Review Hede Cafe & Bar - Wellington

The food is pretty much always good. The service leaves much to be desired. It's easy to wait for 10 minutes to have menus brought over or to have your order taken.

Amazing Japanese restaurant hidden away down Cuba St. Authentic Japanese food that tastes amazing and lots of options on the menu at a great value. It's also a BYO location but they do have a selection of their own drinks (alcoholic and non) as well. A place worth a try!

Nice Japanese atmosphere, like a small back street restaurant. Great food. If I had to not pick the service could be a little faster. But it actually makes you sit back and relax

I don't recommend coming here as a large group or while it's busy, but the $10 lunch special is well worth taking up. Actually though, the vegetarian option I had wasn't great.

The food is tasty and very good value. It's usually always busy and the food doesn't always make it from ordering to table (they forget you ordered stuff)

The food has always been excellent in the numerous times I have been here, however the service is still something to be desired. The cost of food comparied to how much you get is very generous.

Today I came here for dinner . I ordered the pork Gyoza and the Salmon Teriyaki set.The Salmon was Perfectly cooked and the pork Gyoza was very delicious. I Will surely come again! Yum

A pretty good eatery for Japanese food, and reasonably priced. Haven't been in about a year - we all know things change, right? :} ... so "caveat emptor".

Good lunch deals, the menu is very generic. There are no alternative healthy options either. Good for BYO group events.

Great food and service. Highly recommend, make sure you go for the special bbq salmon sushi!

Great food, and great service.

Tasty food. Pretty loud, friendly staff

Rediculously under staffed on a crazy busy night. waited over an hour for apetisers and when i asked about how long the wait time was, the waitress was just full on bitchy. I manage a cafe so I understand how stressful it would be but the menu is far too big for the number of chefs and i highly doubt that any of the food is fresh with a menu of this size (94 items). Wouldnt come back.

Food was good. But when we dined there there was a group of about 20 treating the place like a pub! They were so ridiculously loud we moved tables and still couldn't hear ourselves talk, or THINK. The surrounding tables were just as frustrated & annoyed. Staff never once told them to keep it down. Or requested them to not be so raucous. Avoid this place on a Friday or Saturday night as it tends to turn into a bar with its byo policy.. �.

We are always impressed with the delicious food here. There can be a bit of a wait on busy nights but once your food comes it's so worth the wait!

yum food pitty the entrance getting there is a bit shabby because is nice when you do get in . staff were good great night

Really great food and despite recent reviews our service was fine. Will go back again!

Nice place and nice service. Good price and good food! Worth trying!

Don't visit this place unless you are willing to wait an hour for your food. If not for the wait time, I would be going back as I really enjoyed the food.

Worst dining experience I've had in a long time. Hede was ok when I went there 2 years ago but it's completely gone to the dogs now. Went there with a group of friends on Saturday night and was surprised to see the place was not busy at all. Despite this, nobody came to our table to ask if we wanted to order anything until over an hour had passed, and after telling them three times that we were ready. It like the staff were on holiday, just hanging around, they just didn't seem to be doing anything and weren't interested in customers. They also spoke next to no English so we had no idea why the food was slow or why they had brought us the wrong thing- they just couldn't explain anything. The food came eventually, but one dish at a time every 15 minutes- one of our guests had to wait an hour for the one thing she ordered. Half of the dishes were not what we ordered and had to be sent back. The food itself was certainly not good enough to make up for the dreadful lack of service. The worst was yet to come- they tried overcharging us for $80 worth of things that we didn't order and argued with us about it, which was frustrating because they didn't understand what we were saying, and vice versa because they could only speak one word of English at a time.  It's an insult to diners and all the amazing restaurants in Wellington that actually make an effort. Very very bad experience and will never return.

