Nolita is a plant-based pizzeria and pastaria at 203 Cuba Street in Te Aro, Wellington. It has a 4.5 rating from 1,084 Google reviews. Its website calls it New Zealand's first plant-based pizza and pasta restaurant, with sourdough fermented for 48 hours, house-made cashew mozzarella, pasta and flatbreads. It opens from 10am on weekends and runs late, and has a brunch menu, aperitivo and bookings for functions. Reviewers mention the vegan food and plant-based menu, a gluten-free dough, the cosy room and a truffle burger. The site asks diners to mention allergies.
Good Italian cooking depends on a few things done well: dough that has had time to ferment, a sauce that tastes of tomato, and pasta cooked to a firm bite. Pizza and pasta are best eaten straight from the kitchen, so eat in rather than take away if you can. Italian menus often work as a sequence of starter, main and dessert, and sharing a pizza or two between a group lets you taste more. Plant-based kitchens rely on fermented cheeses and herbs for flavour, so it is worth asking what is in a dish if you have allergies.
For a plant-based Italian meal on Cuba Street, Nolita is a lively pick.