Puffin Wine Bar & Shop

Might be the best Martini in Wellington. Fairly priced around $20 a cocktail, really nice surroundings and atmosphere. The bartender on December 13th was awesome, she came up with some amazing tailor made cocktails based on my taste, something I miss since Nightflower changed to Regent.

Great selection of natural wines, awesome vibe for dates, seeing friends or even reading a book. The area inside is super cool and the area out the back is a beautiful little gem. Staff are great as well.

Love the lowkey friendly welcome followed by great knowledge about the wines etc on offer. A big thank you to the manager (Jane? Jaid?) who made sitting at the bar such a cool time. She and her team didn’t miss a note on the wine recs!

Best Dirty Gin Martini in town! Best music! Best Vibes! Best snacks! Best wine selection! Best lighting! Every-time I am home I go here and it makes me feel so welcome! :)

Quiet place on Ghuznee Street. We are tourists, ut was about 7pm in October when we visited. Seating outside on the street, lots of space inside too. We walked in planning on getting a drink from the bar and sitting outside. A bit confused by the Puffin wine shop opening onto the entrance of the bar seating area. We approached the person at what we thoughth was the bar only to have it explained to us that it was actually the shop, and that the bar was further in. Easy mistake to make it you're not local. House choice of bottles of wines and smaller choice of wines by the glass. All bases covered. A couple of draft beers too. Prices were normal for central Wellington. Lots of couples in here. Didn't try the food but had a quick look at the menu. Small plates-type from what I saw. Good atmosphere, chilled, plenty of space.

We came across Puffin during a long weekend trip with our Aussie family members. Having visited Wellington dozens of times, I couldn't believe I'd missed this lovely wine bar. The wine was delicious, the service was good, and we appreciated the quiet atmosphere (it was a Sunday afternoon). I plan to meet friends here in the future.

Hands down, it's the best Dry Gin Martini in Town. If you want it dirty and made with Vodka you can never send it back. Tight service, good snacks and atmosphere, kind service. Great place if you just fancy a cheeky one, or a night on the town. 🤍

I actually love Puffin bar and would actually give it 4-5 stars for atmosphere etc; but we had the worst experience there last night with service as the young woman (with dark hair, kind of grungy) behind the bar was so rude and hostile towards us, making us feel like we just weren’t welcome at all. She had several opportunities to be nice and make us feel welcome as customers spending money in her bar, but she was actually just mean, nasty and sour. Definitely doesn’t make us feel comfortable returning. If you don’t get served by this woman, I’m sure your experience will be better than ours.