Cuisine: Asian, Fusion, Share Plates
Price Point: Mains from $15 - $30
Ranked: #4 of 66 restaurants
in Wellington
Vibrant, sophisticated and smoking hot, QT Museum’s restaurant serves up an Asian-inspired menu that’s low on fuss and big on flavour.
Hot Sauce’s menu is perfect for grazing, and sharing with friends. Think delicious share plates like banana leaf wrapped fish of the day, lamb ribs and burnt coconut and mushroom curry. Grab a selection of bao buns and dumplings or tasty skewers loaded with grilled vegetables, free range satay chicken and beef sirloin. From tea smoked duck baos to beef tataki, Hot Sauce offers traditional Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean and Thai flavours with a contemporary twist.
This sleek restaurant and cocktail bar oozes urban chic. Go for the mouth-watering food and stick around for cutting-edge cocktails, tight tunes and an electric vibe.
Reviews
Jessica Salter - dined at Hot Sauce on 5 March 2020
This was my first time at Hot Sauce and if it wasn't for First Table, I would likely have not found it which would have been a big loss for me because it's awesome! The restaurant is gorgeously lit and arranged, the service is friendly and excellent, the food is delish. I would highly recommend the popcorn chicken and a Garden Geisha cocktail! Super nom nom!
Renee Sharp - dined at Hot Sauce on 4 March 2020
Our first impression is the place has a good ambiance and the staff worked well maintaining cleanliness of the restaurant. We've enjoyed the food and really liked the pop corn chicken and the squid. We'll try the other dishes next time around.
Rina Calangian - dined at Hot Sauce on 6 February 2020
We snuck in for the 5:30pm reservation and had a blast from when first we entered. We were promptly greeted by a well mannered member of staff and shown to our table.
Our waiter offered us the usual range of water, and we settled on still. The food menu had change a little since our last visit so we decided to try a bunch of new items, all of which were top quality in taste and texture. We had a hard time decided which meal to leave to last as we couldn’t decide on which was our favourite!
The music was also notable bopping, which made for a great atmosphere to dine to.
We recommend hot sauce to anyone who has not tried it before. If you’re stuck on what to pick, go for the popcorn chicken or the crispy squid asa side/started. The servings are more than generous and each mouthful is just as good as the last :)
Ben Means - dined at Hot Sauce on 3 February 2020
We had a great experience at Hot Sauce. It was our first time there and it was fantastic, The menu is great with something for everyone, we had a vegetarian with us. The service was great and the setting is really lovely too. We will be back and we would recommend to anyone who wants casual dining but high quality food and service, excellent.
Debbie Webb - dined at Hot Sauce on 22 January 2020
Hot sauce is amazing! The decor is funky and moody and the staff are all friendly. I thoroughly enjoyed the food, would recommend!
Dominique Joy - dined at Hot Sauce on 15 January 2020
Fabulous flavors. Had a few little shared meals between us. Loved the satay chicken skewers & the lamb rendang. Every dish is a twist on what you expect. Good creative cooking.
Paul Saunders - dined at Hot Sauce on 15 January 2020
We had big expectations going in and we weren’t disappointed. The crispy squid is a must have, as is the soft shell crab. The bao are well flavoured and moreish. The kitchen forgot to serve up some of our dishes, but the waitress was onto it, new as she was, and her service was outstanding. Definitely try the cocktails, these are fabulous and really get your brain analysing and your mouth salivating at their complexity. We definitely will be back!
Karen Thomson - dined at Hot Sauce on 8 December 2019
Ambience is great. Very oriental interior design. Comfy seats and spacious. Food was perfect. We ordered soft shell crabs, pork skewers, beef cheeks, coconut cream rice, and creme brulee--- all 10/10. In the end I could barely walk cos im so full. Service was impeccable- fast and the one who served us is soft sapoken bit she knows what she's doing, good knowledge of menu. They even made me a mocktail which is so good too. Price is just right for what they serve. Will definitely come back and eat more!
Marie Gonzales - dined at Hot Sauce on 26 November 2019
Amazing service and the food was incredible! Everything we had was exceptional. Defo be back again.
