The Backbencher Reviews

Hit and miss with the food but ok. Also very noisy - could do with some sound buffering.

Always enjoy my time here. Good wine and great food.

Staff are friendly and helpful, there is a great menu and the lime water is free.

We had a great time here, went on a Sunday night so it was relatively quite. Service was good and we weren't waiting long to receive our meals. We could barely finish the desert as we were so full.

My only complaint is we had trouble contacting them over the phone and had to book online. Not a big deal in the end...

Huge range of tap beer with an eclectic bit of political history thrown in.

Come look at the politician puppets while having a great meal. Waitress are so friendly and have good knowledge of Wellington.

Good place to catch up with your friends for a casual drink

SiL phoned & booked us a table here for the filming of Backbenches (Pub Politics) on Wednesday night. We had the best seats in the house (next to the bar and close to the panellists.) A few Zinfandels/beersies later our meals (named after current politicians) arrived and they were delicious and just the right size. Many thanks to you all for looking after us, it was a great way to spend a birthday!

Politics in a friendly pub with tasty grub. Two thumbs up!

The food is pretty good, but I wouldn't call it gastro. Service is slow, but pleasant, and the pub has heaps of character.

I ve been a frequent Backbencher customer - the flatwhite was good, as usual, however the excuse for a Ruben sandwich with egg was horrid.

There was no sauerkraut, just this weird tasting salad & cornedbeef that initially tasted off, when checked with server, she advised it was marinated in vinegar?

In a Ruben normally, the sourkraut is sour and the corn beef is normal tasting, didn t like their play on it - the egg yolk was hard too/over cooked.

When arrived there today @ 11:25AM they advised no brunch menu as they opened late. When I went to pay and advised that the rubin wasn t pleasant at all, the server juat said sorry & that s it. While I appreciate she was new, didn t offer to get Mgr. & she didn t know what to do with my backbencher card either, after this experience may not use again.

Stay away from the Rubin sandwich,
I left it all, apart from a couple of bites of bitterness, in more ways than one!

The vibe was nice but absolutely don t recommend the food. Dishes presentation look similar and the taste is very very ordinary.

WOAP burger was disappointing but the duck dish went some way to making up for it

They got off to a rocky start with rather burnt toast in the toast and dips starter which they didn t offer to replace. However the amazing Toffee Apple drink our kids shared gained them back those point, kudos for having a nice innovative non-alcoholic drink. Meals were good and the deserts were even better (particularly the rich chocolate tart) so 5 stars it is.

Great food. Prices are ok.
Lovely atmosphere, with amusing caricature puppets of politicians and sports stars.
Recommend that you try the desserts.

Food overwhelmingly stingy. We paid about 36$ for roast lamb on mash. The lamb was maybe about 150 grams and the potato mash was literally a smidgen, enough for only 2 spoonfuls. I've been to a lot of stingy restaurants but I have to say this felt like THE most stingiest experience I can remember.

They broke the law over $5 (complicated to explain). Small amount but annoying. Will not return.

This place is right opposite the main parliament buildings and the 'Beehive' so it's aptly themed with life sized caricatures of politicians dotted around the place. It was quiet when we went and the service was good, the food was very expensive for small sized portions although the quality was good enough. It's definitely worth a look.

Amazing service, great atmosphere, great selection of beers and my meal was fantastic. Definitely recommend to anyone heading to Wellington

Great pub, plenty of beers to choose from. Nice menu with great food. Awesome staff and the art on the walls are interesting.

Not the best value for money here. Bad experience once.

Food was extremely overpriced and didn't live up to the 'gastropub' title. I ordered the mushroom rosti, which was full of blackened, burnt vegetables and served with a very lacklustre salad. Quite disappointed.

Great place to meet eat & drink with one or acrowd of friends. Bar or lunch/dinner menu available. Friendly staff.

Amazing food, with decent sized portions. Fantastic service too.

Tasty piping hot fish'n'chips on a dreadful rainy day. Very welcome!

Great pre match drink before Phoenix match, good choice of tap beers, and snacks
Interesting politically themed decor and menus!

Amazing staff and atmosphere, good food, great beer.

Lovely entree and main. Dessert was okay. Service was okay. Would love if they could control flies a bit better as we spent a lot of time swatting at one. Water glasses were old, not very clean and water tasted odd. Time for some new glassware.

Great food and decent prices, a bit pretentious, but it can be forgiven

Ate a plate of vegetarian food. Good customer service.

Great food & drinks. Good service. Definitely enjoyed it.

I ordered the Jacinda burger, very nice.
Staff were awesome, super friendly

Nice food and figures of political figures.
Would recommend working on service and showing more attention to the customers.

Nice pub across from Parliment. Caricature statues of past and current NZ political figures are worth a visit, even if you don't want food or drink (but why wouldn't you want that?)

Great spot. Beers are well kept, the food is delicious and the staff are always friendly, helpful, and welcoming. Looking forward to getting back for a Guinness.

Great place for a good meal or just a drink with friends / colleagues.

Cozy bar with a great atmosphere. The Spitting Image parliamentary puppets add extra interest as you people-watch the real MPs eating dinner. The food looks really good (yet to try) and there are aumber of good beers on tap

Nice pub, great staff and food, good variety of different areas from couches to dining tables (from small to huge) to bar stools, and a smoking garage. Never loud, great place to unwind.

Nice food, but too noisy it's difficult to have a conversation.

Overall good. Nothing particularly special and pretty pricey - not surprising given the location and reputation. Would go here again but wouldn't seek it out.

Just a quick visit, so tried the bar menu. The food was fresh and very tasty, with a good range of beer and wine.

When is a "pint" not a pint? In here it is somewhat less. You ask for one, they accept your order, yet you get served a somewhat smaller than a pint measure.even if you ask about it, they say that. "in here, it's a pint" although clearly I was served approximately 350ml.??? Very busy though

Great beer selection. I think more research will be required.

More of an up-market pub and absolutely love going here every time. If you want a pub that serves great food and drinks with a bit of class, this is a place to visit. I highly recommend it.

A Wellington institution that should be on the list if you're in town for a night. Great food and lots of good Kiwi beer on tap. The pub is just across the street from Parliament so you know it's seen a fair few epic nights. There's history all over the walls and a surprisingly chill atmosphere. What's not to like? The calamari and garlic prawns were amazing.

Good selection of beers&wine. Divided into different area. Front bar has a seated area for dinner and a smaller area on the other side with sofas and smaller tables. Back bar has sports on usually. Food is fairly good, limited vegetarian and vegan options.

yes, the food is fun. good service and those politicians on the walls...

Nice atmosphere with a lot of character. Food is reasonable price with decent portion. Had the duck breast and mushroom soup. Yummy.

Pulled pork is more like pork mince, waiter seemed off his chops

I would Never Go Back Here Alexis an I GotSick From Our Meal Here .. Chicken wasn't Cooked Sausage.
Great Place for Lawyers an The Prime Minister .. Loved the Little Dolls or Figures ..

Good comfort food on a cold Wellington night. Booking essential if you want a table on the busy nights