Level 1, 104 Cuba St,
Wellington Central
Wellington,
6011

04 3853890

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Devised and created by masterminds from The Matterhorn and The Pit, Mighty Mighty is the place Wellington’s coolest alternative folk go to party.

To make sure I got the most from my visit I recruited one of my hipper friends to accompany me – a good move because without her I may not have noticed that the vintage record sleeve on the bar housed the drinks menu. There’s a selection of great sounding house special cocktails for around $15, plus the classics, beers, wines and spirits, although my drinking partner expressed dismay that they don’t do something called a ‘Shut Up And Drink It’ anymore. They do, however, still do $5 toasted sandwiches – and judging by a glance around the room, they’re very popular.

The surroundings are a charming cornucopia of brightly coloured nik-naks. It’s a big room – one end devoted to the large, accessible bar, the other laid out with tables, a piano, a stage for live music and a leopard-print DJ console. At the bar end, there’s a retro pinball machine and if you look up, a whole load of band uniforms that look like something from the Sgt Peppers album sleeve. During my visit the background music was bouncy swing and jazz. It’s slightly kitsch, yes, but it’s also quite, quite lovely.

With glasses of Sav and Macs in hand, we commandeered a table near the stage (where a large spaceman dummy was being dismantled for some reason) and my friend told me about many a memorable night in the bar, and how its nickname varies from the Naughty Naughty to the Mighty Meaty – it gets quite riotous on Fridays and Saturdays and apparently “makes you want to chat up inappropriate people”. I didn’t quite get that urge myself, but it was only 7 o clock on a Thursday night, so perhaps next time.

Whether it inspires chat-up moments or not, the Mighty Mighty is super-friendly, great fun and just a fantastic place to spend some time. Like so many of the city’s hangouts, it’s not immediately obvious from outside (look for its colourful façade above Mr Bun) but it’s definitely worth seeking out. A mini adventure of some sort is almost guaranteed.