Is Wellington losing its status as New Zealand’s culinary capital?

David Burton has been writing about Wellington’s food scene for more than four decades and

thinks Wellington has lost its status as New Zealand’s culinary capital.

‘‘Despite the emergence of several exciting new Wellington restaurants recently, it’s obvious that over the past decade Auckland has been steadily eclipsing us as the culinary capital. Sadly the population, the money and much of the talent have shifted up there.

‘‘Aside from outstanding arrivals like Amok, Highwater, Atlas and Cinderella, most new Wellington openings over the past few years have been at the butt-end of the market – burgers, food halls and dumbed-down Asian fusion.’’

His views are shared by some others in the industry, and come at a time when two Auckland restaurants made it to Tripadvisor’s best 20 in the world list: The Grove and Sails now sit alongside Michelinstar restaurants around the globe.

The Grove’s head chef Ryan Moore moved to Auckland two years ago from the United Kingdom. His background is in Michelin star, fine dining.

He says the recent Tripadvisor acclaim is simply down to years of consistency, ensuring no night is ever a bad one.

Moore moved south after working for Simon Rogan, a chef who wasn’t content building his own restaurant – he also built his own farm to supply said restaurant.

‘‘Farm to table’’ is something a lot of New Zealand chefs now focus on but they’re late to the trend. Moore says, ‘‘New Zealand is on a much, much smaller scale, and I think it’s a few years behind global food trends you’d see in the UK.’’

But, he says, there are some standouts. His own restaurant, The Grove, and others including Wellington’s Atlas, the French bistro Ape´ro on Karangahape Rd, and the Korean restaurant Gochu are trendsetting eateries.

‘‘Obviously, the food scene here in Auckland is absolutely booming. It’s only going to get better, there are restaurants opening here, there, and everywhere. But fine dining in New Zealand is lacking a bit, with only a few main restaurants left – that’s a shame.’’

Guy Littlejohn, owner of Revive and Bellbird cafes in Lower Hutt, regularly travels to Auckland, where, he says, quality restaurants are opening all the time: Michael Meredith’s Mr Morris (which serves fresh, seasonal New Zealand and Pacific cuisine); Ghost Street, in Britomart; Ebisu; Peter Gordon’s Homeland; Esther at the Q Hotel; and Josh Emett’s Onslow, have all fired up during the past two years.

Yes, Wellington restaurants such as Ortega Fish Shack and Capitol are outstanding, ‘‘but in the past five years you could count the number of quality new openings on the one hand’’.

Instead, Wellington has become overrun with new burger bars and empires.

WBC owner Clay Toomer thinks Wellington is increasingly pumping out burgers and ‘‘dumbed down’’ cuisine, but he thinks the city is great at its independent, quirky restaurants down laneways.

WBC is a boutique, small eatery on Wellington’s Victoria St.

‘‘At the top end, it’s becoming ludicrously expensive to offer what we do . . . In some ways, Wellington is being forced into these lower denominator cuisines. There’s such a pressure on restaurants with rising costs.’’

Toomer used to run the Q Bar in the 2000s in Wellington, when he remembers Aucklanders coming in and talking enviously about the city’s cuisine. The conversation has shifted, and now Auckland’s restaurants are pushing culinary boundaries. But Toomer says: ‘‘They’re backed by a casino and corporates. They’ve got so much money up there and Wellington can’t and shouldn’t try to compete. You’re not comparing apples with apples.

‘‘Wellington has its own laneways with boutique restaurants and eateries and people come here for that. We’re a cool, funky little city. If we have pop-up burgers and fried chicken next to restaurants in little alleyways, then so be it.’’

Visa Wellington On a Plate CEO and director Sarah Meikle says part of the festival’s charm is its appeal to many people.

‘‘David [Burton] is a food critic and he represents people at a certain end of the market. The average consumer doesn’t eat at a five-star restaurant . . . They might save up and go to [Monique Fiso’s] Hiakai once in a lifetime.

‘‘It’s all very well to talk about these great restaurants opening but they’re not every-nighters. What makes a great culinary landscape is your local – do you want to spend $100 every night? Probably not. It’s a combination of those.

‘‘Top-end eating is reserved for a certain part of society. It’s not a noodle bar. My favourite restaurant at the moment is Taste of Home and the dish I eat is $15.’’

Meikle also says Wellington has a ‘‘pedigree of restaurants’’ that have been open for more than 20 years: Boulcott Street Bistro, Logan Brown and Pravda, to name a few.

‘‘What we should be doing as a city is talking about New Zealand’s food story as a country. We are so parochial in this country. What are we telling the world about New Zealand as a dining destination? Frankly, not enough.’’

‘‘ . . . most new Wellington openings over the past few years have been at the butt-end of the market.’’ David Burton

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