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Metro Top 50 Auckland Restaurants 2011

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 01:14:03 +0000

Metro magazine has released its list of the 50 best restaurants in Auckland in 2011.

Restaurants dropped from the 2010 list include Java Room, La Cigale, Monsoon Poon, Q at the Westin, The Mulberry, White Restaurant and Wine Chambers.

New high-profile restaurants that didn’t quite make the list include The Foodstore in the Viaduct, The Refreshment Room in Titirangi, and Eight at the Langham.

Last year’s Supreme Winner of the Metro Audi Restaurant of the Year Awards was The Grove, in St Patrick’s Square, Wyndham St.

The 2011 Supreme Winner and other category winners will be revealed in the June issue of Metro, on sale May 31.

The full Top 50 list is:

FINE DINING

SMART DINING

ASIAN

UPMARKET BISTRO

CASUAL BISTRO

Cuisine NZ Restaurant of the Year Awards 2010

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:52:04 +0000

The Finalists for 2010 are:

Whangarei: A Deco
Far North: Puretastes

Auckland: Barolo, Cibo, Clooney, Delicious, dine by Peter Gordon at SKYCITY, Harbourside, Merediths, Mondial, O’Connell Street Bistro, O’Sarracino, Ponsonby Road Bistro, Prego, Red Elephant, Rocco, Soul Bar & Bistro, SPQR, The French Cafe, The Grove, Tribeca, Two Fifteen Bistro, Bracu

Tauranga: Mount Bistro

Hamilton: Palate

Taupo: Bistro Lodge

Hastings: Black Barn Bistro, Elephant Hill, Terroir Restaurant at Craggy Range, Vidal Winery

Martinborough: Wendy Campbell’s

Wellington: Ambeli, Bisque on Bolton, Gusto Bistro, Martin Bosley’s, Matterhorn, Ortega, Red Ginger

Nelson: Hopgoods, Bouterey’s

Marlborough: Gibb’s

Christchurch: Pescatore, Schwass, Saggio

Queenstown: Botswana Butchery

Oamaru: Riverstone Kitchen

Dunedin: Plato, Two Chefs Bistro

Mollies, Grove, Euro, Sidart, Vinnies offerings at Indulgence Show

Karen — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 23:16:23 +0000

Here at last, this Mother’s Day will see the finest luxury event to be held in Auckland, Indulgence.
Indulgence is a luxury weekend event celebrating women. Indulgence runs over Mother’s Day weekend, May 8-9, with the sole purpose of pampering and spoiling women with life’s luxuries.
This event will boast the finest cuisine by the country’s best restaurants and specialty suppliers, along with pampering like foot massages, plus life coaching and nutrition advice not to mention fashion, accessories and High Tea – Indulgence is the one-stop pamper event!

The show comprises three main sections, though of particular interest to MenuMania diners, will be:

Pure Indulgence, where you can indulge in some of our Country’s finest cuisine from Sidart, The Dining Room at Mollies, Euro Restaurant & Bar, The Grove Restaurant, Vinnies Restaurant, who will each be offering you entre-sized servings of two or three of their signature dishes. You will also be treated to tasty morsels and the finest champagne, wine and drinks from other premier specialty food and beverage suppliers. Stylish fashion items such as jewellery, homeware, electronics and other fabulous gift ideas for Mum will be on offer too.

Self Indulgence, where visitors can meet with consultants from local spas, beauty clinics, nutritionists and life coaches. You will also find our pamper room here, with everything from mini-massages, to nail and hair stylists. And for those who desire to know what tomorrow may hold, we have a range of local psychic and tarot card readers on hand to offer insight.

Finish off your experience with Sweet Indulgence, where chocolate, fudge and other delectable treats will be offered for tasting and purchase. With a Hot Chocolate Café, seminars, plus our Paper Plus Book Store, this space will be the place to explore, be inspired, or simply relax.

On Mother’s Day Sunday, three wonderful authors will be having a chat about their books, while guests enjoy a glass of bubbles and the ever popular High Tea.

Top it all off with a ‘Gentleman’s Retreat’ for the guys, and a dedicated kids-zone to provide the perfect destination for Mum for her special weekend.

