Ascot

Just when you thought the stack of great hospitality businesses on the corner of Ghuznee and Cuba Streets couldn’t get any better, this hideaway bar taking pride of place on the top floor has just gone and proved us all wrong. Aiming to create lo fi wine-drinking environment, owner Cosmo Hawke instead makes sure the easy-going vibes at The Ascot (where music is loud and bartenders are smiley), makes everyone feel right at home.

Hotdogs and wine might seem like an unlikely combination to some, but at The Ascot, anything goes and no one’s going to judge you holding a glass of natural wine in one hand and a saucy dog in a bun in the other. Choose from either free-range pork dogs, or a vegan carrot dog, and pick a glass of something from the chalk board.

The all-natural wine list has consistently changing ‘glass pours’ meaning everything on the menu will be available by the glass at some point. The name (and original signage) comes from the Ascot Theatre in Newtown where Cosmo’s grandparents spent many of their working days selling hotdogs from a cart, so it seems only fair to reinvent their menu and bring it to modern Wellington. The outside decking is well protected from any wild Wellington weather, and come those rainy days we reckon being tucked up in this cosy spot with it’s floor - ceiling pane windows and candles burning is going to be a hard place to beat.