Street eats: Crepes a Go-Go

File under: dining, urbanism, Wellington

I've mentioned the smallest shop and smallest bar in the city, and this place must be a front runner for smallest permanent food vendor. It's only a metre or so wide, and has a street frontage that has to swing open to let the staff inside. It first opened as a place that sold pizza (proper Italian thin-based pizza a taglio) by the slice, with an attendant street cart that used to trundle off down Courtenay Place to deliver carbo-laden goodness to the drunk and hungry. It seemed like a great idea, but the business went downhill almost as quickly than its founder.

It's now Crêpes a Go-Go, which may not seem like an authentically French name, but the owner (Sandrine Urvois) is certainly French, and the results are authentically delicious. Not all of the staff have quite mastered the batter-swirling action which can make crêpe-buying a spectator sport, but I can't quibble with the results, especially the apple syrup and the traditional sugar and lemon (though the ham and cheese is gooily delicious, too). By putting out a couple of tables with some chairs and bar stools, this hole-in-the-wall vendor also helps bring a bit of unpretentious continental sophistication to the yoof-culture mecca of Manners Mall.

Other Street Eats: Tony Chestnut, Satay Kingdom.