Capitol Restaurant

Wellington Central

 19/05/2013

Fantastic food. Awesome to visit for either lunch or dinner. Just nice attention to detail, lovely flavours and really quite reasonable for what is local, well sort produce, free-range, organic produce. Service also good. Like to the small surroundings as well. A lovely Wellington classic.

Joe’s Garage

Wellington Central

 19/05/2013

Very good service – friendly and helpful. Great atmosphere. Just there for a coffee and a slice but they were very good. I’ll be back. Not much more to say really but my review was too short to post!

The Larder

Miramar

 18/05/2013

Wonderful service, delightful and inspiring meals definitely cuisine that is five star. I love the portraits of the local suppliers and the menu that changes daily. Tables and chairs could do with an upgrade but that’s all Definitely I am coming back and I never say that for any other restaurant!

The Larder

Miramar

 16/05/2013

This place is one of my favourites for lunch or brunch. Food is seriously good quality and really tasty. Ate here last weekend for the 5th time and it is still as good as ever, highly recommend it -YUM

Olive Restaurant

Te Aro

 15/05/2013

Great cafe atmosphere but incredibly rude manager. Bear in mind this was mid-winter 2012 so there may have been a change in ownership. I arrived at around 5pm after the rest of the group who had arrived earlier. I waited for a moment and started talking to the others before getting up and proceeding to head to the bar area to order my drink and or food. Inside they have artworks which are rotated from time to time which do add something different and great to the atmosphere. We were seated next to a wall display which had been constructed out of old numbers from signs, when I got up, I inadvertently knocked a number off it so I also got the other numbers which had fallen off or down into the light and quickly rearranged the first few into “pi” 3.1415.. and the lady sitting at the bar area came over about a minute after I had put all the final tile back into place and was extraordinary rude saying that it was artworks and that she didn’t appreciate me interfering with them and that she was the manger etc etc. We shortly left and went elsewhere. Ironically the sign read “pi” for a good 6 months afterwards until it was replaced. None of us have ever been back and it often come up in conversation.

Finc

Wellington Central

 13/05/2013

Booked a table for Mother’ Day with some friends. Expected a little more attentiveness. Waitress was either quite new, or quite disinterested, as every time something was put on the table she just leant over and plonked it, no excuse me, or warning, just an arm appearing from nowhere! As I didn’t arrange this I didn’t say anything at the time. Not very good value for money, been to Hippopotamus which was same price and far and above expectations in food and service.

Mojo Waterfront

Wellington Central

 12/05/2013

Light and airy and lots of seating (both indoor and outdoor). Has both brunch and lunch menu aswell as cabinet food. Did not realise they had brunch food until the other day. Will definitely be going back to try the brunch menu.

1841 Bar & Restaurant

Johnsonville

 12/05/2013

Booked well in advance for Mother’s Day. On arrival table booked for 2pm for 10 not available. Paid for drinks and waiting in the outside smoking area. Told our table would be available soon table had just ordered coffee. Waitress brought 6yo and 3yo kids activity kit and menus so ‘our orders would be available once the table was’. 45 minutes later no table. Moved us inside to 2 tables not adjacent to each other. Entrees started to arrive. Some of our party couldn’t fit on the 2 tables we were sat so were still outside. Asked about our table and told restaurant couldn’t do anything about it. People still sitting at table proposed for us starting perusing menu and picked up carafe of water from the bar. Decided after 45 minute wait for taking our 70 yo mother/mother-in-law for a mother’s day lunch we had been patient enough and told the waitress we were leaving. She then said had another table available and it was up a small step. One of our party is in a wheelchair. Went outside to let the rest of our party know we were leaving, some of our party had already left and waitress said we could now have free entrees. 45 minute wait and 10 people inside, outside, already left, some entrees delivered….no thanks. Wouldn’t recommend for busy occasion’s mother’s day etc. or for large parties. Either 1841 don’t know how to run FOH and turn over their tables or they are greedy and overbooked their restaurant. Huge disappointment will not be returning. Our alternative arrangements came up trumps!

Milk and Honey

Kelburn

 12/05/2013

Horrible quality coffee, and whilst it is meant to be only for post-grads/staff this does not happen in practice. I have only been in here a few times and I find it overpriced for what it offers to be honest. Would much rather go somewhere else!!