For more information visit www.indulgenceshow.co.nz or call 0800 001 333

Date: 8-9 May 2010 – Mother’s Day Weekend
Time: Saturday, 8th May – 10am-8pm; Sunday 9th May – 10am-6pm
Venue: Ellerslie Convention Centre, Auckland
Cost: $16.00 presale and $18 at the Gate
Children: $5 (under 4 years free)

Eating My Words: Ewan McDonald

ewan — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 23:42:30 +0000

JUDE and I did an unusual thing recently. I phoned a restaurant, booked a table, gave them my name and number, and we went out for dinner. Nothing flash: it was only a neighbourhood bistro (though that’s fiendishly hard to find when your neighbourhood is Downtown Auckland).
The unusual things were that I could give my name and that we could eat on our own. When we’ve gone out to dinner in the past, we’ve usually taken a couple of hundred thousand close friends with us.
I’ve been writing about restaurants, and eating out around Auckland (and the odd place in Wellington, and Melbourne, and Paris, and the Italian countryside) for 12 years. Then I called time on my column and went back to being an ordinary diner.
Though that’s what I’d always tried to be. Never called myself a food writer or a critic – just someone who likes food, wine, conversation, company, a reasonable meal for a reasonable price with reasonable service. Okay, and the all-too infrequently exceptional one of all of the above. And relishing the chance to tell the readers about it.
(Strange thing is, that’s what most restaurant writers are like. The good ones, anyway. They’re not frowsty madames who purse their lips if the chef hasn’t cooked the crumble the way they do it for their dinner parties at home, or middle-aged men harrumphing that the sauvignon is a tad chilled, or waiting to type 500 vitriol-dripping expletives if the 18-year-old waitress who’s just come out of a three-hour French exam at Uni drops a fork.)
Twelve years is quite a menu of entrees, mains, desserts and “Yes, thank you waiter, I will have another glass of syrah.” Thankfully, the waistline and arteries aren’t showing too many ill-effects and most of the brain cells seem intact. So here are some thoughts on what’s happened on tables from Albany to Bombay since the mid-90s.
Fashions and trends, naturally. And some not so naturally. One of the first dead-set flash places I wrote about was one of two Cajun restaurants in the inner-city. Care to imagine the response if a chef put alligator on a menu these days? (Like chicken, actually, just a touch stronger.)
Those trends – chefs would prefer to call them styles – have taken us through the Med, around the Pacific Rim, criss-crossed Asian fusion, nouvelle, old-fashioned comfort food, low-carb, high-end dining.
Last Christmas, I totted 20 places where you should eat in Auckland. One interesting point from that list was how many restaurants have lasted the distance: Antoine’s, Cibo, The French Café, Kermadec, Vinnie’s. You can add Andiamo, Prego, Harbourside, VBG. True, few (if any) have the same owners or chefs but Rule One for finding a good restaurant is: “You can always rely on reliability.”
Rule Two: Good restaurants tend to attract one another. Take the rise and fall and rise of Ponsonby. Twelve years back, the Strip and Jervois Rd were probably the only place where you’d find a decent choice of eateries. Rents, recession (there’s been more than one), host responsibility (okay, drink-driving laws), the Viaduct and Parnell Rd … Ponsonby lost its shine. And some pretty low-rent operators moved in, too.
But in the past couple of years the suburb has its mojo, and its mojito, back. Geoff Scott did the impossible: bought the legendary Vinnie’s and recast it as a new and exceptional restaurant. Andiamo was excellent but after a few … well, let’s just say that the current incarnation is one of the city’s secret places. Now Sid Sarawhat has taken the much-unloved Alhambra site and created Sidart. I’ll write more about him, and his food, at a later date.
Rule Three: “It’s part of a chain. They’ve got one in Parnell and one in Howick and …” No. Enough said.
Rule Four is “don’t be scared”. Of those 20 must-eat places, their styles began with Modern New Zealand – a genuine cuisine that few could have dared imagine, let alone flip a credit-card for, 12 years ago. Now it is something that we should be hugely proud of. It continued with “innovative classics” (it is possible to tweak coq au vin and improve it), techno (my word for sous-vide and what started life as “molecular gastronomy”), Hong Kong Chinese, seafood, modern Indian, Ayurvedic, modern Japanese …
People don’t put hundreds of thousands of dollars, and their professional reputations, and years and hours of sweat, and their marriages, on the line for food that no one’s going to eat. Trust them.
Rule 5: Hundreds of thousands of new New Zealanders have landed here in those 12 years. They’re brought their food and because Auckland is where most live, we’ve been blessed with – there’s no other word for it – some fantastic heritage-cuisine eateries. (Please don’t insult them by turning your nose up at some premises – just look at the food certificate that must be displayed.) It’s helpful if you can find someone who knows about that cuisine and can tell if you‘re eating something dumbed-down for Kiwis. And the worst offenders on that score aren’t necessarily recent arrivals. I defy anyone to find a truly great Italian trattoria or ristorante in this city.
Gripes? I’ve got a little list of those, too. Not expensive bottled water because it’s easy to say, “No, I’ll have a glass of Hunua 09.”
Restaurants that don’t have a reasonable selection of wine by the glass (no excuse with modern technology, and 21st Century wines are modern technology). Ludicrously priced “sides”: read, your vegetables.
Menus that prattle about “our chef going down to the wharf to personally select the Market Fish of the Day” (ever tried to do that at Halsey St? Only if you’re Peter Gordon in a tourism ad). Or “our fresh hand-picked seasonal garden vegetables” when it’s midwinter in Newmarket.
Come to think of it, menus in general: the ones with more romantic descriptions than a Mills & Boon novel and those that don’t give a clue what’s in the dish. Here’s an unbreakable rule: never, ever eat in a place that uses the Comic font on its menu.
Staff who haven’t been taught what they’re serving: you don‘t have to know what a “financier” is. The waiter should. And if he doesn’t, in these times he’d better learn pdq.
For there’s no denying it’s hard times at the moment. One extremely well-known chef, so well-known that I don’t dare use his name, told me recently that he’d just had his worst week’s business in 10 years at one of the country’s most celebrated eateries.
Which is good times for diners. There’s never been a better time to go out to eat, and to go out to eat at reasonable prices with staff who are falling over themselves to please you with the food, wine and service.
It doesn’t have to be the flashest place in town. Chances are, it’s your neighbourhood bistro. You probably know a place just around the corner that’s great because no one else has discovered it yet. Especially the restaurant reviewers.

