Welcome to the ultimate guide to the best cafes in Wellington. As New Zealand’s capital, Wellington remains celebrated as one of the birthplaces of global specialty coffee culture. Here, I’ve curated a list of the top 15 coffee shops in Wellington. Within this guide, you’re sure to discover the best coffee in Wellington. Whether you’re a coffee connoisseur or seek a productive workspace or a cozy spot for casual chats, this guide will offer you a good option. Please dive in and explore!
Best Cafes in Wellington for a Industrial Vibe
1. L’affare
- Located at 27 College Street Te Aro, Wellington, New Zealand
Founded in 1990, L’affare is the best cafe in Wellington and a pioneer of Wellington’s coffee culture. L’affare is located in a street corner with a spacious and high ceiling. Huge windows make sure you can enjoy bright and warm sunshine. Its decoration is typical Wellington style, such as exposed brick walls, metal structures, shared tables and outdoor sites, which all integrate wild and fashion. A cup of Flat White – coffee of national treasure status must be a good choice.
2. Flight Coffee Hangar
- Located at 119 Dixon Street, Te Aro, Wellington.
Flight Coffee Hangar is not only one of the best cafes in Wellington but also an open baking factory. You can enjoy coffee while seeing and smelling the green bean being roasted into specialty coffee. Its decoration is a refined industrial style with some unique flight elements. With warm wood, high ceilings, well lighting, it feels comfortable and modern.
3. Lash & Love
- Located at Garrett Street, Te Aro, Wellington.
Lash & Love, which is a good cafe in Wellington, embodies a nature ungroomed street industrial style. The space is defined by rough concrete walls and simple wooden chairs, creating a casual and direct style. Although the scale is small, its coffee is of high quality.
Best Coffee in Wellington for a Modern Minimalist Vibe
4. Pour and Twist
- Located at 13 Garrett Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011
Pour and Twist, the top coffee shop in Wellington, is famous for its ultimate focus on pour-over coffee and filter coffee. You can taste original coffee beans and experience various hand-brewing methods. The decoration is minimalist and exquisite, featuring a professional atmosphere. Whether you are a professional coffee lover or want to talk with friends in a quiet environment, Pour and Twist is a good choice.
5. Customs by Coffee Supreme
- Located at 39 Ghuznee Street, Te Aro, Wellington.
Customs by Coffee Supreme is located in the super vibrant TeAro. It is a nice coffee shop in Wellington and also a place of pilgrimage for coffee lovers. You can directly buy the freshest coffee beans baked by Coffee Supreme. Observing the huge Probat in operation and immersed in the atmosphere full of coffee smell are also its characteristics. There is also the best place to experience local life. Kinds of people get together to chat or work and simply enjoy a good coffee. The menu is simple yet of high quality and delicious, which is the best option to pair with coffee.
6. Raglan Roast
- Located at 40 Abel Smith Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011 or 12 Holland Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011.
Raglan Roast Coffee is also a good cafe in Wellington. It is a specialty coffee shop and coffee roaster based in Raglan, New Zealand, a famous surfing town. It has several locations in New Zealand, each with a good reputation. Unlike the sophisticated urban cafés commonly found in Wellington, its atmosphere is more relaxed and casual, infused with bohemian and surf culture vibes. Raglan Roast specializes in organic and fair trade coffee beans, attracting many customers with high social responsibilities. A type of classic Italian blend called “Number 8 Wire”, a typical New Zealand name, is a nice everyday coffee for families.
Good Coffee Shops in Wellington for a Victorian Vibe
7. The White House
- Located at 232 Original Parade, Oriental Bay, Wellington 6011
The White House is one of the best Wellington coffee spots and a beloved civic landmark. Housed in a pristine, classic villa, it’s a visual standout. It recreates the classic Victorian style of complexity, luxury, and comfort with dark wood wall paneling, ornate carvings. The atmosphere is effortlessly elegant yet warmly welcoming. It’s the quintessential spot for a leisurely brunch under the sun-drenched trees or a perfectly crafted coffee. Renowned for its quality food and charming setting, it embodies the very essence of the Wellington cafe scene: excellent, relaxed, and distinctly characterful.
8. Goods Manufactory and Cafe
- Located at 342a Tinakori Road, Thorndon, Wellington 6011
The Goods in Wellington, as the top cafe in Wellington, is not an ordinary factory, but a vibrant hub where the bakery meets the eatery. Set in a converted industrial space, it keeps its raw edges while wrapping you in the warm scent of fresh baking. This is where locals flock for their daily loaf and gather for hearty brunches. From wood-fired bread to seasonal dishes made right in the open kitchen, it lives the “workshop-to-table” ethos, capturing Wellington’s food culture at its most genuine, generous, and grounded. Its dark wood wall panels and ornate carvings, vintage printed wallpaper and carpets, classic upholstered high-back seats reflected the café’s Victorian vibe.
9. Leafee Cafe
- Located at 320 Tinakori Road, Thorndon, Wellington 6011
On the corner of Tina Kuri Road, Leafee is absolutely the best cafe in Wellington. It feels like a cozy neighborhood living room. The aroma of coffee greets you at the door, and you’ll always spot regulars chatting by the window. Its daily-baked vegan pastries paired with a latte make for a perfect afternoon. No hustle, just leisurely moments steeped in this old building’s charm – these are the simple pleasures that define Wellington’s daily life.
