Tuesday, February 14, 2012
[Pictures: David Straight] The Grove is a long, still room in the middle of the CBD: white-painted brick walls, timber floors, leather panelling and gentle art and pot plants. In a city that’s suddenly full of high-design restaurants, it’s a welcome respite. It is one of those restaurants that no longer needs to try very [...]
Thursday, February 9, 2012
[Pictures: David Straight] We’re getting mixed messages. District Dining is a self-described combination of sophisticated food with a bistro buzz and price tag. But while the food is good – by God is it good – we didn’t really feel much of that promised energy: District Dining is just ever so slightly off, slightly too [...]
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
[Pictures: David Straight] Such is the pace of development at Britomart – where, lucky you, half a dozen restaurants have opened in the past year or so – that Ebisu is already something of a classic. When it first opened in March, we liked it, a lot. Though if we’re honest, we did wonder quite [...]
Thursday, September 1, 2011
[Pictures : David Straight] Al Brown hosted us at Depot one night. The next week, we went back on our own dime. Twice. Depot is everything we like in a restaurant. Utterly devoid of pretension (you can’t book), comfortable, easy, immaculate service and of course, casual but impeccable food. We drank wine on tap in stocky [...]
[Pictures: David Straight] James makes Auckland feel like a bigger city than it really is. It’s in a bunker-style building, a concrete block that was once a steel mill at the bottom of Parnell rise, flanked by advertising agencies. Inside, the world outside disappears, and you’re ensconced in a stark space, moodily lit and softened [...]