Culinary Change in the Capital - Bambuchisan

June 11, 2020

In this blog series we catch up three Wellington restaurants about what they did to adapt in Levels 2 and 3, whether customers are supporting local, as well as what they’re looking forward to when Visa Wellington On a Plate takes over the capital in October.

Today we're chatting to Lindsay from Bambuchisan!

Lindsay Phillips, Owner/Operator - Bambuchisan, Hataitai

Restaurants and eateries really had to adapt their offerings when NZ went down to Alert Levels 2 and 3. Did Bambuchisan offer anything new or do anything different to adapt?

We overhauled our whole menu! We've been serving neo-Japanese food for almost a year now, and our menu consists of many small plates to share. When considering opening up for takeaways in Level 3, our head chef, Jonny, designed a concise menu with comfort in mind! Still rocking neo-Japanese flavours, but each dish was larger and layered with Jonny's flair… it was a hit! Once we moved to Level 2 and could open the doors again, we kept the same concise menu, with sides and specials to keep it fresh. The sticky pork, stir fried corn, and cheesy ramen were definitely crowd pleasers! Lindsay and Penny have done the same with the drinks list, with a rotating selection of delicious wines from our awesome suppliers.

How did people respond to your Level 2 and 3 offerings? Did you find people were supporting local? How is it all going now?

The support from the community was outstanding - I think it was really beneficial being in the suburbs as there seemed to be more people staying in the neighbourhood rather than heading into the city. We’ve seen so many familiar faces and regular customers, and it's just been so nice to really feel like we’re a big part in providing a space, which enhances that sense of community. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks as people start returning to normality, but we're feeling confident, given the positive responses to all the changes and adaptations.

What are you looking forward to the most about Visa Wellington On a Plate being held in October?

We're really excited about our offering this year! It’s going to be so FUN and that's probably what we're looking forward to the most: having fun and seeing other places having fun with what they're doing too. This industry has been dealt a huge blow in the Covid recovery efforts, and now that New Zealand is coming out the other side, October will be a great time to reward ourselves! We’re looking forward to theming our restaurant for the whole month - the focus is street food. I don't know how much we’re allowed to give away, but it is going to be awesome!