Cuisine Magazine Restaurant Awards 2009

Karen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:41:34 +0000

2009 Winner: Best Smart Dining Metropolitan & Supreme Winner
Logan Brown
With the atmosphere, menu, wine list and service all hard to fault, our judges were unanimous in their praise for this central-city Wellington restaurant.

RUNNER-UP: Best Smart Dining Metropolitan
Clooney
When Clooney opened, the in-crowd made it their first choice for dining and drinking, attracted by the New York-dramatic décor with its edgy fringe curtains hanging from the raw concrete ceiling to subdivide the vast space.

2009 WINNER: Best Smart Dining Regional
Bouterey’s at 251
Far from the bright lights, in the rural township of Richmond on the outskirts of Nelson, Bouterey’s shows a passion and sophistication that is not often reached.

RUNNER-UP: Best Smart Dining Regional
Pacifica
This turquoise and driftwood decorated bungalow across from the sea belies the sophistication within of Jeremy Rameka’s seriously crafted food.

2009 Winner: Best Casual Dining Metropolitan
Soul Bar & Bistro
One of our out-of-town judges remarked that Soul was one place he would really want to return to, again and again.

RUNNER-UP: Best Casual Dining Metropolitan
Saggio Di Vino
This is New Zealand’s only vinothèque, where for more than 18 years Lisa Scholz and Yommi Pawelke have provided a haven for a glass or two of good wine, accompanying it with well-crafted food.

2009 WINNER: Best Casual Dining Regional
Hopgood’s Restaurant & Bar
Classically trained chef Kevin Hopgood moved from his native England to New Zealand for the lifestyle

RUNNER-UP: Best Casual Dining Regional
Wendy Campbell’s French Bistro
Last year Wendy Campbell’s French Bistro took out the award in this section and it is to Wendy and husband Jim’s credit that, a year on, their standards are as high as ever.

