126 Cuba St,
Te Aro
Wellington,


04 801 9950

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With its shady doorway on Cuba Mall and it's blind stairway down into the bowels of the city, Good Luck is one of those bars where you don't know what will greet you until you're already inside. That can be off-putting for some, but this place is definitely worth the gamble.

I stopped by on a wet weeknight and found it a welcome retreat. It's small – the bar squeezes in between a compact seating/tables area and a dinky dancefloor/stage. It's dark too, much of it lit by cute candles inside teapots. But as such it has a real opulent, escapist vibe – styled as it is on the old Chinese opium dens of the 1930s.

Good Luck's menu is fascinating – as well as beers, wines and spirits, they have a range of sakes at $10-$15 per glass, Japanese food to keep you fuelled up for more drinking, and various champagnes (up to $360 for a bottle if you’re showing off). But the place is best known for its elaborate and innovative cocktails, and that’s what I came to try out.

I have a devilishly sweet tooth, so I couldn't resist the Good Luck Creme Brulee ($15) – a blend of brandy, amaretto, homemade caramel syrup and condensed milk. It may be a little sugary for some. Not for me. The menu also features a range of $8 Tuesday/Wednesday specials, so if you're on a budget, a midweek blowout is the way to go.

Like so many of Wellington’s best bars, Good Luck varies its vibe from night to night – sometimes it’s just a relaxed place to drink, sometimes there’s live music, while on Fridays and Saturdays it transforms into a super-cool (if tiny) nightclub, with its diminutive dancefloor soundtracked by local soul, funk, jazz and techno DJs.

Unless you suffer from severe claustrophobia, Good Luck is a treasure trove – a secret grotto filled with intoxicating goodies for both casual drinkers and cocktail partygoers. Be warned, it would be easy to lose a whole night in there, but you’ll do it in style.