Wellington's best kept secret. The food quality is first class and presentation is fantastic as is the ambiance. The lady who owns the place provides top class service and knowledge which is second to none.
Went here for dinner midweek when it was nice and quiet, so the service was quick and our waitress very friendly. We had the lamb and steak with side salads and red wine. Good selection of wine and the food was fine, but we were expecting a bit more for that price range.
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This is a lovely little restaurant that, I think, hasn't realised its own potential. It has an attractive exterior, a nice, cosy, intimate ambience. It is a perfect space for an intimate French dinner.
We went yesterday, a spur of the moment decision on a Thursday evening. Apart from Hillside, in what was Charlie bills, I find Aubergine the most promising of its neighbours. I like the name, the exterior view, the menu, but the restaurant has intriguing issues.
Only two tables were booked and I always feel awkward and sorry for the owners when that happens. Feeling sorry in a restaurant isn't a good sign and a real sign saying "open 7 days including public holidays" made me guiltily put away my little notebook and consider the lot of restaurateurs, especially where there is one front of house and one cook (at least I think that was the case).
Our meals were the salmon, the terrine, and the scotch fillet with potato dauphine.
Everything was perfectly cooked - the beef excellent - the salmon tender flakes - the terrine nutty textural and meaty. Combinations worked and clearly each dish had been honed to near perfection.
We did have minor gripes however - the toast for the terrine was very ordinary, the potato dauphine (which was too obviously pre-prepared) in its china bowl shouldn't sit in the gravy - you want the potato to soak up the juices.
Dessert was a shared sticky date and walnut with vanilla ice cream - the sticky date was brilliant - the best I've had -, but the ice cream ordinary.
A cheese plate came with a nice blue but very ordinary commercial crackers.
The menu at Aubergine doesn't change - when I first went years ago it was basically the same. It's as if it has become fossilised, unchanging except for a few shortcuts being taken (crackers, toast, dauphinois, ice cream).
To my mind, and some would regard that of questionable value, Aubergine needs to be braver and climb out of a rut. The menu must change - French cuisine is seasonal as well as regional and an unchanging menu can't be seasonal. I think there needs to be a separate specials menu, and the extras like the ice cream, crackers and the bread for the terrine should be prepared in house - they don't take long to prepare in sufficient quantities and can be preserved to varying degrees.
Aubergine has been given a restaurant design gift and it needs to live up to it. It could be brilliant but it fundamentally lies in the doldrums.
WOW! I took a friend from out of town who wants to come back for the duck comfit! Crisp skin, melt in the mouth tender meat, luscious flavour and with beautifully presented, still with some bite veges.
Add helpful, friendly service and a restaurant where conversation is possible without raising your voice and you jave a wonderful dining experience. Thank you. Rosemary
Our meal this evening at Aubergine was exceptional. The waitress was friendly, efficient and unobtrusive. The food was well-presented and delicious. The restaurant is nicely decorated and the choice of music was excellent.
I will certainly be dining here again. Highly recommended.
I went for a romantic dinner with my partner and thoroughly enjoyed the best duck in Wellington followed by an amazing sticky date pudding.
I highly recommend dinning here and will be sure to return for another meal
We dined here on Saturday. We had a lovely three course meal. The food was superb, there was a great atmosphere.
The restaurant is small but very cosy and we would recommend the experience to anyone looking for exquisite food.
Our family dined here in early March and as with previous visits were not disappointed. It is a charming small restaurant with an emphasis on French cuisine. The service is friendly, professional and discrete. Our dishes ranged from the delicious Duck comfit, steaks and the surprisingly tasty Boudin Blanc. These delicious handmade chicken sausages served on white beans were incredibly tasty and would not normally be our first choice on a menu. The sides were fresh, simple and tasty without the usual sauces drowning the food as you often get in some restaurants. Let the food speak and it did. The creme brulee should not be missed either. Thank you to our lovely hosts Chef Joe and host Kate for a very pleasant evening.
Really enjoyed our dinner here last Saturday night. It was a rare treat (an evening without children) so we wanted a special dinner. The french food was beautifully cooked and the service was attentive without being intrusive. Loved that the food was great but the place (or the food) wasn't pretentious. For the quality of food, the pricing is good. Would definitely eat here again and would recommend.
We have been going to Aubergine for several years now. The food is always excellent, the steak is always very nice (according to my dining partner!), and the service is impeccable. But the ambience is another reason we keep going back, it is relaxing with some very nice music, sometimes jazz, sometimes classical.
