📍 90 Cable Street, Te Aro, Wellington
📍 Address: 90 Cable Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
📞 Phone: +64 4 802 8935
🌐 Website: hippopotamus.co.nz
Fabulous meal had here, food was fresh and delicious and beautifully presented. Staff were friendly and professional and did their jobs very well. Beautiful views of Wellington in a lovely dining room. Would highly recommend.
We recently dined at the newly renovated Hippopotamus Restaurant at QT Wellington and were thoroughly impressed. Under the leadership of Head Chef Antoine Collet, the restaurant delivers a truly exceptional dining experience that reflects both creativity and technical mastery. We experienced the Chef’s Signature Set Menu, which showcased outstanding craftsmanship and refined presentation. Each course was beautifully balanced and full of flavour, with standout dishes including the pork belly, profiteroles, pea risotto and onion soup. The service was impeccable, demonstrating a level of professionalism and attentiveness that deserves special recognition. The overall experience was on par with Michelin-starred restaurants, evoking memories of my time at Alain Ducasse in Paris and London. An exceptional experience in every respect — highly recommended, and we look forward to returning.
My wife and I stayed at the Museum Apartments (also really nice) to celebrate our anniversary in September 2025, and we visited Hippo several times during our stay. The food was consistently amazing, and the atmosphere was very classy and chill. All of the staff were lovely, friendly, and helpful. The two we saw most of were Lou and Anthony, both of whom were wonderful - congenial, chatty, enthusiastic about the food, and even gave some advice about places to visit around Wellington. They made an already great dining experience even better.
My recent visit to the QT Hotel and Restaurant in Wellington was an absolute delight. The hotel's fantastic location made exploring the city a breeze. From the moment I walked in, I was struck by the beautiful atmosphere and the genuinely friendly, professional staff—especially Ray and Anthony, who were absolutely amazing. The food was just as impressive. The weekend high tea was an exceptional experience, with every tea and accompanying food item delicious and the service impeccable. Breakfast was a definite highlight. While the buffet was decent, the à la carte menu was sleek and memorable—I'm still dreaming about the egg benedict and the delicious mushroom dish. Dinner was just as stunning, thanks to a fantastic salmon dish and the breathtaking night waterfront view. As a seafood lover who usually avoids raw oysters, I was amazed by the one I stole from my friend—it was incredibly fresh, and the vinaigrette was a perfect touch. And the experience didn't stop there. The room was spacious and tidy, and I absolutely loved the bathtub. I was also pleasantly surprised by the value. Despite ordering a lot to try everything, I didn't find the prices horribly expensive. If you get the chance to visit Wellington, I highly recommend a stay at the QT to enjoy the amazing food, service, scenery, and the comfortable rooms.
We have had a high tea here before the place was revamped recently. It was great experience. On returning we found the food incredibly poor. Not one of the high tea foods were appetising. It felt like foods that were baked well ahead of time so they would last and be easy to serve. There was no freshness, nothing delightful. Very disappointing. Compare this photo with the photo in the previous review from a year ago.
I have visited Hippopotamus twice during my stay at QT. The first visit was a High Tea celebration for my 40th with my friends and we all enjoyed the food and the service so much. The presentation is of course incredible and what this restaurant is known for -the decor is stunning and unique and inspired you to dress up for the occasion. The teapots are stunning and the teas served are beautifully fragrant and reach in flavour. The chocolate themed High Tea was quite unique ad you do not see chocolate utilized in savouries often in NZ and it was a real treat. My favourite by far was the duck Pate that balanced so well with the dark chocolate paste. From the sweets the choux pastry and the dark chocolate rum baba. I would definetly go back again for another celebration. The second visit was the breakfast with my friend. I had eggs Benedict with a swap for a sourdough instead of the English muffin. The eggs were perfectly cooked, there was a generous serving of bacon and the hollandaise souse was quite unique comparing regular cafes. The barista coffee was full bodied and had excellently frothed milk. We definitely felt full and satisfied .
Really nice ambiance and views. What was a little disappointing was the dine in the dark as it just wasn't dark enough. Perhaps they thought it might be difficult for us to eat?
I visited Wellington for my 30th birthday and decided to celebrate in the best way by treating myself to a lovely high tea at the Hippopotamus restaurant. I had such a wonderful experience, the atmosphere was incredible along with the view, lovely staff and of course the high tea itself was absolutely delicious!
We went to Hippopotamus for dinner. Their place is very elegant and the decorations are well presented. We decided to have the Theatre menu. I don't know if my expectations were too high but I was expecting a WOW of them creating our plates Infront of us. We were presented with one of the staff members plating our dish Infront of us, no effort was given or it wasn't entertaining or a WOW. He just cut our meat and served it to us. This did make me disappointed with the theatre menu and it kind of spoiled my night or enjoyment of the meal. We thought some of the meal was going to be cooked in front of us not just cut. Don't get me wrong the service and staff were really friendly and nice. I just think they need to add a wow factor to the theatre menu. For a few dollars more you can do their two courses and get two courses instead of one half presented meal..
Hippopotamus Restaurant & Cocktail Bar is located at 90 Cable Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
You can contact Hippopotamus Restaurant & Cocktail Bar at +64 4 802 8935
You can find directions to Hippopotamus Restaurant & Cocktail Bar by following this map link
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