Mama Brown

★★★★★ ★★★★★

250 Wakefield St, Wellington.

We’d heard... It was a good spot to bring kids, with a solid Tex-Mex style menu.

The vibe... Is fun, fun, family fun, maybe too fun. But it has repurposed airliner chairs, and novelty US beers and sweets on offer, which is cute.

We ordered... So much food. Be warned, the portion sizes are good, but they need to be because the prices are also ‘‘good’’ (by which I mean high).

My 9-year-old dining companion, Tommy, picked the joint. He’d been a few times with his folks and said he liked it. It is the kind of place kids love. Tommy got an activity sheet and pencils, there are fries with everything and they do $10 milkshakes with fun flavours such as Kit Kat and peanut butter that are so choc-a-block with dairy, they must have Fonterra on speed dial.

They also do a Kit Kat cheesecake ($15.50) that has to be seen to be believed.

However, the food is not great. I’ve never met a buffalo wing I didn’t like, until Mama Brown’s. They were over-cooked, chewy and a little stale. The chips that came with them were over-cooked and chewy. The slaw was limp and soggy.

Fortunately, the kids’ dish was more successful. Tommy was chuffed to bits with his chicken strips and fries ($8). ‘‘Super yum... and fun!’’ he said.

If you go... Don’t order the wings, the burgers that sailed past our table looked a lot better.

The service... Was super friendly, helpful and efficient – a seriously great crew.

The coffee was... A Kit Kat milk shake, which was exceptional.

Overall... It’s a fun place that welcomes younger guests, but they need to step it up in the kitchen.