The food is great but their customer service could be a lot better. It almost felt like a self service. They could also smile once in a while to make their customer feel welcome. 🤔

Deserves your time -- food was good and the waitress was kind. I see most of the reviews are complaining about the food quality/service time -- I couldn't disagree any more; albeit being quiet on the Tuesday evening I went. I Hede a good time.

Despite having read previous comments good or bad decided to give this BYO hot spot a try. But to my disappointment I most definitely will never be setting foot in here. Arrived at Hedes at 8pm didn't get serviced till 8:40pm and last of all the food didn't start coming until 10pm. This has got to be a joke service with poor kitchen management. Everyone's meals came at all different times, staff only three on and on off chatting to themselves. As for the food itself I could walk on over two streets down to ozeki pay half the price with 10 minute wait times for my food with equal if not in a busier environment. I have never been to a Japanese restaurant that is slow or having to feel like I was going to eat myself before the food came out whichever one came first. Highly would not recommend!

A really good place to take the kids. It can be quite noisy, but going earlier is perfect. Food is pretty good. :):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Service was poor from the get go. We ordered our meals at 8.45pm, and the first dish (a side of spring rolls) arrived at 10.15pm. From then onwards dishes came out in dribs and drabs - most of the meals were stone cold. A few of the meals were incorrect too. One of the main meals arrived at 11.10pm - well over two hours after ordering. <br/><br/>We went into the kitchen to assess what the hold up was, only to be greeted with horrifically unhygienic conditions. The two chiefs were not wearing gloves or hair nets. They were eating the food as they were cooking it. We even witnessed one of them drop some edamame beans on the floor, pick them up and place them right back on the plate. Disgusting. <br/><br/>Would not recommend.

I have dined at Hede a number of times. I think the value is terrific, and I couldn't really fault the food. The atmos is a bit odd, I do think this restaurant needs a little TLC and a refurb - the tables and chairs need a make over and the whole place could do with a major clean and fresh paint. I enjoyed the range of sushi we had, and the karaage chicken was very delicious and I order it every time I go. Very good curry sauce, tempura vegetables and perfect miso. The service is pleasant, not mind blowing - just getting the job done. They'd definitely struggle if they got a sudden rush as it's skeleton staffing. I like that it's BYO because I never go to restaurants that are BYO really so it's kind of fun to bring a bottle of  wine of your choice for a change. I liked the J-pop that was playing, it was frantic and fun. I definitely will continue to go because I know what to expect.

Horrible! One of the worst nights I've had in a while.... waitress tool 25 mins to offer drinks or menu. Food average and service atrocious. Another 45 mins to get spring rolls. I wanted to leave and wish I had! The kicker was the duty manager as we passed on feedback "it would have been good to know 45 min delay before coming in". Her face was surprised and said... "everyone had to wait". No, that's not a good response! <br/><br/>

Ok I have to admit my expectations of Japanese restaurants are pretty high as I have visited many and Japanese food is one of my favourites. This place is averagely OK- dishes were reasonable but lack WOW factors.

I always look out for the positives whenever I go out dinning. However i could find nothing good about this resturant. The first time my family and I went, we waited 2 hours for our entrees. We left hungry before our mains came (some other families did the same). The second time (we had to use up some vouchers before the expiry date), we waited an hour for entrees, only for a disgusting surprise. My partner bit into a slug that was present in the lettuce. Additionally the wait staff were very unhelpful, they did not understand the situation and the manager didnt come to speak with us when we asked for her.<br/>Never again.

