The food was insanely delicious, and the whole thing was so entertaining (mysterious crystal clear soups!) and all of their food is made completely from scratch- they even brew their own vinegar.
The staff are extremely nice and knowledgeable about the dishes, they were also extremely accommodating to the fact that our table had quite a few allergies.
I honestly wasn't convinced going in, because it is an awful lot of money for a single meal, but it was really, genuinely worth it. The whole thing lasted about 3 hours, and on top of the 7 courses, we also received 3 bonus mini courses (each with multiple elements) which were 3 kinds of snacks, a bread course (their gf bread is amazing) with home made butter and a plate of petit fours at the end.
Each dish was a complete work of art, and had so many perfectly made little elements, including chefs popping out of the kitchen to pick fresh herbs from their garden for dishes as they are made.
I cannot recommend this experience enough.
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Winner of The 2019 Wellington On A Plate Innovative Dine Menu and Event Innovation Awards, Hillside Kitchen and Cellar is a gem. Max, the head chef, is a creative master in the kitchen and he and his staff always surprise with new and inventive offerings. Hillside has an a la carte lunch and dinner menu, but the
5 course and 7 course dinner degustation experiences are what make Hillside amazing. These luscious celebrations start with snacks, followed by fresh-from-the-oven crusty homemade sourdough white and kumara breads served with a side of boutique salt & peppered olive oil. The courses then commence and it's always a joy to anticipate what comes next. There are 4 savoury mains followed by a palate cleanser and dessert. The 7 course has an additional in-house-crafted nut cheese plate and a second dessert. Both degustations finish with lovely petit fours.
Because Hillside is an Eco-conscious, Vegetarian & Vegan only restaurant that takes pride in growing its own fruits & veggies, foraging for local plants & fungi and partnering with trusted artisan suppliers, every dish is fresh, healthy, elegant and sensual.
There's an alcohol and non-alcohol drink pairing option for each of the degustation experiences as well as a brilliiant natural (local & international) by-the-glass or bottle wine selection. There are cocktails, teas, coffees, juices, kombuchas, keffirs, liquers, beers and sparkling water. Be prepared for three hours to fly by if you choose the degustation experiences. Hillside Kitchen is also an art gallery featuring local artists whose creations are available for purchase. Tucked away in a beautiful little corner of Wellington, Hillside Kitchen is a cacoon of comfort and a real treat.
We had an amazing night here! Each dish was imaginative and absolutely delicious. We picked the 7 course dinner menu (which was more like a 10 course menu after the free bread, starter, and palate cleanser). It was more like an experience than a meal, we spent over 2 hours here (no idea where the time went) and we left absolutely stuffed. Great service, and great food. Not cheap, but an awesome night out.
Often when I eat out I think I could have made that or better, I'm just too lazy. With Hillside Kitchen though there's no way I could make food as good, or even imagine such creative dishes. Everything was absolutely delicious. They were also very accommodating of special dietary requests. The wait staff were relaxed but attentive. The decor is also very smart but welcoming. A really nice balance. Certainly the price is higher than other options but I think it's a fair reflection of the work that goes into the amazing food. A special night out.
A cute little cafe. I really like that you can build your own breakfast/brunch and this is the main reason I keep going back. I have been there for dinner once and it was delicious but unfortunately overpriced so wouldn’t return for dinner but definitely go a couple of times a month for brunch.
We were here for their 4th of July evening, it was fantastic, really creative and tasty food as well as nice service. have been for brunch a couple of times and its always been good. Best Coffee this end of town.
Amazing experience, food, drink and service were all exceptional. The menu is very brief and just lists the main ingredients of each dish, this creates a lot of intrigue every time a new plate comes out.
I absolutely adore Hillside! The food is always gorgeous. I haven't made it in for dinner yet but I plan to in the very near future, been multiple times for lunch and breakfast and it never disappoints.
The Hillside menu can seem daunting as the dishes are not really described. However everything is always amazing with unusual combinations. Really cool setting and service- the staff always seem to add on special extras to the experience. The brunch menu also looks great so we would love to try that too.
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Understanding Hillside
The menu shows an intelligent consideration of ingredients and technique. What I had was a continuous burst of surprises. Crisp crusted sourdough & house churned butter. Both w light cloudy textures perfectly paired. The lambs heart was cooked rare.
Texturally sensual it was muscle after all. Served on romesco & citric infused apple, the acidity cutting some of the meaty richness. Fallow tartare - beautifully wrapped in wilted nasturtium leaf served w panko crumb & fried shallots it managed to shed all the intimidation of its traditional form. I would have it again for its seductive textures and its cleverly hidden centre, the rich unctuous egg yolk - frozen beforehand, then encased in the handcut rare venison.
Preferring a lighter main the perfectly just cooked Warehou was delicate under its Malay curry spice coating. Served w carrot ice cream, pickled & roasted carrot. It's a fresh approach that allows each of the components to be as seriously considered as the fish hero.
