Our 24 Go-To Gluten-free Wellington Restaurants in NZ

Wellington restaurants have it all, and finding gluten-free restaurants in Wellington is easy once you know where to look. Hopefully, we made this easy for you by sharing our first-hand experience.

While we live in Auckland, our daughter is in the capital city. Therefore, we visit often enough to seek out plenty of great gluten-free restaurants in Wellington.

Jeff and I choose places that are comfortable, somewhat casual, and always serve great food with gluten-free options that are safe for coeliacs.

Our recent road trip to New Zealand’s capital city allowed us enough time to visit a few old favourites and discover a few new Wellington restaurants, too.

Our favourite gluten-free Wellington NZ restaurants

With rigid dietary requirements, I need to know my food is gluten-free and safe from cross contamination. Therefore, we have separated this page to start with what we believe are the best gluten-free Wellington restaurants. These are the ones we tend to go to again and again.

1154 Pastaria

132 Cuba Street, Te Aro
04 213 9981

One taste of the reasonably priced pasta meal, and there was no question in my mind as to why there always seems to be a queue for dinner. Best of all (for me), they offer gluten-free pasta that is safe for coeliacs. If you have other restrictions too, ask to see the dietary restriction menu.

They also have several wheat pastas on the menu, and Jeff says, to date, they have all been great.

Why, the name, that’s explained up on the wall, “The earliest clear reference we have to dry pasta is in a book completed in 1154 by al-Idrisi, the Arab court geographer of the Norman king of Sicily, Roger II, who described a pasta he encountered in Sicily, made from flour and formed into long strings. ”

Neo Cafe and Eatery

132 Willis Street, Te Aro
04 385 9553

We thought we got here early enough on a Sunday morning to avoid the line, but their reputation preceded them, and we had about a 20-minute wait for a table. Well worth it.

The breakfast was a tasteful combination of flavours, and the staff fully understands coeliac, dairy-free and other dietary restrictions.

My GF bagel was piled high with bacon, a hash brown, a fried egg, avocado, baby spinach, hollandaise sauce, and more. Honestly, it’s one of the best breakfasts I have ever had. 

Next time, I think I will get their seasonal pancakes. The current flavours are lemon meringue and cheeky monkey (chocolate and peanut butter).

BambuchiSan

31a Waitoa Road, Hataitai
04 386 4615

This place is 100% gluten-free, and the Canadian-Japanese-inspired cuisine is amazing. It’s a small place, and we had a booking, or we wouldn’t have gotten in.

It’s a relaxed atmosphere with food is made for sharing.

Karaka Cafe

2 Taranaki Street Odlins Square Taranaki Wharf
04 916 8369

An iconic waterfront location, huge bean bags, and table seating both indoors and out make Karaka Cafe a great place to relax. They identified GF on the menu, and our server seemed to have a clear understanding of what was coeliac-safe.

If that’s not enough, one bite of your food and you will know why this cafe made our list of favourite Wellington restaurants. It features New Zealand flavours and is surrounded by traditional Maori decor.

Viva Mexico

161 Riddiford Street, Newtown
04 389 0975

I have been talking about this Mexican taco shop since we discovered it almost 10 years ago. I had eaten here on a mummy/daughter trip with each of my girls and later with Jeff before we were gluten-free.

With authentic flavours, plates full of food, and a friendly atmosphere, it is no wonder Viva Mexico is one of my favourite Wellington restaurants.

*Note that we have not been to their new location. We last visited while they were on the Left Bank. It’s now in Newtown, with a second location in Petone.

Picnic Cafe in the Botanic Gardens

Begonia House, Rose Garden 101 Glenmore Street, Thorndon
04 472 6002

We were not planning on eating here, but rather just enjoying the colourful Wellington Botanic Gardens. Then I saw this salmon salad served to someone else. As I continued to watch as everything that came out of the kitchen looked this good.

The outdoors, big shade umbrellas, and nearby rose garden made this a fabulous place for lunch. I was hooked.

Honestly, I haven’t eaten here since I was gluten-free, but I did check, and the current menu clearly identifies gluten-free and vegan options.

Duck Island Ice Cream

2 Locations: 168 Cuba Street, Te Aro
6 B/1 Willis Street, Wellington Central

You know an ice cream spot had to make my list of the best gluten-free restaurants in Wellington!

Before I even looked at the flavours, I saw the sign that reminded me to tell them if I was coeliac. As soon as I did, they let me know that my ice cream would come from a very safe cross-contamination area in the back.

Best of all, the ice cream is fantastic, as good as we had in Italy. 

Joe’s Garage

5 Tory Street, Te Aro
04-802-5310

Joe’s Garage has locations throughout New Zealand inclulding one in the capital. The menu offers plenty of gluten-free options, and the food is well-presented and quite tasty.

The fryer is gluten-free, leaving no room for mistakes. We haven’t tried the Wellington location yet, but we eat at other Joe’s Garage throughout the country, always enjoying our meal.

Gluten Free 4 U

44 Nelson Street, Petone, Lower Hutt
0274 490 222

I know this coeliac’s heaven is out in Lower Hutt, but it’s just a commuter train away and worth the trip for anyone who doesn’t eat gluten. It’s a shop featuring key brands and some amazing cooked options.

The scones are a highlight, with the cheese scones most popular and they go quickly. They also have 8 flavours of GF pies, so good I had to confirm it was actually gluten-free. Plus, there is plenty more.

