Wellington: It’s a wee bit different

New Zealand’s capital offers good food ... and great coffee.

The 1800s cottage facade of Wellington’s hip Havana. Picture: Positively Wellington Tourism

Not everyone wants to dream big. Sometimes, people who dream small can be just as inspiring. Maybe more so. Meet Graham Joe, owner of little store Gelissimo gelato on Wellington’s waterfront. Joe’s product is as good as gelati gets, anywhere, but he’s not in expansion mode.

“We’re not a big business,” he explains gently, handing over a lick on a stick of today’s flavour, damson plums made from Hawke’s Bay fruit. “We’re not even a small business, actually. I had three locations and I got rid of two.”

He shrugs. “If you expand too much there’s no time for creating. In fact I’m thinking of scaling back even furtherThe important thing is to handcraft the product, to peel the fruit ourselves, to always be there for our customers, not in some back office somewhere doing the paperwork.”

This is, as will become quickly apparent should you spend any length of time in the city dubbed the world’s coolest little capital by Lonely Planet, a very Wellington state of mind. Take one of the foodies’ walking tours that rewards your effort with something delicious around every corner and you’ll meet people who have stories, rather than business plans. Who are, to quote tour guide Helena in Kiwi argot, “a wee bit different”.

At Fix & Fogg, you stick your head through the sales window to view a production facility straight out of Lilliput, with its one and only peanut butter grinder churning away. At the Wellington Chocolate Factory (“factory” seems a little ambitious for this small-scale bean-to-bar business) in the hip Hannahs Laneway precinct, you might wonder why there’s half a vacuum cleaner hooked up to the machine that separates the nibs of the chocolate from the shells. Well, the cost of a commercial winnowing machine was prohibitive, the owners explain, so when you can find a workaround, Heath Robinson-style …

Wellington is can-do. Wherever you go in this three-university town, you find innovation, enterprise, youthful zeal — and coffee. Specialty, crop-to-cup, sustainable, direct-trade, artisan, best-in-New-Zealand, coffee (bizarre factoid; should you happen to visit Queenstown, the locals will advise you on the best cafes … in Wellington). Whether or not the city invented the flat white is a matter of debate, of course: just don’t try telling a cab driver here that you side with the Aussies on that front.

With such a strong cafe culture on one hand, and a booming craft beer scene on the other, it’s hardly surprising the city’s restaurants are fast falling into line with the global trend towards casualisation. Ortega Fish Shack recently opened a funky bar next door, Slim Davey’s Friendly Neighbourhood Saloon; Cuba Street landmark Floraditas boasts a hip sibling, the veggo-loving Loretta; while high-end stayer Logan Brown’s more accessible sidekick is Grill Meats Beer.

Here’s a quick guide to some of the best places in Wellington to eat and drink.

Flight Coffee Hangar

A quick chat with owners Nick Clark and Matt Graylee at Flight Coffee’s warehouse cafe will have you thinking coffee is the most fascinating product on the planet. A flight of flat whites — 3 for $NZ14 — won’t dissuade you of the notion, either. From small beginnings a few years back, the business now stocks about 80 restaurants around New Zealand, as well as progressive local grocer Moore Wilson.

Flightcoffee.co.nz

Loretta

Best food in Wellington, said locals in the know, and after one visit, we’ve no cause to argue. In Australia, Loretta would big itself up as a wine bar as well as restaurant/cafe; here, they just make all 40 wines available by the glass, every day, without making a song and dance about it. Originally an arcade, the long, striking space has lots of Scandi-style timber and a proper pizza oven on displayGo hippie with the terrific list of salads and grains or keep it simple and good with the woodfired chook.

loretta.net.nz

Havana

Once, cool hangouts like this one were known for their live music, with food a long way behind. Folks have different expectations today, though, and so it is that Havana — cosy, quirky, set across two rooms of an 1800s cottage — delivers “tapas” alongside the full Cuban-channelling experience (think coffee, cigars, rum and oodles of atmosphere).

 The menu is a little too short for the concept but some of the food is pretty smart: we loved the pork belly with salsa verde and the quince tart. Good local wines, too.

Havana.co.nz

Salty Pidgin

Driving to the “suburbs” in Wellington takes all of about 10 minutes, such is the compact scale of the city. Aside from its peculiar name, Salty Pidgin has impressively wide frontage, acres of glass and a pared-back room that suits its accessible modern bistro/wine bar aspirations. The cooking is better than the rather prosaic menu might suggest (“roast chicken breast”, “grilled beef fillet”) and the strong drinks list is right on trend: wines favour the natural/organic camp and beers are emphatically craft.

Saltypidgin.com

Poneke

Its prime position on Clyde Quay Wharf — the city’s answer to Finger Wharf Woolloomooloo — is a good start. Poneke’s other advantage is Wellington chef-at-large Martin Bosley, who writes the menus and sources the fish that’s such a drawcard here: think Bluff and other seasonal oysters, seafood platters and smoked fish Caesar salad.

(Bosley’s main game these days is running a sustainable seafood company, Yellow Brick Road, that sells fish direct from boats to chefs.)

But it’s all good here: pizzas, local wines and beers, Mojo coffee and some of the finest-looking sweeties around.

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And also:

Every cultural institution deserves a cafe like Nikau, on the ground floor of the imposing City Gallery Wellington. The courtyard is fab and the food terrific — especially the kedgeree with house-smoked fish. Prefer your cafes on an epic scale? Check out Prefab, in a vast converted warehouse near the Moore Wilson foodstore: 1000 covers on a Saturday is standard in a business with a bakery and coffee roastery on site and the longest bar in the southern hemisphere (so they say).

Wellington on a Plate

Wellington’s history of punching well above its weight finds possibly its greatest expression in its annual food festival, Wellington on a Plate, this year running August 12-28. Here’s a couple of our top picks from the 127-event program:

Tokyo Taphouse

Sushi from a US master plus craft beer and top-shelf sake: OK, we have your attention. Yoya Takahashi, from LA’s Hamasaku, is teaming up with local craft beer hero Garage Project to present a feast of Japanese cuisine, LA style, using local seafood sourced from Yellow Brick Road.

Rimutaka Gate to Plate

Now in its fourth year, Prison Gate to Plate is the dark horse of the festival program and always a sellout. Yes, you read correctly: it’s the prisoners’ turn to whip up dinner, guided by mentor Martin Bosley with guest chefs Amy Gillies (Salty Pidgin) and Chetan Pangam (One80).

No booze, of course, but you do get a bus tour of the prison. More, visawoap.com

Necia Wilden travelled to Wellington as a guest of Positively Wellington Tourism and The Bolton Hotel.