Sharon Campbell - dined at Hot Sauce on 8 October 2019
Tasty, full of flavour, excellent setting, extremely helpful waiter, dim lighting and a relaxed vibe-what more could you ask for! A group of our friends dined here on a Thursday evening and it was great! The food was delicious, definitely recommend the Chicken and Beef Baos and also the popcorn chicken was yuuuumyy! Skewers were chewy and juicy-also a good pick! Wasn't too big on the Crab although if your a seafood lover you may enjoy it! Overall a great place and a great vibe with excellent food and service :-)
Rosemary Brunt - dined at Hot Sauce on 12 September 2019
My friend and I were looking for something a little different for our catch up session, and I was excited to see Hot Sauce on First Table having dined there before. Hot Sauce's serves excellent Asian fusion food that is delicious, but light enough that it still feels relatively healthy. We even treated ourselves to dessert! Their pork belly bao and popcorn chicken were highlights. When we have our catch ups we often just sit after our meals just chatting for ages, but we didn't feel rushed as we sometimes do at other restaurants. Staff were very friendly, and checked on us just enough so we still felt looked after even though we were left to chat. Duty manager was also very enthusiastic when we said how much we'd enjoyed our meal.
Jennifer Brown - dined at Hot Sauce on 21 May 2019
We had a wonderful experience at Hot Sauce. Upon arrival, we were shown to our table immediately and we ordered the edamame beans and duck spring rolls, which were incredibly tasty. We also ordered drinks - the Garden Geisha cocktail was a delicious gin based drink that was well presented. We then ordered the pork baos (again, these were amazing) followed by the Asian greens, beef cheeks shared plate and the coconut curry. All in all we had a great experience. The service was excellent and the food could not be faulted. We left extremely full and very satisfied. This restaurant was an excellent find, thanks to First Table, and one we would definitely recommend.
Amy Greenstock - dined at Hot Sauce on 22 July 2019
This was our first time dining at Hot Sauce and what a wonderful experience we had. The restaurant was lovely and open which meant that although they were super busy it wasn't overly noisy. Our waitress and the other wait staff were extremely friendly and helpful, but not too pushy. And the food, it was delicious! I love being able to share and try different dishes and I was not disappointed. I am both gluten and lactose intolerant and was really impressed by the number of allergy friendly options on the menu. We will definitely be returning again, 5 stars from us.
Sarah Robertson - dined at Hot Sauce on 28 March 2019
I took my partner here to celebrate his birthday. We ordered 4 cocktails as it was still happy hour when we got there, yay! For food we had the Charred Bak Kwa pork jerky, Kombu cured tuna, Akaroa Salmon, soft shell crabs and the Shanghai pork pot stickers. Most of them recommended by Zack, the manager who was serving us. They were divine... our faves being the Kombu cured tuna and Shanghai pork pot stickers. We also want to say that the cocktails also complimented the food very nicely. Our two favourites were the Dragon ball and the Peach cocktail. Zack, had excellent service, he was friendly, attentive, professional and went above and beyond to service our needs. We felt such at ease and very well looked after. I'd say we are both some what discerning eaters, we like our food to be simple yet have strong quality flavors, and the ingredients to be fresh. We would 150% come back for more and bring our friends and family too! Thanks for a delightful night!
Ly Nguyen - dined at Hot Sauce on 4 August 2018
We shared several dishes and they were all delicious, were full but ordered dessert anyway and did not regret it! Drinks and service were fantastic as well. Will definitely be back.
Rebecca Oliver - dined at Hot Sauce on 9 July 2018
Will definitely be returning to Hot Sauce! Pork Belly skewers--best thing I've had in ages, super tender, wonderful flavour. Chicken skewers--good, but not as memorable. Prawn dumplings--another must order. Kombu Tuna--small but flavourful. Lamb ribs--fatty but delicious. Dessert (pana cotta and fruit salad--not as great as the main dishes, but light and refreshing, if that's what you're after. Overall, great food, attentive staff and relaxed atmosphere make this a winner!
Bree Graczyk - dined at Hot Sauce on 3 June 2018
Great atmosphere and great service! Food was lovely!
Bruce Morrell - dined at Hot Sauce on 22 May 2018
What an amazing food experience. Everything we had was delicious. Plates great for sharing. Staff were very attentive and friendly. Would highly recommend, I know I will definitely be returning.
Lisa Cummack - dined at Hot Sauce on 2 May 2018
Wow, was not expecting the food to be so great but was pleasantly surprised! Every single dish we had was amazing - that says a lot as I'm usually quite picky. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and even the teenagers gave the thumbs up! Will definitely come back again very soon.
Jenny Cross - dined at Hot Sauce on 1 May 2018
A tantalising menu, which made our mouths water. Immediately my partner spied duck baos and crispy squid. We complemented thsee choices with some beef tataki, pork pot stickers and a larger plate of soft shell crab. We thought we'd go for as many animals as possible!
