The Welsh Dragon Bar, known as "The People's Pub," has been a Wellington institution since 2004, serving good drinks, good food and good times from its home at 10a Cambridge Terrace in Te Aro. The pub features a sunny beer garden, function rooms for hire, live music every week, a regular pub quiz, and what it calls the best Sunday roast since your mum's.
The kitchen serves a menu celebrating the best of Welsh and British pub food combined with high-quality local ingredients, alongside beers, ciders and spirits sourced from Wales as well as other British, New Zealand and international drinks. The pub describes itself as welcoming to everyone, including dogs.
Beyond food and drink, The Welsh Dragon Bar runs a full calendar of weekly events, including a traditional unaccompanied singing session, Celtic Music Night, Pōneke Shanty Club sea shanty sing-alongs, and a Sunday pub quiz, alongside occasional special screenings such as major sporting events.
Tucked into Te Aro at 10a Cambridge Terrace, The Welsh Dragon Bar has been serving Wellington since 2004, earning the self-given but well-earned title of "The People's Pub." With a sunny beer garden, function rooms for hire, live music every week, and a reputation built on good drinks, good food and good times, it's become a genuine Wellington institution — and everyone, including the dog, is welcome.
The kitchen's approach is straightforward: celebrate the best of Welsh and British pub food using high-quality local ingredients. The Lamb Shank stands out as a particular point of pride — a slow-braised dish using wild kawakawa and Mount Victoria rosemary, served on mash with garden peas, and originally created as the pub's entry into Monteith's Wild Food Challenge. Other main meals lean into familiar pub comfort: a Steak & Chips built around Scotch fillet with peppercorn sauce and house-made compound butter, a straightforward Cheese Burger with a 150g smash patty, pickles, cheese, ketchup and mustard, and a vegetarian Halloumi Burger with beetroot relish, hummus and mesclun salad.
If there's one thing The Welsh Dragon Bar is most known for, it's the Sunday Roast, served every Sunday from 3pm to 7:30pm, with bookings highly recommended given its popularity. The Roast Beef option features slow-roasted beef topside from a local butcher, served with roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Vegetarian and vegan diners aren't an afterthought either — a Vegetarian Roast built around a nut and vegetable cutlet, and a full Vegan Roast with homemade cutlet, vegan Yorkshire puddings and vegan gravy, ensure the roast tradition extends to everyone at the table.
Beyond the kitchen, The Welsh Dragon Bar has made a point of scouring the hills and valleys of Wales to bring back the best beers, ciders and spirits the country has to offer, alongside a broader selection of British, New Zealand and international drinks.
What sets The Welsh Dragon Bar apart is its packed weekly calendar. A relaxed, traditional unaccompanied singing session gives regulars a chance to sit around a table with a pint and get into folk singing the old way. Celtic Music Night is a well-loved weekly traditional music session, open to anyone who wants to join in or simply enjoy the tunes with a drink. The Pōneke Shanty Club runs sea shanty sing-alongs open to all skill and experience levels, with music provided. And on Sundays, the pub's regular quiz night promises to "drag the answers out of you." Beyond the weekly lineup, the pub also hosts occasional special events, including screenings of major sporting fixtures.
For private events, The Welsh Dragon Bar offers spaces for hire, making it a workable option for group bookings, celebrations or gatherings beyond a standard night at the pub.
The pub's opening hours run late into the night: Monday and Tuesday from 5pm to 3am, Wednesday through Saturday from 4pm to 3am, and Sunday from 3pm to 3am. Located at 10a Cambridge Terrace in Te Aro, Wellington, The Welsh Dragon Bar can be reached by phone or email for bookings, function enquiries, or general questions.
For anyone in Wellington after a proper Sunday roast, a pint of something genuinely Welsh, or a night of live folk music and singing, The Welsh Dragon Bar has built two decades of goodwill as exactly the kind of pub its name promises — the people's pub.