12-spice fried chicken thigh, with smoked provolone, baby cos, mumbo hot sauce, and green goddess mayonnaise in a Pōneke Bakery homestyle bun, with chilli-dusted fries.

At The Rumour Lounge, you'll arrive to the sound of jazz and step into an intimate speakeasy-style dinner party with performances by one of Wellington's premiere drag performers. The night unfolds in three phases: roaming canapés as guests settle into the space and mingle; a move to luxuriously styled long tables where generous shared dishes arrive, rich, warm, enhance flavours designed for conversation and passing plates; and finally, dessert canapés circulating through a lounge-style setting as the space softens into something even more relaxed. Between courses, your host returns with moments of performance, theatre, and playful storytelling, keeping the energy alive and guaranteeing your dinner companions will no longer be strangers by the end of the night. Your ticket includes a welcome signature drink (choice of edible cocktail, mini martini, or non-alcoholic option), canapés, shared mains, sides, and roaming dessert canapés. Additional cocktails available to purchase.

Pork belly and candied bacon, with smoked provolone, apple coleslaw, and bacon jam in an Arobake brioche bun, with smashed potatoes.

Tandoor-cooked lamb seekh kebab, with mint chutney, pickled red onion, cucumber, chaat masala, tamarind sauce, and papadum in a Pōneke Bakery sesame seed milk bun.

Soy-ginger fried chicken, with gochujang cheese, kimchi coleslaw, burnt butter aioli, and nori sesame crunch in an April Patisserie salted milk bun, with shoestring fries.

Language and food belong together, add history and the story deepens into something altogether different. Lustre's taking the words we use every day and turning them into dishes. Cool as a cucumber becomes a palate cleanser, a piece of cake arrives as something entirely new, and every course speaks to the way culture lives in how we talk about food. Seven courses of interpretation, each one teasing out a different idiom from around the world. There's a German one about sausage and indifference, an Indian one about something fishy in the pulses, moments where the kitchen challenges and entertains in equal measure. One surprise dish waits mid-evening, your job is to guess which idiom it is. The menu shifts with the seasons and the whims of Lustre's local farms, but the game never changes: food as language, language as history. Your ticket covers the seven-course Lustrous banquet menu and an idiom-inspired arrival drink. Alcohol is available to purchase.

Sesame-glazed chicken thigh, with oakleaf lettuce, rainbow coleslaw, acharra pickles, Manila mayo, and sticky sesame sauce in a Breadcraft buttermilk bun, with fries.

Braised beef short rib, with braised red cabbage, pickles, onion crisps, and horseradish aioli in a Shelly Bay Baker brioche bun, with hand-cut fries.

Chorizo and pork patty, with a roasted corn and prawn fritter, crumbed squid rings, coleslaw and lemon mayonnaise in a Aro Bakery potato bun, served with a crab bisque gravy

Smoked ham hock patty, with Shevington Farm free-range egg, potato rosti, smoked cheddar, watercress, kawakawa, and lemon hollandaise in a housemade semolina-dusted English muffin, with fennel and tangelo salad.

Phở broth braised pork belly, with melted cheese, bacon, pickles, and sweet 'n' spicy honey mayonnaise in a Brezelmania brioche bun, with fries and Vietnamese beef stew dipping sauce.

Wagyu beef cheek and brisket, with blood orange marmalade, tomato, iceberg lettuce, Asian herbs, and coconut chilli mayonnaise in a Brezelmania brioche bun.