Vegan restaurant serving veggie Asian food. Open Mon-Sat 12:00pm-9:00pm.
Category: Vegan, Asian, Malaysian
![Photo of Aunty Mena's by <a href="/members/profile/CLRtraveller">CLRtraveller</a> <br/>Laksa bowl with [?] <br/> December 17, 2014 - <a href='/contact/abuse/image/3540/88177'>Report</a>](https://d32d43o6swa2lo.cloudfront.net/venue_images/35/40/hcmp3540_88177_s3.jpeg)
Vegan restaurant serving veggie Asian food. Open Mon-Sat 12:00pm-9:00pm.
Category: Vegan, Asian, Malaysian
Reviews (53)
First Review by ampallang
Contributions +17
Nice restaurant - Edit
We order some rice and a soup, both were really spicy but sooooo tasty.
Contributions +130
A must visit - Edit
Every time I visit Wellington I go here and they never disappoint.
The menu is extensive bit sticks to what they know: tasty Malay food.
Pros: vegan
Cons: I don't live nearby
Contributions +46
yummy & affordable - Edit
went here twice and the food was great. the soups, entrees and we had the lamb curry and chicken chow mee i think it was called. tasty mock meats! although the mock fish didnt taste anything like fish
Contributions +26
Sweet - Edit
Bon asiatique restaurant totalement vegan. Très bon. Je ne dirais pas non plus que c'est incroyablement bon. Mais ca va. Les sauces sont bonnes mais il manque quand meme un petit quelque chose.
L'ambiance est plutôt tranquille. Les serveurs très aimable aussi.
Pros: friendly staff
Cons: none
Contributions +16
Spectacular - Edit
Vibrant Chinese/Malaysian restaurant. We started with amazing vegan drumsticks as entrees, followed by a wholesome chicken laksa and a filling Nasi Goreng (which was honestly more like a special fried rice, but still delicious). Well priced. The waiters were adorable.
Contributions +16
the hype is true! - Edit
I've read great reviews about this place in every vegan group I'm joined in. Aunty Mena lived up to my expectation and more!
Contributions +1185
just ok - Edit
I had great expectations about this place, but I was disappointed. Staff not particularly friendly, the place itself not very well maintained. Food was ok, but nothing remarkable. I had better vegan food in non-vegan (only vegan-friendly) restaurants in New Zealand.
Contributions +33
I wish Mena was my aunty! - Edit
I really enjoyed my laksa at this restaurant. Tofu, fried veggie balls, veggies in a coconut soup. Tasty and filling. Will go back next time I am in Wellington.
Contributions +22
Mmmm Yummm - Edit
Have been meaning to try out this place for a while now, Had the Roti canai which was delicious and reminded me of my travels through Malaysia. Definitely will be back next time I'm in Wellington!
Pros: Delicious Food , Good prices
Contributions +14
Truly Delicious - Edit
Had been hearing so many good things i decided i better check it out myself.. And i wasn't disappointed! Desperately craving something substantial in my stomach before an exam i headed down to Aunty Mena's and ordered the curry. So glad i did!
Will definitely be heading back.
Updated from previous review on 2016-11-03
Pros: Delicious food, Good value
Contributions +54
Disappointed - Edit
I was excited to try this place, which is one of only a couple of entirely vegan restaurants in Wellington and has had lots of excellent reviews here. We shared two starters (satay and a soup) and two mains (a tofu dish and a laksa). I enjoyed the satay but everything else was rather bland and flavourless. It felt as if the chefs simply removed the meat and fish from traditional Chinese and Malaysian recipes, without putting much thought into how to make them 'work' as vegan dishes.
I also wasn't a fan of the atmosphere. It is a nice spot for people-watching but we sat right next to the fridge, which the servers accessed frequently during our meal.
Pros: Large menu
Cons: Food lacks flavour, Busy atmosphere
Contributions +59
WOW - Edit
The vegan fish curry was beyond magic!
Thank you :))
Contributions +20
Food amazing, service variable - Edit
I've been to Aunty Mena's quite a few times since it is just down the road from me. The food is great and good value, and it's a great vibe, but sometimes my meals have been entirely forgotten, causing service to be unnecessarily slow. But still love this place
Contributions +28
There's more than Laksa! - Edit
I must admit that i stuck the the laksa the first 3 visits I had as it was extremely tasty..
It seems very popular, but I can also now vouch for the curry noodles, and definitely the roti dish with potato/tofu curry.
So 2 more recommendations if you're worried about trying something new thinking it won't beat the laksa!
Pros: full of flavour, plenty of options, meat eaters love this place too
Contributions +487
Yummy Laksa! - Edit
Laksa is divine, especially the veggie balls in it. My partner took fried rice, which was okay, but there was frozen veggies in it, which made it little bland.
Contributions +62
Good Asian food, lovely staff - Edit
Lovely very friendly staff! Good food, everything is vegan. Good options too.
Pros: friendly staff
Contributions +241
Simple, respectable Asian fare - Edit
I was in Wellington in December last year and ate here three times, so can give a good 'averaged' rating.
There's no pretence as to appearances - just the basics. The food is similar, prepared in the small open kitchen to the front left of the restaurant (if you're looking out onto Cuba St).
As such, its focus is on providing inexpensive, freshly prepared food, which it does a good job of. I didn't find it that inspiring, but it was decent, low priced food. Oh, and it's the only vegan place in town, which is in its favour.
The first time i visited i had Nasi Goreng, which was ok, but nothing to write home about - it had a slightly off centre taste.