The presentations beautiful and the taste, even better. Definitely one of our stand out Asian restaurants (and trust me, we've been to a few!). We finished off with the larger plate of popcorn chicken, which tipped us a little over the edge of fullness, but they were gently crispy and not too greasy.
The cocktails were also divine, with a good range.
The ambiance in the restaurant is cosy, red lights, bao steamers and lucky cats everywhere. Most dining is done on high tables - not a problem for us but worth others knowing. Thanks for a great evening Hot Sauce!
Sarah Bennett - dined at Hot Sauce on 15 April 2018
We had a great 'last supper' - the day before NZ was locked down. The staff were friendly and efficient and the meal was just wait we were after. Lots of variation in the menu and all delivered quickly. Chicken skewers were a highlight!
Bridgit Hawkins - dined at Hot Sauce on 22 March 2020
Excellent service and the food is AMAZING!
Zoe Udy - dined at Hot Sauce on 19 March 2020
Do not be fooled by the doors they are not locked, the wind just makes it seem like they are! We got there and were seated straight away by the lovely waitress. Because of everything that is currently going on we registered on the guest form and were given sanitiser wipes. After our order was placed our food came out so quick and it was delicious, we ordered the calamari, pork belly bao buns and the pork and prawn wontons and everything was so tasty and we were so full. Will definitely be going back as everything was perfect, from the food to the service to the environment!
Krysana Chhiba - dined at Hot Sauce on 21 March 2020
Really enjoyed our experience! My partner and I were visiting Wellington for our anniversary. We loved the sharing platters, especially the pork belly skewers and the house special cocktail was yum! Service was great as well
Alana Hall - dined at Hot Sauce on 11 March 2020
The staff were fantastic and the food was great
Janet Green - dined at Hot Sauce on 15 March 2020
Really nice place, I would come back for a night out here,
Shazia Bilal - dined at Hot Sauce on 11 March 2020
Fantastic food and very attentive service. Will definitely go there again and recommend it to anyone who asks!
Joyce Lindsay - dined at Hot Sauce on 5 March 2020
The restaurant atmosphere was really nice and we were greeted and seated straight away.
We ordered 5 dishes from different sections of the menu to share and it was delicious! The serving sizes were what we expected or bigger (especially the crispy squid) and the waiter was happy to answer our questions about the menu. The Braised Pork Belly Baos were by far my favourite.
There was a nice range of cocktails which made it very hard to choose. I would definitely recommend the Garden Geisha!
Overall an awesome experience for our first time using First Table and I intend to take my parents to this restaurant when they next visit Wellington.
Jessica Salter - dined at Hot Sauce on 5 March 2020
This was my first time at Hot Sauce and if it wasn't for First Table, I would likely have not found it which would have been a big loss for me because it's awesome! The restaurant is gorgeously lit and arranged, the service is friendly and excellent, the food is delish. I would highly recommend the popcorn chicken and a Garden Geisha cocktail! Super nom nom!
Renee Sharp - dined at Hot Sauce on 4 March 2020
Overall it was an OK night. Food was pretty good to start with, dessert were a bit of a let down( we ordered all three desserts from the menu), especially the mango sticky rice ball, the rice was undercooked, it's almost inedible. Pork belly skewers are the best! Moist and delicious! The duck baobun were very dry, we had to ask for some chilli sauce to go with it.
Joyce Wong - dined at Hot Sauce on 4 March 2020
Tasty food and great service, was a fabulous way to try out a new restaurant!
Steph van Diggele - dined at Hot Sauce on 1 March 2020
The restaurant had an excellent atmosphere, the service was fantastic and the food matched. The pork belly skewers and duck spring rolls were amazingly prepared and the wait time for all the food was without delay. Will definitely be returning for another meal in the future.
Alex Ratuszny - dined at Hot Sauce on 1 March 2020
Hot Sauce is my husband and I's favourite restaurant in Wellington. It was where he took me after he proposed and I have been raving about this place ever since. Amazing food (the popcorn chicken is to die for) and the staff are always very friendly. I am always finding an excuse to come back here :)
Amelia Soares - dined at Hot Sauce on 2 March 2020
Food was lovely and the restaurant has a great vibe. Would recommend :)
Tessa Bradley - dined at Hot Sauce on 26 February 2020
Asian fusion is my favourite.
We had Beef tataki, cured tuna, market fish, beef cheeks and popcorn chicken.
Overall very bland food. No herbs used (as said on the menu on market fish).
Great presentation and ambiance but the food wasn't worth it.
