Each year Wellington's close-knit hospitality community hosts Aotearoa’s largest food festival: Visa Wellington On a Plate.
This month-long festival sees the Greater Wellington region transform into a foodie's paradise; from the Kāpiti Coast to Porirua, across to the Wairarapa through the Hutt Valley, into the Wellington suburbs, and the CBD - there's hundred of options on offer.
There are three ways restaurants can participate in Visa Wellington On a Plate:
Ticketed Events
Non-Ticketed Events (AKA pop-ups or Pop Ups)
Burger Wellington
Festival Events
Plan your Festival by choosing from hundreds of events, with everything from hands-on masterclasses to multi-course degustations, and everything in between.
Ticketed Events - these culinary experiences are set to feed, educate, and challenge your senses. Tickets for 2025 will be available through the Visa Pre-sale from 23-25 June, or from General Release on 27 June. Be sure to plan ahead as events often have limited numbers, and tickets sell quickly.
Non-ticketed Events - These events do not require a ticket to attend, are free entry, and pay on consumption. You can try themed menus, creative delicacies or unique restaurant experiences. Just show up and have a good time!
Note: for some non-ticketed events reservations are available, contact the venue directly to confirm.
Hākari Fusion - Hangi at Government House 2024
Burger Wellington
Burger Wellington is set to heat up your winter when it returns from 6 - 26 August. Prepare yourself as the region’s chefs get down to business creating the ultimate burger, exploring everything weird and wonderful that fits between two buns.
You’ll get to taste and rate all the burger goods across three delicious weeks. The only question that remains: who will be crowned with burger glory?
Burger 2024 Winner - One 80
FESTIVAL THEME
Every year Visa Wellington On a Plate serves up a new festival theme to inspire participating venues and event organisers to create one-off menus, burgers, and Festival Events. The theme marks a moment in time and inspires an exciting and unique programme each year.
2025 Festival Theme
Food is the way so many of us express love - celebrations, commiserations, sickness, new parents…love and support can be as simple as a frozen lasagne. Dishes are handed down through generations, through or treasured recipe books that have the same heirloom status as photo albums. Or it’s the memorable meals you’ve had because of a genuine connection you had with the waitstaff or your table mates. We get heartfelt feedback talking about connections and friendships made through sharing a table and family style food with strangers. Food is love.
As always the theme is there to set the tone, and we can’t think of anything more appropriate than love this year. Paddy Gower recently said “Wellington needs a hug” and we couldn’t agree more. We look forward to August being one big love letter to Wellington and the incredible people that inhabit it.
The Festival is brought to you by the Wellington Culinary Events Trust, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting our local hospitality industry.
The perfect embodiment of the 2025 theme - this foodie group hug at Hannahs Laneway Commons 2015