I wish I could down vote hede into the negatives, but alas, a generous one will have to do. Apart from the 3 hour wait time and leaving without our mains, the "excellent" service and the well below sub par food; they had to insult my palate with a revolting slug found in our entree salad (which was served 1.5h after arrival btw).<br/>Money better spent at McD's or BK than on this ridiculous establishment they call a restaurant.<br/>

After reading all the reviews about this place, I was a bit concern what service we would get. We arrived at 5.30 pm for our booking. We were greeted by what seem like the owner and was pointed to our table. There were lots of people that night. We were given our water and we waited for our order to be taken. The first waiter did not arrive until 5.45 pm. We were waiting and waiting. A lady from another table walked to the counter and made her order directly to the waiter because she knew the waiter would not be coming. I followed after her and got a weak apology from the waiter. The second waiter did not arrive until close to 6 pm. <br/><br/>After the long wait for our order to be taken, I thought we would probably have to wait 30-60 minutes for our food. Thank goodness we didn’t wait that long. 15 minutes later our entrees arrived and when we finished these our mains arrived. <br/><br/>The food was reasonable, it was probably because we were hungry. Out of the four entrees that we ordered, the gyuusashi was the best. When I had this dish for the second time within the same week, it was not as good as the first time. The beef was not all evenly cooked and was a range of very rare to nearly completely cooked. It’s disappointing that Hede is not consistent in their meals. <br/><br/>Out of the four mains we ordered, the shake don was the best. The raw fish was fresh and very tasty. The fish complimented well with the rice. <br/><br/>By 6.30 pm the restaurant was packed and some tables still did not have their order taken. And for those that did, it seem like a long time before their food arrived. I’m very grateful that our food arrived promptly and felt really sorry for the customers who were waiting for orders and food. <br/><br/>When I ate there for the second time, the service was slightly better. Our orders were taken by the waiter and the food arrived quickly. The little let down on this occasion was the gyuusashi (noted above) and the waiter did not bring us the small plates to eat our shared entrees. <br/><br/>After the reviews about their service and experiencing it myself, I’m surprised that this place is so popular. When doors open for business, there should be full staff on board and be ready to serve customers. Waiting staff should not be arriving after the customers. This is not a good look for the restaurant.

Foods cold. Service very average and my partner almost finished her meal before I got mine.....after an hour of ordering. It was a quarter full of people not hard work but it was for them

Service was TERRIBLE! Booked a table for 10 during the week and we went in tonight and the booking had not been made and the staff just talked and kept looking at their book and coming and going. Would not even explain to us what had happened, we're not acomadating what so ever, and didn't say anything we stood there for 15 minutes staring at the rude staff before walking out. Will never go again - would not even rate it a 1.

The girl at the reception never smiles. Service is slow. However Food is good. Been there twice. They need to improve their customer service.

There are restaurants that surprise and amaze you. Hede is not one of those places. But it serves up average food at average prices. <br/><br/>To be fair, I have never left disappointed. I have always received a reasonably sized meal that tasted as I expected it too. <br/><br/>Tonight's serving was no different. I had the banquet B. That came with sushi, wontons, tempura, curry, chicken teppenyaki, rice, salad, and miso. I can honestly say that I am stuffed. <br/><br/>The sushi wasn't the freshest, the wontons covered in mayonnaise, and the curry slightly overcooked (the carrots were falling apart). <br/><br/>On the positive side, the chicken was tender and full of flavour. I ended up using the rice to soak up the sauce. It was a nice combination of sweet, salty, and sticky. I would order this on its own next time.<br/><br/>For the price Hede is value for money. Just don't expect Nobu quality or service. <br/><br/>

Very tasteless and bland food, quick service and was in the entertainment book. Unusual decor and not a great vibe from the place. Would not eat there again

I have been here one hour 15 mins and not even had my starter yet.....do not bother coming here.....ever! Place is a tip and slow is not the word....When the food did arrive I expected it to be delicious as I was starving.  No such luck, could of made better at home and the portions were so small I had more to eat when I got home!  A complete waste of time and please save yourself and do not go anywhere near this dump!