The dessert was a celebration of the tomato. An exceptional tomato parfait is served w tomato water made w a little salt sugar and vinegar then blitzed. A topping made from charred tomatoes (thrown in a pacojet) providing an intense roast tomato savoury sweetness and the plate strewn w pale lilac oxalis flowers providing a lemony contrast for balance.
Go. It will pleasantly provoke you.
Mint marshmellow
Kawa & strawberry meringue
Earl Grey fudge
This food is exquisitely put together. The flavours surprise but are well balanced and the anticipation of just how the ingredients are going to be worked into a dish adds to the fining experience. Service a little over familiar.
Hillside is a Wellington foodie's dream. Tucked away on Tinakori road, it's outside all the mainstream areas for dining in the CBD, so you can maintain your Wellington hipster image. But seriously, the coffee is great and the food excellent. I love peoples' coffee, so its cool to have somewhere to go that serves it only a 5 minute walk away from home. When there for lunch my sister and I both had the roast squash and brussel sprouts, which were divine! Even people who think they hate brussel sprouts would have enjoyed it. All the ingredients are of exceptional quality and the flavour combinations are on point. I like how the menu options don't completely spell out to you what each dish will look like, but tell you enough so that you know whether you'll enjoy it. I love the decor, particularly the tables and the large blackboard where the menu is written up everyday. Hillside is a gift to Thorndon and I hope it continues to get the support it deserves.
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Update Saturday 5/9/15:
Returned for dinner - managed to get a table for three booking on Friday. This suggests the word has not fully disseminated that this little restaurant is serving ridiculously good stuff. It's one of the three places I would take a visitor who really knows about food - it's interesting, brave, cerebral and simply delicious.
On Saturday we did a mr creosote and ordered "one of everything please" - asking for wine "that was interesting".
Of twelve plates all except one, the bluenose, were brilliant and the fish was still good by any standards. The wine lovely, and exactly as requested.
Brilliant
June 2015: We went here for coffee on a Saturday morning, tried a pumpkin and Brussel sprout salad, noted that hillside had snaffled one of Hangars best baristas and ended up booking for dinner.
Hillside is a new little restaurant in the old Charlie Bills and an order of magnitude more interesting.
After starting the ramen noodle shop in newtown, the young chef here is now making an effort to do something seriously different. In Australia many new restaurants are being established by young cooks wanting to do their own thing in the suburbs where rents are lower and there is less risk in doing something really innovative.
The fit-out is simple and modern - white, pale wood, cosy.
Service (in its first few weeks) is good - efficient, friendly and knowledgeable.
The wine / beer list is great - it isn't exhausting and it isn't boring - and they'll do a wine or beer or even a nonalcoholic match for each dish. Cider could do with some expansion.
We chose the Andre Delorme Terroir d'exception - a sparkling dry white which we thought delicious, then an extraordinary orange-hued Don Pinot Gris which was as lovely as it was interesting. Finally an enjoyable Hopesgrove Syrah the memory of which had been coloured by the preceding whites, but which I thought excellent.
The menu provides up to three choices from each of appetiser, entree, main and "end." Thankfully the descriptions are sufficiently cryptic to allow a degree of surprise and sufficiently brief to prevent agonising over every component.
We chose one dish from the appetiser and two each from entree and main.
Appetiser -
Fig, blue cheese and lamb bacon - excellent deconstructed version of the classic fig, filled with blue cheese, wrapped in prosciutto and grilled.
Entrees:
Moon shell, coriander, spice, rice. Shellfish with a sprinkling of a mirepoix of cucumber, pepper and onion with small sheets of baked rice paste. Individually they were nice but with eight shells the mouth begins to get bored after three or four.
Duck, fennel, bread. Delicious, perfectly cooked lean duck on an excellent bread sauce with raw and roasted slices of fennel.
Mains:
Wild sheep, dripping potato and greens. Well cooked lamb fillet with dripping cooked potatoes (not as flavoursome as expected) with Brussel sprouts and a jus on the side.
Carrot, parsnip, roast milk and green wheat. A brave combination of vegetables that I thought just too busy. The basic idea seemed good but the more ingredients and more complex a dish becomes the greater the chances of failure. I'm sure that others will disagree but I found this one missed the mark. Perhaps it would have been better simplified and used as an appetiser.
To our surprise, at the end of the meal we were given, gratis, little confections arranged on a piece of driftwood. A nice touch.
For dinner this is a restaurant for foodies, lovers, your parents, and those wishing to appear fashionably knowledgeable about wellington's restaurant scene. It probably isn't a place for kids, large work groups or those simply wanting to fill their stomachs.
Would I go back - definitely. This is a restaurant and a cook that foodies should support.
We just had the best night out for our anniversary and needed to review immediately. The atmosphere, staff and food were all amazing and the non alcoholic beverage match exceeded expectations tenfold. The sustainability aspect was a selling point when booking and was clearly thought out and well executed throughout the menu. Favourite dining experience in Wellington so far. Vibe check on point and have no doubts we will be back again soon. Also popcorn anniversary gift as we left was an absolute treat.
Amazing! Stop reading this and go make a reservation. I went in early December and was told there will be a completely different menu in January. So over all the cooking techniques are very interesting, beautiful, and delicious. The cheese course was excellentand I loved the chocolate! I will gladly go again.
