Oh the Reviews...

The International Lonely Planet Travel Guide '08

"The best pub in Welly is a meandering, mishmash of many excelent things: brilliant beer garden, live jazz, NZ wines, Wobbly Boot and Tuatara on tap*, Aretha wailing on the sound system, Knitting club nights (!), pool table, retro booths, kids running amuck and hip staff. Hard to beat." 

*Bugger, these aren't on tap any more but we have plenty of bottles and empty glasses just begging to be filled!

"Welcome to the Institution"  Nick Churchouse  Dominion Post May '08

The Cross is an institution. Seriously, this is a bar that defines what bars should do. It is not a club, it is not a lounge bar, it is not a pub, it is not a café (though it does do that on the side reasonably well). It is The Cross.

The Abel Smith St boozer has been around for eons; I remember drinking half-price cocktails there as a 19-year-old (about one eon ago). Most people have had a beer there, and have a story to tell about the Southern Cross.

It has been jazzed up in recent years, moving on from the smoky, pokie workingman’s hangout it once was, and has been decorated. Fortunately, this does not detract from it delivering as a
Wellington hospitality icon.

With the best garden bar in the city, The Cross comes into its own in summer. But a serious attempt has been made to make the garden bar weatherproof, with covered booths, heaters and canopies, and it is well used in any conditions.

The refurbishment has turned this place into more of a come-one, come-all type of venue than it has ever been.

There are leather sofas, leaners, bar stools, tables, window seats, a pool table, an outdoor bar, a private room, fireplaces, a dance floor – it has a nook for everyone and every occasion. There are quirky chandeliers, as well as retro furniture, colourful wallpaper and flowers in vases. The toilets are clean, with big mirrors.

Every corner of the extensive premises is comfortable and cosy – this has been thought through carefully.

The wine list is exclusively
New Zealand and ranges from $30-$60 for most bottles, and $7-$10 by the glass. Tap beers are varied, with $7 for a Montieth’s pint. Giant glass pitchers are $20-$30.

The food is good, and a full menu is supplemented by the outdoor barbeque chef who pops up from time to time. The is not a top-shelf bar, so the $12 cocktails are going to be just that, and you’ll be hard pressed to get anything with particular finesse from the laidback staff.

That said, they know they are there to look after patrons, and clearly enjoy doing so.

The entertainment is varied and extensive, and it pays to check out the website, because management tries to cater for everyone, which is one of the few downsides of the Cross. Another is that it gets frustratingly busy.

You cannot please all the people all the time, but The Cross comes close. There is an old-school Spacies machine and it is free. I rest my case.  

Nick Churchouse.  Dominion Post 31st May '08

NA, Guide Magazine - March 2007

The Southern Cross has been rebranded, redesigned, all-but-relocated; forget what you think you used to know...for this is now a restaurant. Sure, there’s still a bar out the back. But this is a place to dine, offering a taste of Kiwi...the atmosphere of the Southern Cross is great. It's a busy place with a real bustle but each dining station feels private and relaxed; you can glance across and see waiters working away, other diners engaged in their own pre-weekend debriefs and plenty of sizzling stones being served to pique culinary curiosity."

NA, Guide Magazine - March 2007

*Images are not those included in the actual article!