Ortega in Lower Hutt

Came for my birthday and it made my day. Food and service was excellent. The wine list looks like a Bible. I will certainly be back

Truly a WOW experience! Beautiful food, great decor and attentive staff- what more could you ask for!

The place is full of character and has wonderful menu. We were there on a cold and wet Friday night and the atmosphere was very cozy.

My Partner and I booked a late evening meal here on Thursday 22nd Sept.The staff were absolutely amazing. This is what hospitality looks like. We both felt welcome by the sea of smiles and great atmosphereThe food was perfect. No complaints at all.Our compliments to the team.We will be back.

Cool atmosphere here, very friendly and helpful staff. Nautical theme and seafood selection. Massive wine menu!

The food is great and the service is top class. We always have a good experience at Ortega.Fresh oysters were fresh and creamy. Ceviche was great. The cafe de Paris butter sauce for my steak was right up there and my wife had the gurnard which she rated.Bush honey panna cotta had great taste but slightly undercooked (only a very minor criticism). My wife was given a wee dessert surprise for her birthday and they even found some berries to go with it.A great night all round. Highly recommended!

The waiter was too handsome and friendly that my GF kept smiling at him. I felt a little bit jealous and wanted to beat the living sh*t out of him, for like 2 secs. Just kidding, why would I? He’s a great lad. Awesome food (had steak and snappers and duck liver, would have been even greater if I had functioning taste budsbut my GF liked it so 5 star.

My partner and I went to Ortega for dinner last night and as two people who have worked in hospo for years…let’s just say, game recognize game. Our waitress Lucy was super relaxed, knowledgeable, and was able to give us great recommendations on both food and drinks. The entire staff seemed to work cohesively, with barely any wait time before our drinks, starters, and entrees started to arrive. We were blown away by the food and were in a very content food coma by the end of it (definitely still got dessert though…would have been rude not to).Moral of the story? Do yourself a favor and go get dinner here.

This restaurant is awesome! The service, food, cocktails and atmosphere are all incredible. Our table of four had the four-course set menu, the servings and flavours were judged to perfection. I cant wait for another reason to celebrate a special occasion at Ortega :)

We visited last week for a birthday dinner. They were flexible when we needed to make a change last minute, and once we arrived the service was attentive and friendly, and the food was sublime. Although the seafood dishes were as good as you’d expect (the kingfish ceviche and octopus were both excellentthey also do one of the best steaks I can remember having in Wellington. I hadn’t dined at Ortega for around 10 years as I now live in the South Island but it’s great to see this Wellington institution is still as good as ever!

Gorgeous food, impeccable service. House made sourdough with their own butter was worth the trip alone. My husband loved his entree of prawn tails so much, he re-ordered it. The sauce was ridiculously rich and velvety. Sublime. My main of octopus was one of the most interesting, complex dishes I have ever had. My one comment would be that I felt I would have enjoyed it more as an entree rather than a main. After being in awe of the skill of this dish, half way through, I kind of wanted to move on, as delicious as it was. Our evening was only heightened by the feeling and decor of the room. Loved it, cant wait to go back.

Beautiful meals and great service always

Probably the best restaurant Ive ever been to. Food was incredible, service was prompt and friendly. Had ceviche as a starter with my wife, then the steak and the octopus for mains and crepes for dessert. There arent many places that can do any one of these as well as Ortega, let alone all of them out of the same kitchen. Every mouthful was amazing.

Everything was literally perfect, from the amazing service to the sweetly romantic corner table, to the incredible food and the cool decor. Wines were fab too, paired beauty with our meals. Will totally be back and highly recommend!

A birthday treat for me! The pulpo (octopuswas beautiful and the pancake a resl treat. We cannot wait to go back!

I had civiche, pate, and the teeny weeny French toast fish sandwich. Absolutely delicious and up there as one of the best meals Ive had. my friends steak was cooked to perfection.

I was a single diner here but every single menu was superb. Very happy with the dining experience. I would definitely come again!

Absolutely delicious food and beautiful cocktails, the best negronis Ive had in Wellington and Probably the best service also..a faultless dining experience we cant wait to come back.

Easily the best restaurant in Wellington, maybe even the country. Have been there many times, as it used to be an annual treat for my family, and have never had a disappointing night. I have gotten the garlic shrimp every single time and will continue to as it is just that good. the sauce is incredibly creamy and has the perfect level of garlic taste. Something I have only had once but highly recommend is the gnocchi. I have never seen gnocchi like what they serve, its just incredible what they manage to achieve with such a simple meal. The outside had a paper thin layer of crispiness, and the inside had the texture of melted cheese. When I first bit into one, I didnt believe it was the gnocchi. It was also served with oyster mushrooms, which tasted beautiful. That dish may have been the nicest food I have had in my life. They also serve some of the best cocktails I, and everyone in my family, have ever seen. I ordered the Tokyo Rose and, when he tried it, my brother said it was the nicest sweet cocktail he ever had. Later, I ordered an espresso martini and it was incredible. Firstly, it was delicious, but the presentation took it to the next level. It had a swirl of what looked like caramel on op, with small hearts. A beautiful and incredibly impressive drink, as that visual is almost impossible to achieve t that quality.

