Friday Drinks at their Finest

Friday … the most favoured day of the work week. The day that calls for a celebration dedicated to bringing in the weekend with a well-deserved tipple (or three) with your squad in tow.

Five o’clock hits and the office empties faster than you can say “Ansel Elgort’s in the Lobby”. The scorching sun that’s found its way into a long awaited Summer helps you feel like there’s something about letting your hair down, putting on that ‘Out of Office’ email and sinking into those Friyay feels, especially when it comes to enjoying Wellington on a good day.

Or maybe Rebecca Black just got to us with her 2011 pop hit ‘Friday’ and it’s been stuck in our head since then?

Whatever it is, there is a bustling city full of choices to raise your glass, ‘cheers!’, and enter the weekend on a high note. So for your fun-in-sun pleasure, we’ve made a guide to the best places to enjoy Friday Fives in Summer 2018.

Basque

A cosy, al fresco vibing rooftop bar sounds like music to our ears as we watch the minutes countdown to 5 o’clock. Basque brings a little Northern Spain to Wellington with an orchard full of Sangria flavours, imported vino and pintxos available at the bar. Pintxos are morsel-sized tapas, well-known for people easily getting carried away and, at Basque it’s due to the extensive list of imported Spanish wines and ciders. Open your palette up to a range of different styles of sparkling cava, and local craft beers at the ready for a fresh pour.

On ‘Good Friday’ Basque supplies the goods with $15 jugs of great beer, changing regularly and always tasty. You’ll often see the trusty trio of Tuatara, Emerson’s and Panhead pouring, plus Zeffer cider. Enjoy you local or imported drops al fresco style on the rooftop bar which is sparkling with the afternoon sun that hits Courtenay Place – and before you know it, you’ll make it to 10pm where local DJ’s will be spinning some funky house tunes.

Where: 8 Courtenay Place

Hot Sauce

QT Museum Wellington is upping the ante and bringing the fire to your after work beverages with Happy Cat Hour. Hot Sauce is the perfect place to unwind and revel in the fact that it’s the end of the work day or week.

Get your bums on the outdoor seating and relax into the night with extensive drink delights – and you don’t even have to wait until the end of the week. From 4pm until 7pm, Wednesday to Saturday settle in for the night and pair your poison with evening grazing on baby baos, spicy skewers and housemade dumplings. Whether you’re there to unwind as a hard worker or to transform into a party person, we’ll see you there.

Where: 90 Cable Street

Crab Shack

A coastal themed casual dining and drinking experience on the Wellington waterfront … ? Don’t mind if we do. Food isn’t always equal in the decision for your preferred Friday Five location, but Crab Shack just might change your mind on that. I mean, who doesn’t love a place which defines their menu serves “By the Scoop”, “From the Earth” and “From the Charcoal Barrel”. Whilst their speciality is in the name, you don’t have to limit yourself to seafood. Introducing the $20 Fantastic Four Platter, which is four of the shack’s most popular dishes to share from 3-6pm every Friday. From Moroccan spiced calamari to crispy chilli chicken wings with blue cheese and red pepper sauce (order heat levels: ‘meek ‘n’ mild’ or ‘feel the burn’) or the humble corn chips and guac, we are here for it.
The perfect place for a suntan paired with people watching.

Where: 5 Queens Wharf

Fortune Favours

You know the classic tale … furniture restoration business becomes old furniture restoration business, soon it’s known as just another old industrial building. This old industrial building happens to be located in the Leeds Street precinct that has a new lease on life, and said old industrial building is suddenly surrounded by bold new food and drink venues, many of which have put Wellington on the culinary map for artisan products and destination experiences that captures the Welly food culture.

And, fast forward to 2017, and the before mentioned old industrial building becomes restored as a new brew pub, Fortune Favours, complete with sun deck.
Fortune Favours has quickly become a hub for Welly’s many beer lovers with brewing on site. They are serving fresh beer and extremely delicious platters from the deli inside. That’s right. A micro delicatessen serving meat, cheese and your choice of accompaniments to nibble on while you make your way through the best on tap.
Fortune Favours was happy to add its brewery to the culinary quarters of the Leeds Street mix, so … for the love of beer and a balcony, soak in the rays with fresh, innovative, nothing-short-of-witchcraft pours now.

Where: 7 Leeds Street

The list goes on with Shed 5, Cuckoo, Foxglove on the waterfront; St John’s, Mac’s Brew Bar, Karake Cafe surrounding the Lagoon and Bethel Woods, Leuven in the Lambton Quay end of town.

words by chris lee