Mystery bar number 5

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

Mystery bar number 4 turned out to be far too easy: it's Beau Monde in Tory St. Either you guys are very observant or you drink too much.

I'm hoping that this one will be a bit more of a challenge. It's down a corridor beside a restaurant, in a part of town that has a few cafés and the odd pub, but is certainly not a nightlife hub. The bar is in a covered courtyard that feels almost outside: the floor and back wall are brick, and the translucent ceiling is covered in creepers and fairy lights that dangle down to just above your heads. It's very close to being kitsch (there are putti winging their innocent way through the greenery) but the plants and decor have been around long enough for it to feel charming rather than contrived.

It's not a cocktail bar, but a wine bar with a small but tasty wine list and a couple of interesting digestifs. The food is Italian, with the usual pizza and pasta and a few original dishes (try the Fegato Modo Mio), and the theme was continued by Dino crooning away. We didn't try the desserts, which sounded appealing, though this is not a place to have your cake and eat it too. It was very quiet early on a Wednesday evening, though I imagine that on a summer's night the courtyard's appeal would be enough for it to hum along quite nicely.