North Island
Astoria
Cuisine: Bar Food, Breakfast, A La Carte, Brunch
159 Lambton Quay
Wellington Central
Wellington City 04-473 8500
Wellington Central
Wellington City 04-473 8500
Hours:
- Mon – Fri 7am – 7:30pm
- Sat & Sun 8am – 4pm
- Public holidays 9am – 4pm
- Payment Types: EFTPOS, Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, Diners
- Price Range: Moderate, $15 - $25
- Dress Code: Casual
- Alcohol: Beer, Wine, Spirits
- Seating for: 150
- BYO/Corkage: No BYO
- Parking: Pay & Display
- Good For Groups: Yes
- Good For Children: Yes
- Takeaways: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Takes Reservations: No
- Dietary Restrictions: Vegetarian, Vegan, Dairy-free, Gluten-free
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Meals: Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Dinner
- Wi-Fi: Free
Astoria, Wellington’s iconic cafe, has proudly served over 1000 customers daily, since 1996.
Perched on the edge of Midland Park, at the heart of Wellington’s shopping and business districts, Astoria offers a blend of grand European café culture and the quintessential bustle of Wellington city life.
Two giant Wega espresso machines are never silent, humming away throughout the day, satisfying the caffeine needs of Wellingtonians who know great coffee.
Our food is intended to nourish and indulge. It is uncluttered and generous – familiar with flare. Vegetarian and gluten-free patrons will not be disappointed and all produce is free-range where possible.
Breakfast includes time-honoured classics – some things are too good to meddle with.
The lunch menu is served throughout the afternoon and into the evening, with the addition of plates to share.
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17 Reviews for Astoria
14
26th March 2013
As you struggle to open the door in 100kmh gale force winds, you find yourself only in a worse situation. A dark entry, with a dewy poor selection of food peering through and a rude, bored looking waitress. Upon ordering you will see more eye rolls than bakery rolls available to purchase. After ordering you will be required to pay up in an unfriendly manner, shift over to the side quickly and awkwardly wait for your coffee.. if you would like it bought to you- you best hope you’re not a smoker, because these workers do not go outside. Coffee is generally warm and weak and if you complain, they will give you some rude excuse whilst applying lipgloss and send you back out the way you came.
Also they don’t use trim milk, some of us would like to retain our waistlines and not look like the back of one of the bus’s across the road thanks.
Also they don’t use trim milk, some of us would like to retain our waistlines and not look like the back of one of the bus’s across the road thanks.
Comment from sue d. of Astoria
8/03/2013
Hi Monica,
Thank you for your review. From your description it sounds as though you received rude and unhelpful service on your visit to Astoria. We do not tolerate bad service from our staff, after all we are in the service industry.
You mentioned in your…
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5
14th November 2012
I’ve been visiting Astoria every morning for several years and I am a big fan of the ‘waiting at the counter for your coffee’ policy – very few places are so efficient in this way. I’ve also had lunch there many times (the bacon and egg baps with fries and aioli – yum!) A while ago, I decided to have my breakfast at the table instead of rushing back to work and what a treat that was! Their crepes are just fabulous, well cooked, well presented, and brought out promptly. Tiny, teeny little gripe: perhaps bottles of water could be stashed in the fridge behind the counter so we don’t have to traipse to the water fountain to fill our glasses? Anyway, the biggest, brightest asset of this cafe is its staff. They are consistently professional, efficient and hard-working, yet very pleasant, relaxed and friendly, even under pressure – they are the best hospos in Wellington. Lovely bonus: they call me by my first name which is lovely enough, but even cooler is when I bring a guest with me for lunch and the guest says, ‘Wow, they all know your name and you know theirs! It’s like ‘Cheers’!” 
25th June 2012
Went for Breakfast at Astoria last week and had a great experience. Yes it was very busy and had to queue up to place my order and get my coffee. My breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon came out incredibly fast, eggs had obviously been cooked in a pan over a high heat rather than slow double boiler that gives that creamy texture, but totally understandable considering the number that were coming out. Like to have edible hot food now than wait ages – bit like the coffee service – wait and be served quickly or go and sit and wait forever whilst the staff chat about what they did last night as often happens in other cafes.
As added bonus when my plate was cleared by a happy looking owner? Was offered further coffee’s which then were brought to my table. Best of both worlds! – Fast service to start and then table service later on. A very busy establishment that has been around ages – something must be right!
As added bonus when my plate was cleared by a happy looking owner? Was offered further coffee’s which then were brought to my table. Best of both worlds! – Fast service to start and then table service later on. A very busy establishment that has been around ages – something must be right!