Linda Azizova - dined at Hot Sauce on 17 February 2020
Great experience, the staff were attentive and very knowledgeable of the menu and ingredients. It's a great venue for a small gathering and date night. We ordered a couple of starters and two mains. The stand out was the pork baos, perfectly flavoursome pork with crunchy crackling. The wontons were bland, only a mild chilli vinegar to spice up the plate but it needed some salty element. The mains were average - we had the green chicken curry which had a decent spice kick but the chicken pieces were quite bigger than expected (and still on the bone). The other main was beefcheeks which were cooked perfectly and had a great flavour, but it didn't hit the asian twist I was hoping for.
Overall I would definitely visit again for drinks and snacks, but perhaps not a full meal. Service was spectacular regardless!
Melissa Liao - dined at Hot Sauce on 16 February 2020
Really nice food, lovely staff, nice environment. Wish there was a few more vegetable side options
Nicole Groombridge - dined at Hot Sauce on 13 February 2020
Beautiful, moody decor. Food absolutely superb, friendly and attentive service. Would definitely return.
Nick Swan - dined at Hot Sauce on 9 February 2020
Our first impression is the place has a good ambiance and the staff worked well maintaining cleanliness of the restaurant. We've enjoyed the food and really liked the pop corn chicken and the squid. We'll try the other dishes next time around.
Rina Calangian - dined at Hot Sauce on 6 February 2020
The popcorn chicken was really tasty. Service was good . Thanks
Robynne Stevens - dined at Hot Sauce on 5 February 2020
We snuck in for the 5:30pm reservation and had a blast from when first we entered. We were promptly greeted by a well mannered member of staff and shown to our table.
Our waiter offered us the usual range of water, and we settled on still. The food menu had change a little since our last visit so we decided to try a bunch of new items, all of which were top quality in taste and texture. We had a hard time decided which meal to leave to last as we couldn’t decide on which was our favourite!
The music was also notable bopping, which made for a great atmosphere to dine to.
We recommend hot sauce to anyone who has not tried it before. If you’re stuck on what to pick, go for the popcorn chicken or the crispy squid asa side/started. The servings are more than generous and each mouthful is just as good as the last :)
Ben Means - dined at Hot Sauce on 3 February 2020
Yummy food, fast service, portion sizes are quite large (we ordered slow cooker lamb and popcorn chicken) between the two of us and I still had some to take home.
Grace Goris - dined at Hot Sauce on 22 January 2020
We had a great experience at Hot Sauce. It was our first time there and it was fantastic, The menu is great with something for everyone, we had a vegetarian with us. The service was great and the setting is really lovely too. We will be back and we would recommend to anyone who wants casual dining but high quality food and service, excellent.
Debbie Webb - dined at Hot Sauce on 22 January 2020
We went to Hot sauce- OMG what 'hot'
Jacqueline Barnes - dined at Hot Sauce on 19 January 2020
Delicious as always
Deb Jessop - dined at Hot Sauce on 16 January 2020
Great value, quick service.
Rachel Drayton - dined at Hot Sauce on 15 January 2020
Hot sauce is amazing! The decor is funky and moody and the staff are all friendly. I thoroughly enjoyed the food, would recommend!
Dominique Joy - dined at Hot Sauce on 15 January 2020
Fabulous flavors. Had a few little shared meals between us. Loved the satay chicken skewers & the lamb rendang. Every dish is a twist on what you expect. Good creative cooking.
Paul Saunders - dined at Hot Sauce on 15 January 2020
The food and service were fabulous! I’d highly recommend dining at Hot Sauce
Evie Turner-Walker - dined at Hot Sauce on 16 January 2020
We enjoyed dining at Hot Sauce, the food was nice and the atmosphere was fitting. We ordered the duck baos, pork and prawn wonton, soft shell crab, and market greens. Most of it was great - the highlight for us was the duck baos. We were a bit let down by the wontons, which were served in quite a bit of sauce and were very soggy and fell apart as we picked them up. Overall though good experience and would probably go back
Meg McGimpsey - dined at Hot Sauce on 29 December 2019
Different food, everything was good. Service is great.
Alex Bunning - dined at Hot Sauce on 29 December 2019
Quirky atmosphere and great cocktails. The service is great and catered to our vegan diet where possible.
Rshéga Negi - dined at Hot Sauce on 23 December 2019
Really yummy food! Great atmosphere, funky place to eat. Thanks for the good food and service
Summer Packard - dined at Hot Sauce on 15 December 2019
Staff were friendly and helpful food was delicious restaurant is a great space
Chanelle Masters - dined at Hot Sauce on 9 December 2019
Eating early you don't really get a feel for atmostphere but lovely restaurant with friendly staff. Food options were good and food itself was good too.
