Mother, from the team behind Lilian, Hotel Ponsonby and Honeybones, has the magic touch.
Since the dawn of time, owners of bars and restaurants have been trying to work out how to get more women into their establishments, with mixed results. When I was growing up in Hamilton one
of the local pubs came up with the idea of a “skirt night” where you could purchase Lindauer for $2 a flute so long as you were wearing a skirt. Of course, who were the first 15 people through the door when the promotion opened at 6pm on a Wednesday? The university men’s rugby team of course, all wearing skirts, their fists full of $2 coins because they now didn’t have any pockets.
The guys who own Mother (and Lilian, and Honeybones, and Hotel Ponsonby) don’t have this problem. Women regularly outnumber men in all of their establishments – sometimes, as when I visited, by as much as 10 to one. Why?
“I don’t know,” one of them shrugged when we asked him. “We just design somewhere we’d like to go ourselves.”
Mother has the magic touch. Photo / Babiche Martens
These Mother guys have the magic touch, though of course it only feels like magic. In fact, it’s the combination of 1000 small decisions that make a restaurant appealing. The glassware, the colour scheme, the cocktail list, the menu style. Oh, and the $25 glasses of Laurent-Perrier, which democratise (just) the consumption of high-end champagne.
I myself ordered a “martini tonic”, which is a great innovation. With a little dash of soft drink in the otherwise intensely alcoholic classic recipe, it becomes more drinkable. It wasn’t a great accompaniment to the food so perhaps try to neck it before you start ordering, but you really should order one. It comes garnished with two “smoked olives” – first time I’ve seen those, too – which are unbelievably delicious.
Much of the menu is familiar but the execution is out of this world. You don’t often see tuna crudo any more and my wife, a crudoholic, reckons this is the best she’s ever tasted. Thick slices of ruby-red fish, dressed in a bright green “Kaffir lime oil” with a few wisps of buttermilk as a creamy counter to the citrus. The dressing was sweet and sharp, with those lime leaves imparting a characteristically tropical note to each bite.
Mother’s tuna crudo and watermelon dishes. Photo / Babiche Martens
Does anybody look forward to a plate of zucchini? You will after trying them here. They’re sliced into chunks then lightly cooked and pickled, with a really generous wodge of goat’s cheese and a handful of mixed olives. The zucchini’s primary gift to humanity is its texture but, supported with those delicate sweet vinegary flavours, you could almost call it the hero ingredient here.
Mother’s steak tartare is pretty classic but comes with house bruschetta (they’ve built a cool pizza oven into one of the kitchen walls and use it for daily baking to support the cafe and restaurant). They’d really scorched the bread but surely this was intentional – it didn’t ruin the flavour but did make it harder to use as a sponge for the sauces, which were rapidly accumulating on our other plates.
The other standout dish was watermelon, scattered with puffed amaranth in a light lemony dressing. It wasn’t the tastiest thing on the menu but it felt like big mouthfuls of summer. When a chef puts a deeply seasonal piece of produce like melon on the menu you know they’re devoted to making your meal feel connected to the world around you.
Mother cafe, bakery, restaurant and bar in Grey Lynn. Photo / Babiche Martens
Mother is in West Lynn, in a block of shops that already features a gourmet fish and chip shop, a Mediterranean food market and a business promoting raw diets for dogs. That is to say, there is no shortage of neighbours willing to spend money on their luxury lifestyles. It’d be easy to say the new restaurant was aimed at that wealthy local market but it feels like it is drawing them in from everywhere. It has achieved a rare thing in restaurants – somewhere you look forward to simply sitting down and becoming part of the picturesque scene. The fact the food, drinks and service are impeccable make this a perfect addition to the Auckland scene.
Address: 403 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn
Contact: Motherauckland.co.nz, Instagram.com/mother.akl
Reservations: Not accepted
Hours (bar/restaurant): Wednesday to Sunday, 3.30pm to late
From the menu: tuna crudo $26, steak tartare $26, watermelon with amaranth $22, zucchini with goats cheese $24, wild prawns (price not listed), crayfish piquillo $29, chocolate mousse (price not listed), olive oil and salt $16, Laurent-Perrier by the glass $25
Score: 0-7 Steer clear. 8-12 Disappointing, give it a miss. 13-15 Good, give it a go. 16-18 Great, plan a visit. 19-20 Outstanding, don’t delay.
According to dining out editor Jesse Mulligan.