1
9th June 2012
Very disappointed with Astoria. Firstly it took about 3 attempts for the waitress to get my order right. Secondly when our food was brought out another waitress spilt cider all over my pants (the only pants I had with me for the holiday weekend). I should have known something was going to go wrong when I was given the number 13 as our table number.
Lastly the food was disgusting. We ordered scrambled eggs which resembled rubbery baby vomit and didn’t taste too disimilar to vomit either. The bacon sandwich was too much bread, not enough filler and the fries were no different than McDonalds fries.
I definitely would not go back.
Lastly the food was disgusting. We ordered scrambled eggs which resembled rubbery baby vomit and didn’t taste too disimilar to vomit either. The bacon sandwich was too much bread, not enough filler and the fries were no different than McDonalds fries.
I definitely would not go back.
31st May 2012
I’ve been going to Astoria for years and have always enjoyed the atmosphere, staff and their kick-ass coffee. Even better now they do trim milk!
I know it may sound strange but I hadn’t really clicked that they are also open in the evening.
I went with a work group last Thursday and had a great time.
We were looked after by the Irish guy at the table. He set up a tab and made sure we were never short of a drink. He also recommended a selection of snacks for us to share.
I have always used my coffee loyalty card at Astoria and now they have one for wine and beer too. I’ll definitely be returning to get a few more notches on that! My share of the bill was $28 which I think was excellent value for all that we had.
I know it may sound strange but I hadn’t really clicked that they are also open in the evening.
I went with a work group last Thursday and had a great time.
We were looked after by the Irish guy at the table. He set up a tab and made sure we were never short of a drink. He also recommended a selection of snacks for us to share.
I have always used my coffee loyalty card at Astoria and now they have one for wine and beer too. I’ll definitely be returning to get a few more notches on that! My share of the bill was $28 which I think was excellent value for all that we had.
Comment from sue d. of Astoria
14/06/2012
Hi Janiko
Thank you for the great review. I will pass it on to the staff, they will be thrilled.
Regards
Sue Dempsey
8
21st April 2012
I had the lamb’s fry which was really good. The portion was reasonable and I finished the meal feeling really satisfied. So the higher than average lunch prices is justified. My friend had the chicken schnitzel which she enjoyed as well.
The coffee was good – I had the mochacino which is priced a little higher than other cafes but came in a large mug. The only fallback was the fact that I had to carry the coffee to my own table which was rather difficult as the cup was filled to the brim and I was carrying a very heavy big bag. Despite what was discussed below, I don’t believe it is the most efficient service and it is not customer-friendly.
Regardless, I enjoyed the food and coffee, and I will go back to Astoria if I ever feel like splurging for lunch.
The coffee was good – I had the mochacino which is priced a little higher than other cafes but came in a large mug. The only fallback was the fact that I had to carry the coffee to my own table which was rather difficult as the cup was filled to the brim and I was carrying a very heavy big bag. Despite what was discussed below, I don’t believe it is the most efficient service and it is not customer-friendly.
Regardless, I enjoyed the food and coffee, and I will go back to Astoria if I ever feel like splurging for lunch.
Comment from sue d. of Astoria
3/05/2012
Hi
Thank you for your review on MenuMania. Good point about having to carry your coffee when carrying heavy bags. We try to ensure that counter staff keep an eye on that so that anyone who looks like they need assistance gets it. They should call for a staff…
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1
8th April 2012
Had the Grilled skirt steak. Sent the first steak back when a rare steak was only slightly pink. The salad was small bowl containing just a bunch of green leaves with a trace of dressing. I don’t call leaves a salad and could have livened up with tomato, capsicum, avocado etc. And the fill the plate just add heaps of chips. No complaints about the chips
Comment from sue d. of Astoria
10/04/2012
Hi Richard
Many thanks for your feedback. I am disappointed that your steak was not cooked as you had ordered it. I hope when it was re-made for you that this was put right.
I will speak with the kitchen on this matter to impress upon them the importance of…
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10th February 2012
Went here today (Friday) I have to say, I haven’t yet tried their meals, but the Fries I had and the Mayo it comes with are like nothing else I have ever tried, as well as genuinely feeling like enough for the money (unlike a lot of other places).
The Environment is quite nice when it’s not overly busy, the staff look happy and provide nice service.
I plan to come back and try some meals when it’s not hugely busy; as it always seems to be when I walk past.
I recommend the Fries and the Mayo/Aioli that comes with them; they are THE fries you will have wanted elsewhere for the price, but never got unless you come here.
Worth a visit in Wellington so far.
