Hippopotamus

I have visited Hippopotamus twice during my stay at QT. The first visit was a High Tea celebration for my 40th with my friends and we all enjoyed the food and the service so much. The presentation is of course incredible and what this restaurant is known for -the decor is stunning and unique and inspired you to dress up for the occasion. The teapots are stunning and the teas served are beautifully fragrant and reach in flavour. The chocolate themed High Tea was quite unique ad you do not see chocolate utilized in savouries often in NZ and it was a real treat. My favourite by far was the duck Pate that balanced so well with the dark chocolate paste. From the sweets the choux pastry and the dark chocolate rum baba. I would definetly go back again for another celebration. The second visit was the breakfast with my friend. I had eggs Benedict with a swap for a sourdough instead of the English muffin. The eggs were perfectly cooked, there was a generous serving of bacon and the hollandaise souse was quite unique comparing regular cafes. The barista coffee was full bodied and had excellently frothed milk. We definitely felt full and satisfied .

I visited Wellington for my 30th birthday and decided to celebrate in the best way by treating myself to a lovely high tea at the Hippopotamus restaurant. I had such a wonderful experience, the atmosphere was incredible along with the view, lovely staff and of course the high tea itself was absolutely delicious!

Went there last night for an Anniversary Dinner with my Partner and was definetly a great experience! Probably the best fine dining that you can find in Wellington. We had the degustation with matching wine, gourmet food served by a really competent and qualified staff, Sommelier wine matching with the dishes was next Level. A great experience, definetly recommended!

From flying in at the airport, we were delayed in arriving and our reservation at Hippopotamus was delayed due to our lateness. The restaurant was very empathetic and understanding so we were able to still have our reservation during this busy night. When we arrived, the restaurant was beautiful and exotic with accents of wildlife amidst opulent embellishments of crystal chandeliers and a stunning seascape harbour view. Immediately, we were warmly greeted and our luggage was stored at the main desk as we were seated. The service was simply spectacular and consummately professional. We ordered glasses of Hawkes Bay Syrah and a North Canterbury Pinot Noir and we decided on the 6 course degustation menu. I was very impressed by the sommelier service as his knowledge and engagement was fascinating and enriching. Our menu started with an amuse bouche of pineapple mango tea with salmon sashimi and picked vegetable. This complementary dish was confusing and only the salmon was enjoyable. Fortunately this was followed by warm baguette and apricot bread within seaweed butter which was amazing. We were then served the first of two entrees being a pamu deer milk panna cotta with freeze dried Manuka honey, kawakawa oil, turmeric caviar on white chocolate saffron paint. The smooth texture of the panna cotta was wonderful. Following on we had the grilled brown mushroom with porcini and shallot escabeche, cream of charred cauliflower and wilted kale and truffle tapenade. This dish was delicious and complex in flavours. Our first main was chicken roulade with pear Stilton cheese filling on quince paste with pecans and walnuts finished with chestnut butter and confit garlic cream. This dish was simply heavenly and aromatic. The second main was fish of the day pan fried on a lobster bisque with couchettes, aubergine and confit garlic with roast capsicum. This dish was divine with beautiful textures and layers of flavour. A palate cleanser of kawakawa, lemon and Italian parsley sorbet was served and this was wonderful before a cheese plate of goats cheese with baguette, spinach, apricot, walnut and plum chutney. This was a lovely prelude to the closing dish and dessert 5 textures of chocolate including mousse, bavois, truffle, sorbet and soil. The dessert dishes were the perfect crescendo to the meal. Overall our dining experience was superb, the service was excellent, attentive and faultless, wine list was impressive and cuisine was mostly memorable for positive reasons. I’d love to experience more of their menu. Highly recommended with consummate distinction!