The Green Parrot Cafe — Restaurant in Wellington

We were visiting Wellington and walked in off the street for dinner. The place looked packed so hopes of getting a table were low but happily we were told we could have a table for two in five minutes. We stood and waited. There is a bar, but it was jammed up against a full table so stood by reception instead. A group arrived after us and they were shown to a table - turns out they had a reservation, OK fair enough. A large family party arrived and there was an extended dispute with management as to whether they had a reservation or not. Things were taking long enough at this stage that we ordered some drinks. Eventually we were shown to a table (yay! Finally! Not 5 minutes hahaha) and we immediately ordered our meals. Then a short while later we were told our table should not have been given to us and we were asked to give it up. So we went back to standing and waiting again. More people came in and were seated elsewhere (they had reservations). After a while the table we had was made into a larger table for the family that arrived quite some time after us. More time passed. Once the family was ready to order they were told there would be a one hour wait. We were glad we had already ordered quite some time earlier. Eventually we were shown to our second table, and were assured that our meals were still in the queue. Here we waited and waited, and at some point my partner really needed to get going for our evening appointment (what the hell? We had allowed lots of time for dinner). The waitress then told us 5-10 minutes for the mains. We waited some more. My partner gave up and left so not to be late. I really needed some food and wanted to stay. I waited a while longer but eventually gave up and walked out. Ended up going to the Camel Grill and having takeaway but still missed a good part of the evenings show.

I tend not to write reviews unless I have a particularly good or bad experience. This was the worst in as long as I...

One of Wellington’s heritage sites. A throwback to a time when perhaps going to a city centre restaurant was a noteworthy event and the quality of the food was secondary to the novelty. There is a charm in the old decor and neon sign, though that’s where the fun stops. The menu resembles a workingmans club of the 50s: lambs fry, ham with pineapple, chicken livers, tinned fruit with ice cream. The table comes with a stack of sliced white bread (the supermarket ‘value’ variety) with a ramekin of small frozen butter cubes. The main plates are platter-sized and every inch is covered, hot meats overlapping waterlogged potatoes and salads of unwashed lettuce. Our table had the grouper from which the pins bones and pectoral bone hadn’t been removed - unbelievably poor form; the greasy pork sausage and bacon; and the pork chops, hard and bland. If you expect old-school prices to match the shabby antique dishes, you’ll be disappointed; the mains average almost $40. It’s the worst restaurant I’ve been to...

I’m so confused by the star rating of this restaurant! We had dinner on our only night In Wellington last Saturday (1/10/22). It was the worst restaurant experience of my life, and the most expensive. Firstly we were given a plate of 3 pieces of stale bread and a tiny bowl with hard cubes of butter drenched in condensation. When our steaks finally came, mine, the fillet which cost $52, came with fries that were very plain, a pile of pre-prepared potato salad and a few small pieces of some type of lettuce! At least half of my steak was full of fat, it was impossible to cut, let alone chew. My husband had the sirloin at $48, same thing, he couldn’t even get a fork through the fat. But worse than the food was not getting an apology or discount when bringing this to the attention of the waitress. I simply cannot believe that The Green Parrot has a good reputation. I would never recommend wasting time or...