2009 WINNER: Best Neighbourhood Restaurant
Molten
Molten seems a home away from home for Mt Eden locals.

2009 WINNER: Best Winery Restaurant First Equal
Pegasus Bay
Pegasus Bay has taken our top winery award for the second year running, albeit this year tied with Terrôir.
Terrôir at Craggy Range
The set of buildings at Craggy Range is no doubt the area’s most dramatic

Wellington On A Plate review: Hippopotamus

Laura — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:59:12 +0000

I have to say, for all that I was wildly enthused about Wellington on a Plate, the fact that it was largely based around lunch deals made it difficult for me, an office worker, to participate. In the end I had to take a sneaky midweek long lunch and turn my phone off, a nice thing to do admittedly, but it would have been even more lovely to have been able to relax more with a $35 dinner. Perhaps this is something we can work on for next year?

Anyway I felt as though after all this talk about Wellington on a Plate I really should take the plunge and so booked a table for two for a set lunch at Hippopotamus, located just opposite Te Papa and down from New World. The day was brutally windy – anyone from Wellington will surely know that the weather has been particularly vicious this week – and I was buffetted along like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz as I made my way there. Once inside the Museum Hotel, home of Hippopotamus, I felt as conspicuous as Dorothy when she landed in Munchkinland. My Chuck Taylors, wind-tangled hair and jeans weren’t exactly congruent with the plush carpet, paintings and many chandeliers within the opulent lobby. However my partner (equally large of hair and casual of footwear) and I were treated as though we were Rick Stein and his wife dropping in for lunch. Coats quietly whipped away, thick, heavy linen upon the tables, beautiful glasses never ignored by the waiter - the very idea that we should pour our own water was a foreign concept to the wait staff at Hippopotamus.

We were seated with a glorious view over the darkened, windswept waterfront (except I’ve been watching Season 2 of The Wire and can’t see shipping containers without making unfortunate associations) and presented with the set menu, which offered a choice of starters, mains and desserts, of which we were to choose two. Although the starters looked tempting I’m really a dessert gal so opted for that and a main. Unfortunately the polenta and some kind of shank from I forget which animal was off the menu – I do love polenta - but in its place a cassoulet of duck and pork belly. I love duck and it was cassoulet kind of weather, plus our waiter pronounced it so charmingly in his French accent that we both chose it.

The cassoulet was exquisite – generously filled with meat so tender and juicy it near on dissolved in my mouth. The beans were perfect - if they were out of a can it they didn’t taste so. The portion was enormous – I’m a huge eater but struggled to finish it and the simple heartiness was the perfect antidote to the weather outside. We were offered a selection of wines, of which we both chose the pinot noir which was everything the waiter described it as. I can’t pretend I drink a lot of good wine so it is such a revelation when I do have it.

For dessert I had vanilla panna cotta and my partner the chocolate tart. Desserts are one of the things I really judge a restaurant on – so often they are bought in, served without care and overpriced. The desserts we were offered at Hippopotamus were, luckily, marvelous, if they hadn’t been made from scratch backstage they did a very good job of hiding it. Panna cotta is all about texture and mine was perfect, just utterly, utterly smooth and carefully occupying that place between solid and liquid. It also came with a panna cotta buddy of coffee cream and some deliciously spiced prunes. My partner’s chocolate tart was also beautiful – layered with excellent pastry, smooth chocolate and caramel, with an ascerbic dollop of orange cream on top.

The whole experience was an absolute joy and I wished I could have stayed longer and lingered over a doubtless excellent coffee, but the inbox and spreadsheets were calling me. I was heavily reluctant to leave the warm quiet interior of the restaurant for the bitter outside world, but was thankful for Wellington on a Plate for providing the opportunity for me to see this world at all. Hippopotamus is incredible but very expensive and I’m quite sure I never would have gone there had they not had this set lunch option. To be honest I’ll probably not go back unless I win the lottery BUT would have no problem recommending it to anyone with lots of money. If you go to Logan Brown regularly and don’t flinch at their prices then this is most definitely the place for you. If, like me, you read about Logan Brown in Cuisine magazine and can only dream of going there, why not add Hippopotamus to your list of places to daydream about?

