Dirty Little Secret — Restaurant in North Island

At the height of the Medellín drug cartel’s monopoly in the Americas, it was said that Pablo Escobar would drop an excess of $16,000 a night on the finest imported champagne from Belgium and the French lowlands. The high prices at “Dirty Little Secret Bar Wellington” however, would probably be enough to make the man pause momentarily, before tucking his wallet back into well fitting designer jeans as he convinces himself that he doesn't need a drink that much. With exuberant prices and a fairy lights display that could have perhaps been put up by a toddler around Christmas time, Dirty Little Secret Bar is certainly something to keep quiet about. Aptly situated on the corner of Dixon and Te Aro street, Dirty Little Secret Bar is the venue your pretentious friends from high school won’t shut up about. With its rooftop outlook a sloppier imitation of The Arborist or Bethel Woods on the Terrace, Dirty Little Secret is a poor man’s rooftop bar, exciting to first year Arts Majors and stay at home Mums who believe that having Tequila over White Wine makes them cultured and a little bit adventurous. At the very end of Dixon street, found after a slew of superior bars and eateries, Dirty Little Secret Bar is akin to the last kid on the bench picked for the rugby team. If there’s absolutely nowhere else open down Dixon, Dirty Little Secret is undoubtedly the place to go.

Whilst the drinks themselves are overly priced and nothing to talk about. The food served is a suspicious mixture of French cuisine and Kiwi Barbecue staples, evident of a Chef attempting to appeal to both rough backpackers from Eastern Europe and your Grandmother’s book club, both at the same time, whilst failing miserably to entice either of the aforementioned groups to the counter. The bar staffs’ attitude to patrons resembles that of the typical household cat: ambivalent and bored at best.

Whilst the front of house is apathetic and indifferent to customers, this is dramatically contrasted by the team of bouncers, who you wouldn't be mistaken in thinking had served as Blackwatch operatives during the siege of Fallujah. With special forces like precision the Bar Security appear to be under the delusion that their purpose is to function as a private military force. Scrutinising customers more intently than a immigration agent at the U.S border and forcefully removing anyone whom doesn't fit within the bracket of white collared middle class office worker. The Bar’s bouncers are a law unto themselves, whom in their infinite wisdom kick out any newcomers displaying signs of having anything more than a single standard drink. All for the safety and protection of other patrons.

In all fairness the stunning waterfront scenery is a true highlight of the venue’s offerings. A beautiful ocean view is complemented by an assortment of vibrant city lights below. The fact that the places you can see from the bar are it’s best aspect however is also a testament to the mundanity Dirty Little Secret entails.

My tirade on a Friday there will most definitely be an encounter I’ll be keeping to myself

2/10

Humble...

My first time out in Welly with my daughter however my daughter was asked to leave which was totally fine she broke a rule however when she asked if she could find me before leaving since i was also at the club the manager rudley told her no as this was my daughters and myself firat time out in a new city this was a really bad problem. She called me crying telling me she was on the street in the cold since they had kickes her out the manager on 25/05/24 grabbed her and kicked her out without allowing her to lool for me also she didnt even ask if it was okay to grab her before grabbing her wrist my daughter doesnt like people touching her before telling them who they are. I would also be scared if some random person grabbed my hand and told me to come with them without knowing them obviously my daughter showed resistance since she didn’t know this person in her mind she was just some lady who may be drunk as a lot of people there were. Instead of telling my daughter who she was she called security and as they basically dragged her away they bruised her wrist in the process, this club really has disappointed me as I was told it was a good club clearly not if they manhandle people without telling them...

Travelling to Wellington for the weekend and made a reservation for afternoon drinks arrival (5 mins after our booking) it looked like we bothered one staff member to prepare our table that was supposedly already booked. (We had this booked a month in advance) We apologised for being 5 minutes late…We got attitude from one in particular red head. I also notice that this isn’t the first time someone has mentioned her in a review. She was extremely unpleasant to deal with, I ordered a few drinks and thought there was a bar tab, on our table, instead of being polite and requesting a credit card from me she was very rude, treating me like she didn’t have time which is odd for someone in her position (customer service) we also noticed her doing very little while everyone else was hard at work, this bartender unfortunately ruined the whole vibe for us and let her awesome team down. We thank the staff who attended to us professionally, thank you to the cocktail bartender she was great. We continued on to another rooftop bar where we stayed for most of our night as we received a warm welcome and outstanding service and staff (this was...