In his fortnightly foodie advice column, Viva’s resident dining-out editor shares his recommendations and insider advice. This week, where to take a big group in southeast Auckland,
What does New Zealand taste like?
Jesse, how do you define New Zealand food? We had visitors from the UK recently and
they asked me this. I must admit I was stumped. So I thought I’d email my favourite restaurant reviewer and ask him so I have a smart answer next time somebody asks me.
Assuming you’re not asking about indigenous New Zealand food (that’s a separate answer and apart from some notable exceptions hasn’t made a big impact on mainstream restaurant dining here yet), I think your answer begins with a very dull word: proteins. We don’t do unique species, like kangaroo or rattlesnake, but our local versions of things like abalone (pāua), lobster (crayfish) and venison (Fiordland Wapiti) are unbeatable. It’s another way of saying that our cuisine is defined by the quality of our produce.
After that, the answer can go one of two ways: classic beach bach cooking like they do at Depot, where they max out the flavour but focus on a no-fuss approach at the hob, or New Zealand fine dining like you’d find at Ahi, where every native element of a dish (and there are often 10 or so) is used by the chef as a creative springboard to wow the eyes, nose and mouth.
I would also mention the various international influences that have coalesced into the New Zealand flavour palate. Our techniques are often European, our flavours borrow from around the Pacific rim and then, almost running in a different race, is the rise of New Zealand-Pasifika food spearheaded by Michael Meredith and Henry Onesomo.
Where do top 10 places like Gemmayze Street (Lebanese) and Alma (Spanish) fit in? Actually, I don’t think you need a grand theory of Auckland restaurants that bring them all together in one definition. Aside from the odd crayfish tail, there’s little on either of these menus that screams New Zealand, and that’s fine too. I love our national cuisine, but I don’t want to eat it every night.
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Flatbush, city limits?
We are hosting eight friends from around the country staying here in Flatbush with us. I am stumped as to where to take them for dinner. Preferably somewhere east or south rather than central Auckland to avoid a long drive home. But all the places I can think of are in town and we may well end up there. We are a group that enjoys good food and any cuisine. Any ideas please. It can be fine dining or casual. It’s all about the food
I’m going to send you to an Auckland classic: Try It Out, the Vietnamese restaurant with the unlikely name. One of the toughest things about reviewing Southeast Asian food for me is that I usually eat with one other person and the various cuisines really translate better when you have a feast rather than a couple of individual dishes.
Eight of you will be a perfect number to order some pho, some shaking beef, some noodles, some rice, and some salad. The vibe is low key but you did say you weren’t fussed about how flash it was. Their original location is in Ōtāhuhu but you now have a sister restaurant on your side of the motorway near Botany (hey, it’s still 20 minutes on Google Maps but it’s the best I can do, I’m sorry!).
There are now lots more Vietnamese options in Auckland than there were when I first visited Try it Out 15 years ago, but I don’t think any of them are more authentic or more “all about the food”. Have a great catch-up with your friends and thanks for playing Ask Jesse!
Best of both worlds (as long as they’re both Italian)
The sobrasada pizza on the menu at Mama restaurant in Newmarket. Photo / Babiche Martens
Jesse, I love a good pizza but my wife often wants something more interesting. Is there a restaurant you recommend where they can do both?
Restaurant pizzas. I like them too but they remind me of a concept from high tech called the “March of Nines”. Not satisfied with a 9/10 pizza, a chef works hard and improves it to a 99/100 pizza. The next guy comes along with flour, tomatoes and a special oven imported from Italy and manages to achieve a 99.9/100 pizza. It may be technically possible to make a 99.99/100 pizza and so on, but I am here to tell you and all these pizza chefs that 9/10 is good enough. I’m sorry, but the extra effort is not worth the exceptionally subtle rewards.
Having said that, plenty of restaurants are doing pizza at this level, but also offer lots of other options on their menus. Leaving out the specialty pizzerias, I would happily send you to Mama in Newmarket, Bivacco on the Viaduct, Sfera in Northcote Point or Spiga in Remuera. Need one more? Try my local: the excellent Lilian in Grey Lynn.
What you’ve asked, and what he’s shared.