Newtown Sports - Wellington

After walking the Red Rocks trail, we were ready for some eats. We decided to stop in Newtown and walked along the main street looking for a spot. Bebemos, a Latin inspired restaurant, looked good so we went in. We arrived for a late lunch/early dinner around 5:15pm) and the place was busy. Must be because of happy hour 3:00pm to 5:00pm, Monday to Thursday). Beers are $7.00/pint and sangria is $15.00/jug! The inside is super cool with flamingo and pineapple decor to lemur inspired wallpaper. Serious tropical/hipster vibes. The outside beer garden is huge and has a favela bar. There's 10 beers/ciders on tap. No flights but they do let you sample before committing to buy one. We tried the boysenberry sour and elderflower cider. Sadly, we didn't like either. There's a brunch and dinner menu. Dinner menu is broken into small plates, large plates, burgers and dessert. Service was friendly and food came out pretty quickly. Beer battered fries $8.50 NZD) rosemary and garlic fries with chili mayo. These were top notch. Perfectly battered and great crunchy texture. Chili mayo paired magically. Pan fried greens $9.00 NZD) green beans, broccolini and zucchini with crispy chickpeas and lemon. Good variety of veggies. Oddly, they kept all the vegetables long like the broccolini). Pretty simple but nice if you want to eat healthy. Moqueca de peixe $38.00 NZD pot for two) Bahian seafood stew of prawns, fish, mussels, red peppers, tomato, coriander, coconut milk and rice. You get 7 mussels and a couple prawns and fish. Not a whole lot of seafood for the price. The sauce needed a heavier hand with the seasoning. We weren't too impressed. The rice on its own was bland too. Seems to be a popular spot for after work drinks. I'd stick with the drinks and the small plates to share. 3.5 stars.

Cool atmosphere at night and chilled during the day for lunch. A tasty menu with a South American twist! A decent selection of beers and an outdoor area make Bebemos a potentially good place to start a night out or stay and enjoy the live music. I can recommend the fejoada (pork n beans) if you are hungry and want something hearty!