Sure, you can eat in and eat well, but there's good food to be had if you choose to eat out in Wellington. We hear that there are more cafés and restaurants per head of population in Wellington than in any other city worldwide. If you're taking in an event and need a quick bite, or in the City specifically to go menu shopping, the difficult thing is being confronted by too much choice. You can find reviews in magazines or online, but here's a quick summary of our dining out experience.

One of the first places we discovered was the Leuven Belgian Beer Café on Featherston Street. We've eaten there a few times, if you count just desert! For example two glasses of dark Belgian beer ("Leffe Dark", on sale in New World at 1/3rd price, and "Forbidden Fruits") with a generous portion of bread & butter pudding and a serving of triple brownie can be had for close to $40. It's a nice but noisy environment, with a decent breakfast menu if you fancy brunch.

Coyote Street Bar & Restaurant on Courtenay Place do pretty well for a chain: a glass of Matua Gewürztraminer and a half-pint of Tui, with a burrito (plus aioli & fries) and steak sandwich, cost a reasonable $47.50. Tui is a malty & sweet darkish beer—quite drinkable for those not ordinarily too keen on beer! The jazz music did seem a little incongruous, however, in the overtly Mexican-themed setting.

Zibibbo on Taranaki Street do a very appetising tapas platter. After several visits we've not been disappointed with the mains either. We haven't yet made it to Logan Brown, but it has been recommended as a pre-theatre alternative.

We like Indian food, but suggest giving Little India a miss: very ordinary. Great India on Manners Street is a different story, and Tulsi in Cuba Mall is likewise recommended. There's also Monsoon Poon and Masala, which we hear are good but have yet to visit.

Takeaways are a valid "eating out" option, even if you bring them home. Pizza Pomodoro do authentic Italian pizza: pick one up and take it with a bottle of wine to waterfront on a summer's evening. Calzone on Courtney Place has "satisfactory" pizza, which you can wash down with a disappointing ginger beer, pending the less-than-attentive service; if you want to sit down order a wood-fired pizza at Zibbibo. If you don't want to go get it, we had no complaints over a home delivery from the controversial Hell's Pizza. For fish and chips you can't go wrong with Sea Market on Cuba, with 2 sizeable fillets of crumbed (cf. battered) tarakihi and chips for $20.

For something special (like an anniversary or Lotto win) there's The White House.

For something decidedly local try Kai in the City, in Majoribanks Street. The mains are small portions with unique flavours, such as hangi (chicken, lamb, pork) or fish on a smoked vegetable mash. Delicious deserts (including feijoa ice cream) and friendly wait staff.

Make sure you leave room for desert

Speaking of desert, you might visit Strawberry Fare, where one desert is enough for two (but don't let that stop you from ordering one each and sharing).

Looking for the best ice cream? Kaffee Eis at The Lagoon on the waterfront (closed on "truly horrible days") is also at Oriental Bay, on the junction of Oriental Parade and Hay Street. Also in Oriental Bay, Parade Café do good panini and salad with potato wedges; fresh, simple and ample at $NZ14. If the weather is nice why not head for the Chocolate Fish Cafe at Scorching Bay: sunscreen provided!

If the weather isn't so nice you might fancy a hot chocolate. Schoc Chocolaterie & Espresso Bar on Tory can provide, with flavours such as cardamon & orange white, or lavender & orange dark. Butlers Chocolate Café on Willis offer a very smooth hot chocolate to help maintain your strength for shopping.

For a quick yet tasty and healthy meal on the move there's Wholly Bagels on Willis and elsewhere, with a choice of 14 styles of bagel combined a variety of wholesome fillings.

Hungry after a walk in the Botanic Gardens, or climbing Tinakori Hill? The Ale House on Tinakori Road offer a limited-release Speight's Harvest, an apricot-flavoured wheat beer from the tap with a definate apricot tang, at $6 a pint. They serve decent pub-style food here too. Or cross the road to Tinakori Bistro for dinner, such as lamb loin and venison medallions to make up for a bland entree of goat's cheese suffle. The Bistro serve small portions, making a vegetable side-dish a must. Their creme brulée and chocolate cake left us feeling comfortable, not at all over-stuffed.

Tip: Consider buying the Entertainment Book. Presenting the enclosed Gold Card when requesting your bill entitles you to a one-time discount from restaurants in the Fine Dining section of the book.

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