Wellington is a small city with a big appetite. Each year our 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 Hutt City, into the Wellington suburbs, and the CBD - there's hundred of options on offer.

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 next edition of Visa Wellington On a Plate will run from 1 - 31 August 2025.

• Ticketed and non-ticketed events will run from 1 - 31 August.

• Burger Wellington will run from 6 - 26 August.

2025 will be the 17th Visa Wellington On a Plate! It all started in 2009 with just 35 venues, now more than 200 venues participate each year.

To secure your spot at one of the popular Festival Events, head to the Festival Events section to see what's on.

Tickets for 2025 will be available through the Visa Pre-sale from 23-25 June, or from General Release on 27 June. Some ticketed events sell out in minutes so be sure to book early to avoid disappointment.

For non-ticketed events and Burger Wellington, please check the listings for more details. Some venues may accept reservations so please check with them directly if you do not want to miss out.

If you're a restaurant or venue wanting to take part head to our Industry Hub for more information.

No discount cards, discount vouchers or coupons can be used for any Visa Wellington On a Plate menus or events. You may use official Visa Wellington On a Plate issued vouchers to purchase the corresponding items listed on the voucher.

Sorry to hear you didn’t have a great experience. If you have a complaint, please talk to the manager at the restaurant in the first instance. You can also let us know about your complaint by writing to [email protected]

How can I keep informed about the festival?

●       Sign up to the Visa Wellington On a Plate emails to stay up to date

●       Find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/WellingtonOnaPlate

●       Follow us on Instagram at @WellyOnaPlate

●       Follow us on Tiktok at @WellyOnaplate

As the name suggests, these events are free to attend and don't require a pre-purchased ticket. You can simply head along and pay for whatever you eat and drink. Non-ticketed events can be anything from a festival-long restaurant takeover to a one-night, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

If there's a non-ticketed event that you don't want to miss, be sure to check with the venue if they are taking reservations.

As the name suggests, these events require a pre-purchased ticket to attend and numbers are limited. The ticketed events prorgamme is incredibly popular and tickets can sell out very quickly.

Generally, the cost for ticketed events includes food and entertainment, and in some instances, beverages. Please be sure to check the event listing closely for details on what is included in the ticket price or reach out to the venue directly to confirm.

Tickets for 2025 will be available through the Visa Pre-sale from 23-25 June, or from General Release on 27 June.

All ticketed events can be booked through this website. Venues do not sell tickets directly to the public.  

Tickets for 2025 will be available through the Visa Pre-sale from 23-25 June, or from General Release on 27 June.

There are two ticket releases for Visa Wellington On a Plate:

• The Visa Pre Sale for ticketed events will run from 12pm, 23-25 June 2025. During Pre Sale you must purchase your tickets using a Visa credit, debit or Prezzy card.

• The general release for remaining tickets will go on sale from 12pm, 27 June 2024.

Pre Sale allocations can sell out, however for every event and every session, a portion of all tickets are kept for the general ticket sale.

Unfortunately, Festival Events don't have the capacity of a music concert. On average, participating restaurants and venues have a capacity of 30 tickets per event, so popular events can sell out very fast. With over a hundred of events to choose from, we're sure there's alternative options to suit your appetite.

Please note that while pre-sale allocations can sell out, that for every event and every session, a portion of all tickets are kept for the general release ticket sale.

Venues may put on extra sessions or run a waitlist if there is demand. When this happens, you’ll see the ‘Buy Tickets’ link change to ‘Join Waitlist’. Provide your details in the waitlist form and the venue will get in touch if space opens up. 

We’ll also let you know about any extra capacity at sold out events - keep an eye on Instagram and Facebook or sign up to our What's Fresh newsletter.

Just like other major events, Visa Wellington On a Plate has a no-refund policy for Festival Events in the event you change your mind. If an event is cancelled by the event organiser, standard refund policies apply.

Restaurants that have included dietary accommodations are shown on their listings. These are accurate to the best of our knowledge and reflect what the venue has provided to us. If in doubt, please contact the participating venue directly to discuss your needs. 

Photographs and/or video footage may be taken at any event in the Visa Wellington On a Plate programme for marketing and promotional use. This includes, and is not limited to, Visa Wellington On a Plate's and their partners social media channels, website, printed material and/or third-party publication.

Many venues will take a booking for Burger Wellington. Bookings can be made directly through the venue, we do not facilitate bookings.

Some establishments do not require bookings, so make sure to check with them directly. You can find the restaurant's contact details on their venue info page on our website. 

Restaurants that have included dietary accommodations are shown on their listings. These are accurate to the best of our knowledge and reflect what the venue has provided to us. If in doubt, please contact the participating venue directly to discuss your needs. 

Our restaurants love great customers and reserve the right to require diners to order one dish per person. If you are unsure, check with staff first and please support our local eateries as best you can.   

Burger Wellington is all about having fun, and part of that is allowing our chefs and venues to get creative. We encourage chefs to think outside of the burger box and give us their interpretation of a burger in line with the festival theme – we always look forward to hearing what burger fans think.

You can find out more about when and where to find a printed programme guide here.

All of the programme information, including ticketed events, non-ticketed events and Burger Wellington can also be found on this website after the programme launch date in June 2024.

You can curate your own Festival programme with wishlist. You must be logged in (or create an account) to get started.

To start building your list, simply click on the heart in the top right-hand corner of the listing cards.

You can arrange your favourite listings into your own personalised lists; date nights, day trips, events to splurge on etc. and share them with your friends.

Please first try refresh your page and also clearing your cache (CTRL+F5 or Apple+R / command+R). If you’re still having no luck, please send us a screen shot with information on the browser version you are using to [email protected]

Over the past 17 years Visa Wellington On a Plate has grown from 35 restaurants offering a set menu to 200+ restaurants and four festival platforms. In 2024 and again in 2025 we’ve kept it simple. We’re focusing on the two most popular platforms of Visa Wellington On a Plate - events and burgers. 

Dine and Cocktail are on pause for 2025.

Please send any questions to [email protected] and we will endeavour to respond as soon as possible.