Bellbird brings a touch of something different to the Hutt
Monday, 12 January 2026
It’s Tuesday morning and the Bellbird Eatery at the Dowse is buzzing. This isn’t even as busy as it gets, owner Chetan Pangam says - sometimes a line forms out the door.
The Dowse Art Museum holds one of the region’s best‑known art collections , with more than 3000 works. Bellbird Eatery replaced longtime museum café Reka in 2017, and Pangam and his partner, Tejas Patel, took over the business at the end of last year.
Pangam previously spent 15 years as executive chef at the Copthorne Hotel’s One80 Restaurant. During that time, he earned numerous accolades, including winning the top Burger Wellington title two years in a row.
The chef is known for combining Indian flavours and cooking techniques with Kiwi produce, and is an ambassador chef for Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
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Pangam’s move to the Hutt brings a dose of modernity to the city. While there’s no shortage of good places to eat, few offer what Bellbird does: elevated kai and an all‑day menu.
Since he took over, the chef has been making small but instrumental changes to the eatery, he said.
Since taking over, the chef has made a series of small but important changes, he said. Pangam introduced staff uniforms and doubled the number of scones and slices baked in‑house each morning — previously, the eatery would sell out before noon.
In the cabinet, everything but the macarons are made in house, and Pangam has added his signature cheese rolls to the menu.
“I said, let's double, triple the production. And that's what we did with not just the scones, but literally everything.”
Extra dog bowls have been added for furry visitors, and the eatery was scrubbed and polished over the Christmas break.
The chef said the transition had gone well so far, with the café’s devoted regulars continuing to come in — and bringing friends with them.
The eatery has a great crew, Pangam said, adding he fell in love with the space when he visited it for the first time. It has maintained the majority of its original staff.
He said it was really about looking after the people who make the place what it is — his staff and the regulars — and that if he managed that well, everything else would naturally follow.
But the most exciting development, he said, was that Bellbird would soon open for dinner - aFriday and Saturday dinner service starting this week.
Pangam said Bellbird was more than a cafe. It had an all‑day menu and an on‑licence, and would soon offer a selection of local wines and beers.
“A cafe would not have a liquor licence, would not have a full breakfast, lunch, dinner menu, all that sort of stuff.”
With Pangam’s two previous Burger Wellington wins under his belt, can customers expect a burger on Bellbird’s upcoming menu? Watch this space, the chef hinted.