southern cross garden bar restaurant

the southern cross, is without a doubt, one of the best dining options in wellington. 

the amount of vegan options on the menu is impressive and i am always more than satisfied with what i try there. i have recently been through every vegan option on the menu and strongly recommend the buddha bowl, mac n cheese and portobello benedict. 

they also cater for people with a paleo based diet and vegetarians. it makes eating out with anyone who has dietary requirements a charm. 

i also cannot stress enough how fabulous the cake cabinet is. again, the team at the southerncrosscater for everyone and i always leave happily trying a new one of their vegan slices, usually raw and refined sugar free!

this is the one place in wellington i have always left feeling satisfied and never regretted a penny spent. 

the best spot in wellington, a winner!

such a great place but chef really under cooked meat in mycrossburger

a pity one star rating is the minimum. really a zero or negative number is needed. the southerncrossis very very anti vegetarian and vegan. requesting vegetarian or vegan food is met with hostility from staff. i went there on anzac day and was turfed out because they wouldnt as they insisted that food without meat and/or egg in it does not qualify as a "meal" and therefore i couldnt be on the premesis. vegetarians and vegans need to boycott this dive.

my bf and i came here for drinks and dinner last night (a tuesday) and i can only describe the whole experience as abysmal. the staff were trying their best, but this is a big place and was very obviously understaffed.the girls on the bar were clearly struggling with the amount of people to serve and dirty glasses and plates sat piled on the end of most tables. my $16 mojito arrived after a 20min wait and was downright offensive. two mint leaves, lime cordial, soda, and i assume some rum. i didn't know a mojito could be defaced so badly, but hey you learn something new everyday. after over an hour wait our burgers arrived. sadly they had zero flavour and were dry as were the accompanying cardboard-esque chips. i've never been so thankful for tomato sauce as a saviour for that whole meal situation. while the bar has pretty cool décor and the staff are nice, it really feels like the southerncrossmanagement know they have a good thing going for them and don't feel the need to try anymore.

southerncrossprovided an upmarket feel in terms of typical pub dining, the decor suggested a homely feel that my party thoroughly enjoyed. we were greeted by a very enthusiastic waitress that was able to seat us instantly even without a booking on a somewhat bustling friday night. we had the salmon risotto, with a three-choice stonegrill as well as acrossburger. my sidekick enjoyed his burger, saying 'it delivered exactly what he expected it to'. my salmon risotto was slightly overcooked and the risotto was rather overpowering, but overall good. the stone-grill provided a nice novelty allowing us to cook our meat to our own satisfaction and would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a different dining experience.

went to southerncrossover the holiday period while the location is a winner and the venue great. overall alittle disappointed with outing.

service was really lacking they were very eager to take drink orders from the get go i ordered a juice, said juice didn't come till some 30mins later . repeated requested to understand where the juice was were meet by its coming it's going to be here soon. in the end the juice arrived after everyone had all but finished their meals which were ordered after the drink :( at no point to staff say how sorry they were or that they should have warned us on the problem they gave with juices.

food was pretty good however if paying $22 for a big breakfast to get store brought hash browns is a rip.

i'm sure i'll be back for beers some time, maybe just not brunch

one of my favourite burgers is thecrossburger i specially go just for that. it is quite yummy and filling. but if only staff would smile and make you feel more welcome, the other night i rang at 9 pm to ask of what time they're closing the lady said 10 pm i then said that me and a friend will come shortly and she said no we are closing, i felt rejected and unwelcome.

we all know southerncrosshas great stone grills, but desserts? we were out for desserts and decided to rock into southerncrossfor them.

between the four of us, we ordered the vegan carrot cake, chocolate tart with lemon chantilly and a banana split with strawberry, chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

i'll start with the vegan carrot cake to get the disappointing plate out of the way. not sure if it's because it's vegan, but the carrot cake was bland and weirdly textured. it was somewhat rubbery, and we all agreed it was not up to our expectations.

the banana split was pretty good, and it was really enjoyable for me just because i haven't had one since i was little. it brought back many memories and was fun to eat with the chocolate sauce, cherry and bananas. one small gripe i had was that the bananas were not too ripe and i would have liked it better if they were a tad softer.