Nothing more I can say about this place except TERRIBLE.<br/><br/>Went inside the place and the wait staff was just appalling. The girl was very rude to us didn't even show us a table, she literally threw cutleries and menu on the table and not a single smile on her face. She wiped the table with excessive amount of cleaning product and the table didn't smell nice the whole night.<br/><br/>Food was okay. We ordered Aji Furai and Prawn Gyoza for entre, and salmon teriyaki and Chicken Tonkatsu for main. There were too much mayonnaise on entre that made the salad not edible. The salmon was little and the sauce overpowered my little salmon.<br/><br/>Trying to find something nice about this place but there is none. Will not recommend it to anyone.

delicious and decent sized portions, value for money. very fresh fish. service leaves a bit to be desired but food quality is excellent. recommended.

This place has gone seriously downhill. I used to come here quite a bit and was really looking forward to going back after about two years. The service here is not far from appalling. We actually had to go up to the counter, after a 30 minute wait, to ask them to come and take our order. Once we ordered, the entrees didn't take too long to come out. I enjoyed my prawn gyoza and my friends enjoyed their entrees too. We were a party of five and one of my friend's main came out about ten minutes before the rest. For main I ordered a chicken teriyaki and sashimi set. I did enjoy my meal. I've definitely had better sashimi but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It's salmon sashimi... who am I trying to kid? The food was all fresh and tasty. It was a very busy Saturday night and the place was crowded, but that's no excuse, they need more staff. I won't be back again in a rush.

I first went to hede with a friend and was surprised at how long it took for the food to come out as there were only two other people in the restaurant. I tried really hard to like the food but to be honest it didnt taste as nice as other japanese places in wellington. sorry. i went back another time and the food had not changed at all. Im sorry but the food is below average to me.

First time I had been to Hede and it was terrible. The food was luke warm as well as the udon noodles. We arrived at 12:30 and ordered around 12:35 and didnt get our food until 1.40pm! The service was terrible. We got a small discount at the till, but with only one waitress, there needs to be more people serving so that it doesnt take so long to get our food. I wouldn't recommend and will not be going again.

We arrived at 8.30pm and didn't eat until 10.30 - staff did not inform us that there would be such a long wait on food. <br/>The food is overpriced for what it is - noodles are greasy, the set menu options are nice - but I have had a lot better for the same price elsewhere (~$25).<br/><br/>In fairness to the staff, they were polite and apologetic about our experience and eventually offered us half price on our meals. However, I spoke to people from several other tables who had all waited an hour plus for food so it sounds like waiting is a common experience here.

The food is alright but over the years the service has remained hilariously bad. From the entrees and Mains all arriving at the same time, needing to practically grab a staff member by the arm to get their attention, and the complete lack of any feeling of being welcome, it's not a first choice.

Shocking service, didn't even get asked if we wanted to see a drinks menu, food was just edible not authentic at all had better from my local take away, table was cleared before we had finished courses, and waitress didn't even explain what was being delivered to our table

Went with a couple of others. Ordered set menus. Teriyaki Chicken sickly sweet  and almost like eating sugar. Tempura had the consistency of fish and chips (hardly a light crispy batter) however the sashimi was good. This is really fake Japanese food for Kiwis who don't know much better. To top it off the lady on the till had one of the most unpleasant scowls I have had to endure in a while. Maybe she should learn a little bit about customer service.

Went here for dinner. Menu was not that fancy but it was easy to find something pleasing. I had one of the sets, although it was a bit pricey , the food was very nice! The service was really slow and the place was quite cramped. Customer service was not the best as I tried to wave over a waitress and she looked at me then looked away.

Service a little slow as there are not many staff working here but definitely great Japanese food! Best Karaage chicken in Welly!!! Very good place for lunch as it is half the price for the same sized portion... <br/><br/>Despite the slow service I am still a regular :)

I hadn't eaten at Hede Restaurant for a few years, so thought we would try it out again. The food was good as it usually always is, though my iced lemon tea (which I used to love having here) tasted like it had been sitting in the fridge for weeks. it was a quiet Wednesday night when we visited with only a few tables occupied, so the usual bustling atmosphere was lacking, making the very tired decor, cramped sticky tables and wobbly chairs much more obvious. The toilets were disgusting. The service was very average, considering how quiet it was. <br/>I left feeling disappointed, I think we expect a lot more from our restaurants in terms of atmosphere and enjoyable surroundings these days and Hede has obviously not put any effort into this at all over the last 10+ years. There are definitely much nicer places to eat in terms of having an overall enjoyable experience, not just good food.