Amazing place, perfect food and friendly professional understated service every time. This is one of our favourite Wellington venues. The duck is always perfect! My partner had the steak which was cooked just how she likes it.
This was the second visit for us both, and a delight to see not only the inviting changes to the menu, but the consistency of the fare presented. Delicious and fresh, and beautifully presented. A real Wellington gem.
We were a table of five on a Sunday in December. I don't normally get excited about duck but their duck confit with potatoes was so delicious that the memory of the flavour and texture stayed strongly with me for several days and I can even start salivating now. The vegetable sides were dishes of significance deserving of thoughtful eating.
One could dine here alone with just the food for company and thus savour each mouthful.
Desserts were culinary masterpieces, also exclaim-worthy.
The service was knowledgeable and timely in a manner that made me feel that we were being served by the proprietress, as one might be treated by a French proprietress; not slick and flamboyant, but with great depth of knowledge.
We had a lovely dining experience at Aubergine. We were greeted by a very friendly waitress. We were given a choice of tables. We chose by the window. Service was fantastic, didn't have to wait long. The food was delivered to our table in perfect time. The food was exquisite. One of the meals was a steak which was cooked to perfection and tasted delicious to which we had side order of vegetables which were also very tasty. It was very well priced and would recommend to people
The warm and friendly hosting and ambience of this French Restaurant was spot on; warm, cozy without being small, romantically lite with relaxing and unobtrusive french background music.
The menu was interesting yet allowed a quick decision as not too over done in size.We enjoyed steaks medium done,with two side orders of mushrooms and assorted vegetables with a glass of red wine. All cooked to perfection with no over cooking. Fantastic customer service with a smile.
We look forward to returning again
Good on you Aubergine.
Esther and Malcolm.
We had a very nice dinner at Aubergine. We had a table for two in the coner, which suited us as it felt fairly private. The food was lovely (I had salmon, my husband had duck), but perhaps a little overpriced, although as we used the Entertainment Book it worked out at a reasonable price. The flavours in the sauces were delicious. The service was attentive.
My wife and I dine at Aubergine once or twice a year. December 16 continued our experience of always having received friendly service, each course delivered in a timely manner and the food as always was very good - excellent. We both enjoy the duck but other items on the menu are also very enjoyable. We also enjoy the ambience that a smaller restaurant such as Aubergine can offer.
My wife and I went for dinner there for our anniversary the other night. The restaurant is small but I think that adds to the atmosphere. It was very intimate and the classical music quietly playing in the background add to the experience.
The food was delicious. We had entrees and main. The duck was superb and the escargot was not the standard, cooked in crushed garlic and butter. It was very tasty cooked in a creamy white sauce. Well worth a try for those who like escargot and like something different.
The waitress was lovely. The service was unobtrusive but was there when we needed it.
Using the entertainment card meant that the meal was very reasonable in terms of cost.
Definitely going back!!
Great little restaurant. The food was amazing, the service impeccable and such quiet surroundings. We had entrees and a main and both were faultless. The crispy skin duck was sensational. Have to mention the service - the lovely waitress brought a heater right to the table as I was saying it was such a cold night. I love that!! Definitely be going back.
My partner and I booked last minute at Aubergine and although I would not describe it as a fine dining French restaurant, we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The restaurant is small but we were able to have an intimate dinner despite a large table next to us. Neither the menu nor the wine list are extensive, but we enjoyed good food promptly served. The duck was moist though stringy and the aubergine pasta very good. We shared a creme brulee for dessert - not quite traditional but delicious. After dinner coffee was divine - as the waitress explained that she freshly grinds for each customer. Receiving one free main through use of the Entertainment card made it a very reasonable dinner.
My partner and I went for dinner here last night. The food was really delicious, wasn't just your average pub food. Awesome to have something new and different. The service was second to none, the waitress was lovely and helpful. We ordered 2 entrees, 2 mains and 1 side dish to share. We were too full to have dessert! Meals were great size for us. The music playing in the background was wonderful classical music. Our meals were perfectly timed. We are most definitely going back.
We really enjoyed our visit to Aubergine on a cold wintery night. The atmosphere is calm, romantic and inviting and the service extremely polite, professional, and friendly.
Our meals were delicious, we tried snails! And the salmon was cooked to perfection. My dining companion declared his creme brulee to be done very well and my chocolate biscuit mouse was very rich and flavoursome.
For what I consider to be some very good French food (from someone who's never been to France), I would recommend Aubergine!