I switched to Nasi Campur next time, which was a step up. At Aunty Mena's this was basically curried vegetables and i think tofu slices served with steamed rice and some cashews. Sounds simple, but i enjoyed it and it was filling.
The place can be busy at times, other times quieter. One time they were hard up for space and i was asked to share a table with some other people. If you're into people watching, this is a good place to do it when it's busy, providing you have an appropriate position.
Updated from previous review on Tuesday January 19, 2016
Pros: vegan, reasonably priced, can people watch when busy
Contributions +27
Good value - Edit
Really good value for money and huge variety of vegan dishes on the menu.
The staff are really nice here and it is one of my favourite places to go out for dinner.
Pros: Value, Large range
Contributions +242
Spicy Malaysian vegan menu - Edit
We went there for dinner early on a Monday night and just managed to secure the last table. by the time we left there were customers waiting and others resorting to takeaways. I had the Tom yum with dumplings - very spicy be warned, but suited my taste for Asian flavours. Husband had the laksa. Both highly recommended. We started with a shared satay - good crunchy peanut sauce. A huge menu, plenty of choices. The dessert was a highlight - sago with rich coconut cream and a thick topping of hula Malacca - treacle like concoction made with palm sugar.
Pros: Large choice of Malaysian themes food, Nearly all vegan , Quick efficient service
Cons: None really, but can get full
Contributions +78
very tasty - Edit
Great food, lots of vegan options to choose from and fast service. Not a fancy place at all but calm and friendly.
Contributions +45
Worst experience ever! - Edit
My travel mate & I went there after a four hours ferry crossing from the Southern island to the Northern one. No need to mention we were starving!
Firstly, we were refused a seat in the crowded restaurant because only a four seats table was available. A couple of ladies were seated there right after we came in!
When asked about the dishes, the staff was unable to explain what's in it. Gluten BBQ will remain a mystery for us. I had Nasi Goreng and my friend had a "chicken" curry. Both were tasteless with overcooked greens in the curry. Even steamed rice was of poor quality.
With tons of other veg options available in the street and surroundings, we better had to avoid this one!
Pros: 100% veg
Cons: Service, Cooking, Food
Contributions +16
Nice! - Edit
The service is friendly, and the roti is pure perfection..!
Contributions +32
Vegan and delicious - Edit
I stop by whenever I'm in town, mainly for the wontons, but the "chicken" laksa is amazing, as are a lot of the dishes. A dining experience I'm always happy to travel for.
Pros: Vegan, Low priced, Delicious
Cons: Does not accept credit card, Not a classy establishment
Contributions +770
Vegan fast food - Edit
Located in the vibrant Cuba Street in downtown Wellington this restaurant provides a huge range of vegans meals, many of whom are based on Malaysian kitchen.
Also the menu is really big, many dishes are similar to each other, just with small varieties. Moreover, practically everything is fried or deep-fried, maybe except the soups. The cooking therefore is quite simple most of the times, a bunch of noodles or rice, some prepared vegetables out of containers, thereto some deep-fried tofu or mock meat, all of that dipped with some sauce, which mainly contributes to the taste, ready.
On balance a rather inexpensive fast food restaurant which provides somewhat healthy food without claiming any higher culinary art. Nothing wrong to get a rather quick bite there from time to time but keep in mind that it most certainly will be covered in cheap oil and do not expect any exquisite treat.
Nonetheless, the food was fair and the staff was friendly.
One more thing: If you are sensitive to hot food, better ask beforehand, because that's indicated insufficiently on the menu.
Pros: it's vegan!, friendly, inexpensive
Cons: simple kitchen, all fried or deep-fried, not very pleasing venue
Contributions +902
A treasure in the centre of Wellington - Edit
Delicious, steaming hot bowl of wonton laksa soup with carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, etc., for NZ$12.50. Fast and pleasant service. Deliciously flavoured homemade vegan food. The second time I visited, it was a not-busy Saturday mid-afternoon, and I saw the couple hand-making wontons. They let me take their picture. Such a treasured eatery. I would be a regular, if I lived here.
Pros: fast, polite, pleasant service, homemade food, tasty, filling meals
Contributions +186
delicious food but hectic atmosphere - Edit
I just moved to Wellington and since I finally have some more money to go out and eat I decided to try this one vegan place over here
First of all I must say that pretty much everything on the menu is tofu based and can not be served without it which is very sad. I went with the fried dumplings instead and they were really good and not all too expensive (8.50)
Apart from that the waitress was always running. It was not that extremely busy and she wasn't on her own but she just ran all the time which made the whole experience very hectic and made me feel quite uncomfortable
All in all the staff was very nice though and the food was good ☺️
Pros: good food, reasonable priced
Cons: almost everything is tofu based, no changes to the menu
Contributions +98
An oasis in a vegan desert - Edit
Aunty Mena's is billed as a "vegetarian and vegan" restaurant, but apparently all the food is vegan. It's a large menu, which is good because we had to make several visits while in Wellington, owing to the dearth of vegan food in the area. Aunty Mena was really friendly, and let us know about her son's veg restaurant for the next time we're in Brisbane. The staff in general are nice. The food is pretty good, on par with most Asian vegan restaurants of its kind (with mock meats). I think Wellington, being such a large city and with a bit of an alt edge, should have more veg*n restaurants, but if Aunty Mena's is going to be pretty much the only one in town, it's not a tragedy.
Pros: Good food, Very nice staff, Central location
Cons: A little pricey
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