My partner and I went to Rita for our birthdays and had one of the best meals of our lives! Their menu changes every day and they offer additional appetizers for an extra price. Every dish that was brought to us was delicious! I have no complaints. The confit duck melted in my mouth, the beef stock complimented the ricotta gnocchi perfectly, and I'm still dreaming of the citrus profiterole. We ordered Negronis to go with our meals and they were very well made. The staff was kind, attentive, and informative. The restaurant is quaint and modern. Altogether, we spent $249. It's pricy, but it's worth it if you want to treat yourself!
This cute and intimate little spot presents a creative prix fixe menu of three courses for $95NZ, decided each night by the chefs (with vegetarian/pescatarian options if notified in advance). Everything was good on a Wednesday night, particularly the lamb tagine and broccoli with blue cheese. We also had lovely, attentive service from Florence. Reservations are essential.
We had the absolute pleasure of dining here on Saturday evening.
It's getting hard to find a menu where both food and wine are equal in terms of what they deliver, but the quality Rita's delivers of both just blew me away.
From the curated wine list to the ambience of the venue - even the bathrooms were an experience. The casual grace of both FOH and BOH staff -in an open kitchen nonetheless!- added to the overwhelmingly positive experience we had. I genuinely couldn't find a fault with Rita's.
I will rave about this restaurant until someone takes me again.
Ashamedly, this is nearly a year late for a review but to date this is my partner’s favourite meal and experience we have had. From Kahlivia, our conscientious and knowledgeable waitress to the phenomenal tasking dishes. We ended up ordering everything from the menu. Highly recommend! I cannot wait to go back to Wellington and eat here again.
Excellent fine dining. Recommended highly.
Rita has a two-sitting three course set menu format (plus amuse bouche which was also delicious).
We booked in January and the place was full…
The owner was there doing service on a Saturday evening which was impressive - shades of Jeremy King and Chris Corbin.
Lovely Rita, and her meter was good value! NZ$232 for two (but bear in mind we drank non-alcoholic Tiny beer).
Plus just over NZ$8 Uber 8 minutes each way from Grey Street.
Love Rita! Went there again last night for birthday celebration. Lovely people, fabulous food. Asparagus tempura, thin sliced rare beef, duck parfait in pasta shell, bluenose, strawberry panna cotta - with perfect wine matches. If you want to be surprised and delighted its hard to beat.
Cosy and quiet small restaurant. Not too crowded, not too loud, a perfect place to enjoy an intimate dinner with favourite people.
They offer a set menu. As the staff members are very knowledgeable, I felt stress-free to choose from the options.
Dishes are very modern and adventurous.
Enjoyed everything.
It was my birthday dinner, and the staff member organised a nice surprise for me.
Their menu changes daily.
I look forward to more visits!
The food and service are both perfect. I especially love how balanced the flavor of the food were. We had such a great night there and I would recommend Rita to anyone who wants celebrate a special occasion or just wants an outstanding dining experience.
This place genuinely had the best staff that I've ever encountered. Extraordinary. The food was really interesting, fabulous and well presented. The venue was cute too even if there were no soft furnishings or curtains to be seen which made it quite a loud and harsh environment for the ears. Which is a shame because it reduced the potentially intimate setting to that of a cafe.
Gorgeous food carefully crafted to bring joy to the tastebuds from start to finish. We loved our evening with the talented team and haven't stopped talking about it. 10/10
Have been meaning to book here for a while now, finally got around to doing it. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the friendly staff. We were the first ones there for a 5:30 pm sitting. Rita is a set menu for $75 per head at the time of writing this review. The staff explained to us what was on the menu and showed us the drink list, and we opted for a beer. They had the Garage Project March IPA, which we order two. On tonight's menu, it was: Stracciatella, beet and plum salad, basil, rocket starter. - What I liked about this was the combination of the beets and plum with a bit of the stracciatlla. The flavours worked so well together. The portion was perfect.
Next was the main: Grilled albacore tuna, tuna, saffron, almond and currant meatball, red pepper and red wine stew, potato matchsticks, saffron aioli and potato sourdough. This dish was terrific; the tuna was perfectly cooked and complemented by the red pepper and red wine stew. I have never had potato sourdough so soft, almost like a doughnut dough, and it was the perfect way to swab up the leftover sauce. Again just the right portion size. I almost forgot that they don't serve tap water, it's all sparkling, which is a real treat as a lot of places charge extra for that. The staff were very attentive in topping up the water.
Finally, to top off all this tasty food was a Chocolate and raspberry cake, hazelnut praline cream dessert. Oh my god, the cream was so good. If you gave me a bucket of it, it would be destroyed in seconds.
Overall we had such an enjoyable experience at Rita, even in the current times of social distancing they pulled it off. I'm annoyed we didn't try this place earlier. The staff made us feel welcome and were fantastic. If you can get a booking here do it, you won't be disappointed.
Had a lovely meal for my partners birthday. We felt the food was good but not quite as great as we were expecting from the reviews. Service was friendly, but not overbearing.
A small cosy resturant with magnificent food. Its a set menu with the freshest ingredients. The staff where friendly and helpful. Florence suggested wines for each course which were fantastic particularly a French Pinot Gris. I'll be going back. 😊
Delicious food, great service and a lovely atmosphere. Rita is a great special occasion restaurant. A tiny restaurant so make sure you book well in advance, and it's a set menu so just turn up and eat the 3 courses expertly prepared for you (let them know dietary requirements in advance). Make sure you visit the bathrooms - they're a delightful experience!
By far the most delicious, delightful and decadent dinner we have had in Wellington. Service team was top notch too. Can’t wait to go back.
Rita is a gorgeous gem of a restaurant, and Wellington is so lucky to have it. Everything here is so delightful, from the mood lighting to the service. Adoring foodies can spot the lovely staff prepping the food before it arrives at your table, and when it does arrive it’s heavenly. If you have a special occasion to celebrate, celebrate it at Rita.
Best restaurant I have been to in Wellington. Fantastic food, wine and service. We went for a special celebration and was well worth it.
Delicious fresh food emphasizing local ingredients. Small restaurant with attentive staff. Set price for 3 courses with optional extras available.
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