CLOCKWISE FROM
RIGHT: Artichoke
salad at Rita; Alric
Hansen; Monique Fiso;
Ben Shewry.ORTEGA:Pan-fried
flounder.See more of Ben Shewry’s Wellington trip at gourmettraveller.com.au
ORTEGA
No visit to New Zealand’s capital is complete
without a meal at Ortega Fish Shack.
Co‐owner and head chef Mark Limacher’s
infectious enthusiasm for great food, wine
and hospitality is reflected throughout the
restaurant, wine list and menu, with a tight
crew of family and staff keeping locals
coming back for more. Sourcing seafood from
partners like Awatoru, Ortega delivers a fresh,
wholesome and quintessentially Wellington
experience. Ortega Fish Shack, 16 Majoribanks
St, Mount Victoria, +64 4382 9559, ortega.co.nzRITA
Hand‐painted across the entry to Rita in Aro
Valley are the words ‘This heavenly place’.
It’s an apt description for this bistro, which is
infused with love and passion from co‐owner
Paul Schrader and chefs and co‐owners Kelda
Hains and Matt Hawkes.
Hains took the words from a letter from
her grandmother, Rita, encouraging her
to make haste on opening a
restaurant where everyone
could enjoy her food. That has
been achieved in just a few short
years, and Rita the restaurant
has fast become a city favourite.
The menu changes daily based
on what’s in season, what’s
available from local suppliers,
and what’s flourishing in the
kitchen garden, which in typical
Wellington style is perched on
the hill behind the diminutive
cottage. Here rhubarb and
lemon verbena thrive in the
sunny weather, and it’s clear
how much the team’s sunny
disposition, too, contributes
to Rita’s success.
“I just want to feed people well
and give them a really niceexperience that nourishes their soul,”
says Hains. “I want them to enjoy the best
of home cooking – like sitting around
someone’s table and having a beautiful
meal.” Rita, 89 Aro St, Aro Valley,
+64 4385 4555, rita.co.nzHIGHWATER EATERY
Tucked at the harbour end of Cuba Street,
Highwater Eatery offers Wellingtonians
all‐day dining in the experienced hands of
Alric Hansen and Ben Farrant. Having
returned from Melbourne, where they
owned Small Victories in North Carlton,
their ambitions are high, like the high‐tide
mark that swamped Wellington in 1843- hence the name. Produce comes first, and
it is predominantly organic, including the
meat, which is free‐range and organically
raised. Expect house‐baked sourdough,
house‐churned butter, and a menu that
reflects the best of fresh New Zealand
ingredients chosen with conscience.
Highwater Eatery, 54 Cuba St, Te Aro,
+64 4210 4420, highwatereatery.co.nz
Fiso’s culinary ambitions also date
from early in life: she began her career
with a sandwich van. From those humble
beginnings she progressed to the kitchens
of New York, then returned to Wellington
to rise to the self‐directed challenge of
cooking with ingredients that until now
have been relatively little used in New
Zealand’s restaurants. Her goal has also
given her a previously unexplored
connection with her Maori heritage.
“When I first started cooking like this
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
I needed to see how far I could take these
ingredients because we don’t have a book
telling us what to do. It’s a blank canvas
really,” says Fiso. Hiakai, 40 Wallace St,
Mount Cook, +64 4938 7360, hiakai.co.nz
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