I visited on Saturday night and the restaurant was super busy. We booked in advance but had to wait for 3 mins before having a table (fair enough). Although there were a lot of customers, they still remembered us and we didn't have to wait too long for the food. The food was quite good, all four of us agreed so. We had a great time there where everyone sang happy birthday for a girl's birthday at another table (we didn't know her obviously). I was full and satisfied after finishing my dish. My only concern was the price, it's not really cheap but rather moderate and I didn't know where the queue to stand was when paying.

Bad experience here, the only saving grace was the food which was average at best.<br/><br/>It started with a booking for 19 that was lost entirely, and while they did do their absolute best to accommodate us it just never recovered.<br/><br/>Nearly an hour after we were seated before we had our order taken, without even being asked if we wanted any drinks. Then when they started bringing out food we had peoples mains coming out while entrees where being brought to the table. The way the food was brought to us was also haphazard with some people getting food, then another table of different people getting food before the rest of our group got their's leaving gaps of 10 minutes for the first set of people to either eat or leaving food to go cold. Hardly making for a social eating experience.<br/><br/>The food itself was rather average as compared to any other Japanese restaurant i have been to in the last year or so, nothing terrible but not exactly special either. While i can recommend the Unagi Don, I wouldn't bother with the teppenyaki chicken, there are many other places that do it far better at a much better price (Arashi I'm thinking of you)<br/><br/>The wine and beer list too, if you could call it a list, was so short it was not funny, only 3 Japanese beers at a Japanese restaurant? Not sure what is up with that.<br/><br/>Over all, if you go, expect average food, below average alcohol selection (it is BYO so maybe take your own) and double check the booking to check that they have you down as coming in

I have been to Hede a few times over the years and have enjoyed my meals there on all occasions. The only thing I would say needs changing would be the chairs and the crampness of it all. On one visit it was a bit hard having a lovely birthday dinner with my partner when you are surrounded by three table rows of groups who are all loud. I have been there with a group so I know how annoying it can be for smaller groups of diners.<br/><br/>Besides that Food is great and we will definitely will be back soon.

Well ... just wanted to say we had a lovely time there last night.<br/><br/>First time we had visited and will certainly come back.<br/><br/>We brought friends from the UK who eat fish, no meat. The menus are very cool - wooden &amp; were already laid out on the tables when we arrived.<br/><br/>Our lovely friendly waitress asked what our preferences were &amp; then made good recommendations. No problem with our friends not eating meat - the waitress brought out sushi &amp; sashimi combinations with fish and veges only. Beautifully presented food.<br/><br/>I did have menu envy when hubby had miso soup served with his terriyaki chicken which included rice and vege dishes too. Tempura prawns fantastic as well. I had raw fish, Yummy!<br/><br/>Enjoy.

I've been to Hede many times over the past years and have always been happy with the food, its tasty and we leave empty plates. I find the seats very uncomfortable, and the service can be hit or miss.<br/><br/>The set menus are good. If you are after good Japanese food at a good price, but can happily sit in wooden seats - this is good.

My partner and I visited Hede in June 2012, and then again in January 2013. Both times we received excellent service, our meals arrived quickly, and tasted brilliant.<br/>The wait staff were courteous and friendly, and made us feel very welcome. The food arrived a lot faster than I expected, and looked amazing and tasted even better.<br/>We both love Hede and would happily recommend to friends and family, as well as return again!