We enjoyed a really interesting tasting menu, and I even had a non-alcoholic drink pairing. The food was inventive and tasty, with lots of sweet-crunchy-fresh pairings. Thank you too for rushing for us st the end so we could get to our comedy show
Got the 5-course dinner - wow! Amazing value and everything was top quality. Each dish was well thought out and you could tell the care and attention given to them. Menu changes regularly, and I'm looking forward to getting back!
Space was nice, well lit and not too noisy. Staff were friendly and relaxed, not uppy. I was there with some friends, but this could quite easily be a good romantic date place.
Vegan tasting menu (7 courses) with wine matches. The menu is seasonal, this was August 2020. This feast will go down in history for me as one of the best I’ve ever had. The attention to detail is nothing short of exquisite. The flavours straight up punch you in the mouth in the best way. Special mention to the Alliums broth, oh my I want to eat that every day for the rest of my life. Can’t write this review without a special mention to the team at Hillside too, the chef greeted my friend with such genuine friendliness I thought they were old friends. Our waiter knew the menu and wines inside out and his energy and humour made our experience what it was. Can’t recommend Hillside enough. Twelve out of ten, will most definitely dine again.
Went on a quiet Sunday night with a friend from out of town. Neither of us are vegetarian, but everything I had heard suggested we give it a try.
Very glad we did. Had the limited fixed menu over about 2 hours and loved every course. The kumara sourdough and the gingerbread were the winners of the night.
Warm service, friendly feel. Very simple. Highly recommended.
Omg! You will taste things here that will be unlike anything you have ever tasted before! And that is awesome!!! This place is amazing and you should come and eat just to try new things! Great food, great staff and unforgettable.
Hillside is honest gastronomy.
It’s a creative and bold expression of seasonal produce and sustainability.
The warm and softly illuminated dining room is like a comforting embrace, which alongside the welcoming service, subtly implies that you are in for a treat.
The menu changes often and is heavily driven by the restaurant garden and the chefs’ preservation and pickling abilities.
The wine list is brief and featured a lively selection of organic and interesting choices.
Posting photographs of the food does not do this place justice, but know this;
There are no gimmicks. No trickery and no misguided over-confidence of a kitchen which follows gastronomic trends.
You get what you get.
You get a passionate dining experience. An experience which, for the first time in years, feels like it’s pulling me back to my kitchen roots.
Thank you for a lovely dinner!
Looking forward to returning.
WoW what a fabulous 'Boujee Brunch' with the girls at this bijou vegetarian restaurant near Wellington's CBD. Foraged greens are featured and you can have cocktails and organic wine! The food is delicious, yummo! A small selection of photos from the many courses: in truth we were too busy eating and talking ...
A wonderful dining experience all round. Lovely staff, great atmosphere. Really enjoyed the experience of indulging in new foods—let them take you on a journey of flavours. Highly recommend.
One of the best meals I've ever eaten. Fantastic attention to detail, with innovative combinations of flavours and top-quality ingredients, perfectly prepared. I've never had a meal this good outside of a Michelin star restaurant.
Had a wonderful evening with an top notch dinner. Every course had a story to it and the different flavours were exciting. Service was top too.
Fun experience, and worth going at least once. The food flavors feel quite experimental and some work, and some do not. Do not be in a hurry as it does take some time.
We enjoyed the 7 course vegan degustation paired with alcohlic and non alcoholic drinks. It was amazing! The food the drinks and the staff were exceptional, such a fun experience. Thank you!
Lovely fine dining venue in Wellington, with plenty of vegan options. They have a great philosophy - local, no-waste, and the food is tasty and inventive. I did the WOAP degustation which was great, very filling, and also great value for a quality degustation menu. I would definitely like to come back here!
My daughter took me here for my birthday. It was an amazing plant based culinary experience. A small intimate venue with simple decor, the music was soft and in the background, which was appreciated. The service was impeccable, with a clear explanation given of each of the ten courses as they were brought to us. Each course was beautifully presented, and accompanied by a matched alcoholic or non alcoholic drink. The variety of different flavours, colours, and textures were an absolute explosion of joy for my senses. Hillside Kitchen uses locally grown and foraged ingredients and has a no-waste policy. Would highly recommend.
A-maz-ing, all the courses were yummy and interesting, some things you would never have at home and others you might but at Hillside they are 10X better. The service staff were very friendly, made us feel welcome and shared interesting information about the wine and food. Getting to try the various wines paired with each course was a great experience. And did I mention sustainability? It's a key value at this eatery. Thanks Chef and team!
My daughter and I had an absolutely fabulous experience tonight at Hillside Kitchen & Cellar. We chose the vegan 7-course tasting/degustation menu, and it was ALL insanely great! The service from each and every staff member, including of course the chef, was wonderful. Everyone was knowledgeable, warm, enthusiastic, genuine, and super efficient. We especially appreciate the locavore and sustainability practices you guys work into every dish. And...it was all delicious, surprising, joyful.
Thank you all the wonderful experience. We will be singing your praises far and wide!
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