Antoine's Restaurant, Parnell

By EWAN McDONALD for viva


Thirty years. If you can't, or would prefer not to, cast your mind back that far, some kindly folk have provided a few reference points. "Big Norm" Kirk was Prime Minister; the big news was a grubby little burglary at a Washington hotel-office block, the Watergate; and a good night out in Auckland was a steak and a bottle of Mateus Rose at El Trovador.

And it was when Tony Astle, just 22, opened Antoine's in an old villa at the top of Parnell Rd. He served soup for $2, mains were $5.95, and some social engineer could probably work out how the going rate of $18 for French onion soup and $39 for roast duckling stacks up against that, when you take the mean hourly rate and all-consuming price index into consideration.

Some of that food is still on a truncated Nostalgia menu: the roast duckling, tripe, bread and butter pudding, licorice icecream. One of our group had oxtail, but I'll bet it was never simmered in red wine with baby onions and mushroom caps at his boarding school.

We chose to write about Antoine's because, "In a town where the average lifespan of a food business is 20 months, you've got to take your hat off to one that's been around for 30 years."

Some might find Antoine's a little out of time, a little out of place because it's one of a few in New Zealand: an elite, upmarket, silver service, fine wining and dining establishment, the ambience almost Gentleman's Club 1935. (The music is similarly out of time: some might call it Sounds Orchestral plays Michael Crawford's Greatest Hits.) But without restaurants like Antoine's, eating out in Auckland would not have the Cibos, the French Cafes. Certainly not the Gaults: Simon Gault is one of the many proteges from Astle's kitchen.

If it were in London or on the Continent, this would be a Michelin Guide restaurant. Which is not the fashion. Fay Maschler, the doyenne of London critics, notes that is a type of restaurant that fewer people want to eat at these days. "The idea of worshipping at a hushed temple of gastronomy is so passe when, increasingly, people want to go out for fun and entertainment."

Fashion or fun and entertainment may not be Antoine's style, though I'd suggest that a man who buys a plot in a private cemetery to build a mausoleum for himself, his wife and his car is the sort of character with whom I'd like to spend a bottle or two more of his excellent Back Bay pinot noir. It is proud to bill itself as "the most exclusive and elite restaurant in the country. Its reputation is passed in quiet tones between visiting stars and celebrities, discerning international tourists and Aucklanders of all ages seeking class and style and a sophisticated evening out."

Nothing in the above should be taken to suggest that Astle or Antoine's are stuck in the mud pie. In the past decade our tastes have undergone a sea-change, one that is far deeper and wider than stacking the food around the plate rather than towering above it. The component parts of a classic have been reconstructed, ingredients and styles introduced from a raft of cuisines, but Astle still produces complex and accomplished dishes that are of the moment.

His food is about the delicacy of a feuillete of seared salmon fillet, set off with fresh asparagus and a mouthwatering lemongrass tomato reduction or the grunt of braised pork belly with veal sweetbreads, beefed up (so to speak) with Chinese mushrooms and an oriental broth.

They demand respect. As do Tony and Beth Astle, and Antoine's.

Owners: Tony and Beth Astle

Chef: Tony Astle

Open: Lunch Mon-Fri noon-2pm, dinner Mon-Sat from 6pm, supper Mon-Sat until late

Food: NZ cuisine with French undertones

On the menu:

Tuna tataki on a Waikanae crab and courgette salad with a walnut oil and soy dressing $28

Venison back steaks grilled and served on creamed kumara with buttermilk onion rings and a light chocolate venison jus $39

Compote of spiced apples and raisins topped with meringue and baked $20

Vegetarian options: Cannelloni, crepes and terrine on menu

Wine: Priceless

Parking: If you're really, really lucky, the streets. Best to try pay-parks down the hill.

Noise: Okay, okay, so millions have enjoyed Phantom of the Opera.

Disabled access/toilets: Steps to entrance, heavy doors

Bottom line: In the hubbub of designer decor and hiramasa kingfish tataki, Antoine's may seem a little out of time: an elite, upmarket, silver service, fine wining and dining establishment. But there are some very good reasons why it is celebrating 30 years while thousands of other restaurants have sauteed and gone: chief among these are Tony Astle's classic food, superbly cooked by traditional methods.


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