Food Tasting Tours in Wellington

Food tasting tours in Wellington run from a few hours on foot through the city centre to a full-day trip over the Remutaka Ranges into Wairarapa wine and produce country. Every tour is guided and the tastings are built in, so nobody has to plan a restaurant crawl. Add a winery or a brewery and you have a food-led trip, with more to choose from in Wellington food and drinks experiences. Food tasting tours in other destinations follow the same guide-led format if Wellington is one stop on a longer trip.

Food tasting walks through central Wellington

The city tours are 3.5-hour walks with a local food guide, and they stay in the city centre. The Asian food walking tour meets at 94 Manners Street, runs Tuesday to Saturday at 11am, and visits five to six eateries for Chinese, Malaysian, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese dishes. The guide explains how those cuisines shaped Kiwi cooking, and the group stays small.

For something sweeter, the chocolate walking tour meets outside the Seed Heritage Clothing Shop on Lambton Quay. It opens with a taste of the famous peanut slab, rides the Wellington Cable Car up to the Botanic Garden, then works through six chocolate stops with a hot chocolate and a cake or pastry tasting on the way. Fitness level is moderate, because the route includes a walk through the garden, so comfortable shoes matter.

Wairarapa food and wine day trips from Wellington

Wairarapa's cheese, chocolate and wine producers are over the hill, so the longer tours open with a drive across the Remutaka Ranges and a lookout stop at the summit. The Wairarapa Taste Buds full-day tour leaves Wellington at 9.30am daily except public holidays. It covers tastings at five producers, a vineyard lunch with a drink, and a grape-to-glass winery tour in Martinborough, with the towns of Featherston and Greytown on the route. Transport from Wellington or the Hutt Valley is included, so nobody has to be the designated driver.

A shorter day is the 5-hour Martinborough foodie tour. It stops at C'est Cheese Artisan Cheese and Deli, tastes Martinborough pinot noir at a winery over a shared cheese platter, and includes an artisan chocolate tasting with the resident chocolatier. It departs daily at 10am from the Tākina Convention and Exhibition Centre on Wakefield Street, with hotel pick-up from selected central hotels on request. If wine is the main draw, Wellington wine tasting and winery tours put the cellar doors first.

Brewery tastings in Wellington and the Hutt Valley

Wellington's craft beer scene works as a half-day tasting too. The half-day craft brewery tour starts at Kereru, a family-owned brewery, then moves to Panhead Brewery, with food matches in Brewtown and a staff-led brewery tour where available. It leaves the Tākina pick-up lane on Wakefield Street at 11.30am and 4pm, and travels as far as Upper Hutt before returning to the city.

Choosing between a city walk and a day over the hill

A 3.5-hour walking tour is the lighter commitment. It starts in the CBD and leaves the rest of the day free for Te Papa or the waterfront. A Wairarapa tour takes most of the day, so plan on nothing else, and treat the drive over the Remutaka Ranges as part of the outing rather than a transfer.

The walks suit anyone staying in the city without a car. The Wairarapa tours suit people who want the cellar doors and cheese counters without the driving. The walks happen outdoors, so dress for the weather, and on a wet forecast rainy day activities in Wellington can fill the hours around a tasting.

Frequently asked questions

How long are food tasting tours in Wellington?

Food tasting tours in Wellington run from 3.5-hour city walking tours to full-day Wairarapa wine and produce tours, with a 5-hour Martinborough foodie tour and a half-day brewery tour in between.

Do Wellington food tours include lunch?

It depends on the tour. The Wairarapa Taste Buds Tour includes a vineyard lunch with a drink, and the Wellington Asian Food Walking Tour is listed with meals included through five to six restaurant tastings. The Wellington Chocoholics Walking Tour includes tastings only, from a peanut slab to hot chocolate and a cake or pastry.

Where do food tasting tours start in Wellington?

The Wellington Asian Food Walking Tour starts at 94 Manners Street, and the chocolate walking tour starts at Lambton Quay and Grey Street, outside the Seed Heritage Clothing Shop. The Wairarapa Taste Buds Tour meets at Zozo Travel on Cable Street, and the Martinborough foodie tour meets at the Tākina Convention and Exhibition Centre on Wakefield Street.

Is there a food tour from Wellington to Martinborough?

Yes. Zozo Travel runs a half-day Martinborough winery tour, a 5-hour Martinborough foodie tour with cheese, wine and chocolate, and a full-day Wairarapa tour with tastings at five producers. All of them start in Wellington and cross the Remutaka Ranges.

What is Wairarapa known for?

Wairarapa is the wine and produce region over the Remutaka Ranges from Wellington. Martinborough is known for pinot noir, and the tours also stop at Featherston and Greytown for artisan cheese and chocolate.

What should I wear on a Wellington food walking tour?

Comfortable walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing are listed for the Asian food and chocolate walking tours. The Asian food tour asks for a 10-minute early arrival, and the chocolate tour a 15-minute one.

A Wellington food tasting tour puts a local guide between you and the menu, from a few hours in the city to a full-day trip to Martinborough. Pick the pace, check the start time, and book.