Vegan
Western
Take-out
Bakery
Catering
Breakfast

Vegan cafe offering breakfast with cabinet items plus shakes, coffee, and desserts. Makes custom cakes. Can make custom cakes. Became all-vegan in 2017. Previously located at 134 Willis St. Open Wed-Fri 10:30am-3:00pm, Sat-Sun 9:30am-4:00pm. Closed Mon-Tue. Kitchen closes at 3pm or sometimes earlier unexpectedly. 2 for 1 cabinet items during last hour.


Venue map for Sweet Release
© OpenStreetMap contributors

141 Reviews

First Review by Guspops

ClaireRodenbourg

Points +2602

Vegan
08 Apr 2025

Lovely place

Went there to get a matcha latte with soymilk, and it tasted so good.
My friend took the scramble tofu with mushrooms also really tasty.
The sitting area was so relaxing and the staff really lovely.
I also took a cinnamonbun to go and was awesome!
Really recommend this place

Updated from previous review on 2025-04-08

Pros: Cozy place, Nice menu, Lovely staff

Tommy817

Points +1647

Vegan
02 Feb 2025

Average

Nothing special, the avocado toast was good.

Pros: Friendly Staff

JoStac30

Points +529

Vegan
09 Jan 2025

Loved it

Coffee was great, staff were lovely and the lemon cookie was immense. Happy enough!

rustykeel

Points +123

Vegetarian
28 Dec 2024

Enjoyable lunch

A nice vegan cafe just off Cuba Street. Loved the homemade "chicken" in the sticky bowl. Will be back.

VeggieEater#1

Points +270

Vegan
20 Dec 2024

Cute little cafe

Enjoyed the space and lovely staff. Coffee not very strong. Cookie delicious.

Sommerkind_1

Points +450

Vegan
12 Dec 2024

Delicious food, great coffee

Loved the roll with Vegemite and the friendly staff!

DeLaurie

Points +58

Vegan
29 Oct 2024

Hidden CBD vegan oasis

Absolutely loved the restaurant’s dining space which was inviting and tucked behind a wall from the storefront within the busy CBD.

Really simple and sweet brekky and lunch options as well as a few sweet treats!

Pros: Location , Atmosphere

HeatherPhelps

Points +422

Vegan
13 Oct 2024

Great spot for lunch

Sweet Release is really cute and wholesome and had a really good range of options, including several gluten free meals. Nice food and good vibes.

Pros: Good food, Gluten free options

DavidRichards

Points +430

Vegan
12 Oct 2024

🥣🥣🥣

Had a nice breakfast snack to go from here this morning

lesbeanflannel

Points +972

Vegan
13 Sep 2024

Lovely stop

Thoroughly enjoyed the sticky bowl and wife loved the loaded BBQ fries with “fake” chicken. Small menu but has decent comfort options at fair prices. I would like to try the Mac n cheese next time we are back!

AndyMac12

Points +74

Vegan
20 Apr 2024

Lovely vegan food in Welly

A great little cafe with a fully plant based menu.

MaryT

Points +448

Vegan
05 Apr 2024

Great space

Liked the space and liked the food. I would have liked a couple more options - there were some dishes on the menu that were unavailable. We had sandwiches but would like to try the breakfast items.

VeganSoapDude

Points +9916

Vegan
21 Mar 2024

Really nice food in an inclusive space

We had a great meal here. The staff was wonderful and I really like the space!

Huraiquire

21 Mar 2024

holly-bb

Points +232

Vegan
29 Feb 2024

Perfect tofu scramble toast but…

Cute spot right off of Cuba street with great music bumping and cool staff. I got a flat white and the scrambled tofu on sourdough toast with sautéed mushrooms, potatoes, and cherry tomatoes - utterly phenomenal. Not too complicated, perfectly balanced flavors, huge portion!

My friend got a cinnamon roll (warm and succulent) and the avocado toast. Only 2 stars for that one - bland, mushy, expensive for not many toppings, and they said they don’t do anything oniony/garlicky because people often request it off. They left most of it behind because it got soggy.

