Loretta

Revisiting Loretta on vibrant Cuba Street yesterday felt like greeting an old friend after too long away – I honestly couldn't pinpoint my last visit, but the warm welcome was immediate. This cafe holds a unique position on the street; rather than sprawling outwards, it feels like a pleasant discovery tucked away, its modest street-facing window belying the inviting space within. Stepping inside confirmed its reputation for a laid-back, friendly atmosphere. The service was spot-on – efficient, attentive, and genuinely helpful without being intrusive. While I'd often heard Loretta lauded for its wood-fired pizzas (a claim seemingly validated by the nearby tables), I found myself drawn to their brunch offerings. My choice was simple: scrambled eggs with a side of mushrooms. Yet, the execution was superb. The eggs were perfectly cooked, and the mushrooms were a standout – deeply flavourful and delicious. Taking a chance on a mocha paid off handsomely; far from the overly milky versions found elsewhere, it was robust, well-balanced, and thoroughly satisfying. While my personal preference always leans towards a window seat for people-watching, and these are indeed limited due to the cafe's inward design, it was a minor compromise. The overall experience was significantly better than average. Loretta delivers excellent food, great coffee, and a genuinely pleasant, casual vibe with top-notch service. It thoroughly deserves its recommendation and proved that even after years, it remains a Wellington favourite well worth rediscovering.

What a warm and welcoming place. Very attentive and friendly staff. The drinks and food were impeccable. It’s spacious, clean and comfortable. The cocktails were excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed the sharing menu. Highly recommend this place. Would give 5 stars 🌟 without a doubt.

Used “first table” to make a booking but table choice (small tables) wasn’t great and felt a bit crowded, later staff offered to move to a different table (a bit tucked away instead of the middle of the restaurant) which was really nice of them. Food was great, very filling (really enjoyed beef and vegan pizzas), sides didn’t come out until after and were large portions so had to take them home. Nice atmosphere

A busy restaurant, we headed here for brunch. The service was great but there was a line at the door for a while with no one seating customers when tables were available. Noticed a few people walk away. The brunch pizza was good however the omelette was average. Great coffee however.

Loretta fast restaurant. We had an evening meal today. Started with warm olives. Then pizzas and market fish. One of the pizzas had too much oil. The market fish was good. The staff was friendly and polite. In relation to service, was too fast. Olives came 2 minutes after we placed our order. As soon as we finished, the waitress came to take the olive plates. She then brought the pizzas. The market fish came 10 minutes later. Fish was tasty, warm, well presented. Finished the pizza, plates cleared. In 45 minutes we had our meal and were ready to leave... Too fast for a Monday dinner.

I had a wonderful experience at Loretta's for lunch. There was a long wait but staff advised what this was & gave the option to sit at the counter & have our drinks while we waited to be seated. All of the staff were very friendly, helpful and efficient. The food was superb. Loved the warm atmosphere, the cool fit out and beautiful crockery. Thanks for such a wonderful dining experience & for looks after us so well!

We hosted our engagement party at Loretta on Saturday night and it was absolutely incredible. The space looked amazing, the food, drinks and service were impeccable. Everything was taken care of and all of our guests needs were anticipated, from welcome drinks being ready on arrival to looking after all our coats, we didn’t have to ask for anything throughout the night and it meant we were able to be present with our guests and enjoy. The space was a stunning blank canvas we were able to decorate how we wished and it looked stunning on the night. The team carefully packed everything down for us, wrapping up fragile items and putting our florals in water, it was as easy as popping in the next day to pick it up. It couldn’t have been more seamless and enjoyable. Thank you Loretta and your incredible team for a truely amazing night we won’t forget.

Great place! Very cool staff too, friendly and welcoming, right on Cuba street. Had the waffles, yum as! Great coffee too!

Hip distressed decor, funky atmosphere and vibe with friendly efficient staff. Great pizza, tasty beef skewer and delicious potatoes with pesto. Fun night and good value

Healthy options like unique salads, great pizza, yummy non alcoholic drinks, coffee and teas. Desserts are awesome too. I'd come back here any day. Located in the heart of Cuba street. Nicely decorated and contemporary. Lots of seating. Can get very busy.

Beautiful room, great staff, talented kitchen. We've been here 3 times over the last half year - brunch, lunch, and dinner -- and the kitchen has been consistent. The menu has a defined ethos, so if you like their style, you'll like everything. If not . . . oh well. Luckily we like the food.

