Fireside comfort in the front section of Ponsonby Road Bistro, Auckland. Photo / Alex Burton
Fireside comfort in the front section of Ponsonby Road Bistro, Auckland. Photo / Alex Burton
In their own words: “Modern, global bistro fare in a stylish yet relaxed setting.”
First impressions: We had a seat by the fire, the lights were low and warm and the entire room glowed copper-caramel-butter-brown. I felt like I’d slipped into a high-quality creme brulee. Ponsonby Road Bistro wasas casually elegant as its clientele (well-dressed but still up for steak, chips and a good time).
On the floor: When the waitperson came to clear the clam shells, he offered more bread to mop the broth. When we ordered steak, he bought a pot of Dijon mustard. We were not left wanting wine, water or - crucially - waitstaff. Our first course took a long time to arrive but the intervening service had been so impeccably personable I barely noticed.
The neighbourhood: Next to Lime Bar and opposite Duck Island Ice Cream. On a Saturday night that equated to multiple brides-to-be in various states of tinsel, but mostly the outside world became a sort of abstract concept. Ponsonby Road Bistro is the sort of place you really want to go back to quite soon.
The menu: In a world of shared plates and 90-minute table turnovers it was a simple luxury to consider an entree, a main and a fully resolved conversation between courses. (If snacks with drinks are more your thing, the menu offers these too - think breads with smoked fish dip, whipped ricotta or chicken liver paté; crispy calamari with nuoc cham and peanuts.
Best bite #1: Broccoli and farro meat(-free) balls? Who am I kidding. In a bistro, we steak. And at Ponsonby Road Bistro, the steak was perfect. Too often, “chargrilled” is a surface deep descriptor. Here, the chemistry really got in. Herb and garlic butter was loaded with the latter and, on the side, were the best chips I’ve eaten this year - super-crisp, super-fluffy.
Pork cotoletta, from the menu at Ponsonby Road Bistro. Photo / Alex Burton
Best bite #2: I googled “cotoletta” and it said “cutlet”. I ordered the cotoletta and was delivered a schnitzel. When I looked up “schnitzel” in an Italian dictionary it said “cotoletta”. Let me make this easier for you. My pork cotoletta was a flattened, breadcrumbed and fried piece of meat. It was crisp to the bite and juicy to the chew. It sat in a pool of adult butter - the stuff that has been heated until the milk solids caramelise and convince you that something this good will surely not require an antacid at 2am. There was a squeeze of lemon, a spruik of capers, a tangle of rocket. There was nowhere to hide and it was simply delicious (by any definition).
The jury’s still out: The gnocchi was stunning. Whipped clouds, silky pillows, etc. I am guessing the kitchen was looking for a textural contrast but, in my opinion, the mushroom sauce was a distraction. The fungi had been finely minced. Make the mushrooms bigger or disappear them into a puree - let that fabulous gnocchi really take centre stage.
On the side: Our grandmothers boiled them. The raw food movement shredded them. More recently, restaurants have roasted those tiny brassica to within an inch of their bitter little lives. On a cold Saturday night, at a seat by the fire, I ordered brussels sprouts fondue. I urge you to do the same as soon as you possibly can.
Dessert: It had been a night of bistro basics done incredibly well and the creme brulee was absolutely no exception.
Perfect for: Restoring your faith in the restaurant experience.
How much: $235.50 (three courses and two drinks each) for two.
They take their Cognac, Armagnac, eau-de-vie, grappa and digestifs very seriously at PRB, so if you know your Calvados from your Silvio Carta Mirto you’ll be happy. If sherry’s your sauce, finish with a 75ml splash of Hidalgo Manzanilla from Jerez or exotically caramelised Alvear PX from Montilla-Morilles. Port fans can sip their way through a smorgasbord from Churchill’s from Portugal. Dessert wine fiends have more sticky semillon, muscat and malvasia trebbiano than they can swing a swizzle stick at - and the cocktail list? Steady yourself, it will require much discipline. I’ll oscillate between a Boozy Suzy (Grey Goose, Lillet Blanc, Gentian de Lure, ruby grapefruit, lime and egg white) and a Chargrilled Pineapple Caipirinha thanks. Even the virgin cocktails look ridiculously good. Japanese beer brands join the usual Kiwi crafties. With no fewer than 15 wines available by the glass for between $13.50 and $26 per glass, it’s easy to work your way through some rather snazzy gruner veltliner, Chablis, tempranillo and malbec. But the bottle list is by far PRB’s most beautiful thing. It’s a lengthy pleasure-trove of incredibly delicious wines forming an exotic mix of local, leftfield icons and rising stars from Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Australia, California and Austria - to name a few. Ponsonby Road Bistro, your selection is more than an adventure, it’s the Indiana Jones of drinks lists and I love it!
