15 reasons to road trip this Visa Welly On a Plate

July 20, 2018

Visa Wellington On a Plate is a great excuse for a road trip. Round up your mates, get out of the city and explore those out-of-town eateries you’ve always been meaning to try. Bus out to the ‘burbs, drive over the Remutakas, or cruise up the coast for a VWOAP feast to remember. Chris and Jenna have rounded up 15 recommended VWOAP events, burgers and menus happening outside of Wellington CBD this year.

Welly ‘burbs

1. As a child of the 80s, I’m obsessed with blue lagoon cocktails, though my childhood nights out at Cobb n’ Co meant the mocktail version, so the Eighties night event at Cafe Polo will be welcome change. At $80 for food, cocktails and good tunes (they don’t make music like they used to), this is awesome value.

2. The Roxy always put on a great VWOAP event and 2018 is no different. From a high tea featuring chai, which as a non-coffee drinker, appeals to my soul, to a special screening and Q&A with the star of Can You Dig This about planting gardens in urban L.A. (props to him - go listen to this legend!) Plus, their Cocktail Welly has won the last three years, so you might as well go see what all the fuss is about right?

3. Lucky Miramar is also home the award-winning restaurant, The Larder. Their VWOAP events sold out in a Wellington minute, but you can still enjoy their dine menu, festival dish and burger. Chef Jacob has taken our 10^th birthday party theme to the next level, with the humble tin can as inspiration (tin is the 10^th anniversary gift – genius) with $5 from every dish purchased going towards Women’s Refuge.

4. Been to Oikos yet? This Greek eatery are masters of the moreish, generous and on the surface simplistic, but when you try to recreate it at home it’s never as good. Their Long Greek Lunch is high on my VWOAP wish list and should be on yours, too.

Hutt Valley

5. Head to Belmont Regional Park for a fun night out at ‘the home of grass fed girls’ (aka, lambs). You’ll help produce the evening’s feast alongside local chefs, butchers and farmers - it’ll be like your own real-life episode of Country Calendar.

6. Panhead are newbies to VWOAP this year and if you are lucky enough to have nabbed tickets to Blue Smoke, well done you. But if not, you can still smash back their Burger Welly, Smoky Sweet Cheeks, during the other 16 days of the festival.

7. I’ve had friends go to T he Phoenix and the Kererū,event at Heretaunga College in the past and rave about it. At $52 for a multi-course meal from the next crop of rising stars, it’s a cheap and cheerful night out.

8. One for the ‘grammers: Oli & Mi and Comes & Goes in Petone specialise in beautiful and highly Instagram-able plates of food. We’re expecting pics of their dishes to blow up our #WellyOnaPlate feed. Bonus, it’s only a quick drive from the city, as demoed nicely in this vid:

Kāpiti

9. Head north and feel the rhythm of the Kapiti Coast during VWOAP for a seafood feast. How's this for a unique surf n' turf combo: Brunch & Burger combines a venison patty with Kāpiti crab for its Deer Wellington burger. Beach Road Deli's festival dish is a wood-fired pizza topped with pāuā, garlic, chilli, parmesan and truffle oil, while Waimea is serving a Kāpiti Coast po'boy stuffed with fish, popcorn shrimp and battered mussels.

10. Go the Whole Hog in Paraparaumu with a six-course pork degustation and a nose-to-tail feast of sliders, salted pork hocks matched to Paraparaumu’s Duncan Brewing beers.

Wairarapa

11. For a meaty hit visit Greytown’s The Offering and devour their Smoking Gun burger with Boerewors sausage and triple-smoked bacon.

12. The White Swan invites you to get to know some of the Wairarapa’s incredible food producers and artisans through a five-course meal that shows off their incredible products. Guaranteed to be a delicious and inspiring evening of food and conversation.

13. Learn how to break down a side of pig, as well as the art of curing and brining meat at Greytown’s Prodigal Daughter. A three-course pork banquet awaits you as a reward.

14. Get a double serve of lamb at Martinborough Hotel’s Union Square: wrap your hands around their Spicy Lady of Maxims burger or dine out on their lamb cassoulet Festival Dish. A few doors down, Café Medici's Oh My Deer burger sounds impossibly delicious: bitter chocolate venison with wood-fired Portobello mushroom, fennel and pear slaw, and porcini aioli in a Clareville Bakery brioche bun.

15. Masterton’s new purpose-built boutique cinema and restaurant, The Screening Room, is hosting a special screening of the film, Sideways. After a four-course dinner and plenty of Wairarapa wine, sit back and enjoy the movie while munching on decadent duckfat and truffle popcorn.

COMPETITION CLOSED

WIN big with 2 Visa WOAP prize packs, each worth over $500 up for grabs!

We've made it that little bit easier to get out of the city during Visa WOAP and explore the region with 2 awesome prize packs to be won. Make sure you hit up our Twitter, Instagram or Facebook to satisfy the first part of the comp (you need to work a little for this one!), and then fill out the below form to enter. Draw closes Monday 23 July, 10am.

Hit up the Hutt Valley Prize Pack