Vot­ing in the Fourth Annu­al Welling­ton­ista Awards is open from Decem­ber 1–15. Then come find out the results at our Awards Night at Mighty Mighty on Decem­ber 17!

To vote, vis­it this page.

In these harsh eco­nom­ic times…ah, who cares? It’s fun to splash out! And when you do decide to spend good mon­ey on food, you want it to be the best it can be. This group of fine din­ing estab­lish­ments make eat­ing a plea­sure, instead of the awful chore it has become…

Photo by Gerald N

The Ambe­li: It’s a lit­tle less for­mal than the stereo­typ­i­cal “fine din­ing” expe­ri­ence, and slight­ly more afford­able too, but The Ambe­li takes Mediter­ranean-influ­enced cui­sine to new lev­els of deli­cious­ness. Aus­tralian food blog Grab Your Fork paid a vis­it, and the pho­tos and descrip­tions are enough to induce near-ter­mi­nal drool­ing. Com­bine that with a warm ambi­ence and a lus­cious wine list, and it makes for one of the most reward­ing din­ing expe­ri­ences in town.

Logan Brown: It’s pret­ty hard to argue when Cui­sine anoints it the best restau­rant in the coun­try, and dubs it “a tem­ple of fine din­ing”. At Logan Brown, hearty yet exquis­ite flavours com­bine with great ser­vice, wine and a grand ambi­ence to cre­ate an unmiss­able spe­cial-occa­sion din­ing expe­ri­ence.

The Mat­ter­horn: As well as its envi­ous rep­u­ta­tion as a top-notch bar, Mat­ter­horn has employed a who’s-who of Welling­ton’s best chefs over the past decade. The menu has often been edgy and always deli­cious, and the wine and cock­tail list is exem­plary, mak­ing this a din­ing des­ti­na­tion for those who pre­fer a buzzi­er atmos­phere to the more for­mal restau­rants.

Trade Kitchen: With a sleek­er take on inte­ri­or design and a sub­tle nod towards exper­i­men­ta­tion on the menu, Trade Kitchen shakes the cob­webs off the upmar­ket restau­rant tra­di­tion. Mod­ern Euro­pean cui­sine, with an occa­sion­al touch of Asia, the Mediter­ranean and even the Caribbean, is com­ple­ment­ed by unflinch­ing­ly mod­ern décor to make for a mem­o­rable meal.

Le Met­ro­pol­i­tain: For a while, it seemed this loca­tion was cursed, but Le Met­ro­pol­i­tain seems to have got the for­mu­la right. Blend friend­ly ser­vice and an approach­able atmos­phere with French provin­cial food that is heart-warm­ing, and some­times heart-stop­ping­ly rich, and it’s not hard to see why this has rapid­ly become a Cuba St insti­tu­tion.