A seat at the table: Capitol

Seventeen years ago, my husband and I got married at Frederiksberg Rådhus in Denmark. It really doesn’t seem so long ago! Anyway, this year we celebrated with dinner at Capitol, a favourite place of ours in town. Getting to town early, we stopped off for a Prosecco (for me) and a glass of sauvignon blanc (for him) at The Tasting Room. Note the QR code on the table – it is mandatory to sign in when you enter bars, restaurants, shops or any venue these days.

We then popped across the road to the restaurant and perused the menu. Capitol is one of my favourite restaurants in Wellington. The food is always good, the wine list well curated and the front of house staff knowledgable, friendly and look after guests in an unobtrusive way. On this visit, I decided on the steamed Cloudy Bay clams with some toasted focaccia on the side. They were served with a wonderful broth that had garlic, a little chilli and lots of fresh herbs. Karl opted for the bruschetta which were topped with a confit of leeks and other good things. We each enjoyed a glass of Rippon Sauvignon Blanc from Central Otago.

For the main dish, Karl had the grilled beef fillet with sauteed winter greens and cheddar and onion sauce which you can see in the top picture below, and which got rave reviews. I stuck to the sea for my main with blue warehau (a fish) served with celeriac puree, crispy silverbeet and lemon. We shared a bowl of crushed potatoes with rosemary and garlic on the side. The food was really lovely, and full of all sorts of flavours, the celeriac puree being a perfect complement to the fish. I had a glass of Nautilus Chardonnay with my fish and Karl a De La Terre Syrah.

As usual, we passed on dessert, but did have a ‘boozy spiced chocolate truffle’ with our coffees. You can see one has already been consumed below.

All in all, a lovely celebration and evening. A taxi home, and then a cosy evening with an old movie completed the day.

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