Wellington · city guide

Best Chinese Restaurants in Wellington 2026

Wellington's Chinese food scene runs from traditional Cantonese yum cha and late-night roast meats to chilli-heavy Sichuan bowls and build-your-own malatang.

Chinese dish at Majestic Cuisine in Wellington

11B Courtenay Place, Te Aro

Majestic Cuisine

CantoneseYum chaPeking duck
Google4.3 · 680+ reviews
Tripadvisor4.2 · 141 reviews
Good forYum cha & family-style meals

Majestic Cuisine is a long-running Cantonese restaurant on Courtenay Place, with yum cha served daily and a broad dinner menu built for sharing. Steamed prawn dumplings, siu mai, roast duck and Peking duck sit alongside larger seafood, beef and vegetable dishes, making it equally suited to a quick dim sum lunch or a full family meal.

What to look for

  • Har gow and siu mai at yum cha
  • Peking duck
  • Roast duck
  • Traditional Cantonese sharing dishes
Interior of KC Cafe and Takeaway in Wellington

39A Courtenay Place, Te Aro

KC Cafe & Takeaway

CantoneseHong Kong-styleLate night
Google4.5 · 1,726 reviews
Menu160+ dishes
Good forRoast meats, claypots & classics

KC Cafe is one of Wellington's great late-night Chinese institutions. Roast duck and crispy roast pork hang behind the counter, while the huge menu covers everything from chilli chicken and Sichuan fish to black-bean beef, fried rice, noodles and claypot dishes. Portions are generous and the room is casual, busy and unfussy.

What to look for

  • Roast duck noodle soup
  • Crispy roast pork on rice
  • Salted fish, pork mince and eggplant claypot
  • House-made KC tofu and deep-fried squid
Spicy Chinese malatang at Kungfu Malatang in Wellington

37 Courtenay Place, Te Aro

Kungfu Malatang & Cheers Tea

SichuanMalatangHot & numbing
Google4.7 · 218 reviews
StyleMalatang, maocai & hot pot
Good forCustomisable spicy bowls

Kungfu Malatang specialises in the spicy, numbing end of Chinese comfort food. Malatang and maocai are the centre of the menu, with pork-bone, tomato and golden pumpkin broths alongside hot-and-numbing dry pot. There are also handmade dumplings, hot-and-sour sweet potato noodles, mapo tofu and spicy crayfish.

What to look for

  • Malatang in pork-bone or tomato broth
  • Hot-and-numbing dry pot
  • Hot-and-sour sweet potato noodles
  • Spicy crayfish and handmade dumplings

Restaurant details last checked September 2026.

Chinese food in Wellington

Yum cha, late-night Cantonese and a growing taste for Sichuan spice.

Much of Wellington's Chinese dining is concentrated around Te Aro and Courtenay Place, where long-running Cantonese restaurants sit alongside newer noodle, dumpling and hot-pot specialists. Yum cha remains an important part of the local scene, while late-night cafes and takeaway counters keep roast meats, claypots and noodle dishes going well into the evening.

There is no Auckland-style public letter grade for food businesses in Wellington. Restaurants operate within New Zealand's national registration and verification system, with council verification used for businesses on template food control plans.

How we choose: The Noodle Guide considers public reputation, review depth, official food-safety information and what is distinctive about the food. Restaurants cannot pay to qualify for inclusion.

More New Zealand restaurants

Keep exploring.

Explore Auckland and Christchurch, or see Chinese restaurants recognised by national and regional guides across New Zealand.

Explore AucklandChristchurch →National guide →