2019 Visa WOAP Finalists

September 2, 2019

Wellington, you’ve enjoyed thousands of Visa Wellington On a Plate Festival Dishes, burgers and cocktails, and this year’s festival is a wrap. Or is it…?

We’re gonna say a big “no” - because now it’s time to tally up all your ratings for Dine Wellington, Burger Wellington and Cocktail Wellington, and reveal the 2019 finalists for the Festival Awards!

Festival Programme Manager, Beth Brash, said the calibre this year was incredibly high across the board, and we were thrilled to see eateries really embracing the festival theme of Feast Your Senses in all the categories.

“There were incredible dishes, burgers and cocktails across the region that had Wellingtonians rushing out to try every day.

“These finalists are the best as rated by Wellingtonians, reflecting some truly special culinary experiences in a Festival that really delivered on a feast of the senses."

We’ll be announcing your finalists in each category here on this blog post throughout the day (2 September), because everyone needs a sense of suspense on a Monday, eh?

Check out your favourites as rated by you for Visa Wellington On a Plate 2019 and see when you can get a taste of them this week! We recommend contacting the restaurant to check times and availability.

Burger Wellington - Best Burger Finalists

Apachè
Surf & Turf - Wagyu beef patty with tiger prawns, braised Wagyu brisket, egg sheet, spicy Vietnamese salad, garlic noir mayo, crackling and XO salt in a turmeric milk bun, with numbing crisps and nahn-jim mayo. Matched with Garage Project Kuro - Japanese inspired Black Lager. Available from Thursday.

Bellamy's
The Coalition - Prime Angus beef with ‘red’ onion, ‘green’ jalapeños, ‘black’ garlic, boozy cheese sauce and pickles in a potato bun, with thick cut fries. Matched with Garage Project Bliss - Backyard Lager. Available from Tuesday to Friday.

Café Medici
Prawn Underbelly - King prawn toast with caramelised pork belly, Asian pickles, housemade sweet chilli dressing in a sesame and buttermilk bun with toffee crackling and Sichuan pepper fries. Matched with Garage Project Hapi Daze - Pacific Pale Ale. Available from Thursday.

Leroy's Bar
Lucy’s Got Dragon Breath - Bacon and Cheddar stuffed beef patty with chicken-fried onion rings, dill pickles, American cheese, Cheddar mayonnaise, barbecue sauce in a milk bun, with homemade barbecue kettle fries and onion dip. Matched with Garage Project Bliss - Backyard Lager. Available from tomorrow.

Sweet Release
Jacked Up - Barbecued jackfruit seitan rib with coleslaw, potato chips and housemade butter and aioli on a brioche bun. Available from tomorrow.

Apachè

Bellamy's

Leroy's Bar

Sweet Release - photo by Tom @LoveWelly

With Burger Welly ratings so hotly contested, we thought it might be nice to give a shout out to the best burgers in the regions and those who came close to the top five. Congratulations to...

Best in the regions:
Fryday Donuts (Porirua) - Lambro Burger
Salt and Wood Collective (Kapiti) - The McReuben
Panhead Custom Ales (The Hutt) - Don't Fear The Reaper

Honorable mentions:
Shepherd Restaurant - Shepchuan
Egmont St. Eatery - Fatty Melt
Wilson Barbecue @ The Third Eye - Meat the Senses
Boulcott Street Bistro - The Francophile

Cocktail Wellington - Best Cocktail Finalists

Charley Noble
Artemis - A savoury espresso Martini with Vodka, coffee liqueur and chocolate bitters, accompanied by candied bacon and marshmallow. Available now.

Hanging Ditch
Salt, Cream, Acid, Bubbles - Pavlova-inspired cocktail using house-made spiced Rum, peach, cream and egg whites, topped with salt and vinegar flavoured bubbles, accompanied by a classic chip and mayonnaise sandwich. Available now.

Lulu
You Had Me at Heihei - Fourteen-year-old Rum, Gunpowder Rum, pineapple and mandarin shrub with house cream of coconut, burnt, Rum-soaked lime, smoked cinnamon and grated nutmeg, accompanied by Lulu's fried heihei pops. Available now.

Pravda
Schmoke and a Pancake - Mānuka-smoked maple and walnut Old Fashioned, inspired by the classic cocktail, combining New Zealand mānuka wood-smoke with Bourbon, maple syrup and housemade walnut bitters, accompanied by 'Old Zealand' Dutch pancakes served with maple syrup and candied walnuts. Available now.

The Crab Shack
One Night in Bangkok - Lighthouse Gin, Six Barrel Soda kaffir lime, pineapple and lemongrass syrup, lime and lemongrass foam, topped with a crispy pineapple wafer and a pineapple and chilli liquid sphere, accompanied by barbequed kaffir lime prawn and chilli pineapple skewers. Available from Wednesday.

Charley Noble

Hanging Ditch

Lulu

Pravda

The Crab Shack

Dine Wellington - Best Festival Dish Finalists

Apachè
Sea, Land, Sky - Freedom Farm confit pork belly, caramelised salmon, tea-soaked quail egg, green apple kimchi, Vietnamese herbs, shallots with pork crackling. Available Thursday to Saturday.

Arborist Rooftop Bar & Eatery
Smoked black bean and corn Hush Puppy tostadas with Zany Zeus smoked brinza, tomatillo salsa verde, Wellington Chocolate Factory mole foam, Shoots NZ microgreens, Gun Powder Rum soaked and burnt limes and agave chilli toasted seeds. Available Tuesday to Sunday.

Field & Green
Cassola - baked Zany Zeus ricotta and orange zest soufflé served with marmalade and chocolate sauce. Available Thursday to Sunday.

Grace Patisserie
The Egg - Whittaker’s white chocolate coconut mousse, passionfruit curd, mango banana mint coulis served with Zany Zeus lemon creme fraiche, hazelnut dacquoise and kataifi. Available Friday and Saturday.

Wholesale Boot Company
Aromatic master stock braised beef short rib, sizzling choy sum, fragrant Waikanae cray fried rice. Available Thursday to Saturday (due to the tapas-style of WBC, each component of the dish will be sold separately).