KEY POINTS:
Herald rating: 4/5
First we take Manhattan, then we take Freemans Bay. Clooney, which opened last week with a mix'n'mingle for 400 of the partners' plus intime friends, is a lavishly converted warehouse in Sale St, behind Victoria Park.
Lavishly, as in the Clooney-people have expended and invented to create a so-NY, NY look. Four levels from dance room to private dining-rooms, atrium for those who indulge in a habit that is not, these days, mentioned in a family newspaper. Smoking.
Main event is the dining-room. Sandblasted masonry walls. Concrete columns rising 5m to the ceiling. Globes of lights. Round tables and leather banquettes, the brutal factory look softened by black corded strands separating a huge, impersonal space into numerous rooms.
Kitchen-folk and management include familiar faces: Tony Stewart owns Match bar; Natasha Ellis, recently at Vinnies, manages the restaurant; Dinny Morris, from Euro, is behind the bar.
New to Auckland is chef Glen Taylor, who worked the stoves at Shed 5 and Zibbibo in Wellington and comes north with the 2006 Young Chef of the Year apron. We have been informed of his "innovative yet understated style"; for a reference point, some dishes recall Euro's upmarket, contemporary bistro style.
Taylor conjures many of the courses at a large wood-fired grill. Proud of top-quality ingredients, he insists this is the only restaurant in the country using 300-day-old grain-fed lamb.
Jude and I agreed on chorizo salad for one starter, with calamari as a nod to many seafood options we would spurn for red meat. The squid was simply presented in an almond and lemon tempura, aioli on the side; good, but when all's said and eaten, deep-fried squid rings. We preferred the smoky, spicy Spanish sausage, flavours intensified with fried artichoke, wilted roquette, cherry tomatoes desiccated to a degree before puree.
Our mains reflect the slightly retro feel of Taylor's first menu in the Big Smoke. His eye-fillet, again with the manuka aroma of the chargrill, arrives with baby potatoes, crushed with olives (baby? They've probably just met the midwife). On top of the juicy pink meat, shallots caramelised into a sweet jam. Below, duck liver parfait, consistency of a thick gravy, taste-contrast of a kidney-punch.
Awatere wild boar has the edge taken off the gamy meat by braising, shredding (perhaps a tad too stringy) and crumbing with panko, served with a couple of mates that maintain the oomph factor - tomato and caper jus, broccolini drizzled with melted gorgonzola. This is not a dish for the faint-hearted. Or anyone who has an appointment with a cardiologist.
To dessert: panna cotta is baked from soy and vanilla bean, with fruit ratatouille. The showstopper was Jude's mousse, wild honey and chocolate, set off with praline chantilly and fudge crumble. There are words to describe her reactions but, as noted earlier, this is a family newspaper.
Stewart and Morris have produced a top-range wine list. Prices reflect this, and there's a regrettably limited selection by the glass. We were offered St Urbans-Hof riesling with the calamari, Mt Rosa gamay rose with the chorizo, Henschke Henrys Seven Sisters GSM with the boar, Martinez rioja with the beef: assured matching, deftly explained.
So, Clooney. Funny name, and Stewart's explanation is a little complicated but has nothing to do with George. Setting and style indicate young, urban professionals (told you there was something retro) and the price-point is at the upper end.
Worth it? First impressions, it could grow into its shell and Taylor could be the most interesting young chef to ride into town for a while. Keen to see what's evolved when it's the same age as that lamb.
Clooney
Address: 33 Sale St, Freemans Bay
Phone: (09) 358 1702
Open: Seven days, brunch, lunch, dinner-late
From the menu: Rotisserie chicken and leek cannelloni with porcini mustard and red wine sauce $19; Porcini roasted grain-fed lamb rack with smoked pancetta, little lentils and parmesan crusted sweetbreads $38; Vin Santo tiramisu with Valrhona dust and poached raspberries $14.50
Vegetarians: Well catered for
Wine: Top shelf
