Best of Wellington 2018
FOOD & DRINK
Smart dining
Rita
Housed in a narrow century-old miner’s cottage amid a cute clutch of Te Aro Valley shops, this delightful little restaurant is the sort of place you’re welcomed like the regular you’re soon wishing you were. The set menu, which changes several times a week, is short and surprising and deceptively simple — and, at $65 a head, really good value. On the night we visited, seafood — clams, snapper, cray — was the standout, and off-the-boat fresh, while chef Kelda Hains’ open kitchen at the far end of the room makes it feel like being at your friends’ for dinner. The list of a dozen wines are all available by the glass.
89 Aro St. rita.co.nz
Locals recommend Monte Cervino ( montecervino.co.nz ) for contemporary Italian-inspired food by ex-Matterhorn owner/chef Sean Marshall, Ortega Fish Shack ( ortega.co.nz ) for the best steak-frites in town, Shepherd (shepherdrestaurant.co.nz) for gate-to-plate shared dishes and WBC (wbcrestaurant.co.nz) for next-level seafood.
Casual dining
1154 Pastaria
A bright spot on Cuba Street, this fast pasta joint offers just eight dishes, a handful of sides — we can vouch for the garlicky deliciousness of the rosemary brioche roll — and a couple of desserts. Pasta is handmade daily and we particularly like the Bucatini Amatriciana, its long hollow tubes tossed with a rich tomato sauce, studded with nuggets of cured pork and showered in Grana Padano. An airy tiled space on the site of the former HB clothing factory, whose sweet stained-glass frontage remains, the pastaria has also started serving $10 piadinas at lunchtime, and there’s a different baked pasta special every Sunday. Natural and organic wines are the focus of the drinks list.
132 Cuba St. 1154.co.nz
Frenchie
The new cousin of small and sumptuous Ortega next door — both are owned by long-time Wellington restaurateurs Mark and Helen Limacher — this casual neighbourhood bistro applies French techniques to New Zealand produce. It could be stuffy but isn’t — young staff in Breton stripes create a fun vibe, and Kronenbourg, local craft beer and wine are on tap at the bar, where guests are welcome to linger. The menu changes monthly and there’s a good-value three-course option for $59 if you’re up for the challenge. Take one of the wooden booths to admire the interior’s numerous art-deco lampshades and mirrors, and if smoked-fish pâté is on the list of assiette d’apéritif, you must order it.
18 Majoribanks St. frenchiemtvic.com
Little Penang
The best thing to order at this no-frills Malaysian street-food vendor? Char kway teow (fried flat-rice noodles), a specialty in Penang, where owners Tee Phee and Keith Cheah are from. The daily special, like