Hippopotamus

90 Cable Street
Museum Hotel (opposite Te Papa)
Wellington City

04 802 8935

If you’re reading this and thinking “I’m picking up on what she’s putting down” why not jump on over and see what’s happening on my food blog, Hungry and Frozen. As recommended by the Sunday Star-Times.

A Great New Find And my Favorite Place to Stop By

John Palino — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:33:22 +0000

Recently we renovated Starks. Starks has been going 10 years now and a few months ago my new business partner Luis Farac and I did a Kitchen Job on it. We now call it Starks Salumi Wine bar. Salumi meaning the Italian dried meats such as salami, prosciutto etc. We serve small dishes to enjoy a great wine with. Antipasto, meatballs, ravioli, Italian breakfast dishes and wonderful sandwiches. Being open from early in the morning the new seating offers a great place to have breakfast or a quick coffee while having a meeting. Come join us for a great Italian wine before or after a show or after work.

Now I want to tell you about the Neighborhood. A new friend has come onto the block only a couple doors down from us at The Civic. It is a wonderful Italian Gelato shop. The owner Gianpolo has created not only a great Gelato to taste but you become part of the whole experience he has created. The place called Giapo is exciting and new. In the middle of winter he has lines of people making their choice out of the many flavors he hand makes right there. I never thought that a gelato shop can be more than ice cream but Gianpolo has built something right out of his dream. It is amazing and if you are anywhere near the city or just crave a really good ice-cream believe me you will make this place your regular stop like I have. Oh and say hi to Gianpolo and remember he will make you feel like part of the family, the Italian family

Wellington On A Plate

Laura — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:16:21 +0000

As I was saying to the lovely Angela Moriarty of wellingtonnz.com, it doesn’t, in fact, seem like this is the inaugural launch of Wellington on a Plate. It is such a natural fit for this city of endless excellent dining choices, that it feels as though this initiative has been happening for years. But no, this is our first time, and I was fortunate enough to attend the launch on Wednesday evening at Harbour City Shopping Centre on behalf of Menumania, who have a goodly slice of the event’s sponsorship pie.

Wellington on a Plate gives punters the opportunity to savour a set menu at a stunningly bargain price from a huge list of dining establishments around the city. For many, this could be one of the few chances they get to eat at the Logan Brown, for others it may mean they are prompted to try out a new restaurant that they might have hitherto never noticed. There’s also all manner of other engaging activities going on – coffee tastings, a beer festival, market tours with Richard Till…

The launch boasted many exciting guests – I spotted Martin Bosley right away but unfortunately couldn’t work out the best way to go introduce myself. Wellington’s mayor Kerry Prendergast made a stirring speech although some of the effect was a little lost on me – I was standing off to the side of the crowd and in my line of sight there was a large amp blocking where her head should have been. It made her appear like some kind of fabulous electro-android.

I’m not sure that I mingled as aggressively as I could have but hopefully managed to represent the good name of Menumania to the degree they deserve. There is something about being in a room full of strangers that makes you grab the nearest person you have vague acquaintance with and persist in small talk. I know, I did it myself. I’m not saying there should have been anything as vile as team-building exercises or getting-to-know-you games but something to get people introduced to each other would have been appreciated by someone like me who is so relatively inconsequential in terms of Wellington food and wine movers and shakers. For now.

The food was both exquisite and, naturally, in painstakingly miniature form. Of particular joy were the goats cheese with caramelized walnuts, and the gingerbread with blue cheese and quince paste. The wine was plentiful and from the Wairarapa, where they know what they’re doing. I ended up exclusively quaffing Waipipi Sauvignon Blanc all night. By good fortune I then ended up talking to one of the lovely representatives of the Waipipi vineyard and was honestly able to tell him how much I enjoyed his product and how I shall look out for it next time I’m a business exec wooing clients over a long lunch.