best dessert of the night was the chocolate tart with lemon chantilly. the strong tartness of the lemon cream was definitely unexpected, and it provided such a great kick with the sweetness of the chocolate. cliched as it sounds, i'd have to say it was a feast for the palette. it was surely the most popular out of the three for all of us.

showstopper: the chocolate tart with lemon chantilly won hands down, would definitely recommend it to everyone.

overall grade: b+

southerncrossis one of my favourite places to sit in in wellington. it's super lovely on a nice day to sit in the garden out the back and had a fantastic selection of sweets from the cabinet. i went for brunch and ordered the vegan breakfast which i was rather disappointed with. the serving was huge and it was quite expensive but it wasn't very tasty and the tofu wasn't very nice at all. i also ordered the business juice which was incredible. i will definitely be returning but maybe not for brunch! would love to try some of the small plates that looked really tasty and use it as a spot to go for a drink or a juice!

not a bad place for a catch up. southerncrossgarden bar is a huge venue. the outdoor area has these pretty lanterns that add colour to the night. the vibes are tenfold in the evening when they are lit. the portions are relatively large - good value for your money. i enjoyed my evening here. the food had potential to be incredible but it lacked presentation and seasoning. still nice though! they have cool stone grills for people who want to play diy with their dinner.

the outdoor area of southerncrossis probably one of the coolest spots in wellington! i love all the lanterns and the big sitting areas, so nice in summer!!

i had a stone grill (one of the most popular dishes on the menu). i thought it was really good value as the portion sizes are pretty big and definitely filled me up! the fries are amazing. i would order them by their self just because they are that good.

cooking your own meat is such a cool idea but it's super easy to overcook it. i thought the meat needed more spices and flavour because it wasn't that tasty! pretty bland to be honest.

i've tried some of their other dishes though and wasn't let down, will definitely return!

first lets talk about decor. southerncrossis beautifully hip and unique. they have board games and offer a variety of free events like once a month salsa classes for free. they have bands and local artists almost every night and they'd fit in well on a pinterest board.
the staff are friendly and attentive without going over board.

we came here during woap so we ordered a get stuffed burger to share and some fries. unfortunately the kitchen got our order wrong so we didn't get to try their entry for the best burger in wellington but we had acrossburger and it was lovely. the fries had a beautiful seasoning on them and the presentation was really clean and pretty.
i had an apple pie milkshake which tasted nothing like apple pie but it was heavenly. my boyfriend got a coke ice cream spider and loved it.

overall i'd say southerncrosswas a winner. they do mulled cider in winter and the place is relaxed and welcoming. definitely one for a chilled lunch or casual dinner.

as always thecrosslives up to its awesome family friendly rep. we went for breakfast for my husband's birthday this morning, and the staff were super friendly and really helpful with the kids. food was fresh and warm and just really well prepared and presented. the big breakfast, which my husband had looked delicious and he says it was such a treat. they gave him gluten free bread on request and it was an easy order. the kids really enjoyed playing in the courtyard area and love the buckets of toys. they even had face painting inside. definitely the best family restaurant in the city.

last time i went to southercrosswas in late march 2015 with a small group of friends for lunch on a monday. service was disappointing as the waitress took ages to take our orders but once that was done, food was served fairly quickly and it was nice. but considering the place was quite empty, a little more attention could've been paid to our table. the menu was varied and there were several reasonably price options.

my husband had his work christmas do here ... in his own words here's how it went:

"a work xmas lunch bought us here, and it's my first time back in decades since my drunken lout years. oh the memories ...

anyway - in short, this choice was an absolute winner. my expectations weren't huge; large group, buffet food, wellington wind but the southerncrosswas a great choice. great outside area, staff who were attentive and good-humoured and actually took an interest in how we were doing, and the food was great and plentiful.

i got into a few jugs of beer quite early in the piece, so can't give a detailed account of the food but everyone in our group spoke highly of it and despite our best efforts there was a lot left over.

when booking, we had the choice of salmon for all, or dessert. pick one. however, once asked, s/c decided they would accomodate indovidual requests if we fore-warned them, so well done guys!

the best work lunch in years, and most of that was down to the venue choice. i fully intend to recommend the same for our next event."