St Johns Bar and Restaurant sits at 5 Cable Street in Gracefield, Lower Hutt, and holds a 4.3 rating on Google. In a bar that also plates dinner, the kitchen matters as much as the taps: the ones that last cook to order, keep a short wine list worth reading and pour their beer lines clean. Around the Wellington region, a tap list heavy on local craft brewing is usually the sign of a bar that takes its drinks seriously. Regulars judge a place by its house pour and by how staff treat someone drinking alone — a greeting and an honest recommendation beat any chalkboard. It pays to check kitchen hours before setting out, because not every bar that serves dinner serves it all night. For a quiet pint or a proper sit-down meal, St Johns gives Gracefield a local of its own.