We really enjoyed our dinner at Aubergine last Saturday night. Both our entrees (terrine and snails) were excellent with lovely flavour. The mains (duck and steak) were tasty as were the desserts. We thoroughly recommend Aubergine
We had a very enjoyable dinner at Aubergine. The terrine entree was shared between the two of us and was full of flavour.
The steak mains were cooked perfectly and served with a very nice potato gratin. A more flavoursome sauce would not have gone astray though.
For dessert we had the sticky date pudding and chocolate and biscuit mousse. Both were delicious.
The service was professional and quick and the atmosphere was nice - although the tables were quite close to each other (but hard to avoid in a small space).
I would happily recommend Aubergine to anybody looking for a nice dinner out.
We enjoyed a lovely dinner recently and was not disappointed at all. The food we enjoyed was the Duck Confit and the steak were both cooked to perfection along with the vegetables. I would thoroughly recommend this restaurant and suggest for those special occasions please book. This was my first ever visit and wondered why, as I am a Wellingtonian; but will definately return soon.
Thank you Aubergine for such a lovely dining/wining experience.
We ate steaks there the other night and they were cooked to perfection. Service was attentive and atmosphere relaxing - not overly busy.
Recommend it.
Just enjoyed a rather tasty and relaxing meal on a Tuesday evening. The service was attentive and the pace of the meal unhurried, in the compact and tastefully decorated setting, complemented in the background by Mendelssohn's Songs without Words and other similar piano music. The food was pleasantly flavourful, the wine excellent, and the deserts were a highlight. Very enjoyable.
This was Boxing day, our daughter's birthday, and the city eateries are often so hard to engage with. First try was Aubergine. We were brightly welcomed in without surcharge..
Five of us ate to a very good standard right across the menu offerings. My tomato-based soup was one of the best I've have ever tasted - bang on in temperature and richness. The Scotch fillet mains with well conceived vegetables were cooked to perfection with a discreet peppering. They went some way to restoring our confidence lost in the genre over these many years.
The atmosphere was dignified and soothing (a nice counterpoint to the previous hectic day) with well chosen light piano music that I have now obtained for my own CD.
The brulee was tops (in what is a most competitive field). The Stilton cheese with coffee scored well too. An excellent night out, on what can often end up in a ho hum hotel diner rather than a real restaurant.
I would like to echo the review of Sue M. My friend and I also thought we would take a punt at a local restaurant close to where we were staying on a week long visit to Wellington. On our last night - Saturday 5 January, we wanted a special dinner and were certainly not disappointed. We would recommend Aubergine to anyone who appreciates fine French cuisine and good wines.
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Fantastic dining experience. At a loose end early on in the new years eve plan we decided to try our luck at this local venue and were made very welcome despite no advance booking. The atmosphere is intimate and friendly without any pomp and ceremony so often part of the fine dining experience. Although the drinks list is limited this is balanced by the excellent quality on offer and the wine we selected was a good match for my partners and my food. All our meals were cooked to perfection and presented simply but elegantly, a credit to the chef. We ordered the salmon, the fillet and the aubergine pasta. They all looked so good I just had to sample each one. The pasta was superbly tasty and the salmon to die for. The steak was melt in the mouth divine. I'd recommend to order the seasonal vegetables, these were very simply prepared with a light glaze and thankfully no heavy sauce to overpower the fresh taste. The sticky date pudding, a favourite, was the best my partner has eaten. We were so impressed we returned again this evening for a late desert and coffee!! Highly recommend.
Had a great experience . The food was excellent and well priced. Its worth having the extra veg as tonight silver beet was featured ( not just ordinary green from the silver beet - the whites with an amazing sauce of cream, parmigiana and other spices, it was Divine and just an add on)
Our Waitress was lovely and helpful. The wine list is rather short, but not the usual run of the mill supermarket, so fine. Featured a couple of French wines by the glass. This is not a fine Dinning Restaurant and the prices reflect that, but the service is great and the food very tasty and well presented. It was refreshing to have a Salad that was correctly seasoned and tossed - not just placed on the plate and drizzles with dressing. Thanks for a great night.
We have been to Aubergine several times over the past years and our latest visit on 8 Feb was as good as ever. The menu is not extensive but it is a case of fewer items done very well. The duck confit was excellent and the sticky date pudding would be the best in town. Reasonably priced and reasonable portions.
One year later we would not change a word of the review last year. Hopefully we wil be returning again shortly
We had been meaning to try Aubergine for ages and were not disappointed. The atmosphere, place settings and music were in keeping with the French theme of the restaurant. Service was just right - attentive and discreet. All our dishes were beautifully cooked and presented (without being over the top). We had no difficulty with using the Entertainment Book. We will go again.