The Village Cafe

Khandallah

 12/05/2013

Used to be the Rosa Cafe in Khandallah. They have recently changed hands. The owners of it now were the owners of the (old) Village Cafe in Crofton Downs. Just started about three weeks ago. Lovley selection of homemade cakes and cabinet food. Really nice service. Absolutley recommend the cheese scones and the slices. Simply delicious

Blue Belle Cafe

Island Bay

 12/05/2013

Come on BlueBell ! What’s happened? Hopefully a one off as we LOVE BlueBell normally ! We ordered an adult stack of pancakes with bacon and banana . Granted it was busy but after 1/2 hours we got soggy pancakes on the outside and uncooked batter in the middle my kids would not eat. It was powdery, chewy, batter and inedible. We asked the waitress to take it back and she asked if we wanted it reheated ?!!!!! No can you redo it please . When it returned it was 1/2 the portion we paid for . 1/2 banana 3/4 of pancake and 1/2 bacon. We asked for our money back and left. Poor form Blue Bell! What is wrong with New Zealand hospitality industry ? You ain’t doing you us any favours by us coming into your cafe! I think you need to change your philosophy.

Thunderbird Cafe

Wellington Central

 10/05/2013

I’ve been here twice now, the food is pretty average, bland, small portions, comes with nothing, burgers come out on metal trays!! the wait time is exceptionally slow but the curly fries are awesome. I don’t like the tables or the decor, the place does feel really messy and a bit trashy looking – that is my opinion and whenever I see it it’s packed so they must be doing something good – or Wellington has let its standards drop

Mojo Summit

Thorndon

 09/05/2013

Great coffee, great efficient friendly staff who take the time to make you feel welcome. The service is very quick. Awesome setting with really nice decor. Always walk away from the place feeling better than when I walked in. If you work in the area or feel like a stroll I highly recommend it.

Nikau Gallery Cafe

Wellington Central

 08/05/2013

I love this place. Never fails to deliver. Great service, great atmosphere, great food, what more could you want? The house special, kedgeree, is fantastic and even better washed down with a glass of vodka soaked raspberry bubbles – perfect. Highly recommend this place but book if you want a seat in the sun because it’s always busy.

Boat Cafe

Oriental Bay

 08/05/2013

First time visitor to the boat cafe on Saturday night. There was a need from me to impress and that I did. I had an Angus fillet with lobster mornay sauce which was a symphony of taste. No portion would have been enough. My partner had the Venison Osso Buco which she thought was excellent. With a bottle of wine , great table position and view accompanied with prompt and happy service by the team made it a very memorable evening. Just booked for mothers day.

Milk and Honey

Kelburn

 08/05/2013

Milk and Honey has great space, amazing views of the city, good tasty food and well trained staff. It’s not the place you go everyday and it definitely doesn’t fit into the ‘cheap and cheerful’ places that you find off Cuba St. It is the nicest place on campus to go if you’re wanting to go for a bit of a posh lunch. It’s a nice treat and I will go every time, especially if someone else is paying. However, because I am old and I am grumpy I find reasons to complain. The cool cement floors are stylish and the bare walls are nice and minimal BUT here is my problem, everything echoes. Conversation between two or three people reverberates until it’s like an un-tuned TV, screechy on the ears, irritating and headache inducing if exposed to it for too long. This isn’t meant to be a review on interior design and I don’t pretend to be an expert on ‘what maketh a good restaurant’ but this for me at least detracts from the Milk and Honey experience.

The Office Bar & Cafe

Newtown

 08/05/2013

It’s hard to compete with the eclectic range of cuisines in the bustling lil suburb of Newtown but if you are looking for ‘plain simple food’ go to The Office. That description might sound bad, but honestly sometimes you just want cheese on toast instead of fillet mignon, right? It was early on a Saturday night, no one knew exactly what they wanted and the only thing we did know was that we wanted food and maybe a drink, an alcoholic drink. The staff were friendly without being overly friendly and when asked the waiter was very willing to make a suggestion and did remind us of the ‘two for one’ special on mains. My request for very well done steak was met, the mushroom sauce while not like my Mum’s wasn’t too bad (translate that to mean that I did make sure I ate every bit). I could’ve done with more roasted potato bits but there was enough on my plate that I wasn’t in danger of ‘fading away’. And I did glance at the glass cabinet full of baked goodness when I ordered my coffee. It was tempting, very tempting. All in all, good kai, good service and just kinda relaxed. Ta!