I also managed to clumsily put my own blog out onto people’s radars, although whether I told anyone who actually cares is dubious. I certainly would have liked to have talked to more people – I saw someone from Cuisine who left before I was able to flag them down and bore them with how much I adore that magazine – and there were lots of people who looked like they might have been good value but got lost in the crowd. However I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone I talked to and the night was a fine example of local food and wine. I will definitely be trying to secure myself a booking for a restaurant participating in Wellington on a Plate, but where? I feel Logan Brown is a bit obvious…Martin Bosley’s would be nice…I really have my eye on a night at Matterhorn.

Are you planning on taking advantage of any of these amazing opportunities? See the Wellington On A Plate website for inspiration and details. And if inspiration and details are your idea of a good time, why not also read my food blog Hungry and Frozen? It got a glowing reference in last week’s Sunday Star Times, so if that isn’t the push you need to click over and read it I don’t know what will.

Trinity Hill achieves worldwide fame with cover on top wine mag!

Karen — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:00:27 +0000

Trinity Hill achieves worldwide fame with cover on the world’s top wine mag “Decanter”!

Hawke’s Bay winegrower Trinity Hill’s international exposure follows the remarkable results when their Gimblett Gravels Bordeaux blend “The Gimblett 2005″ outclassed some of the absolute top French Bordeaux wines last year during an October blind tasting in NZ.

A bottle of Trinity Hill’s Homage Syrah will be featured on the cover of this month’s “Decanter” magazine, which will give Trinity Hill the highest level of world-wide exposure attained in recent times by any NZ wine.

Wow!!

Restaurants that currently have Trinity Hill’s Homage Syrah on their wine list:

The Dining Room at Mollies, Auckland City
Vivace Restaurant, Auckland City
O’Connell Street Bistro, Auckland City
Kermadec Ocean Fresh Restaurant, Auckland City
Harbour 71, Akaroa, Banks Peninsula
Somerset Cottage, Bethlehem, Tauranga
Hyatt Auckland
Vivo Wine Bar, Wellington City

The Grove and Mink (and no it’s not a fashionable London pub chain).

Jayson Bryant — Mon, 11 May 2009 03:28:02 +0000

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvjNcX1aA1k[/youtube]

I have recently enjoyed the food from two, very different but extremely pleasant, fine dining establishments. The First experience was to be had at Mink in Parnell.

Now I am no parnellite but was smitten by this place. Mink, not the nicest of names, is casual but has some great features, smart in design that caters for all diners. The menu is comprehensive and but manageable and the wine list compliments down to the last drop.

On this lunchtime outing I took the waiters recommendation. He had promised that the Duck Confit, on a bed of parsnip mash and red wine jus, would be perfect. I am glad to say he was not wrong and I not disappointed. The wine that he recommended was the Vynfields 2006 organic Pinot Noir from Martinborough.

I have always found this wine to be of very respectable quality and Burgundy-esque in aroma and texture. The two were a match made in heaven and I wittled away a leasurely Thursday afternoon interspersed with conversation and telephone calls.

My next dining experience was at The Grove. I have heard so many varying reports about this place, and the last one being very positive, that had to find out for myself.

I am happy to report that, bar one wine mismatch, it was the best dining experience to date in New Zealand. Oh yeah, I hear you say ” but have you tried The French Cafe or Merediths?” Well yes I have and it even tops those two top tier restaurants.

The food was sublime and service attentive without fuss. I choose the Rabbit Scallop, and ice cream Fois Gras for starter matched witha cheeky Sauterne from Villefranche. My next course was to be the Quail on Puy Lentils.

Now for those that know quail know it is delicate subtle but yet very flavoursome and place on Puy lentils and arranged to perfection (not a word I use often) it was fit for a king. The only downside to my evening was the wine, chosen by the sommelier, a Californian Zinfandel. Now I know with the spice and character of Zinfandel it would be a hard match.

I never tell people what I do for a job as to not intimidate them and, for one, I do not know the menu as well as them. On this occasion I wish I had. I would have given this place all ten points but they will loose 1/2 for the wine.

It was great to see two places full and people enjoying their food and obvious company that surrounded them.

Written by Jayson Bryant