Well, this place has changed heaps.<br/>I was terrified to come here, especially with a huge group, but it was much better than the previous reviews.<br/><br/>Apart from the TERRIBLE squished layout, VERY unstable seating, and having to get our own menus, the food didn't take long to come out, and it was DELICIOUS. Everything came out at relatively the same time too.<br/><br/>I had the teriyaki salmon which was cooked to perfection. The dressing on the salad was yum. And being BYO, was just a bonus for a big group.<br/><br/>Was a very good experience apart from the very little space waitresses had to get between tables, and people were constantly being knocked in the back by other customers. <br/><br/>We visited on a busy night and things seemed to be running rather smoothly. <br/><br/>Well done new management, things are looking up!

Seated ok with menus.<br/>Waited 40 minutes before being asked about drinks and food<br/>Spoke to one person about getting some service but she did not speak good English and then she disappeared off down the stairs<br/>Food was good but service was horrible.<br/>May have changed hands but not a good experience<br/><br/>On the 'not to back to' list.

A group of 12 went in. <br/>It took 1 hour to be served and a further 1 hour for our meals to arrive. We were asked to get off our table just before we were served and move to a much smaller one because the guy running the place had other customers that he could fit in. <br/>He was not friendly at all, in fact we were treated more like were a pain in his a$$ then anything!<br/>Meals were average, I guess because the service was so rubbish and the length of time it took for us to be served made the whole experience is one that I will NEVER go back to! If you want to pay for crap service, this is the place to go.

As per everyone else's review, the food is incredible! Seriously, so scrumptious. Wow. But that's where the good stuff ends. If 'going out' to dine was simply about the food, then this would be a 5 star review. But eating out is just as much about the 'experience' as it is about the food.<br/><br/>We made a booking earlier in the day for 7.15pm. When we arrived, we were told to come back in 15 minutes. It was freezing Wellington night, so we kept ourselves warm in a Fix convenience store since there was no room to wait in their establishment.<br/><br/>We returned 20 minutes later - just to be sure - and were pointed to a window table. The restaurant was still very full and bustling, but guests were starting to leave (there were tables with big groups and well as smaller groups). We waited half an hour to be given menus and water, while the staff concentrated on clearing tables and processing the paying customers. It got to the point, after about 20 minutes, that we kept looking around to try and get their attention but were still ignored.<br/><br/>Finally, after all the staff had cleared roughly 5 or 6 tables, they asked us "what are you waiting for, did you just here?". Not so impressed. They brought over a menu and water for us. Then we ordered appetisers + mains - they came out 15 minutes apart which was good timing.<br/><br/>The food was incredible, and very good portion size (Chicken + Japanese Mayo, Tempura Prawns, Teriyaki Chicken, Teppanyaki Beef). We couldn't finish it all. As soon as we were done eating what we could, all the staff were sitting around at the tables with their jackets on, and using their phones. Obviously they wanted us to leave. They kept staring at us. And big bowls of food was being brought out to one of the group tables where they were sitting - so obviously they were about to have staff dinner, and wanted us to leave.<br/><br/>So we did. Full (and with the leftovers in tow) and satisfied by the food, but very bemused by the non-existence of any customer service whatsoever.

After reading other reviews I was a bit apprehensive about coming here. Although we had booked a table for 7pm, we did have to wait for other diners to leave before we could get a table.<br/><br/>Pretty standard menu. Nothing overly adventurous. Appetisers were served at the same time as the mains which was a little strange. Service was ok. We were brought refills for our water. The wait staff were friendly enough. Toilets weren't great, but they did have soap. I'm not a fan of the cheap wooden disposable chopsticks. Would have expected decent ones at a dine in restaurant. <br/><br/>Hede is in the gold section of the entertainment book. Would not say it is of gold standard, but if you want decent food at a reasonable price, I'd say give Hede a go. Good for BYO nights.

