Apache restaurant to reopen on Tory St

Tuesday, 21 January 2025

An award-winning Vietnamese restaurant has announced it will be reopening soon, at the former location of a well-known Burmese restaurant.

Apache announced on its Facebook page that it would be moving to 66 Tory St, with plans to reopen in March.

The Vietnamese restaurant - which was previously located on Wakefield St - announced its closure in December on Facebook, saying there were plans to move to a new location, although at the time, chef and owner Le Minh was unsure where it would be.

Its new location is the former site of Mabel’s, a Burmese restaurant which closed on Christmas Eve.

Minh didn’t discuss why the restaurant was closing on his social media post, although other businesses in the Victoria St and Wakefield St area have commented on disruption caused by nearby construction of the main Wellington library building and the demolition of council buildings.

Caffeinated Dragon owner Rhys Kaan told The Post his store has relocated to 94 Manners St, after business was affected by the ongoing construction, crowding $19,000 to fund the move.

Minh said in December there were many reasons why the restaurant was closing its doors on Wakefield St.

“Rather than blame and pointing fingers, we would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to everyone who has been supporting us throughout the last 10 years,” Minh said.

“I would like to say a big thanks my family, my wife and my kids who [have] been a backbone of Apache and has always been loving and supporting me through all those restaurant owner’s stressful years, I could not have done this without you guys.”

Apache’s cuisine has been described as Hanoi meets Paris, serving Vietnamese-inspired dishes made with local ingredients.

The restaurant won first place in Wellington on a Plate’s Burger Wellington competition in 2016.

Apachè’s final day at its Wakefield St location is Saturday, before it opens its doors on Tory St in March.