A Taste Trail Through Wellington's Courtenay Precinct

The falafel wrap at Phoenician Falafel is exactly what it was when Tony and Yolanda Assaf opened their Kent Terrace shop in the mid-nineties: crispy ground chickpea fritters fried fresh to order, layered with lettuce, tomato, homemade pickles and generous tahini, all packed into a pita. No fusion, no extras. For their son Zahi, who now runs the kitchen, making this staple transports him back to family gatherings where they'd turn out over a hundred falafels in a single session. The Assafs’ falafel hasn’t changed because their method hasn't changed. They proudly keep it as traditional as possible and have the twenty-year regulars to prove it.

Pop over to Courtenay Place and look out for the giant Coca-Cola bottle (it shouldn’t be too hard to spot). Beneath this landmark is where Jenny Eir and her family have been cooking chicken fried rice the same way since ‘06. Egg, mixed vegetables, chicken, rice, all seasoned with salt, sugar and soy sauce, tossed in a wok at precisely the right heat and served with a smile every time. Arriving as Cambodian refugees, this dish echoes the family’s heritage and Jenny’s childhood: rice was what she ate when she was small, and rice is what she's served to Wellingtonians of every kind ever since. J&M Fastfoods’ philosophy is built on the promise of the same quality, same smile, every time. It’s unsurprising, then, that they’ve built such a tasty reputation over the last two decades.

KC Café & Takeaway started with twelve dishes. Twenty-six years later, the menu covers an entire wall: 160 options and counting. To save you the time scanning through this behemoth list, instead order the chow kueh teow: stir-fried rice noodles with chicken and pork, the noodles made fresh in-house every day. It's quintessential Hong Kong-style cha chaan teng: fast, honest, good value, and as such, that’s KC Café through and through. This place has been run with excellence by the same family since its inception, and this dish is their recommendation.

A short walk further along Courtenay Place and you’ll find the historic Stewarts Building. Head up the stairs to the second floor and be met with a chorus of greetings and the smoky aroma of a charcoal grill in full view. Kazu Yakitori & Sake Bar's miso sauce yakitori is best experienced from their well-worn wooden stools, where you can watch expert chefs at work. They glaze beef and chicken with a sweet-savoury blend of two miso varieties, then top with green onion and chilli. It’s also best experienced paired with one of the many sake options Kazu offers. After all, it’s izakaya, traditional Japanese pub culture, at its most authentic.

Keep heading west, and you’ll stumble upon an unassuming establishment, the kind that reminds you that sometimes the most gratifying meals are found at the most modest tables. Behind the red curtain at FJ Noodles and Dumplings, hand-pulled lāmiàn is stretched and folded mid-air before being plunged into boiling water, a centuries-old technique performed daily in Northern China, and, as it happens, on Courtenay Place. The spicy fried mixed beef noodle here is both a classic choice and a crowd favourite: freshly boiled noodles topped with chopped garlic, chilli flakes, spring onion and vegetables, finished with a sizzling drizzle of hot oil. It draws both hungry Kiwis and visiting Chinese patrons seeking a taste of home. In a strip crowded with options, FJ has built a reputation, aside from its bountiful buffet offerings, on noodles made fresh, simple and delicious.

Another must-taste on Courtenay Place is at the tranquil Dragonfly. Much like the lakes and ponds its namesake frequents, this establishment serves as a hidden, colourful oasis from the busyness of Wellington Central. Their seared sesame tuna has been on the menu almost as long as the restaurant has been open, over thirteen years. For co-owner Brent Wong, it encapsulates what they do best: sweet, sour, salt and spice balanced to perfection, with a cucumber and coconut lemongrass gel to temper the richness. It was one of the first dishes they developed, with the rest of the menu then built around it, and traces back to Brent and his sister Tania Siladi’s father and what he'd cook at home. The sibling team grew up in a kitchen of traditional dishes, many of which they’ve subtly modernised, making them more inviting for contemporary palates, without compromising their origins.

Now make your way to Blair Street for a slice of Naples. At Nicolini's, the fettuccine puttanesca arrives as red as the band of il Tricolore. La Molisana pasta is tossed through a sauce of olive oil, garlic, black olives, white wine, capers, oregano, anchovies and the house Napoli sauce that's been reduced for six hours. A scatter of parsley finishes it. For Antonio, whose family has run the trattoria since 1997, food and culture are romance, and the hope is that diners fall for this dish and return time and time again. Five generations of recipes inform every plate at Nicolini’s, and the invitation has remained unchanged for nearly thirty years: eat like it's your last supper.

The shaking beef at Monsoon Poon came via San Francisco, a recipe shared by chef Charles Phan of the Slanted Door, adapted for Wellington and served here for a quarter century. Chunks of beef fillet marinated in soy and lime, tossed in a wok at high heat with red onion, land on a peppery rocket bed. Lime dipping sauce is served alongside. It's simple, fresh, healthy and designed to be approachable for the big groups that fill this maximalist Blair Street favourite. The dish has outlasted every iteration of the street around it, from restaurant row to party precinct to today’s well-rounded mix.

Sunday yum cha at Dragons seats two hundred, and most weekends it needs to. Head over to this beloved Tory Street restaurant for their teriyaki unagi prawn dumplings: a recent menu addition that’s promptly become a favourite. Squid ink and bean dye the dumpling skins a deep black before they’re stuffed with prawn mince and smoky eel. A finishing teriyaki sauce balances the salt and sweetness. Intricate and expertly made, these dumplings are notable for their thin wrappers, uniform size, and complex fold around generous filling. It's the kind of dish that captures Dragons' ethos: staying true to roots while having fun.

Rounding out our culinary adventure is a central icon that’s recently moved to new digs in the precinct. After a decade on Wakefield Street, Apache has settled into its Tory Street home with the same energy as before: bold, social, unapologetically fun. Their shaking beef takes a classic and pushes it somewhere unexpected: beef fillet with blistered bell peppers and red onion in the wok, hit with high flame, then dressed in a signature salted caramel sauce made from burnt sugar and fish sauce. A confident handling of punchy flavours, and a self-professed willingness to try seemingly strange combinations that shouldn't work, but do.