101 Ghuznee St,
Wellington Central
Wellington,
6011

04 3848212

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During the ‘90s, the original Bodega – a tiny Te Aro bar – was at the heart of the city’s arts world, a vibrant hub of local music and poetry. Then the bypass happened and the building was demolished. Bodega’s name was resurrected in bigger premises on Ghuznee Street in 2001 and in late 2007 it gained new management. Recently, it has been re-focussed, with a full range of bar meals and Sunday roast sessions being introduced.

I wasn’t in Wellington to frequent the original Bodega, but walking into its current incarnation after work on a Friday brings mixed feelings. You’d expect such a place to be bustling with pre-weekend drinkers and diners. For some reason it wasn’t busy at all – even though I was with a large group of friends there was plenty of space for us all to sit together. Of course, that made it very comfortable, but lacking in atmosphere.

Bodega is not a cocktail bar but offers a decent regular selection of intoxicating beverages. I enjoyed a couple of very nice Jack Daniel’s and Cokes, served by a very friendly barman, and that menu did look enticing (from $10 pizzas to the top priced $22 Scotch Fillet steak).

A glance around revealed the décor to be rock-themed – a recreation of the Raymond Pettibon art from Sonic Youth’s Goo album adorned the wall by my table, while a gold disc for American rock band Filter hung incongruously nearby. Despite these touches, to me the place just felt too beige and middle-of-the-road to be a real scene hangout. It wasn’t helped during my visit by the standard Nature’s Best background music – disappointing in a bar that used to be/could be so happening.

At the back of the main room is the gig venue, where a band was setting up for their show later that night. It looks like a great place to enjoy live music and if I hadn’t had another engagement elsewhere I would have hung around to find out. But as a bar just for drinking in, Bodega needs to sort out its vibe – cueing up some cool sounds would be an easy place to start. Right now it’s ‘nice’ and it’s ‘warm’ but it’s not quite ‘where it’s at’, and given the place’s previous life, that seems a shame.