Alta Restaurant and Bar, Auckland City

By CARROLL DU CHATEAU for canvas

Ever since a plateful of particularly good barbecued calamari I'd been hankering to return to Alta, in leafy St Patrick's Square next to the famous Ding How Chinese restaurant.

With its high sash windows, gleaming white walls and starched linen, Alta is more graceful than most other restaurants in town.

Years ago this space housed Le Brie, one of Auckland's best licensed restaurants, at a time when dining out was a rare occasion.

Today Alta doesn't quite hit the heights set by Le Brie, but it comes close, although our evening started unpromisingly with under-average gin and tonics. Maybe our French waitress, here to learn the language, didn't understand our requests. For me a single shot of gin with ice and lots of tonic in a long glass. For Mary, fresh from Wellington, a shorter drink, no ice. Both drinks turned up in stubby glasses with no lemon and only a couple of small cubes of ice for me. Not good enough when you're panting, and paying.

From then on things improved. Alta is one of the few restaurants around that serves complimentary fresh-baked bread - olive and roast garlic for us. And they brought butter as an alternative to olive oil without delay.

My calamari ($15) was almost as good as I remembered. It comes in large criss-cross scored rolls, slightly singed on the outside and tender as butter in the middle, lying under a stack of shredded lettuce. Mary enjoyed hers too.

Brian's vodka cured salmon ($18), which arrived in a perfect orange circle, was possibly better. Tasty, lots of it. At least as good as the grappa-cured version he had in Sydney.

The bottle of Hugel Gentil Alsace riesling ($42) - selected with the help of our waitress, who came into her own at this stage - was the perfect accompaniment, proving the French have mastered the art of grape flavour without either acid bite or cloying sweetness.

Both Mary and I ordered entrees as our main courses. For me the duck breast salad ($18), which was served on salad laced with toasted macadamia nuts and sugar-snap peas with a pomegranate dressing, offered exactly the right amount of warm, sliced, plump duck in non-greasy surroundings.

Mary's artichoke hearts ($12) were the high point of her meal. Again not oily, they sat on a reduced, slightly sticky and thoroughly excellent balsamic vinegar-based sauce, topped with a small stack of baby rocket.

Brian's seafood linguini ($26) was spectacular. It arrived bristling with mussels and cockles in the shell and topped with two plump oysters. His only problem: too little pasta for the amount of seafood.

Then to desserts (all $12), which, of course, can be managed if you do the two-entree thing. I chose the pannacotta, which arrived topped with passionfruit syrup and was delicious.

Mary played with her chocolate fudge cake and Brian said his tiramisu was one of the best he'd tasted - high and well-researched praise, I assure you.

Overall, Alta is sophisticated and relaxed, while paying serious attention to the food and wine. The specials board is innovative, tables spaced wide enough for privacy. Take care with booking, though.

Alta, which is relatively new, is open for lunch on weekdays and for dinner on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings.

*****

Ambience: Relaxed, fresh, sophisticated.

Cost: $191 for five entrees, one main course, bowl of vegetables to share, three desserts, two gin and tonics and one bottle of wine.


* Read more about what's happening in the world of food, wine, party places and entertainment in canvas magazine, part of your Weekend Herald print edition.