The wait is over. Hippopotamus is back!

Wellington, we’ve missed you at Hippopotamus! Not long now before we can welcome you back into our fabulous and flamboyant digs.

We’re flinging our doors wide open on 11^th February with a reimagined dinner menu and cocktail list, plus kicking off a rotating series of decadent High Teas for weekend indulgence.

Executive Chef Jiwon Do and his talented team have been perfecting a new menu that’s guaranteed to please, and we can’t wait for you to experience it. We’re mixing some of your favourite Hippopotamus dishes with a renewed focus on sustainability, plus introducing elements of tableside theatre for dinners with a dash of drama.

Cocktail Bar

Thursday to Saturday, 4pm to 11pm

Strut in proud as a peacock and pour yourself into our plush surrounds. Order up a classic cocktail or quirky Hippopotamus concoction and sip pretty into the evening. Plus, peruse our Wine Spectator-awarded list of vintage drops featuring more than 850 selections. See something you fancy? You can even order a bottle to-go from our Takeaway Wine Cellar.

Dinner

Thursday to Saturday, 6pm to 11pm

Hippo’s famed degustation dinner is back with a new twist. Choose from two, three or six courses on the Discovery Menu – the latter offering an optional (yet highly recommended) wine match.

Or claim a front-row seat to all the action by ordering off the Tableside Theatre menu. Watch as our team carves prime cuts of New Zealand meats before your eyes, prepped and finished with your choice of salts, sauces and an aromatic olive oil spritz. On the sweet side, Hippo’s classic yet dramatic Crêpes Suzette remains a hero of the menu, flambéed in orange syrup and Grand Marnier tableside and served with local Zelati vanilla gelato.

Either option features only the best ingredients. Chef Jiwon has continued to build meaningful relationships with New Zealand suppliers, learning about ingredients’ origins and visiting them at the source. Some notable producers featured on the menu include Awatoru Wild Food venison and foraged native herbs and flowers, Ōra King salmon, Coastal Lamb, Lot Eight cold-pressed olive oil and Pāmu deer milk.

High Tea

Saturday and Sunday, 2pm

Hippopotamus’ decadent High Tea will also return on Saturdays and Sundays, with a rotating offering around the seasons or themed to complement holidays or local Wellington events. For the first six weeks, 13 February to 21 March, Hippo’s Choc and Awe High Tea is an all-out celebration of chocolate.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the menu includes not only five sweet selections, but a scrumptious selection of savouries. Think Black Cocoa Crusted Wild Venison and a Chocolate Stout Braised Beef Cheek Pie to complement the sugar hit.

Hippopotamus’ hibernation has come to an end, and we’re certainly rising to the occasion. So what will it be – a golden hour breakfast, high tea worthy of glamour royalty, or a harbour-lit evening dripping in drama? Whatever you fancy, pop in your bookings and you’re in for a treat.