Went to Hede two nights ago with some friends who were visiting, had been there a few years ago and our usual was all booked out. Made a reservation restaurant was packed full when we arrived, waited a while to be seated. Ordered pretty quickly felt rushed. Place was boiling hot not a single window open was or the front door to let fresh air in. As you can imagine the single water bottle went around six people quickly and wasn't replaced. Food was quick to come out but it was a struggle to get through the meal environment was very uncomfortable. I got the teriyaki chicken meal at $20 thought it was quite over priced for what I received very bland the chicken was very fatty and chewy, another had chicken sushi and thought it was low quality and chewy as well. The gyoza were nice though. When it finally began to quiet down they opened the windows and door which made it really cold. Staff were unfriendly and seemed like an effort to serve us. When asked for side plates they never arrived and we ended up having to get up and get our own. Couldn't wait to get out of there, when it came to paying we were charged for a one extra meal and corkage they were rude and argumentative when we tried to explain they were wrong. I was very hesitant to pay did not enjoy the experience and will never return do not recommend it we will stay with our regular at Ozeki on Tory Street where the service is good and consistent, the food is great and not over priced.

A group of us had dinner at Hede recently before going to a show. Let's start with the positives: the food tasted pretty good. We had salmon and white fish sushi to begin, which was nice. The chicken katsu was very good and we also enjoyed the beef teppanyaki. Service was average - nothing to brag about but very basic with lots of reaching over the table to deliver/clear plates. The environment is very tired and 13 of us were squashed around a table suitable for 8 (10 with a push). The toilets are absolutely foul: filthy and no hot water or soap available in either the men's or staff toilets, making us more than a little concerned about the food we had all just eaten. Strangely enough, we could not find their health certificate/rating displayed and the duty manager notice (handwritten on a piece of refil paper) was hidden behind a movable screen.

Went for dinner this evening and restaurant was packed. We expected that so booked as we had a group of 8 and didn't want to miss out. Service was excellent, and food was tasty and arrived in a timely fashion. A range of entrees were ordered - most popular being the yummy gyoza dumplings, and for the mains we all ordered the set menus - again most of us ordering the same dish this time being teriyaki salmon set which comes with miso, rice and salad. The place was buzzing and everyone enjoying themselves. Another good night out at Hede.

A month back we were going to a concert and wanted something quick and easy to eat beforehand. We decided to give Hede Restaurant a try but after reading all the mixed reviews we were not sure what to expect. Well we were not disappointed, instead pleasantly surprised. The Teriyaki chicken was fresh and delicious. The boys who do not like Japanese food, ordered the raw fish and devoured every bit with comments on how tasty and delicious it was. The service was excellent, polite and quick. We mentioned we had a concert to get to and they had the food on our table within 15mins, this included entrees. Will definitely be back.

I had the most terrible experience last week at Hede. the manager was so rude. He didn't give us seats right until we ask. Me and two of my good friends waited for 10 minutes just to get our order and the staff ignored us. They chat a lot and our meal were 25minutes late.<br/>I am very disappointed with their service and I will never go there again! I went to Hede a year ago and everything was great. Hede used to be a popular place to dine in the weekend and sure you will get good food, good price and good service. But now, a horrible place to go. <br/>I noticed they lower the price(set meal used to be at least $20 and now they make each noodle/donburi $10 each)<br/>I guess the reason why they have to make it cheaper is that the bad qualities of the restaurant scare the customers away.<br/>And at last, when I went to the cashier, the manager looked very angry and just chuck the receipt without asking me. That is worst service I have ever received. <br/>I can only wish Hede good luck...

A pretty horrible experience.. I don't reckon they like serving people.. the waitress seemed like they'd rather stand by the counter and talk amongst themselves than serve us.<br/><br/>Ordered Curry Soba and for $17, I'm thankful I was hungry. Meal arrived as ramen (like the instant noodles) and when I asked them, they insisted that was Soba and that was what they served. They shouldn't advertise it and write it in their menus if it isn't actually what it is :/ Curry soup was literally soup with a dusting of curry powder. They were very generous with their vegetables though! hmm.. <br/><br/>Last time I went there (about a year ago) service was equally terrible and the tuna tataki I ordered that was supposed to be seared came out completely cooked :/<br/><br/>sigh.. don't bother, i don't think it's run by actual Japanese.

