Fratelli — Restaurant in North Island

My partner and I enjoyed a dinner here for our 13th anniversary, the service was some of the best we have ever received. Sorry I needed to start my review with that because it was outstanding! As per normal rules, if you don't enjoy my novel then please read the TLDR at the bottom.

Now something that actually piqued my interest in this venue, they provide all pizzas with the option of vegan or vegetarian. So ofcourse being the mischievous deviant I am, I jumped straight onto their meatiest pizza, now how do I turn this vegan? However they were prepared for my evil plan. Sadly my villainy was quickly dispatched as I was informed that they don't have any fun substitutes and that they replace the meat with mushrooms or artichoke, tuche Fratelli, you win this round.

Quick side note: if you love wine then this is the place for you, a delicious selection of fantastic Italian wines on display, all at very reasonable prices. To avoid getting crucified by my vegan brethren I won't mention the delicious Salice Salentino 2016 I enjoyed (we all have our vices... mine's wine...) and yes, Fratelli, Bacchus would be proud!

So to start my evening I went with a delicious bruschetta, which they were sure to make vegan and offer a topping to suit, the bread was absolutely delicious with a topping of cherry tomatoes and a thickened balsamic vinegar. Overall; absolutely devine!

For my main I had a spicy pizza known as the Diavola, I had removed the salami and some word that eludes me with mushrooms and olives, and replaced the cheese with a home made vegan cheese. Ah what a fine dish indeed the sweetness of the tomato paste complimented the spicy oil topping and the home made vegan cheese was perfectly melted, slowly dissolving on my tongue, even the pizza crust was cooked to perfection as I could easily eat it with out struggle, possibly one of the best pizzas I've enjoyed in my life.

Overall, the experience was great, one of the nicer "fancy" Wellington establishments we have enjoyed.

Now for the negatives, similar to Olive, the sound really carried in this establishment, and I mean really carried, we had an obnoxious table near us which had a gentleman who's voice still rings in my deaf ear... yes I was sitting with my deaf ear facing the restaurant and it was still exceptionally loud. The place wasn't even packed. To have a conversation with my partner we had to yell at each other to try beat out the obnoxious fella near us...

TLDR: Very nice, pricey, good food, very loud. Will come again, hopefully when its...

If giving 6 stars was possible I would rate Fratelli that - we had a wonderful dinner there on a Tuesday night as a family group of 9. From the variety of food to choose from, to drinks, timeliness of service to presentation and deliciousness of food you couldn't fault anything. The waitress was knowledgeable, kindly, attentive, polite and wonderful, as were all staff we encountered. When a restaurant is completely full on a Tuesday night in Wellington with a subdued but happy crowd of diners you know that something special is going on. The bread selection as a starter was completely delicious, and however they make their oven fired pizza bases puts Fratelli at the top of their trade (imho) after dining at many fine establishments in Wellington. The fish of the day was Salmon - completely divine and beautifully presented with a side of green. We had all the deserts within our group and all were outstanding. Ambience was great, furnishings and decor up market, modern and appealing. Although full we never got a sense of being rushed or crowded. Pricing very reasonable. All in all a great testament to just how advanced and chic dining has evolved in Wellington - the family can't wait to go back again sometime soon as one of our new favourites...

Had one of the best Dinners I have ever experienced over the weekend at Fratelli Italian Restaurant in Blair Street. The taste & flavours of both our our meals were absolutely divine!! :-) I had the Pan fried Potato Gnocchi in a Walnut & Gorgonzola sauce with braised Beef Cheek, Gorgonzola & Spinach finished with Rocket & shaved Grana Padano & Coppa - Had never had Gnocchi before and it was exceptional. My friend had the Risotto di Cervo of Porcini & field Mushroom, Spinach & Pecorino with seared Venison, crispy Wild Mushrooms & Vin cotto - and she raved about it so much and sent picture to her husband to make him feel like he was missing out on all that deliciousness! We didn't book, we were just walking along the street and noticed them, had to wait between just 5-10 mins for a table at their very cool bar and super comfy bar stools and had a Cosmo while we waited. Great buzzy atmosphere & each staff member we encountered provided exceptional service. We will definitely be going back and I can't recommend it...