Best restaurant in Wellington

“A surprise find in Jackson st Petone. A really nice well laid out restaurant, friendly helpful staff and a great range of Thai food available. The servings were a generous size and very tasty. My wife is a Thai chef and she was impressed. The priceing is resonable with our two main meals and a drink costing $45. Happy to recommend Smile Elephant and will be visiting again when we head to Welly. We went back and I got the spare ribs and chips, my wife curried chicken noodle bowl. ❣️”

“To be fair the cafe was empty when we arrived. Gorgeous food.”

“Had a great experience at GR8 tandoori. Food was awesome and the staff were very friendly. We gonna visit again soon.”

“The food is exceptional. And the people are lovely.”

“Been here multiple times (2x this week), took out friends and family and everyone has always found the food really good. Excellent service all the time. Value for money! My all time favorite ❤️ Editing the review to add another 5 star! Consistently very good!”

“Just had dinner here and it was an amazing experience! The blonde hostess/waitress that served me was very bubbly friendly and patient!! The food was also brilliant, plated beautifully and came out quickly, I'll definitely be coming back here soon as it was one of the best eating experiences I've had!”

“My partner recently discovered this amazing place and, to our delight, we found out that the chef who owns it used to work at Higher Taste India down at Lambton Quay before it closed down. We were big fans of that place and felt saddened by its closure. We've been on the lookout for another delicious and reasonably priced Vegan Indian restaurant. Finally, we decided to give this place a try, and for lunch, I ordered the Vegetarian Manchurian with Basmati rice. The portion was more than generous, and the flavors were exquisitely balanced and exceptional. The experience was so delightful that we are already planning to make this restaurant a regular dining spot for us.”

“Absolutely love this place! Hands down the most authentic Japanese feed you’ll find in Wellington. I’m down in Welly every couple of months and Miyabi’s always a must-do for me, never disappoints. The food’s top-notch, and the service is just as good. Olivia’s been awesome every time — absolute legend. Cheers team, keep it up!”

“Great Pad Thai and Chicken Na Kai. Really good flavour in the Pad Thai. Excellent service when answering the phone and picking up the food”

“I had an absolutely wonderful time dining here. From the moment I walked in, everything was just perfect. The ambience was warm and inviting, the cleanliness of the space was impressive, and the attention to detail in both service and presentation truly stood out. The food was top-notch – full of flavour, fresh, and beautifully prepared. I genuinely enjoyed every dish I tried. The staff were incredibly friendly, attentive, and went the extra mile to make sure we felt comfortable and cared for throughout the meal. It’s clear the team takes great pride in what they do, and it shows in every aspect of the experience. I will definitely be coming back and will happily recommend this place to friends and family. A big thank you to the team for the extra care – it made all the difference!”

“Family dinner for our babies’ Papa’s 72nd birthday ❤️ Live one man band was awesome tonight.”

“Great spot, hidden in plain sight. Seated and served promptly and meals very delicious. Have a great little gourmet burger selection too.”

“Eating on my own as travelling for work, so looking for tasty food and reasonable pricing, and an atmosphere where it doesn’t feel awkward being a sole diner. I had been here some time ago, enjoyed it very much and this time was certainly well satisfied on all counts. Only had a main, pork belly, plus side of veges. Serving size was really generous - I liked the sound of the mussels entree but would never have fitted that in as well! Very tasty - I enjoy sampling pork belly on my travels and this was excellent.”

“Got a dinner take away. Very delicious curry and garlic naan. Highly recommend..”

“I hadn’t been here for 12 years, and the kung pao chicken is everything I remembered it to be! I highly recommend it! My husband had the sweet and sour, which he liked as well. Such a good value and great place. Quick service as well. I hope this place never changes.”