Enjoyed our visit! Had few cocktails and several dishes. Really delicious appetizer - side of olives! You would think that its nothing extraordinary, but they were really good. Served warm , 3 different types ! Goes well with cocktails.We had grilled octopus, salmon and few more dishes.You need to make a reservation to get there . This place is very popular and its almost impossible to get a table if you walk-in.I would like to go back there one day.Staff is friendly and attentive.Great variety of wines !

Bloody good experience from booking online via email to leaving after dessert. The place is cosy, the front of house staff are attentive and very friendly. We opted for $85 set menu, choose 1x option for each course. Food was great, portion sizes were decent for us and space in between courses was good, so food could settle etc. Would suggest parking either on oriental and walking or off courtney place as public parking is sparce. Thanks team for the great night, good way to celebrate our anniversary and pre baby.

I ordered the Moki and the Coconut Rice Pudding and I found it delicious. The moki ended up making me miss my mums cooking and the rice pudding gave me a very happy feeling afterwards.

Sweet speakeasy style eatery serving fresh gourmet seafood. The decor is reminiscent of uptown New York diners, with tiling, dim lighting and leather booths. Great selection, rich flavours and well executed dishes. The teeny tiny is SO good - buttery, melt-in-your-mouth fish fillet with a tangy pickle on top. I would return just to order that. The octopus main was also deliciously salty and smoky.

Such an amazing wee place! So busy! Staff were professional and polite! Food was amazing! Thank you so much for an amazing anniversary dinner! We will definitely be back!!!

Nice cosy restaurant on the city fringe. Food was really tasty. Wish there was another vegetarian option for main as gnocchi seemed to be the only option. Portions were a tad bit small for the price. Overall great experience and the waitress was very professional.

Had set menu for Wellington on a plate, very disappointed. Very poorly designed menu for $89 per person. Pictures were portions for two. One of the fish fillet had bones and scales in it. Not sure if Id call bread n cheese/ sorbet dessert either. Definitely a big standard drop from when I dine there last time.

This is my favourite restaurant in Wellington! Perfect every time 👍 Foods amazing, service is great, good variety and lovely wines. A bit more expensive than others but absolutely worth it 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

If you visit one restaurant for seafood in Wellington, Ortega will not disappoint. Sourcing the freshest seafood daily, Ortega serve up a delicately cooked dishes with a local touch. The service is friendly and attentive and the interior is relaxed and full of character. Would definitely recommend a stop here for dinner if you are in Wellington!

Best place for fish for sure! Premium quality fish and seafood, great selection of wine too. Do call to make reservations else you won’t get a seat!

Ortega fish shackFantastic food atmosphere and service. This is clearly a place where they get it. The combinations in each dish were perfectly balance interesting and tasted amazing. We had starters entree’s and mains combined with great drinks. Service was very friendly relaxed and nothing an issue (didn’t even care that I drank the juice from muscles - it was that good!get out of town a bit to enjoy this amazing place and a very cool part of the city.

First off, the food was amazing as always, we can never fault it, and this is why this has to be one of the top restaurants in Wellington. Second the service is impeccable with staff who know both the food and the wines you cannot fault this either. Congratulations to whoever manages the staff, they are professional, informed and can make decisions without having to run back to the kitchen and ask. We had the Marinated Mussels and Liver Pate for entre and the “Snapper, confit beetroot, courgette, freekeh, salsa verde” and “Potato gnocchi, broccolini, oyster mushroom, apple, kale & hazelnut pesto” as mains. To top it off we shared a “Warm rice pudding, roasted apricot, bitter lemon ice cream” for dessert. What let the place down slightly was the ending. To pay we had to queue in a very tight space, and I felt sorry for the poor guests at the tables next to the till, as their meals would have interrupted by a queue of people bumping in to them generally standing over them waiting for payment. I would suggest that with modern technology and mobile payment terminals available, that the traditional leather bill at the table followed by waiting staff and terminal would be more comfortable for other patrons.

Staff here is just amazing, gave me recommendations and very accommodating as the restaurant gets pretty booked out a day in advance. If you want a table call 2 days in advance. Service was fast and the food was delicious. I had the Tuatua in tomato basil with sourdough. Although it was great, I thought the portion was small for $40. It was ok for me but can be too tiny for a larger person. My cereal sized bowl was full of mostly shell as I had ordered clams with only a few pieces of sourdough. Other than that I loved everything else.

