Antoine's

By BRENDA WARD for canvas

Trends come and go, chefs come and go, in fact whole restaurants come and go, but you can always peek into the multi-paned villa windows of Antoine's, and see a peaceful tableau of fine dining and reassuringly traditional values.

At Antoine's you buzz and they let you into a hushed world where there's no rush and bustle, no arm-waving, no loud laughter - just a religiously respectful reverence for food and drink. (Cue violins.)

Stop right there. Yes, it's nice, but is it enough?

No, no, no, I was told. Apparently, in the business it's seen as a place that's "had its day. Very plain traditional food, and just the silver service to make it special".

Actually, when we visited, we found they'd taken a kitchen knife to the restaurant's famous Nostalgia menu, which has shrunk to a fold-over flap on the side of the contemporary menu. As well, we found ample adventurous choices involving confit of this, carpaccio of that, and the other in a light wasabi vinaigrette.

But where else in Auckland can a novice order her first plate of tripe ($20)? Bravely, I did. I'd done my homework, the different textures and how it's prepared, and I keenly anticipated the approach of the steaming bowl of my first course. The cream, sherry, onion and green peppercorn sauce was subtle, fragrant, delicious, strewn with fragments of onion, like floating confetti. Sadly, the tripe itself was wasted on me, strangely sweet, simply offal.

Bruce's shiitake mushroom risotto with green peas and sauteed scampi was creamy, rich and flavoursome. He followed it with chef Tony Astle's famous traditional roast duckling with orange and Grand Marnier sauce ($39), basted in a sweet and pungent sauce, melting in the mouth.

My rabbit pie from the specials list, a blanquette of rabbit and veal sweetbreads, with brown mushrooms, was a crofter's dream, hearty and chunky, topped with a flaky crust. The meals were accompanied by potatoes dauphinoise and the unusual sauteed cabbage with thyme, creating a feast so substantial we couldn't even face the dessert menu.

The wine was more of a mission. We took a deep breath and firmly put aside the charmingly handwritten fine-wine list of dusty bottles that leave damage worth several thousand dollars on your Visa.

We hoped to match our menus by the glass, but there were so few choices we were driven back to the main wine list and agonised, looking for a respectably priced red. Then the Australian Michelton we ordered was unavailable, along with too many others already marked N/A (usually the ones for less than $60). We finally settled on the Ngatarawa Glazebrook cab merlot '99 ($49).

Interesting note. There's a surprise waiting deep inside the tres chic restrooms: a television showing adverts in the cubicle. How bizarre.

Cost: $198 for two entrees, two mains, and wine.

Ambience: Formal, intimate, alluring for that special night.

* 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.