb Backstrap ($19 per 100g), and the Japanese wagyu ($85 per 100g). Our favorite out of everything was the wagyu. The lamb was delicious but it's not comparison after you have a bite of the wagyu. The Wagyu was cooked perfectly. The meat was not too thick of a piece to cut. The green beans were a great side to go along with the meal. The almonds added a nice crunch to the green beans. Overall, we enjoyed our meal very much. We felt that this restaurant was a perfect way to end our stay in Wellington!

Arrived in Wellington from Taupo around 3 pm. Checked into the hotel and researched dinner spots…read more Charley Noble came up so we took a short walk. Arrived right at opening. Seated quickly. We ordered a cider and beer. Dinner was delivered. Absolutely delicious. Perfect dinner. Perfect service.

This is one of our favorite places to go for Sunday brunch. Always a table, endless cup of coffee,…read moreand butcher paper for hang man and sketching.

Great place! Fun ambiance, super casual, great food and deals. Came here with my sister and it was…read morea fun place to spend time together playing games and taking advantage of the happy hour special. Would also be a great date spot and a place to pass the time. We each had a burger and beer over Battleship and Bananagrams (we were going for alliteration) and had a hard time choosing, they all looked so good! She went with the southern fried chicken burger and LOVED it - a huge portion, perfectly seasoned, a burger that fell apart in your hands in the best way. I had the fish burger and loved mine too - went fantastic with the toppings and neither of us wanted to try the other's because we were loving our own choices.

We were enjoying walking and exploring the Wellington waterfront when the hungers hit. I go from…read moreDisney princess to hangry wicked witch pretty quickly, so luckily the husband spotted this place with tables featuring tranquil water views and whisked me inside. The interior of the restaurant is beautifully lit with large windows permitting natural lighting to flood the open space dining area. The high ceilings with net and basket lighting give it a fun fishmonger theme and the casual atmosphere is created by the rustic wood floors, mismatched stools, and wooden boxes with utensils at each table. Our server was friendly and helped me navigate the menu which has notations for gluten free items and items that can easily be modified. I had some sauteed calamari rings with a delicious aioli sauce and a by the scoop mussels and clams with a tasty thai green curry sauce. The mussels were massive and quite delicious but the sauce was a little hard to identify and got watered down. The husband isn't a lover of seafood, so he went turf with the mooloo burger which was good but could have used a bit more crisp on the fries. We loved the atmosphere, the proximity to the water, and really appreciated the ease of ordering gf. Definitely a perfect spot to de-hangrify yourself or that special someone in your life.

The Crab Shack had the ambience of a boat house and good customer service. However, the food was…read moreexpensive for what you got and not that great. A group of us had the seafood boil, which they said was good for 4-5 people. It seemed more on par with 2-3 people sizing if you go by U.S. seafood boil standards. I was also a bit disappointed they only had one type of crab on the menu when the website detailed more options that were not available. The mud crab legs were way overcooked in the seafood boil and mushy. The calamari was probably the highlight of the food we tried. Lastly, the restaurant did not have any parking, so we had to use the nearby parking garage which ended up costing $30 for only a couple of hours.

This cafe is a real Wellington institution. They roast their own coffee and it is excellent. In…read morefact many other cafes around the country use L'Affarie coffee. Always a buzzy vibrant hip atmosphere. Great generous portions of food and efficient friendly staff. There are many reasons why this place remains constantly a favourite.

Having had the L'Affare coffee in our hotel and loving it we made a special the trip to the Caffe…read more It was 2:45 and they were closing at 3pm- they had put away the menus, the coffee fixings, they were vacuuming and the employees were all focused on cleaning up and seemed annoyed we were ordering. They had us move out of the way so they could stack the signs at the counter where we were waiting for our coffees (at 2:50) Our coffees were fine, nothing special, as were our pastries. But the whole experience was not worth the trip. Maybe close at 2:30 and clean until 3pm? Or clean after you close? Probably nice if you come earlier...

We were a group of 3 with hunger in our eyes and jet lag in our spirit…read more They took us in, and let us know we couldn't sit longer than 90 minutes due to the busy night, and sat us at the bar. We ate fabulously and deliciously. Everything I read the description of and assumed wouldn't be as good as it sounded proved me wrong. cocktails were divine. They let us stay long enough for dessert and smiles, and a lil chit-chat with the bartender. All the staff seemed to love their jobs, the environment was warm and inviting, and I always look forward to going again when in Wellington. Go! You won't regret it.

This was by far our favorite meal in Wellington and the service was super attentive and friendly…read more We never went without food or drink or the staff asking how things were going. To start with the appetizers the Oysters with the vinaigrette were the best I had in New Zealand we ended up ordering more because they were that good and the ceviche was excellent as well. Our daughters lemon prawn pappardelle pasta was fantastic she soaked up every last bit with the delicious bread. Both my wife and I ordered fish which were both prepared well and delicious. If I had to pick one restaurant to go back and visit in the North Island this would be it. The ambiance was quaint and comfortable with a fun vibe. We would highly recommend Ortega and hope to visit again.

When I was in Wellington a few years ago, this spot was another brewery and beer bar. I had great…read morememories of coming here, but enjoyed the new owners' beer even more. It still had that old urban vibe with cozy lights and colorful windows, the focus is on the kettles at the back. The bar is on the right, with very friendly bartenders and more selections than you can drink on one visit. This is nearby Cuba Street, easy to walk to in Wellington. It's set back down a long entry way, with outdoor tables. The beer was all excellent quality, with so many different styles making it something for everyone. Prices were also reasonable. I had met the brewer John a couple times that weekend and he was also super friendly; overall I have all positive memories of this spot.