hippopotamus restaurant & cocktail bar

the waiter at hippopotamus was charming and delightful to talk to, so in the customer service score they get 5 stars. from such a high class restaurant this was to be expected. however as it was a busy night our meals took a while to arrive (close to an hour). having said that we needed to buy a few more drinks before the food arrived so there may have been some strategy there. the braised beef was very good, and also very expensive. i can't justify spending that much on a meal, but for those who want to i would suggest to try this restaurant. all in all i was glad to have come.

overpriced. fairly ordinary food. somewhat arrogant waiters who did not realise i actually knew a lot about wine but insisted they knew best which wine should be served with which dish. after all that fund myself with no wine to drink with the main course. expensive for a fairly ordinary meal with a menu that did not inspire with original ideas. in retrospect fairly typical hotel fare

three of us lunched at the hippopotamus restaurant and were delighted with the atmosphere, the service and the food.

it was a special occasion and we loved every minute of it.

in fact we recommended it to friends who have already made a booking

we dined here on a friday night and it wasn't overly busy which was nice. we were served cocktails in the bar area which had the old decor and looked great. we were shown to our table; a nice place by the window. i could go on for quite a while about the experience. we ordered entree's and mains and we were given complementary starters from the chef which was brilliant. the food was perfect and flavours amazing. the waiter we had was his first night working there and he was superb. it was refreshing to have someone professional serving us. we were offered bread rolls several times. i would definitely dine here again for a special occasion and don't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is after a great dining experience, just don't be ignorant to the fact the cuisine is very nouvelle and a big bloke may be left wanting, but tell him to shut up and pay the bill!

a friend and i were staying at the hotel and decided to pop in for a late dinner. this restaurant is not for "popping in" as it is very expensive. however, we were not disappointed with our meals, the service was attentive (if a little pretentious)and the wine suggested was spot on.

fantastic service, food outstanding. worth visiting to experience the older style formal service and atmosphere. not something i tend to enjoy that much but quality overall and for me it's just personal preference

went here last saturday and this is still the top place in wellington for fine food dining and service. excellent and thoroughly recommend

having dined at hippopotamus at qt hotel (formerly art museum) with wonderful past experiences, it was disappointing to see such a decline in the service. if this was a review purely on food, the restaurant would still sit very high in my books, however service accounts for much of the experience and they really let themselves down.

went on the weekend with high expectations and wasn't disappointed! fantastic service, incredible food and beautiful wine. a stunning setting, we had a wonderful evening. had the tortellini de kikorangi sur poireaux à la crème for an entree which was so delicious, and chateaubriand, cooked to perfection, ruined me for other food now! definitely recommend, and we will return!

the food is wonderful and the service impeccable. we had the 8 course degustation and loved every mouthful. the ambience is warm and inviting. the cocktail bar is a nice place to finish your night with a coffee/cocktail.

brilliant ambience. great polite hospitable staff. portions are good. food is tasty and pretty creative. price is on the high side but worth the experience.

my partner took me to hippopotamus for my birthday a couple of weeks ago and we had the 6-course degustation with the wine pairing. it gave me a new found appreciation for wine matching - the wine and food pairing was delectable and even though i’m very petite and couldn’t drink all the wine matches, the sommelier was accommodating and let me skip some of the wine and then offered a more expensive wine for the latter part of the meal. the food was delicious and some of the portions were a lot larger than expected. we couldn’t finish all of it, and my tummy was so full i could barely move.

i had been wanting to try the breakfast buffet for a long time, so hubby took me today for my birthday. it had been booked for weeks and the excitement had built. however, the experience was entirely underwhelming.

where do i start?

the hot food was contained in heavy iron dishes with lids. there was nowhere to sit the lids - i have arthritis in my arms and hands, so it was difficult to hold a plate, lift these lids, and scramble to find a spot to set them down. had i not been the only one there at the time, a traffic jam would've ensued.

there were no side plates for the pastries or toast.

there was an empty bottle of golden syrup on the buffet counter.

the tea was the most insipid i have ever had in my 53 years on this earth.

the scrambled eggs were watery and tasteless, probably due to being thinned down to maximise profit.

i expected a better selection that would rival that of chameleon. what was offered was bog-standard with no love. i get more joy from a mcmuffin!

it was so dark and the lights dimmed that another guest commented to me: "if we pull together we can buy them some light bulbs!"

the woman behind the counter when hubby went to pay did not utter one word - no 'how was your meal?', 'thank you' or 'have a nice day'.

$64 of hubby's hard-earned money wasted. not wanting to cause a scene on my birthday, he has written to management.

a great evening out. i like going out for dinner and not being rushed out the door, this was a dining experience and it was fabulous. complimentary things to taste and try between meals was a nice touch. staff were very polite, friendly and price was great. have paid similar price for much less. food was delicious, would happily return.

the menu has changed from what's above on the zomato page. i had the three-course option for $75. i didn't enjoy the venison starter (which is a signature dish) so much - the meringue and figs didn't quite mesh together with the meat. the fish of the day was wonderful and one of the more delightful and memorable dishes fish i've had in the last year. i loved the sauce and kept licking the plate clean. the date and pear dessert was divine as well. the vanilla and coconut sorbet was superb, and could almost be its own dish. the pear and sticky date pudding wasn't overpoweringly sweet which i very much appreciated. while you dine you'll get great views of the harbour.