Andiamo, Herne Bay

By MICHELE CRAWSHAW for viva

Okay, time to come clean. In the bottom drawer of my kitchen sits a momento of a few too many days and nights spent at Andiamo: a black apron with the restaurant's name proudly embroidered across it in gold lettering.

I didn't steal it. Honest. It kind of fell into the bag of a friend of mine after we'd quaffed a bottle of sauvignon blanc too many there one afternoon several years ago. It seemed funny at the time - as these things do when you're a long way from sober.

The next day we just felt like idiots. Too embarrassed to take it back the friend hastily stashed it in the glovebox of my car and it was promptly forgotten about until a purple Torana sideswiped me on Victoria St a couple of years later and I had to clear everything - including the aforementioned apron - out of the wrecked car before it was towed to its final resting place. Now it's in the bottom drawer of my kitchen and I admit from time to time I wear it with shame. Sorry Andiamo.

I could have returned it when we booked for dinner at the Herne Bay eatery last week but it didn't seem the right way to start off an evening. "Hello, here's your battered old apron ... now could we have that lovely little table in the corner please?" No, it just wouldn't have worked. So the apron still sits in the bottom drawer.

I did note, with pleasure, the waiters and maitre d's have updated their image and now sport long white aprons. At least my face wasn't going to go red every time the waiter approached our table and I could concentrate instead on an enjoyable evening of good food and wine.

Which is exactly what Andiamo offers. With its prime position among some of Auckland's most expensive real estate, the restaurant has a cosy bistro and bar appeal. It's split into two rooms - the one you walk into is a dimly lit and richly furnished bar which on the Friday night we were there was packed to the gunwales with suits sampling Andiamo's very impressive wine list.

Walk through a set of French doors and you're in the bistro. It's a small, intimate room filled with the noise of diners and the lively bargoers next door.

Andiamo has always offered interesting options and its winter menu is exceptionally good. A piece of advice: don't go past the antipasto starter for two ($32). Green beans with feta, celeriac remoulade, avocado with roasted red peppers, pickled vegetables, tempura prawns and broccolini, salmon rolls, Italian sausage and olives are accompanied by sour dough bread. It's an exceptional dish, probably the best antipasto we have seen with clever and tasty alternatives to the traditional offerings.

There wasn't a drop of anything left by the time the nicely-attentive waiter came to clear the plates.

The main dishes - chicken breast stuffed with feta, dukkah and couscous on roasted parsnips and broccolini with beetroot glaze ($29.50) for me and grainfed beef eye fillet on pommes Sarladaises, mushroom dumplings, butter beans and wilted spinach with a tarragon demi-glaze ($30.50) for him - were equally top-notch. Rich, hearty dishes that were an example of what Andiamo does very well: fresh, interesting flavours and innovative ideas.

Even if you're well sated by this point, don't forego dessert. Because it would mean missing out on lemon mousse with passionfruit sorbet ($12) and that would be plain wrong. This is the perfect dessert: light, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth mousse complemented with scoops of zingy sorbet sandwiched between buttery shortbread star-shaped biscuits. I could write an entire review on this dish alone. The grande dessert ($13) - a tasting platter of pannacotta, chocolate chip icecream and chocolate steamed pudding - while good, didn't stand a chance against it.

Two hours later we decided it was time to go: because if we didn't we'd probably order another round of that mousse and because the man at the next table in the blue banker's shirt, who had been irregularly clucking like a chicken throughout the evening, obviously thought his barnyard noises were something we wanted to hear more of. Why he needed to dig out his own personal breathaliser to see if he could possibly drive home after gulping a good deal of the table's wine, I'm not sure. A simple check with his neighbours would have given him an accurate reading. Cue more chicken clucking.

Dining neighbours aside, I have a soft spot for Andiamo. Probably because of the many days and nights spent there over the years, but it's nice to see that it's still delivering.

And if they're short an apron or two, I just may be able to help out.

Open: Brunch until 6pm, seven days

Dinner 11.30am till late weeknights, 10am till late weekends

Chef: Craig Estick

Food: Modern bistro

On the menu:

* Citrus risotto cakes with grilled squid, salmon, chorizo and shellfish mayonnaise $18

* Spinach and ricotta gnocchi in a roasted tomato sauce with confit of chicken $22

* Oven-roasted rack of lamb on pommes Dauphinoises with baked beetroot and a celeriac and blue cheese remoulade $30.50

* Winter fruit pie with puff pastry, ice cream, lemon curd and whipped cream $12

Vegetarian: A couple of good options but could do better

Wine: Extensive and expensive

Noise: Lots of it

Parking: Jervois Rd and side streets. Be prepared for a walk on busy weekends but it's a pleasant stroll past some of the most expensive real estate in the city

Bottom line: Bar or bistro? You choose. When you've made your way through the Beautiful People and Media Creatures clustered around the bar and into the dining room, the upmarket take on bistro and comfort dishes will keep the winter out. Pioneered wine by the glass and always presents interesting options.

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