Tracey Diack - dined at Hot Sauce on 10 December 2019
We had big expectations going in and we weren’t disappointed. The crispy squid is a must have, as is the soft shell crab. The bao are well flavoured and moreish. The kitchen forgot to serve up some of our dishes, but the waitress was onto it, new as she was, and her service was outstanding. Definitely try the cocktails, these are fabulous and really get your brain analysing and your mouth salivating at their complexity. We definitely will be back!
Karen Thomson - dined at Hot Sauce on 8 December 2019
Food was nice, atmosphere was good and service staff was very attentive and helpful when asked questions about the menu
Ellie Reynolds - dined at Hot Sauce on 5 December 2019
First First Table experience. Lovely, fresh food and great service!
Lucy Doig - dined at Hot Sauce on 1 December 2019
Fab service, insanely good food! The vibe in there is wicked cool too will definitely be back!
Lucy Bray - dined at Hot Sauce on 27 November 2019
Delicious food and excellent service - we will be back!
Hannah Hilliam - dined at Hot Sauce on 26 November 2019
Ambience is great. Very oriental interior design. Comfy seats and spacious. Food was perfect. We ordered soft shell crabs, pork skewers, beef cheeks, coconut cream rice, and creme brulee--- all 10/10. In the end I could barely walk cos im so full. Service was impeccable- fast and the one who served us is soft sapoken bit she knows what she's doing, good knowledge of menu. They even made me a mocktail which is so good too. Price is just right for what they serve. Will definitely come back and eat more!
Marie Gonzales - dined at Hot Sauce on 26 November 2019
The customer service was ok. Nothing outstanding. The food was nice but not recommending for desserts.
Suzie Xiong - dined at Hot Sauce on 24 November 2019
All the food was beautifully presented and very yummy. It's Asian Tapas style so we shared 5 small dishes between the two of us. Our favourites were the Bao buns! :) The interior of the restaurant was cool and the staff were friendly too.
Laurie Kremer - dined at Hot Sauce on 20 November 2019
Great food & good service. Such a great deal.
Anna Buchanan - dined at Hot Sauce on 14 November 2019
We've been to Hot Sauce before and the second time did not disappoint. From the signature cocktails (jalapeno infused tequila margarita!) to being able to choose dishes bit by bit, we loved the experience.
Loved the lamb rendang, and the popcorn chicken was a bit of a date favourite too.
Would love to have tried the banana and nutella dessert but we were so full.
Staff were apologetic at the noise level from a group of drinkers, but this was not a problem for us and just added to the ambience.
Thanks Hot Sauce team!
Sarah Bennett - dined at Hot Sauce on 12 November 2019
Really tasty food and a great experience. Been meaning to try this place for ages and it didn't disappoint, would recommend it to anyone. Great food and wonderful service!
Will be back again!
Tomas Byrne - dined at Hot Sauce on 11 November 2019
Delicious food, amazing pork skewers and beautiful restaurant!
Byron Oosthuizen - dined at Hot Sauce on 4 November 2019
What a great atmosphere! Dinner was lovely and the food came out fast. Overall a great dining experience.
Kimmy Wyatt - dined at Hot Sauce on 30 October 2019
Amazing food! And really efficient and professional service!
Sophie Fitzgerald - dined at Hot Sauce on 29 October 2019
First off service was very good and staff were very nice and on to it. The food came in a very timely manner and presented nicely. However, my guest and I felt that the food was all under-seasoned except for the Lamb Rendang and the Duck baos (which were really nice). The squid could have benefited a bit more longer in the fryer and did not have any numbing spice. The popcorn chicken on the other hand was slightly over cooked and was hard to taste anything in the coconut cream rice. The other elements on the cured tuna dish could have benefited with some more flavour as well to enhance the flavours of the tuna. Overall, hit and miss depending on what dishes you order.
Ben Lau - dined at Hot Sauce on 24 October 2019
Overview
473 reviews
The restaurant atmosphere was really nice and we were greeted and seated straight away.
We ordered 5 dishes from different sections of the menu to share and it was delicious! The serving sizes were what we expected or bigger (especially the crispy squid) and the waiter was happy to answer our questions about the menu. The Braised Pork Belly Baos were by far my favourite.
There was a nice range of cocktails which made it very hard to choose. I would definitely recommend the Garden Geisha!
Overall an awesome experience for our first time using First Table and I intend to take my parents to this restaurant when they next visit Wellington.