Volco

Part sourdough shop, part inventive café, Volco on Egmont Street brings together the best of bakery and brunch. The menu is inspired by restaurant classics and the fit-out invites you to linger. 

Found in the quiet lane between Ghuznee and Dixon Streets, Volco blends its much-loved bakery goods with a full café experience that’s anything but ordinary. Classic brunch lovers can still get eggs on toast. But for the more adventurous (or culinary-minded), there are often seafood-inspired options. Think prawns, tuna, or even soft-shell crab, depending on the season. Why? “Because seafood is yum!” laughs Volco’s head chef, Kirran Buckland. 

A former restaurant chef, Kirran brings his background to the menu in clever, unexpected ways. “I love taking restaurant dishes and adapting them to fit into brunch or pastries,” he says. “We want to create products that are fun for us to make and enjoyable for people to eat.” 

With three other locations across Wellington, the team at Volco has made a name for itself by offering reliably fresh and delicious bakery treats alongside location-specific specialties. Find pizza in Kelburn, sandwiches on The Terrace and a shared retail space in Thorndon with cycling enthusiasts iRide. At Egmont Street, the specialty is brunch. With a warm and attractive space, you’re invited to sit and savour. 

Of course, there’s a packed pastry cabinet for those on the go. It’s crammed with buttery croissants, sweet and savoury danishes and Volco’s famous cinnamon scrolls. Hugely proportioned and very affordable, it’s no surprise they sell by the hundreds each day. The coffee machine is stocked with a special blend created in collaboration with local roastery People’s Coffee. Kirran describes it as “the best in New Zealand” — and visitors can also grab a bag of whole beans to take home. 

And while the food and coffee are a major draw, Buckland hopes it’s the energy of the place — and the people behind it — that sticks with visitors most. “We want people to walk away from Egmont and remember us the next time they want to have a good time. We absolutely love what we do, and we want people to feed off of that same love.”