When I'm in Wellington, I usually try to scope out at least one new spot. While visiting for work, my Airbnb hosts recommended Loretta when they heard I was vegetarian. It was pretty spot-on with plenty of options. The feel of the place is kind of modern european country... bit of an industrial napa feel? Concrete and wood came together to make a clean but warm space (the heaters around inside also helped keep it from being a cold wasteland!) The menu was interesting - they do roast chicken and have a beef and fish option, wood fired pizzas, a nice sounding crispy chickpea pasta dish, and then a heap of dinner main-sized salads featuring a variety of of grains - farro, quinoa, buckwheat, freekeh. There's also a number of small sides for sharing. I was having a really hard time deciding (not a bad thing!), but finally decided on a halloumi salad with raddichio - but what really sold me was the promise of nashi pear and persimmon. Sadly, the very thin slices of pear and persimmon where barely noticeable and seemed to disintegrate the second I tried to spear them with my fork. I tried their seeded sourdough as a side. I was a little disappointed - I was expecting more traditional San Francisco-style sourdough, and it was more of a dense loaf. Also, it came out cold and for some reason I was envisioning something nice and toasted. Their wine list is a mix of french, italian, and kiwi wines. It's pretty extensive. HIghly recommend skipping the dessert and grabbing a salted caramel to go at the counter. $4 a pop - pretty steep, but if you're a salted/burnt caramel fan like me, you won't be disappointed! I think this place is relatively new in Welly - I'd definitely check it out again and try a pizza or one of the grain salads next time 'round!

We've been here for lunch and for dinner, and had a good experience both times. A nice beer and wine selection. We had the fish and the pie, and both were very tasty. A nice atmosphere in a great spot of the city. Definitely worth your while.

One of the best pizzas I've had in NZ. Their dough is handmade. Great toppings. Delicious! The risotto is simply fabulous - perfectly cooked and spiced. Good drinks too. Friendly staff. Decent pricing, not too expensive.

Having recently turned vegan I find it a daunting task to try out new places. There was very little on the menu that was vegan (except some salads - but I wasn't in the mood for salad). So the waitress suggested they adapt the mushroom pizza for me to have tahini instead of cheese and it was DELICIOUS. And I am not a big fan of tahini. But it was so good with the beautifully cooked mushrooms and the big cloves of roasted garlic.... I had the left overs for breakfast this morning. Still delicious. I also had the Jerusalem artichoke side and it was so good I would eat it all day every day. The wait staff were super friendly and helpful - even going and getting the secret to such a yummo artichoke dish for me from the kitchen (hint: cook them in a pizza oven).

Great food and cocktails in a comfortable relaxed atmosphere. My favorite are the pizzas, but their schnitzel is also wonderful. For a pre dinner cocktail try the peach tequila.

The best place for brunch and a sweet treat from their big selection in the cabinet. I was blown away by my tasty Croque Madame. Our waitress was so friendly and helpful with tips about the city. All the food looked delicious and fresh. Definitely recommend Loretta for brunch in Wellington!

A nice big space with a creative brunch menu, including a great variety of counter food. However, I went on a busy Sunday and our food was very slow to arrive. The vegetarian fritters and waffles were very tasty (especially with the coconut yoghurt!) but we found the wholemeal croissant a little on the stodgy side.

this restaurant was fabulous. although the menu was a little bit limited, the meals were beautiful. highly recommend this restaurant

The food is tasty and portions are generous. Vegetarian options are plenty and their pizzas are very well seasoned. Customer service is friendly and efficient.

Do not go to this restaurant if you don't like Kale! (or the Tuscan version) it seemed to be a rather large number of the dishes...when I enquired as to why with the British waitress she got quite snippy with me. In the end my companions and I ordered the Mushroom pizza....we were astounded when it came out with rather a small number of mushrooms plonked on the pizza whole!!!! The pizza was very oily someone had got carried away with the olive oil and very bland...none of the promised garlic...even some good quality parmesan or basil would have helped to give it some flavour... Both my companions agreed it was awful. For dessert I ordered the pavlova however what came out was not the light fluffy pavlova i expected...rather it was a dry hard meringue with a dollop of what appeared to be Puhoe yoghurt with lemon curd rather than the promised lemon and lime curd. You would think that after collecting 3 mains and desserts which had hardly been touched that they may have enquired if we had enjoyed our meal...nope!!! In short this was one of the worst meals I have had in some time....I will not be back

A stellar breakfast at Loretta! The six in my group were completely satisfied by the food and excellent service. The waffles with coconut yogurt and bacon were excellent. The bacon was smoked or grilled and was a nice surprise. The Ethiopian drip coffee was the best I've had in NZ. The service was continual, and even had coffee refills. My first refill outside the USA, I think. Great experience!