Four of us had a wonderful meal here. The service and food were excellent. The menu has plenty to choose from and we all chose different options which were all great. Service is attentive but not intrusive. Highly recommended.
We had a lovely dinner for four at Aubergine last night. Our service was warm, friendly, and attentive, even when we arrived without a booking. The menu could be described as very loosely French and we started with warm, crusty bread rolls. I ordered the salmon, which was tender and lightly flavoured. My partner's lamb rump was beautifully medium rare and our sides of mushrooms and seasonal vegetables complemented our main courses. Even though the room got very noisy with a large group sitting opposite us, this was a pleasant, enjoyable meal.
I have no idea why the people below have rated his bad, each to their own. The staff are exceptional, always friendly and welcoming, we have been back 5 times and the peaceful atmosphere and quaint french music with the superb food is to die for. Perhaps they never tried the awesome Creme Brulee... we have been to many fine dining eateries in Wellington and this is the best by far...we were there again tonight and we love it.
Excellent meal and service! The food was beautiful and very fresh.
Definitely the best French restaurant in Wellington - Recommend to all
Aubergine is probably one of my favourite restaurants in Wellington. The cuisine is French and is always cooked to a high standard. I don't think I have ever not enjoyed anything I have eaten there. The flavours are classic and rich and are executed perfectly. My favourite mains include the Steak and the Duck and my favourite dessert is without a doubt the sticky date pudding, probably the best I have ever had. I love the atmoshere in the restaurant. It is generally quiet with subtle music in the background and feels very calm as it is situated away from the CBD. The only negative point I can really maje is that the menu never changes, ever. I have been going there for the last few years and nothing on the menu has changed at all. I think that this is a shame, if they changed it more often then I would probably be enticed to go there more often. I love it so much that I don't want to eat there all the time as I'm afraid I'll get sick of it!
We had a very delicious and enjoyable dinner. Nice, calm atmosphere with good classical music. Very clean. Loved the white cloth and fabric napkin detail. Everything we had (snails, soup, bread, lamb, red cabbage, potato gratin, steak, dessert) was amazing! Thank you for also making our baby happy. He loved the gratin and bread. We will be back 🤗
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I read through the other reviews before posting mine, and although it seems as if there might have been some QA issues associated with the place, its service and its food in the distant past, our experience seems to align more with other more recent reviews. It was our first time here, so I only have this one experience to go one - but here goes nothing. Apart form the carpet which looked a little warn, the place was really neat and tidy (the carpet was also clean, just wear and tear I guess - but still clean). The table was very presentable with a clean tablecloth, clean glass table top, clean cutlery and clean glasses. you've probably guessed it by now, but the cleanliness of a place goes a really, really long way for me, and you are free to read some of my other reviews to see how I score places that aren't! Anyway, the service was really good, and the waitron was really friendly too - she even picked up on the fact that my wife is expectant, and when placing our food order, took the initiative herself to assure us that all my wife's food would be properly cooked (my wife is a bit of a steak lover). Albeit so, the food orders arrived very promptly, but then I do also have to mention that it was a very quiet day in the restaurant with only one other table for a late lunch around 2 pm. The quality of the food was really good too, and the portion sizes were alright - not too small, but neither too large either (maybe this can improve slightly) as the glass of wine I ordered also felt a little inadequate to qualify as a "glass of wine"). Nevertheless, the food was really tasty and delicious, so the quality did make up for the quantity. For desert we shared a crème brule, which was also really good. The atmosphere in the restaurant was also very tranquil and peaceful, with soft piano music which made for a great quiet afternoon lunch. All things considered, I definitely would recommend having lunch or dinner here, as there is great selection on their all a carte - like escargot, which is a rarity in Wellington. Overall our experience was very enjoyable
Food so amazing, I didn't have time to take photos of the incredible scotch fillet i ordered. So delicious and cooked to perfection. My friend had the duck confit, which she said was just amazing. Tasty sides to go with the mains. Great, helpful staff, with good knowledge of what was available that evening. Loved joining in with the family that were celebrating their daughter's birthday, as we sang happy birthday. Definitely a restaurant that I will have on my list when I come back to Wellington.
This restaurant has the best confit duck in the world. And everything else is excellent too. The braised red cabbage side dish has become a favourite, it's delicious. Lovely for a quiet dinner with friends and family, or even just to treat yourself :)
Food is always delicious and beautifully presented. Very attentive service, and intimate atmosphere.
Great food, and a really nice staff member serving us tonight, who was very accommodating to us. Reasonably priced too.
