Gold Mela
Where: 100 Grange Rd, Otumoetai, Tauranga
Hours: Dinner served Wednesday to Saturday, 6pm until late.
Breakfast, brunch and lunch served Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 2:30pm.
Price range: From light starters, $9 and up, to a decadent Angus eye fillet at $34.50.
On the menu: The restaurant keeps up with its French roots through its menu of entrees, salads, pasta and mains. Especially of note is the huge range of seafood on offer _ fresh fish of the day, scampi, seafood pasta and salmon dishes. Dessert is offered on a separate menu with old favourites such as tiramisu. There is also a pasta, gnocchi or risotto of the week. I'm told there are made-to-order baguettes during the day.
I'll have: The organic eye fillet _ 200g with your choice of jus or blue cheese, peppercorn or mushroom sauce. I chose fries and veges as sides, and when the steak arrived with the creamy blue cheese sauce I'd opted for, I was grateful for the fries _ they helped mop up every morsel. Fresh carrots and asparagus also made for a thoroughly enjoyable dish.
He'll have: The duck leg confit with orange-scented jus. It was served with sides of veges and potato of the day _ also cooked confit style _ so the meal went together perfectly. The sauce was beautifully and delicately flavoured and, to quote, it was ``lovely and very tasty''.
For the adventurous: What French-inspired restaurant would be complete without escargot? The traditional dish is served here in garlic, butter and parsley sauce with toasted baguette. There's also a rocket and blue cheese salad for cheese lovers, and the scampi as a main looks intriguing.