Fratelli has served Wellington from Blair Street since 2009, giving the Courtenay Quarter an Italian restaurant that feels established without fixing its cooking in the past. The dining room is relaxed and modern, and dinner service is supported by reservations and a fully licensed bar. Its guiding idea is fresh Italian food: traditional foundations are carried into a seasonal menu, then matched with an Italian wine list. Lunch can be arranged, but the restaurant's main rhythm belongs to evenings built around several courses and time at the table.
Antipasti set that pace with house flatbread, marinated olives, calamari in a gremolata crumb and saffron-mozzarella risotto balls over Sicilian orange and tomato salsa. Pizza then introduces the heat of the Izzo oven. A classic Margherita keeps tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella in clear view, while other pies turn to pork and fennel sausage, anchovy and caper, roasted potato with pancetta, or Calabrian nduja with hot peppers. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free adjustments make the pizza section unusually easy to share across different diets.
Fresh pasta and gnocchi are made in house, and the current dishes show why that matters. Pappardelle carries pork, beef and ricotta meatballs through Napoli sauce and stracciatella; squid-ink spaghetti gathers mussels, calamari, fish and chorizo. Potato gnocchi pairs gorgonzola sauce and braised beef cheek with beetroot, pear, fennel and walnuts, moving well beyond a plain cream sauce. Risotto takes porcini and field mushrooms as its base, then adds pan-seared venison and vin cotto, while cannelloni keeps a substantial vegetarian route open.
Dessert continues the Italian vocabulary through espresso-soaked tiramisu, affogato, filled cannoli and cassata layered with gelato and sponge. Panna cotta adds Campari and blood-orange sorbet, and a short selection of Italian cheeses offers a savoury finish instead. The kitchen identifies gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan adaptations throughout the savoury menu, so a group can plan more than one course without reducing anyone to a token option. Fratelli's strength lies in the progression: snacks, oven-fired pizza, house-made pasta and a proper dolce each have a distinct role.
Address: 15 Blair Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
Been to Fratelli? Be one of the first to rate it.
+ Log your visit
