Pickle & Pie translates the abundance of a New York delicatessen into an airy Wellington cafe at the edge of Lombard Lane. Tim and Mia Tracey opened it in 2017 after searching for the kind of hearty sandwich shop they had enjoyed overseas. Pale banquettes, timber details and shelves of preserves keep the room bright, while the menu grounds the concept in house craft rather than decorative nostalgia.
Pastrami is the deli's defining ingredient: smoked in house, carved generously and layered into the Reuben with sauerkraut, Russian dressing and cheese on caraway rye. Lox, bagels, matzo ball soup and crisp caraway latkes draw on the same New York and Jewish deli vocabulary. House pickles bring acidity and crunch to those richer foods, appearing inside sandwiches, beside savoury pies and even next to a toasted cheese scone.
The wider daytime menu makes room for Wellington cafe habits without losing that identity. Pancakes arrive with white chocolate, brown butter, berries and maple, while mushrooms on toast and beef kransky with poached eggs and latkes provide two very different brunch options. Deli fries are loaded with pastrami ends, gravy, cheese sauce and pickles. Handmade savoury pies can become a full lunch with mash, fries or salad rather than remaining a quick cabinet snack.
The word pie carries two meanings here. New Zealand-style meat and vegetable pies answer the local expectation, while rotating American-style sweet pies might involve apple, lemon meringue, lime and coconut or a more elaborate weekly creation. Jars of bread-and-butter pickles, chutneys, smoked salt and other preserves let diners carry part of the deli home. That mix of substantial sandwiches, breakfast, baking and pantry goods makes Pickle & Pie feel like a complete neighbourhood food shop as well as a cafe.
Address: 2 Lombard Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
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