Review The Black Sparrow - Wellington

I didn’t realise this place is actually the ticket counter for the movies! So as we enjoyed our cocktails we also enjoyed that popcorn smell.

Always great. Good cocktails, well curated drinks list, lovely decor.

Surprisingly cozy venue with simple but nice selection of food and wine and cocktails.

Straight out of a Bond film. A seriously gorgeous place for drinking cocktails, shaken or stirred!

Excellent place to wait for the movies to start.

Really cool but a long walk to the loo made more difficult after a few drinks

Great quiet bar where it's super easy to have conversations

Always a delight. Love the decor

A great quiet warm place for a chat.

Shaken not stirred

A bit of sophistication

Love it

Great spot!!

Amazing cocktails

Fab night of Jazz, excellent service, nibbles platter & very willing to make cocktails that weren't on the menu. Great night!

Fantastic ambience, style, music, and furnishings. Only thing The Black Sparrow could do better is provide more NZ ciders :)

Called in for a coffee whilst on holiday, what a little gem of a place. Lovely atmosphere, friendly staff and great coffee!

A moody intriguing space with great food and drink options. Excellent staff.

Lovely, classy place, with excellent service and amazing coctail menu

I got the impression the bar staff were more interested in hanging out with each other than doing their jobs. It's visually a nice bar but the staff weren't friendly, instead they talked to each other while serving customers and didn't bother to greet anybody on arrival. Aside from that, the menu is pretty average and any ambiance was tainted by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers album playing.

What a fab little hideaway tucked down the back of the Embassy theatre. Great for a quiet drink, tapas before a movie, or a date. Slightly dark and mysterious. Good wine selection. Service could've been better, but we think there was a mini crisis happening when we approached the counter to be served.

30/7/15: Nz film festival. Sandwiched between a brilliant tale of lesbian love and bondage, and an obscure Danish film involving a girl's dream of desert and Viggo whatshisname, we had half an hour for dinner. Given that black sparrow is three metres from our theatre seats it seemed like a logical choice.<br/><br/>We had a glass of red and ordered the fish tacos and squid. <br/><br/>The staff were great (in contrast to the other reviews here which are somewhat dated and my own memory of the place a couple of years back). And even better they asked us to take our theatre seats and would bring the food to us. <br/><br/>We felt slightly spoilt - a strange feeling eating anything but popcorn and Jaffas in a movie! The tacos were good and the squid well cooked with a nice spicy-hot coating of crumbs accompanied by a creamy dip. <br/><br/>The wine - an Argentinian Malbec - was ok but I liked how you could order a glass in two degrees of fill. Either the regulation stingey or filled up generous - the price of the difference I thought was minimal. I get irritated with places that simply moisten the bottom of the glass, which of course requires buying a refill within minutes. If you're taking it into the movie, you don't want it finished by the end of the intro credits. So the generous option is a great idea.<br/><br/>I've often wondered whether I'd go here if I wasn't going to a movie. I usually decide no but I suspect that's purely psychological. The snacks are good, theres a sufficiency of cocktails, and although the wine list isn't encyclopaedic it's ok. Perhaps it's the rather exposed feel to the tables (which are too low) - But generally the atmosphere is pleasant, warm and cosy. Perhaps it's simply that movie theatres are no longer considered to be associated with sophistication and this rubs off onto the bar. It may also be that parking is a slight deterrent. I must confess I didn't even know it had a name apart from "the bar at the embassy" before doing this review.<br/><br/>It must also be hard on staff and staffing having a boom and bust service tailored to movie timetables. Certainly there is often a queue when I go but of course every other movie goer is turning up at the same time. Better to go early I guess.<br/><br/>Overall this is an ok bar, the staff are nice, efficient and friendly, cocktails/wine list is ok and the food is good. Pre-movie it's an obvious place to go. I'd like to give it 3.75, but I'll give it 4 because its present, very low, average rating isn't justified I think.

Went there last sunday and ordred selection of tapas. Very expensive fries when they come out cold and tasteles..<br/>Our plates of food arrived and we were offered nothing to eat the food off. No side plates or serviettes. Then we were left with our plates on the table. The place was empty and we had the smallest table to share from and nobody was interested in clearing our plates away.<br/>Wouldnt return on this expereince.

I would have to agree with Sally M. Very slow at making cocktails and then when you ask why it is taking so long you are then treated with complete contempt. Whilst the surroundings are very pleasant it is completely ruined by the staff.

Fabulous atmosphere, staff were very friendly but left us alone too. I had arrived early and was waiting - they didn't come and check every 2mins if I wanted something. <br/>Drinks and nibbles were good - will definately go back.

Have been here twice and both times was treated with distain by the staff, and had to wait for them to finish conversations with their friends before getting service. Really disappointed with the service I had hope that my cocktail would make up for the service but it didn't deliver.