The Genghis Khan Restaurant on Majoribanks Street in Mount Victoria has been serving Mongolian BBQ in Wellington for years, built around a simple, hands-on idea: you build your own bowl and the chef cooks it fresh in front of you.
Diners fill a bowl from the food display cabinet, choosing noodles and vegetables, then their meat of choice from beef, lamb, chicken or pork, before finishing with a selection of sauces and spices. The bowl is handed to the chef, who cooks it on a gas-fired barbeque in about a minute while you watch. The waitress then brings the bowl back to your table along with freshly made Shao Ping bread rolls, which are especially good filled with barbeque food straight off the grill.
It runs on an all-you-can-eat policy, so diners are encouraged to return to the counter as many times as they like, building new bowls and trying different combinations of meat, sauce and spice. Staff recommend trying a little of everything, starting with chilli oil before working up to chilli powder.
The restaurant caters for big groups and has clear policies around large bookings, including a minimum food charge and a deposit requirement for bookings over 20 people, making it a popular choice for group nights out in Wellington.
Tucked away on Majoribanks Street in Mount Victoria, The Genghis Khan has built a loyal following as Wellington's go-to spot for Mongolian BBQ. It isn't a sit-and-order restaurant in the usual sense — it's an experience, built around choice, fire and a bit of theatre at the grill.
The format is simple once you've done it once. Diners help themselves to a bowl from the food display cabinet, then choose noodles and vegetables to start. From there it's a matter of picking your meat — beef, lamb, chicken or pork — before moving on to the sauces and spices that turn a bowl of raw ingredients into a proper meal.
Once the bowl is built, it goes to the chef, who cooks everything together on a gas-fired barbeque in about a minute, right in front of diners. It's part of the appeal — watching your own meal come together at speed before carrying it back to the table. Not long after, a waitress brings out freshly made Shao Ping bread rolls, baked by the chef that same morning. They're especially good torn open and filled with barbeque straight off the grill.
Because it runs on an all-you-can-eat basis, there's no need to get everything right on the first bowl. The restaurant encourages diners to go back as many times as they like, experimenting with different combinations of meat, vegetables and sauce each round. Staff suggest easing into the spice — a little chilli oil before graduating to chilli powder — so first-timers can find their own tolerance without overdoing it.
During busier periods, especially on a Friday or Saturday night, it pays to go up in smaller numbers rather than everyone queuing at once, letting the counter keep moving.
The Genghis Khan is a popular choice for group dinners, birthdays and get-togethers, and it has clear policies in place to make big bookings work smoothly. Whoever organises the booking is asked to confirm final numbers on the day, and there's a $15 charge per empty seat if a table has four or more no-shows on a busy night. Anyone not eating the barbecue is asked to cover a $15 minimum food charge — the restaurant doesn't allow guests to bring their own wine without also ordering food. For bookings over 20 people, a deposit is required to secure the table.
The kitchen is upfront about what to avoid for coeliac diners: the noodles, soy sauce and mix sauce are the main things to steer clear of, but everything else on offer should be fine. Diners with a stronger intolerance can hand their bowl to staff and ask for it to be cooked separately inside, avoiding any cross-contamination. The chicken and corn soup, made with corn flour, is another safe option.
The Genghis Khan is closed Mondays and open Tuesday to Saturday from 5.30pm to 10.30pm, with slightly earlier hours on Sunday from 5pm to 9.30pm. Bookings are recommended, particularly for weekend nights or larger groups — call ahead on (04) 384 3592 to reserve a table.