Everything is 100% gluten-free, and all that we tried was delicious.

Le Saigon

146/150 Featherston Street, Wellington Central
04 974 8883

Delicious Vietnamese food with vegan and gluten-free clearly identified on the menu. The food was quick and tasty.

While they do have a disclaimer, “If you are a coeliac and/or highly sensitive please advise the person taking your order and know that we will do our best but cannot guarantee your order will not touch gluten somewhere in the process,” we had no problems here.

Thistle Inn

3 Mulgrave Street, Thorndon
04 499 5980

The Thistle Inn is New Zealand’s oldest surviving tavern and restaurant operating from its original site. And it holds the country’s second-oldest liquor license and since there are Gluten-free and vegan options are identified on the menu, it seems like it belongs on my list.

To date, I have only met up with friends for some drinks here. Be sure to look through the area of the glass floor to view the original 1840 cellar.

Gluten-free Wellington NZ: restaurants we haven’t tried yet

We like to write about what we know, but we don’t live in Wellington, rather visit often to see our daughter.

Here are some gluten-free restaurants in Wellington that have been recommended to us by other coeliacs and are still on our list to try. My daughter has eaten at and enjoyed several of them.

• Monsoon Poon in Courtney Place has a separate gluten-free menu.
• Miss Kangsta on Jessie Street in Te Aro features gluten-free Korean takeaway food.
• Where’s Charlie? has four Wellington locations including one on Lambton Quay. It’s a lovely Vietnamese restaurant with gluten and dairy-free options on the menu.
• Apache in Te Aro is another great Vietnamese restaurant with GF and DF identified on the menu.
• Mr Go’s in Te Aro features Chinese food and offers a separate gluten-free menu.
• Sweet Release is an all-vegan Wellington restaurant on Manners Street that features allergy-friendly comfort food, including gluten-free options.
• Belen Bakery With three location including Lambton Quay and Courtney Place, this is another vegan spot for dessert with plenty of gluten-free options. We have been encouraged to try the GF donuts.
• Kaimak in Johnsonville is a new kabab place with gluten-free options that is growing quickly in popularity amongst the GF crowd.
• Kims Kitchen in Tawa is 100% gluten-free with pick-up or delivery options (but no dine-in). Donuts and dumplings were suggested to me.

Takeaways that can do gluten-free

These NZ chains in Wellington can generally can do gluten-free, but always check the individual store before you order. I have eaten safely at one location of each chain on the list.

Hell’s Pizza
Hell Pizza will change your view on gluten-free pizza forever.. They are the first fast-food chain in New Zealand to have some locations certified by Coeliac New Zealand’s Dining Out Programme.

St. Pierre’s Sushi
Most of the St Pierre’s locations we have visited understand GF safety, always changing to fresh gloves and a new workspace when I mention coeliac. While we haven’t tried the location in Wellington we have eaten safely many times at other locations in the country.

Burger Fuel
Burger Fuel is a gourmet fast-food burger that I enjoy now just as much as I did before my diagnosis. More than just offering gluten-free buns, Burger Fuel takes extra care with preparation to avoid cross-contamination. They do NOT have a dedicated fryer, so the chips are not coeliac-safe.

Pita Pit
Another fast-food option that understands how to prepare a GF meal. Pita Pit has gluten-free pita bread and usually does a great job avoiding cross-contamination.

Relax at a Wellington coffee house

Wellington is a city known for coffee, and to date, we have not had a bad cup anywhere. I don’t worry too much about gluten-free when all we want is coffee.

Our favourite Wellington coffee spots are:

• Mojo – while the coolest Mojo is probably the one located in the old St. James Theatre, we also enjoy sitting outside at the one across from Shed 13 on Customhouse Quay. We even enjoyed a self-guided tour and watched Mojo roasting coffee.
• Shed 22 – Close to Te Papa and along the waterfront, it’s the outdoor seating that makes this one of my favourite spots. A few gluten-free menu options are just a bonus.
• Photo Espresso – delicious coffee and an enclosed counter filled with old cameras.
• Arabica Cafe – friendly staff and a great cup of coffee. Popular with locals, so you know it’s great. As a bonus, gluten-free available menu options.

5 Tips on dining gluten-free in Wellington (or anywhere)

1. Ask as many questions as you need to feel safe about your meal.
2. Always tell the server of your dietary requirements and request to have gluten-free or coeliac written on your order to the kitchen.
3. To avoid cross-contamination, verify that they have a separate gluten-free fryer and toaster if you are ordering anything that uses those items.
4. Things change. Even if you have ordered the same meal in the past, confirm that your food will be coeliac-safe.
5. When the food arrives, I always verify that it’s fully gluten-free and coeliac-safe.

Practical information for eating gluten-free in NZ

• The Find Me Gluten Free app is free to download and use to search for user-reviewed gluten-free restaurants anywhere in New Zealand.
• Coeliac New Zealand members can check out their Dining Out Guide.
• If you didn’t find what you’re looking for here, check out the Coeliac Disease New Zealand Facebook group.
• Here are tips to make your own kitchen gluten-free.

Are you wondering what else to do in Wellington?

⇓⇓ Check out these ⇓⇓
37 Things to do in Wellington

Did we visit your favourite gluten-free Wellington restaurants?