Karaka Cafe

Wellington Central

 07/05/2013

We love Wellington for it’s food. This place is just poor. Easily the worst service in Wellington. A pity because it’s is in a great location. Clearly looks aren’t everything. They have a Maori saying on the wall, with it’s english translation, something like; he aha te mea nui o te ao? he tangata he tangata he tangata. what is the most important thing in the world? it is the people, it is the people, it is the people. Karaka could do well to learn this. There are too many good food places in Wellington to put up with sub standard cafes like Karaka. Karaka you were a terrible experience, being in your establishment, being lied to repeatedly, being ignored, being misled, being mistreated, served poor food and not having my order taken. Had you finally asked for my order there was little point given my wife had finished her meal. What crap service. Your complete lack of service and her meal would suggest I’d be unwise to order food here. And all this with us talking with you in a reasonable manner. Incredible. It was disappointing to be planted at a table that should never be in a cafe, that is best for kitchen staff to take a break or someone to do the accounts on. We waited for the promised table and watched as group after group arrived and got it before us. Tables even sat empty and we still couldn’t get a table. Appalling. We ordered coffee at the counter, my wife, food from the cabinet and I chose to take a menu to order. The cabinet food looked uninviting. The cafe was fairly full. We looked outside, no seats and a smaller table had just filled so we sat at this very large table on one corner figuring other diners would sit at the table. It’s a huge square, and oversized for the cafe. We were asked to move by a guy in a white shirt running front of house and directed to seats at two tables placed hard against the back of a high brown couch, facing it’s imposing rear. We were between this and the water table and back wall. It felt like being made to sit in the corner. Who seats people facing a big brown high back chair across a small table? After a time I went to look for another table. The white shirt asked if I was looking for another table. I said I was. He told me it was his job to decide where people sat and we were to sit where he told us to. I explained they were appalling seats and and we were facing this huge brown wall that we couldn’t see past. He just walked off. At all times I spoke nicely with this person and didn’t make a big deal out of this. He returns and asks if we want he will move us when a table comes free. We agreed. Things were looking up. Then he darted off without taking my order. Table after table came empty. More people arrived and just sat. He lied. He wasn’t directing people to seats, they sat where they wanted. He didn’t make others sitting at large tables move. He didn’t offer us another seat when it came free, over and over. Lies. It even got to the point where there were many tables empty. That’s just offensive. I’d made eye contact with him many times. He’s either incompetent or ignorant and rude. It seemed he had no intention of moving us. My wife does not like to make a fuss and I respect her way of handling things when I’m with her. My wife’s cabinet meal arrived well microwaved. She was unimpressed. She went on to finish her meal, and was on her last mouthful of coffee when the white shirt returned. I’d given up ordering. He offers to move us to one of the by now many empty tables. My wife declines as we’re about to leave. He still doesn’t ask about my order. My wife says she feels he’s arrogant and rude. I would agree. His tone and attitude was dismissive. This guy is out of touch with service reality. The food is subpar. I can’t tell you what the food on the menu is like because he never took my order. I personally think he was the perfect example of how to mismanage front of house and alienate people. I don’t believe he has the skill to manage this when busier. He’s out of his depth and retraining may be in order. We let counter staff know as we left that the guy was officious. If anyone from the cafe reads this. Please rearrange those tables between the back of the brown couch and the water table. There are many ways this can be rearranged to make the tables useful or just remove them. Karaka Cafe is not worth visiting. Funny thing is I have no recollection of what the coffee was like. It was well buried by the crap service.

Plum Cafe

Wellington Central

 07/05/2013

We stopped in for dinner in passing and it turned out to be a great decision. We both ordered steak and it came perfectly cooked. We both thought it was the best we’d had. The meal was simple, well cooked and just exceptional. This is a cosy cafe/bar on Cuba Mall that is well worth a visit.

The Larder

Miramar

 07/05/2013

We discovered this gem by accident. We had to wait for our Weta Cave tour and took a wander up the road. The food is very good. We loved everything we had. You can see and taste the care that goes into this food. Outstanding. We’ll return. The coffee was great, the service was great and the place feels great. We felt welcome. It’s such a pleasure eating here.