We have been going to Hede for years &amp; enjoyed ourselves, the food has always been good, this helped us to ignore the amazingly loud, cramped space &amp; somewhat rude &amp; disinterested staff. However, after dining there this evening we will NEVER return, the 'manager' was the most disguisting, rude, customer hating person I have ever met in the service industry. An absolute a-hole that had no respect whatsoever for his customers, we were treated appallingly &amp; were shocked &amp; stunned that someone like this was employed to represent Hede. Never never never again. Oh &amp; no paper towels in the toilets &amp; we were served up cold meat.....awful!!<br/>Rating 0 stars.

Excellent service and even better food. This has to be some of the best value Japanese cuisine in Wellington. Came with a large family of seven and were quickly seated and served. Hede provides the high level of service expected from any Japanese business. Recommended.

Do not even consider Hede Wellington!!<br/>I went with a group and while the food was average at its best, the service from the staff was Appalling!! They rushed us through our meal and then charged us corkage even though this site says it has no corkage, then they had the audacity to speak rudely about us in their language infront of us (one of our group can speak their language). They charge corkage per person even if you have people who do not drink. Stupid! The guys are particularly rude and obnoxious one of them was a Stanley. These people have no business running a customer focussed business. They need to go to wagga mama's and learn what customer service is all about. You should be ashamed of your establishment Hede Wellington! You're not even worth a corner of a star, but heres a full star for pity sake!

The food is average, it is a bit overpriced for its quality. I went with a group of 6 and we struggled to hear each other as it is quite loud and noisy. There wasn't much room to move and we felt trapped in our seats at the table. The BYO aspect was tricky, those who didn't even bring wine still had to pay corkage! There are better Japanese places in Wellington.

Good fun, you go for the whole experience, it has a great atmosphere, tasty affordable meals. Go to the toilet before you leave as you won't want to use their ones and don't expect any cheerful staff. Great for byo groups and birthdays.

The food is really good here but it can get very loud and difficult to hear anyone.<br/><br/>The seating can be a bit uncomfortable too if you have a large group too. <br/><br/>They are always busy and very popular.

I've been here many times as the food is delicious, affordable and quick. It's a relaxed, casual environment. it is great for groups but if it's just the two of us we get there early around 5.45/6pm as it gets really noisy and cramped when there are lots of groups. i will keep going back.

Delicious food at affordable prices. This place isn't one to go to if you're after quality dining, much more casual and that's what you're paying for. Don't be alarmed when the waiters won't pour your wine or if you have noisy groups around you, as this is all part of the atmosphere at Hede, and one of the reasons people keep going back!

Had trouble booking this place. They initially let us make a booking, then changed their minds and said that we had to order the banquet meal since we were a large group. Upon ringing back I recieved an answerphone and was never called back. Since we had both vegetarians and poor students in our group, and we were unable to discuss our problems with the banquet meal with the staff who were not answering their phone, we had to change our booking. We were very disappointed about this as the food we have eaten there in the past was delicious (especially the sashimi.)

Their Japanese meals were lovely and their service was great!!<br/><br/>But the whole dining experience that night was spoilt by the state of their extremely dirty loo!!

very good food for the price you pay.

I have heard a lot of good things about this place so I decided to go there. I booked for 7pm, got there at 655pm, they asked me to wait since it wasnt 7pm yet. I waited and got the table at 745pm! What a joke!!! I was so pissed off, bad BAD service. But I must say, the food was DELICIOUS. I'll go back again, and if I have to wait for 45mins again, I wont be back.

I love this place, great atmosphere. Awesome food, good range of Japanese beverages.

Cheap and cheeful. Well presented food. Gets crowded so pays to book.