Updated from previous review on 2024-02-29

Pros: bumpin music, chill staff

Cons: not a lot of brunch options for a brunch place

LC70PZJ70

Points +738

Vegan
09 Feb 2024

One of the best

One of the best vegan cafés I have dined at. Friendly staff. Cheap prices. I will return.

SaraNorlin

Points +3752

Vegan
28 Jan 2024

Great breakfast options

The full English breakfast was very good. I especially liked the sausage and tofu scramble. Cute atmosphere

Dance4Plants

Points +342

Vegan
16 Jan 2024

Wellington classic

I've been going here since their first venue on Willis street. They continue to get better! Looking forward to going again on my next Wellington visit.

rymc

Points +562

Mostly Veg
11 Jan 2024

Decent pastrami

(The most sensual of the cured vegan meats)

Decent sandwich and coffee, cool staff. Pastrami feels like it maybe has mochi in it? Gives it a good chew factor, unexpected but more alternatives could try it.

Pros: Central location , Great staff

Veggie_Bird

Points +704

Vegan
01 Dec 2023

Breakfast fit for a queen

Really big portion big breakfast the scrambled tofu was so good and two vegan sausages. We left very full and happy.

carina.bmr

Points +28

Vegan
26 Nov 2023

Lovely little place

Had the Gluten free brownie, which was the best brownie I‘ve had in a loong time

harri27

Points +20

Vegan
24 Nov 2023

Cute place

Was in Wellington for a few nights and found this wee cute place. The food was amazing and would definitely be going back there again in the future

marissandtim

Points +2316

Vegan
12 Sep 2023

Cute coffee shop

Really cute place in the middle of Wellington!
We stopped by and got a really good coffee and some delicious treats from the counter. Snacks were delicious and really cheap considering the location. They also have a menu with lots of options for breakfast and lunch.

Pros: Completely vegan , Great prices

rosieeatsplantsposie

Points +16

Vegan
04 Sep 2023

Confusing experience, very rude.

I had a very conflicting experience here.

Bit of a long story…….
I was on a trip a couple months back to Wellington and popped in here from a recommendation from coworker who is also plant based!
I ordered their loaded bbq fries as i had a craving for something filling, can’t lie it was yum…I sat up the front of the cafe to people watch and get a feel for wellington.

The staff were friendly to my face, until i was sat eating and overheard, how i can only assume was the manager/owner talking to her staff. (I was a supermarket employee when i was in my teens and so i can only sympathise with the girl who served me.)
The manager was talking to her staff so badly I feel terrible for not saying anything but I could hear the entire interaction and so she clearly had no shame about it!

Would not recommend coming here, good for vegan options but would not want to support such a place who treats staff poorly. Will not be coming back.

Pros: vegan food

Cons: rude, management, lack of respect

BlakeQuartly

Points +163

Vegan
23 Aug 2023

Cute

Cute wee cafe with yum vegan options. Recommend the Mac & cheese, and loaded fries. Each coffee comes with a tiny brownie bite. Adorable.

bee.baugh

Points +91

Vegan
19 Jun 2023

Go for the BBQ Bowl

My go to cafe when I was living in Wellington. Reasonably priced good food with plenty of gluten-free options. Good for a light meal like the smashed avo stack or a larger meal like the BBQ bowl. Definitely get the BBQ bowl with the fried tofu, it is my favourite dish they offer. They also do 2-4-1 on cabinet food in the last hour before closing. There is also gluten free brownie which is alright. Not the best gf brownie but reasonable for the price.

Pros: All vegan, Gluten free options, 2-4-1 deal in the last hour

spise01

Points +941

Vegan
15 Jun 2023

Non vegans loved

My non vegan friends loved the stack with egg sausage and hash brown. I enjoyed my avocado stack (hash browns lettuce).

KarenHytten

Points +161

Vegan
24 May 2023

I love this place!!!

I have been here several times and have always found the service wonderful and the food delicious. Today I had the Avocado Stack (a generous portion of avocado on top of two large hasbrowns) with a side of Garlic Mushrooms. I also bought some biscoffi buns and Blackforest buns to take away. They are AMAZING!!

Updated from previous review on 2023-05-24

Pros: 100% vegan, Lovely staff, Amazing buns




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