Sunday, April 19, 2009

Parade Cafe

Parade Cafe
148 Oriental Parade (opposite Freyberg Pool)
T: (04)- 939 3935

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We came here for Easter Sunday lunch after walking around the waterfront. This place was busy when we went, but it has enough seating. We sat in the outdoors patio area.

Items Ordered:
Beef Burger: the meat patty was nice, and the sauce nice. The burger's top was separated, which most cafes seem to do. I personally prefer my burger to have its top on, so I can bite into the two halves of the bun, the salad and the meat all at once. This burger had to be eaten with a knife and fork because it was overflowing with salad. I appreciate the generosity.
Chicken Bites: probably just tegel frozen chicken nuggets
Wedges: home made and with a really nice salt seasoning. Not sure what it is, but it involved some sort of spice
Plum Shortcake: delicious.

This is a nice casual cafe with a very good vibe. Its sunny and very Sydney.

Food: 6/10
Service: 6/10
Value for Money: 7/10
One Bill Per Table: No
Probability of Returning: 85%

Kaffee Eis

Kaffee Eis
Courtenay Place

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In Italy, the good gelato shops are the one with metal containers, because you know the gelato is made on the premises. I'm not sure if the gelato of Kaffee Eis is made in Courtenay Place, but the getalo here is not bad. The Eis Coffee is not bad either.

It is a good place to pop in for a quick, cheap and good dessert.

Two other locations (1) Oriental Bay (2) Frank Kitt's Lagoon (under that werid wooden sculpted bridge connecting to Civic Square)

Food: 7/10
Service: 6/10
Value for Money: 7/10
One Bill Per Table: No
Probability of Returning: 90%

The Welsh Dragon Bar

The Welsh Dragon Bar
Between Cambridge and Kent Tce (opposite Embassy Cinema, on the traffic island)
T: (04)- 385 6566

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We came here because Lisa (Welsh) wanted to come here. It was 6pm, and we just had Nando's. We came here mainly to hang out.
The smell in this place is damp, and quite odd.
The pub is dark and has lots of seats and couches. It has a fake fire place, which we sat by. It is a dark quiet bar to hang out with a big group. The music is Welsh, and plays softly in the background.

Service: 5/10
One Bill Per Table: No
Probability of Returning: 15%

Maranui Cafe

Maranui SLSC
Lyall Parade, Lyall Bay (follow sing to Lyall Bay, all the way till you hit the sea, then turn right)
T: (04)- 387 2237

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This is a cafe I bring visitors to whenever I can. It is a bit out of the city, but it offers great views, and great food coupled with great atmosphere. The cafe is very busy and it's usually full around brunch time. Come early enough for breakfast, and you'll get a seat otherwise come after lunch. It opens from 8am to 5pm i think.

Items Ordered:
Oat Pancakes: very wholesome, but the oat makes the pancakes quite crumbly
Eggs Benedict (Salmon): very standard
Seaside Scrambled Tofu: quite yummy (tastes like a traditional asian pork dish my mom cooks- except vegetarian). This is served with grained toast topped with a THICK layer of mashed avocado
Big Day Breakfast: Margaret ordered this, and it looked very standard
Scrambled Egg on Sourdough: Eugene ordered this, and the egg looked well done- not too wet not too dry. Perfect texture too.
Lemon Torte/Tart: very yummy
Caramel Pudding: heavenly

The food here is usually quite good, especially if you're here just for a snack- get something from the pre-made display. The menu is otherwise very standard, nothing too special. The coffee here is very well made- espresso is right strength, not burnt, and milk is properly steamed and proportioned.

One of my best cafe in Wellington.


Food: 6.5/10
Service: 6/10
Value for Money: 7/10
One Bill Per Table: No
Probability of Returning: 100%

Hooch

Hooch
46 Courtenay Place
T: (04)-

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We came here after Motel after we met more friends. They have not had anything to drink yet, so we dropped by this place before hitting Temperance.

A little like Motel, in that it is a quiet-ish type lounge with cool ambience, good drink menu, and nice music. Great place to hang and chat. The place looked rather posh and clean.

Service: 7/10
Value for Money: 7/10
One Bill Per Table: No
Probability of Returning: 75%

Motel Bar

Motel Bar

Forresters Lane (behind Burger King on Courtenay, off Tory Street
T: (04)- 384 9084

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We came here after dinner for a drink before heading out to the clubs. I know of this place because a friend pointed it out to me while we were walking around town. It will be hard to find for someone who's not familiar with Wellington. Once you see Burger Kind and Chow, you know you're on the right track.

You have to ring a bell for entry, and it's a flight of steep steps to get to the bar.
Inside has a warm decor, with lots of intimate tables. It is very much a quiet drinking place, but this place has buzz. The music is jazz.

Items Ordered:
We ordered coctails which I do not remember the name of. Suffice it to say, it was strong. Maybe a bit too strong....


Drinks: 6/10
Service: 6/10
Value for Money: 7/10
One Bill Per Table: No
Probability of Returning: 90%

Macs Brewery

Macs Brewery

Corner of Taranaki and Cable Streets (on the waterfront next to NZX)
T: (04)- 381 2282

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We came here with Hannah for Saturday dinner. We decided on this place because Hannah would not pay for parking, and the only free park we could find was near Te Papa.

Very casual, and very brewery. This is a big place so there's no problem trying to find a seat. We were all kinda full, so did not order much. But a nice place to go for a drink nonetheless.

Items Ordered:
Fish cakes: Hannah did not complain about this, so I guess it was ok.
Kumara Soup: I found it too sweet, but the girls liked it.
Pan Fried Fish of the Day: Potatoes were bland, and it was a tad too oily

Food: 4/10
Service: 5/10
Value for Money: 5.5/10
One Bill Per Table: No
Probability of Returning: 65%