“We got the $44 buffet hotpot deal which included all you can eat lamb, crab stick, tripe, vegetables, tofu and noodles, plus the most delicious homemade steamed buns. The initial portions were so generous we didn’t need to ask for more, and all the ingredients were delicious. The service was excellent, very helpful when we were deciding how much to order! Highly recommend for Beijing style hotpot in Wellington”

“It's our first time to dining in this restaurant. Was really mpressed with the food and service. Food was really fresh and tasty. They even offered free soup and fruit platter. The restaurant was also tidy and clean. Will definitely come back again!”

“This is my favorite Indian restaurant in the area (possibly in Wellington). Their food is well prepared and delicious. I tried the chicken sola —which is classified as a ‘starter’— and it has a full dinner’s worth of chicken, and it has a kick! The fried poppadom is so tasty and the garlic naan is GREAT. My family loves the butter chicken, especially my son who orders ‘Butter the Chicken’ off the kids menu. The only curious thing was how three people in my party ordered butter chicken and each person’s butter chicken came out in staggered order, my wife’s, then my daughter’s, and then my son’s. It was all extremely tasty, though, so no worries.”

“My family loved Ammu at the old location,this was the first visit at the new location. The service was efficient and the food came out fast. We have ordered Ammu on delivery services previously but the food was so much better in store! The naan bread was so plush. I highly recommended Ammu, support local!”

“The red thai beef curry was delicious. Perfectly cooked vegetables and the medium hot level of spice was spot on. Good, friendly staff.”

“Food was really good but the service really made it great. The lady with the pink hair is absolutely delightful! We’ll be back.”

“Hardware bar is the jewel in the crown for Stokes Valley dining. Its very warm, inviting, with staff that go above and beyond on service. Plus you can bring your fur baby here too!. The food is delicious with generous portion size. The Ribs are the best in Wellington. Will return again, and bring many more vistors”

“First time tried & definitely won't be the last. Everything, from the online booking process to the payment at the end (& of course everything in between) was on point, easy & prompt. A friend recommended this restaurant to us & we're so glad she did. The staff & service were great, as was the food. We were seated & served promptly & all told, it was a 45 minute experience from being seated to leaving, yet we didn't feel at all rushed & we left wanting to return. I definitely recommend as a must try restaurant.”

“Wow is all I can say. I heard about Tuk Tuk thai over the years but we hadn't made it out of the city to try it. I am so glad we did as this was such beautiful Thai food. The atmosphere is lovely and you can tell that the owners put a lot of love into the decor. The service was great with friendly and attentive staff. But the food was the best Thai we've had in the wellington region. My husband and I both love Thai food and have tried most of the Thai restaurants in the wellington region, but Tuk Tuck Thai blew us away. The red curry is so silky, flavorful, and decadent and I felt like I was having a high end, luxurious Thai meal. The green curry was also very unctuous and flavorful with just the right hint of spice. The menu warns that both curry's come as medium, and we were a bit worried because we are not the best with spice, but neither were too spicy for us, so don't let that scare you off. We also had the roti with satay sauce and wow, the satay sauce is beautiful with great flavor, and one that you can tell is made in house. I 1000% recommend TukTuck Thai and if you have not tried it yet, please do, as you won't be disappointed. We are still talking about that meal the next day and cannot wait to go back.”

“As a regular customer for the last 5 years, I can confidently say that I love all meals on the menu.”

“Delicious gluten free Korean street food goodness All of this was great, amazing fries too. Almost the whole menu is gluten free and can be made safe for coeliacs. We had the popcorn chicken, popcorn cauliflower, deep fried brie and fries, and had no gluten reactions at all”

“Absolutely delicious food, ingredients are fresh and yummy. The japchae is delicious and vegitarian. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Amazing service. Thank you so much this will be a new regular for us ☺️☺️”

“Amazing service, food came out almost instantly. It was all delicious and very generous proportions. We just stopped in randomly on our way back down cuba Street and couldn't have been happier.”

“Friendly service and delicious food. We took our kids (4 & 6) and they enjoyed the atmosphere and the options on the kids menu (which included a ice cream with every meal)”

“Excellent food and service - a place I would return to on next trip to NZ”