Pestle & Mortar Cafe — Restaurant in Wellington

We ended up at Pestle and Mortar by accident really. A weekend in Wellington and we were up at some ridiculous hour due to the Favourite Husband being wide awake and bored. This was the first open cafe we stumbled across. Got to be honest, myself in particular had pretty low expectations. And that’s purely based on the ambience. Or lack thereof. It just felt a little uninspired. In need of a splash of creative flair. A bit beige. The Favourite Husband had the big breakkie (yawn - and some would say also in need of a splash of creative flair) and I settled on good old bacon and eggs. The menu is pretty basic and I was slightly hungover. This is no frills cafe food. Like a good old London greasy spoon in the late 1980’s, without the builder’s tea. And I have to say it was perfect. The food was lovely and hot. The eggs were very fresh and perfectly cooked. The bacon was how I would do it at home. Crispy and not greasy. I could eat this every day. The big breakkie, again basic, but much the same; tasty, hot and great value for money. The coffee was ok. The service was friendly. I’m not sure I’d go back, but I’d recommend you not be put off by appearances. Unless you meet my...

I came in on a Sunday morning to read and enjoy a coffee, and they were absolutely flat chat. Despite this, the wonderful barista churned out coffee after coffee, thanking people as they left, freeing people as they entered and apologising for the wait. You’d expect the quality of coffee to be effected because of the pressure she was working under but quite the contrary, it was the best coffee I had in Wellington. She kept her workspace clean and organised and the cafe, though small was clean, welcoming and warm. Her male coworker in front of house worked similarly, greeting everyone warmly and informing people of the wait. Massive props to all the staff and I cannot recommend this...

My partner and I came here before going to Weta (highly recommend), the service was really friendly and the food was really good. We both ordered poached eggs and liked that it came with 3 eggs and a few slices of bread. The cafe lets the food do the talking, so don't be fooled by the appearance of the cafe. We also ordered coffees which were great.

The playlist may have changed by now, but the only feedbackwe had was that the music sounded like someone was going through a bad break-up (think Mariah, Whitney) so that was fun, but at least the food, service, and...