Hippopotamus Restaurant & Cocktail Bar - Te Aro

We went to Hippopotamus for an overdue celebratory night out when covid restrictions loosened. Getting there, we wanted a drink at the bar first but we were ushered to our table in a fairly focussed way. We felt a bit pushed. We sat but decided we really wanted to relax with a drink first so we went to the bar area. Towards the end of our drink, not finished, we were given the suggestion that we really should get to our table to order. This all felt a bit pushy and a bit uncomfortable. When we got to the table, a champagne trolley arrived. All good. But, the staff made no attempt to tell us that they had a set routine of champagne trolley, then taking orders for the meal. Customers are not mind readers so communication about what the restaurant wanted to do would have been very helpful. The evening went well after that. The wine suggestions were very good and knowledgeable. The duck definitely needs to be medium rare and the accompaniment of the potato gratin was rich delicious. The grilled cos lettuce was superb. Gorgeous rich desserts.

Had high tea for my sisters babyshower and was left speechless at what we were received. It is the weekend after Easter and they were still serving up the Easter high tea (I guess they were still trying to get rid of there Easter buns, which BTW was not fresh and blah) we only received 2 savouries and the rest sweet. It was horrible definitely not worth $49 per person, also the kids high tea was full of sweets and only one savoury. If only I had read the reviews before booking here. Would definitely not recommend to anyone. Wasted so much $$$ here. And the tea selection was very limited just 4 to choose from. We also had to prompt the staff for refills. Where we were seated was very dark considering it was a beautiful day so the whole mood was not great. Service was not great. Food was horrible. Would never go back or would NEVER recommend. Worst experience ever.

Went there last night for an Anniversary Dinner with my Partner and was definetly a great experience! Probably the best fine dining that you can find in Wellington. We had the degustation with matching wine, gourmet food served by a really competent and qualified staff, Sommelier wine matching with the dishes was next Level. A great experience, definetly recommended!

Friends and I had High Tea for a special event. The event was wonderful but for $59 including a cocktail I thought the food was below average. The sandwiches were stale and none of the food was memorable. Book into Grace Partisse instead. Also the tea options were pathetic as mentioned in other reviews.

Service was impeccable, the ambient was classy and well designed, but half of the meals were disappointing and below par . We were greeted and walked to our table, offered great drinks, asked about dietary requirements, and waiters were attuned to our very wish. We felt truly appreciated and valued as guests. Big thanks to the service. The menu was looking posh, long meal names with lots of French words. At that point, I thought this would be an amazing dining experience. My husband and I ordered Atlantic scallops as an entre but didn’t see the word tartare, and that was not a good beginning as we don’t like anything tartare, while this chef likes lots of tartare. I wish waiters pointed out that the meal was tartare, but I don’t blame them. It was our fault we missed that word. All meals looked visually amazing, and whoever was presenting them, is an artist. Our tartare scallops arrived cut into little cubes in a bland tomato soup with two pieces of green salad on top. Taste: bland. Salad had more taste than the tomato soup, and scallops tasted of nothing. We were both disappointed, but it was our fault for not seeing the word “tartare”. We ordered beef meal and roasted duck meals for the mains. My husband’s beef was succulent and soft, he really enjoyed it. Duck was chewy and undercooked. Embarrassingly, I had to spit out 3 chews as couldn’t chew it into anything they could be swallowed. I coude see my daughter’s knuckles were white with how hard she was pressing knife and fork into duck meat to cut it. I eventually returned my meal. Duck is supposed to be fatty, soft, juicy, and this one was the opposite. They offered a replacement and I took ravioli. When they arrived, meat filling was simply amazing, bursting with taste, but pasta was undercooked, not al denté, but “too dente”. I asked my husband to take a bite to see whether it’s just me and he said it tasted like cardboard. I agreed. For dessert we ordered deer milk, which was truly new experience and very nice. My husband’s chocolate piece was, according to his words, well presented and tasty but nothing to rave about. We also ordered pancakes that were, surprisingly, made in front of us by a waiter, not a chef. I was afraid that oil or sauce would spray at me, there was a feeling of street food being made in front of us. Crepes were also slightly undercooked. I make heaps of crepes and love them and ate them all over the world, including France, and these were not good. The sauce was ok, but crepes were not. Overall, 3 stars as it was not consistent in quality . I won’t be going back as the number one criteria for me is food tasting good. All that fluff around it is nice, but if food doesn’t taste good, I’m not interested.

Beautiful environment but oh boy the food was so painfully below average. So many people recommended this place for their high teas but they must've change their chefs because this just was not it. Most stuff tasted either store-bought, stale or cheap. It was $50 per person (one coffee, unlimited tea) - not only that the food quality was definitely not worth it, the quantity was also not there. In my experience, I usually have leftovers, but we left hungry. Generally, we were very underwhelmed although I must say that their customer service was top-notch with the only exception of the guy that served us on they day, he seemed annoyed with us from very beginning lol (I don't blame him, I'd hate that job too). In the attached picture, you can see the sandwich we got - the bread was tasteless, like the two dollar loaves from pack n save with a lick of some cheesy spread + singular cucumber slice. And that was not even the vegetarian option.

Wow wow wow... stunning views great wine selection. The meal was just spectacular great flavor Staff on point kind helpful and great manner.... Highly recommend AAAAAA++++++

I enjoyed my gluten and dairy free tea. I've never liked macarons, but had a delicious chocolate and strawberry one. The decor is sumptuous (photos) and the view is excellent.