The food was very tasty but I think somewhat overpriced. Typical main courses are almost $40 and there are no accompanying side dishes. You have to pay extra for them. Plus when we arrived we had to wait almost 1 hour from the time we received our entrees to when the main courses arrived. Thats not really acceptable. Though I didnt take a picture food presentation of the beef fillet was somewhat sloppy with just a beef fillet sitting in a pool of sauce with a pile of fries dumped alongside it. Very amateurish.plus we had two orders of the monkfish and one was much larger than the other which made one of the diners somewhat annoyed.

Ambience of restaurant was ok pretty busy for 2nd January. Ordered the starter which was good. The tua tua steamed was really yummy although I found the bread dipped in the sauce a bit salty. The pan fried John Dory was ok found the orzo too salty. Didn’t really enjoy much the night. Overall I think it’s nice seafood but do ask if they can be salty next time you eat there.

Seafood is exceptional. The oysters are a must if you like oysters. Staff is also very friendly and attentive. Will definitely come back.

Fine food, great drinks selection, cool decor. Enjoyed our dinner here. Ceviche was really good!

Brilliant food, atmosphere and great staff. Would definatly suggest for all. Price was very reasonable for the dining experince. Top quality cocktails!

One of our best food experiences in New Zealand!This seafood restaurant prints menu every single day depending on what the local fishmen would catch. Mains are about $30-40 but it is definitely worth the cost. Will be back every time we visit Wellington ♥️ staff was also amazingly friendly

Fine dining establishment with a focus on seafood and an extensive drinks list. Oysters were fresh and food was delicious. Service very attentive. Reservations recommended.

I would absolutely come here again, no question! Beautiful location at the bottom of Mt Vic - super close to Courtenay Place but not right in the thick of it. Food was totally sublime - oysters the best I’ve had (beating out Bluff for me - oooh controversial!), delicious pasta, and my partner had ceviche which he raved about. Service was on point - I hadn’t realised we had waited any time at all for drinks but the wait staff comped us our drinks anyway as they deemed it to have taken too long! Just a magic experience from start to finish.

Wonderful shack! Tho its totally upscale food! Rich history that the place is a copy of a famous fish restaurant of the past. The pate was marvelous with a seasonal fruit jam and fresh local fish cooked with creativity. Great service too!

The best seafood restaurant ever!Had pan-fried prawn tails, john dory and flounder.Never had dishes before like this. All food was perfect and well prepared. Way better than my expectation.Also love friendly staff!! Will definitely come back again!

Unassuming and unpretentious seaford themed restaurant.Food is cleverly and expertly cooked and prepared. Every dish we ordered was really good - we cleaned the plates! Portions are decent.Bit on the pricey side and we found ourselves waiting around at times for service (the staff were busy).Would recommend.

One of my best dining experiences, ever, so good in fact, we went back to Wellington largely on account of the anticipation of coming here again, and it was worth it, again.Before even the food, I just love the restaurant itself, feels like you walked into someones house in a cosy neighbourhood and the owners just happen to be world class chefs, who are also super friendly, and know how to run a successful restaurant business. Basically everything I want to be good at.And oh my god the food, Im still thinking about it now, everything we ordered was flawless, thats without a doubt, the the prawn pasta, is, just, next, level. I dont know if this seasonal but if you ever see this on the menu make sure you get it. It is mind blowing. Something in that sauce, its addicting like taking cocaine except, its delicious, and doesnt F you up afterwards.Honestly cant say enough good things about this place, has my money any day of the week.

The Oysters were delicious. The starters amazing!!! The Prawns as medium size portion also very good. Just my pork neck was to fatty. The Ortega Sauvignon very tasty. Excellent variety of spirits! Our waitress very friendly. Make a reservation.

Everything was so tasty!Tried Oyster and grilled fish for main course with amazing New Zealand beers. All the things are awesome including friendly service. I will come back here if I can have a chance to visit Wellington definitely.

Excellent food, though the bread was a bit doughy. The plates are very generously sized, and the set menu was a bit too much - recommend ordering a la carte.

One of my favourite sea food restaurants in Wellington. First class entrees and mains. Waiting staff are knowledgable with wine and food selection. Highly recommended

Went to the pop-up next door as their original shop is closed.The menu was quite limited as there was only a few choices for mains. However, the food was great. Recommend to try the deep fried oysters and prawn tails as starters, tarakihi in Malaysia sauce as main. Portions were standard nz size.Service was friendly and accommodating for our large group.

My wife and I really enjoyed the food and It is an amazing place for sea food lovers. Staff is very supportive and friendly here. I personally enjoy the environment, It was busy but enjoyable. If you really wanna enjoy their different dishes than you should try their 3 course meal, It contains different variety of fishes and last but not the least their dessert. It was lovable for us..😍😘. Enough time between each course so that you can spend enough time. Have a wonderful experience.