As the rest of the country (sorry, Auckland) moves to alert level 2, Wellington’s favourite food festival is back. Visa Wellington On a Plate was cut short with the country-wide lockdown in August, but now in level 2, they’re able to re-start the festival for another four weeks.
Burger Wellington and Cocktail Wellington will now run from Wednesday 8 September to Sunday 3 October.
With lockdown restrictions hitting the hospitality hard, this is a great opportunity to support local businesses while also enjoying some mouthwatering food and drink.
The majority of participating restaurants back on board with Burger Wellington and Cocktail Wellington, so there’s plenty to taste around the city. We’ve rounded up our top picks we can’t wait to try.
Each year local eateries push the boundaries of burger-making and at this year’s Burger Wellington, with WOAP’s 2021 theme of ‘Out of Place’, the creations are truly incredible.
We’re eyeing up ‘The Baller‘ from Atlas, a buttermilk fried chicken burger with caviar and housemade seaweed hot sauce. ‘El Chupacabra‘ from Panhead Custom Ales is a mouthwatering offering, with slow-smoked pulled lamb, salsa verde and caramelised shallot patty.
Local favourite Field & Green have created the ‘Ottoman Empire‘ for Burger Wellington, a lamb patty with pea choots, dill pickles and roasted red pepper harissa. And hey, there’s even a dessert burger from The Library, made with Fix & Fogg peanut butter, chocolate brownie and cream cheese frosting ‘mayo’.
As to the drinks, this year’s Cocktail Wellington creations are real showstoppers. The ‘Lady Naumi’ from newly-opened Lola Rouge is an enticing martini with rose and lychee infused vodka, while the ‘Goood Morning Sunday Vietnam‘ from Apache, a take on a bloody mary, pairs perfectly with their firecracker fried chicken.
Head to South America at El Culo del Mundo for their ‘El Chapulín Verde‘, a blend of blanco tequila and housemade horchata (it even comes with a frozen grasshopper). Or try the equally-creative ‘Mekong Milo‘ from Dragonfly, a cocktail of limoncello adn vodka, infused with toasted rice, milo, coconut water, smoke and bubble.