The Environment is quite nice when it’s not overly busy, the staff look happy and provide nice service.
I plan to come back and try some meals when it’s not hugely busy; as it always seems to be when I walk past.
I recommend the Fries and the Mayo/Aioli that comes with them; they are THE fries you will have wanted elsewhere for the price, but never got unless you come here.
Worth a visit in Wellington so far.
81
28th December 2011
Good for a coffee and some fries.
Not as good for lunch though
Not as good for lunch though
1
4th November 2011
I feel like I’m a cow going through the cattle yards when I go there. You have to wait at the counter while they make your coffee. Not the greatest service!!
To make matters worse, a friend of my always seems to have her coffee brought to the table. She says she is part of the “in crowd” there. Clearly, I am not and I have to mill around waiting for mine.
Doesn’t make me feel very valued as a customer!!
Bit of a shame, it is a great venue. I just wish some other crowd was managing it.
To make matters worse, a friend of my always seems to have her coffee brought to the table. She says she is part of the “in crowd” there. Clearly, I am not and I have to mill around waiting for mine.
Doesn’t make me feel very valued as a customer!!
Bit of a shame, it is a great venue. I just wish some other crowd was managing it.
Comment from sue d. of Astoria
11/11/2011
Hi
Thank you for your feedback.
We offer counter service at Astoria mainly due to the fact that our customers are busy people, often on tight time frames.
Customers order at the counter and coffees are made to order while they wait. Our main reason for…
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1
24th October 2011
When a cafe can’t even make scrambled eggs right, they are in trouble. I’ve been trying the “big breakfast” on the menu of every cafe in town in my search for the best, and this has got to be one of the worst. I managed to struggle through mine, but my girlfriend’s scrambled eggs were inedible. They were so bad we got a refund for these, but Astoria really need to lift their game to compete with most of the fantastic cafes in Wellington. Very disappointing…
Comment from sue d. of Astoria
1/11/2011
Dear Brendan
Thank you for your feedback. We pride ourselves on the quality of food and service delivered at Astoria and I am most disappointed to read that your experience was not up to standard. I am however pleased to hear that you received a refund. This is…
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26
21st August 2011
We left after we were advised they do not serve trim milk. What kind of cafe does not provide hot drinks with trim milk??? It’s a fairly standard request these days.
The atmosphere seems nice, and the people that do go there seem to like it, but they’ve lost me as a potential customer with their inability to provide what I want.
The atmosphere seems nice, and the people that do go there seem to like it, but they’ve lost me as a potential customer with their inability to provide what I want.
Comment from sue d. of Astoria
1/11/2011
Dear Sarah
I’m glad you liked the atmosphere at Astoria, we do have many regular customers who seem to love it.
I am only sorry you were misinformed about us not serving trim milk as it is available. We haven’t always offered it, but have done for the last…
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27th January 2011
Today will be the last time I ever have coffee at Astoria – six months ago I was diagnosed Lactose intollerant and ever since I have taken my own lactose free milk to cafes – without exception the numerous cafes I have visited in the last six months have ALL been happy to make my coffee with my milk – not Astoria – I was told ‘we will do it today but not again – if everyone started bringing their own milk we could never cope’!!! I ask you – who would willingly walk around the central city with a litre container of milk in their handbag just to be difficult??!! I read from other reviews that Astoria don’t even provide trim milk – why do people keep patronising this place – there are dozens of fab cafes in Wellington with friendly accommodating staff – give them a go – I know I will be
1
10th October 2010
So, the only thing negative anyone has said about Astoria so far is that they don’t serve trim milk. Well, I don’t drink milk, so I love this place! The coffee I’ve had there is terrific. They have a great selection of pastries and all sorts of breakfast food…including the only diced breakfast potatoes we can find in the area. And they are super efficient at serving and clearing tables for more customers. Great place.
5
6th July 2010
This place is nearly always busy, the location pretty much guarantees this, it has a huge park in front and a big window of sun in an otherwise pretty shaded street. My complaint is that I cant get a trim milk coffee there, they refuse to servie it so I never go. Shame though as I’d like to sit outside in the sun…
1
21st June 2009
Having visited hundreds of cafes and restaurant around the world, Astoria is close to the best. Great atmosphere, very European, great coffee, food, etc
6th January 2009
My friends love Astoria; I really don’t see what the fuss is about. I know they roast their own coffee beans, but to me the coffee always tastes scorched. I’m surprised that they don’t offer a trim milk option. The food is usually quite good. I find the atmosphere really dark and noisy, unless you are fortunate enough to get a table outside.
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