Cute little restaurant with upscale yet cozy atmosphere. The food was delicious and service was prompt and attentive. I had the scotch fillet, my MIL had lamb, and my husband had pasta aubergine and we all thoroughly enjoyed our meals. The goat cheese toast appetizer was A-plus, as was the sticky date pudding. If we ever visit Wellington again, will be back!
My wife and I were visiting Wellington and out for a walk when we noticed this restaurant. We decided to give it a try and were very impressed with the food, service and ambiance. The crispy duck confit with duck fat baked potatoes was amazing as was the herb roasted lamb rump. Give this place a try and you will not be disappointed.
The confit duck was delicious paired with duck fat potatoes. The soup of the day was very enjoyable. Service was very attentive. Will be returning!
My partner and I live nearby and have had many wonderful meals at Aubergine. The food is always good and the service is excellent. We recently had a family Christmas lunch at Aubergine and were very impressed at how organised things were given that the restaurant was very full. There were ten of us but all our meals arrived in good time and everything was as delicious as when it is just the two of us eating there. I particularly enjoyed my starter of goats cheese and tomato crostin, and my duck main course is an old favourite that I never tire of. Having lunch prepared for us made our Christmas relaxed and easy and we plan to do the same thing next year. Also, $75 for a 3-course meal of such good quality is hard to beat
A dear friend and I lunched at Aubergine recently, carrying on a long-standing tradition of an annual long, leisurely lunch. It was a wonderful afternoon: classical music created a relaxing ambience enabling lots of talk and laughter. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. My scotch fillet was perfectly trimmed, tender and cooked to perfection; the potatoes gratin were super-tasty and our side dish of vegetables fresh and crisp. My friend's lamb with duck-fat fries was equally delightful. And the desserts - wow! Fantastic. The service was friendly but unobtrusive and we had a totally delightful experience. I look forward to my next visit there.
My wife and I visited Aubergine for Sunday lunch, our first visit for a number of years. We were very pleased to find that the food was still superb, very tasty and beautifully presented. The staff were also very friendly and helpful. We'll be back!
We've just been back, this time with our entire family to celebrate a 150th birthday (Grandfather 80, Daughter 50 and granddaughter 20). We were able to book the entire cafe for the evening and were not disappointed. Owner, Kate, was most accomodating to our wishes and once again the food and service were top class.
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What an exceptional experience my wife and I had for a special night out at Aubergine. After a very warm welcome from our host, we were shown to our table, beautifully set and looking out on the evening going by on Tinakori Rd.
The menu has a good variety of dishes suitable for all tastes and the accompanying wine list showcased NZ and European wines.
We chose the Terrine to share as an entree, and there was ample flavoursome pork and pistachio delight to have on the toasted buttery slices of baguette and accompanying relish.
After this start, we knew we were in for a special meal, and my wife's Aubergine pasta caponata was light and flavoured exceptionally with the aubergine and roasted pepper juices, complemented by the zingy capers. I had the herb roasted lamb rump, and this came out sliced so the delicate pink meat and beautifully rendered fat was showcased on a flavoured bed of chard and well seasoned chick peas. We both enjoyed a side dish of the special of red cabbage, which had a pickle element to the flavour and some duck fat potatoes.
Because it was a special evening, we also had some dessert - me the baked chocolate mousse, and my wife, the creme brulee. Both were exceptional and finished off the evening meal on a high. We never felt rushed over our 2 hour long meal, and valued the time taken by the host who we also found out is the owner along with her husband the chef, to talk with us about the meal and ingredients. It is great to see such a long standing business still part of the community. We will certainly enjoy a return visit when next in Wellington.
I and two friends had a lovely dinner at Aubergine yesterday evening. The food, as ever, was delicious—and once again I found it impossible to go past the duck confit. It was scrumptious. This little restaurant, with it’s beautiful food, warm and professional service is a gem of Thorndon.
Just had a lovely meal -the scotch fillet I had was the nicest steak I have ever eaten, perfectly cooked and beautifully tender. Great sides too - we had the red cabbage, seasonal vegetables and duck-fat cooked potatoes, all were lovely.
My husband and I enjoyed a lovely dinner here last week. Great food and attentive staff. In these tough times, we chose to dine at a small restaurant, supporting a small business. We were not disappointed!
Had a lovely anniversary meal at Aubergine in January. Service was attentive but not obtrusive, food was delicious. Would definitely go back.
Great food!!! And very accommodating
Excellence in fine cuisine. Table of four for dinner. Nice atmosphere, fabulous, slightly French style cuisine, esp the confit de canard.
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