Coco at the Roxy

       
A Wel­ling­ton icon, lead­ing attrac­tion and sym­bol of the city’s proud his­tory of film, the Roxy Cinema can be found right in the heart of New Zealand’s film­mak­ing cap­it­al as well as in the hearts of its locals.

But it is not just a cinema, says Roxy event and mar­ket­ing man­ager Car­ole Tre­drea, “It is an experience.”

            After an extens­ive $6 mil­lion rebuild, the Roxy reopened its doors in 2011 to bring back the romance and magic of cinema to Wel­ling­ton, as well as provid­ing a social meet­ing place diverse enough to include both cas­u­al relax­ing space and world-class dining.

With authen­t­ic art deco design, incred­ible sculp­tures and beau­ti­ful art, the accol­ades soon fol­lowed, includ­ing a Gold Award at the New Zea­l­and Com­mer­cial Pro­jects Awards in 2013, and ‘Best Cinema in New Zea­l­and’ at the 68th Aus­trali­an Inter­na­tion­al Movie Convention.

Begin­ning life nearly 90 years ago as the Cap­it­ol Theatre, show­ing silent films and later con­vert­ing to ‘talk­ies’, the com­plex now offers two state-of-the-art, lux­ury cinemas and the sump­tu­ous Coco res­taur­ant, whose interi­or fea­tures were designed by the extraordin­ary team at Weta Work­shop. “With such unique, vin­tage-inspired sur­round­ings, Coco is a great din­ing des­tin­a­tion renowned for a social atmo­sphere and vibrant ser­vice,” says Carole.

Coco head chef Nic Spicer and his team present a menu that focuses on loc­al, sea­son­al ingredi­ents and spe­ci­al­it­ies aligned to the “won­der­ful” Wel­ling­ton weath­er, or even the most recent flick or old clas­sic. Their sig­na­ture tast­ing plate selec­tion, the Pen­in­su­lar Plat­ter, is a pop­u­lar option.

“Coco is a refresh­ing choice, provid­ing a slightly dif­fer­ent take on the Wel­ling­ton din­ing exper­i­ence,” says Nic. “The all-day menu, which is driv­en by an explor­a­tion of glob­al fla­vours, caters to the linger­ing con­ver­sa­tion­al­ist and the after-work filmgoer.”

Top baris­tas and exper­i­enced bar staff are on hand, so wheth­er you’re seek­ing the per­fect morn­ing cof­fee or an inspir­a­tion­al even­ing cock­tail cre­ation, the qual­ity is always second to none. Cof­fee and counter food are avail­able all day, with the kit­chen kick­ing into life at 11am for the Mat­in­ee Lunch menu until 4pm, fol­lowed by the Fea­tures Din­ner menu from 4pm to 9pm.

With such a nos­tal­gic past, coupled with its unique mod­ern-day refur­bish­ment, the Roxy is a Wel­ling­ton exper­i­ence not to be missed. A busy sched­ule of events and hap­pen­ings, the latest film offer­ings and fab­ulous din­ing at Coco keep Roxy life diverse and fun. So wheth­er you’re a loc­al or a vis­it­or to the cap­it­al, make sure the Roxy is on your cal­en­dar for a dose of real Wel­ling­ton his­tory and hospitality.