Top Cafes in Wellington CBD
10. Memphis Belle
- Located at Cable Car Lane, 280 Lambton Quay, Wellington
Memphis, located in a convenient access near the cable car starting station, is one of the best cafes in Wellington CBD. It’s famous for its stable quality and best taste espresso like Flat White. The shop is filled with retro aviation elements, such as aircraft models, old photos and aviation-related souvenirs. It blends vintage style with fashion, relaxed cafe culture of Wellington.
11. Mojo
- Mojo Coffee is located at 33 Customhouse Quay, Wellington
Mojo is the best cafe in central Wellington and a place to feel the heart and soul of a busy, professional, fast-paced atmosphere, which immerses you in Wellington’s most authentic, everyday coffee culture. The cafes in Wellington city, I think Mojo is famous. Its classic blends—like Mojo Blend deliver balanced, rich flavors with chocolate and nutty undertones.
12. Espresso Workshop
- Located at 14 Bond Street, Wellington Central, Wellington 6011
Espresso Workshop, is not just the best cafe in Wellington CBD, but also the best local coffee roaster known for its ultimate pursuit of coffee quality, craftsmanship, and modern aesthetics. It is a type of boutique roaster and modern aesthetics. The shop buys high-quality green Arabica coffee beans from around the globe. It’s more like a showroom and experience space for their coffee products. You can drink the freshest coffee that represents their spirit.
Hidden Gem Cafes in Wellington City
13. Red Rabbit Coffee Co.
- Located at 28a Allen Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011
Red Rabbit Coffee Co. is a highly respected and the best cafe and coffee roaster in Wellington. The barista here is not just a worker, but more likely a missionary of coffee. Although the space is not spacious, it coincidentally creates an intimate and focused environment, facilitating communication between baristas and customers. The barista deeply understands their coffee and would like to introduce you.
14. Peoples Coffee cafe
- Peoples Coffee Café is located at 12 Constable Street, Newtown, Wellington.
If you want to find a localized and nice cafe in Wellington and full of a sense of community, People Coffee Cafe is a good choice. Just like its name, its customers are mainly indigenes, students, artists nearby, few medical staff at the nearby hospital. This coffee shop is full of local flavors of life with a chill and happy atmosphere. It uses high-quality coffee beans such as Raglan Roast and also offers some delicious brunches.
15. Costumes Cafe & Beer Garden
- Located at 39 Ghuznee Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011
Costumes Cafe & Beer Garden also deserves to be one of the best cafes in Wellington. It is located in Wellington’s iconic Queen’s Wharf, adjacent to one of the oldest buildings–the Customs House. The shop enjoys brilliant harbour views: you can see the wharf, the sea, and the mountain. The interior keeps historical designs and charm, while the exterior is a broad beer garden and lots of outdoor sites. As a qualified coffee shop, it offers high-quality, mellow coffee. If you are looking for a place to stay for a long time, eat some food, drink a cup of coffee, and see beautiful sea views, it’s your first choice.
Best Accommodations in Wellington Close to Cafes
For any coffee lover, the most convenient and reliable spot is always right near home. Just steps from your apartment door, you’re likely to discover a charming local cafe waiting to be explored. If you want to find student accommodation in Wellington, click uhomes.com, which is a dependable website for you to find apartments in Wellington or around the world. For example, the UniLodge Stafford House, which is a nice student accommodation in Wellington, is near many excellent coffee shops such as Wishbone – North Lambton Quay, away from the apartment 0.09 km and Butlers Chocolate Café, Lambton away from 0.35 km. AHN Wellington Homestay Booking Portal is also a good choice if you want to find an apartment in Wellington. You can easily find five to six coffee shops around the apartment.
Conclusion about Best Cafes in Wellington
This guide is designed to help you discover the best cafe in Wellington. Whether nestled in the bustling CBD or tucked away in a quiet laneway, you’ll find numerous hidden gems—solidifying its well-deserved reputation as the coffee capital of New Zealand. This guide offers you 5 different types of coffee shops, including Wellington CBD coffee shops, industrial vibe, modern minimalist vibe, Victorian vibe, and hidden gems, but still amazing coffee shops in Wellington.
FAQs about Best Coffee in Wellington
What's unique about Wellington's cafe culture?
Unlike other cities, Wellington’s specialty coffee scene is mainstream rather than niche. Cafes in Wellington are more than just places to drink coffee; they embody a way of life and social ritual deeply ingrained in the city’s DNA. Beyond home and the office, cafes serve as the absolute heart of the community.
Is Wellington the coffee capital?
Wellington can undoubtedly be called the coffee capital. Widely regarded as the birthplace of the iconic flat white, its coffee culture and pursuit of high quality have profoundly influenced all of New Zealand and the world at large.
Does Wellington have good coffee?
Absolutely. Wellington is globally famous for its excellent coffee. It’s considered the craft coffee capital of New Zealand, a country known for its high-quality flat white. The city is filled with independent roasteries and cafes, each dedicated to the art of the perfect brew.
