Herald Rating out of 10:
Food: 6
Service: 7
Value: 5
Ambience: 7
Address: 1284 Eruera St, Rotorua
Ph: (07) 346 1284
Our meal: $357.50 for three entrees, four mains, two desserts, wine and beer.
Wine list: Predominantly New Zealand, nothing unusual, few choices by the glass.
Verdict: Disappointing. Expensive but ultimately unsatisfying.
Backs to the wall, noses to the grindstone, shoulders to the wheel - economic calisthenics for our time.
And while most of us are learning about the current financial downturn the hard way, it seems that the news hasn't filtered through to everyone.
Especially not to those at Bistro 1284.
The restaurant occupies an old villa on the edge of the CBD in Rotorua, and was warm and inviting despite the chill outside. The polished wooden floors and white linen tablecloths contributed to the impression that we were about to enjoy an evening of fine dining. Indeed, the restaurant has won Rotorua's Best Restaurant award every year since its opening in 2000, but a quick Google search would indicate that the competition wasn't stiff.
In a reversal of habit, Anne and I decided to order our entrees and mains, and then ask the waitress to recommend suitable wines by the glass to accompany them. Not such an unusual request, one would think, but faced with seafood entrees (squid and prawns) and fish and vegetarian mains, the waitress waved vaguely in the direction of the wine list and said that Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc ($58) was pretty reliable. So it is, but choices by the glass were limited, so we had a bottle.
Brian and Bill stuck to Stella.
Anne's six prawns, fried with chilli and garlic and served with citrus dressing and roast capsicum aioli ($18.50), were excellent, tender and succulent. My sesame squid with asian greens and sweet chilli dressing ($18.50) was beautifully presented in a little steamer, and delicately flavoured, but the squid was tough. Will I never learn to avoid it?
Brian was pleased with the bacon and mushroom pate with port jelly ($18), but the accompanying garlic crisps were a little too well done.
Bill, saving himself for dessert, decided to forgo an entree in favour of a main of beef fillet with field mushrooms, fries and bearnaise ($35) and was almost satisfied, swearing that the beast it came from must have been a very small one. Brian's chicken leg ($33) was pretty ordinary, he reported, but lifted by the spiced chicken sausage that came with it.
Anne's fish of the day, hapuku, was served with scallops and avocado and garlic salsa on mash ($35) and was the winner on the night. Fantastic, she said.
My dish of roasted mushroom and zucchini on polenta, topped with goats' cheese ($32.50) was well cooked but overpowered by the cheese, and $32.50 is too much to charge for a vegetarian dish.
Although we received a complimentary green salad, other vegetable side dishes and salads were extra. At these prices, they should have been included.
After desserts of creme brulee with lime granita and brioche, and an excellent chocolate torte ($15 each), plus coffee and liqueurs, we were done.
Bistro 1284 was fine, but not as good as it should have been.
