KEY POINTS:
There's a delightful buzz about Delicious. It's everyone's dream neighbourhood eatery; warm, welcoming and emanating lovely smells that waft down the street.
Vanessa says the word is "convivium", a gathering of food-worshippers for some communal gluttony, Pompeii-style. She's right - Delicious does atmosphere so well it barely needs to bother with food. But it does bother, and the results are, on the night we visit, tasty and efficient with a few excellent highlights.
Our service is flawless; it's great to see Delicious has brought its service up to the generally top standard set by its kitchen. While we wait at the bar for a table, the bartender is solicitous and professional, proffering refills and chilled water as a glass empties. With a no-reservations policy, Delicious could make life a little difficult for itself - there's often a crush of diners waiting in the bar - but tonight the maitre d' adeptly manages his list, giving accurate assessments of how long a table will take to become free (20 minutes in our case) and swiftly finding and seating his listees when it's time to eat. The post-dining service is equally good; when I notice a few day's later the staff have forgotten to charge us for three desserts, I ring and offer to pay, but the owner tells me not to worry.
The food includes some gems. We order bruschette to start, topped with either slow-roasted small tomatoes or braised lentils. The toppings are great; the tomatoes simple and juicy and slightly squashed on to the bread for stability, and the lentils firm and nutty. The bread is striped black by the grill on the outside but untouched by heat in the middle, which gives a surprising smoky effect to the taste - perhaps one flavour-layer too many.
For mains, the kitchen has just run out of Vanessa's first choice, the intriguing tarakihi and herb tortelloni with mascarpone and saffron sauce ($20.50) so she and I both order pappardelle with braised veal shanks, saffron and gremolata ($18.50).
Although the whole dish is tasty, it's not nearly as good as a relative of this combination I tasted on a previous visit, which had a real lemony ping to offset the veal. There's nothing wrong with this dish; it is just ordinary, and I know the clever chefs at Delicious are capable of more.
Like the linguine with salami, fennel and pangrattato ($18) - there is a pleasant meatiness infused throughout the tomato-heavy dish and the fried breadcrumbs add a nice texture. Shakya enjoys it, but we've become distracted by talking about what we'd order for our last meals on earth.
It's one of those character-defining questions: if you had only moments to live, what would be on the menu? "Meat", he says simply, "with some kind of rice. And capsicum." A doctor, it seems, once told him to avoid capsicum, engendering a lifelong craving. Vanessa says in a bashful whisper her Death Row meal would be something from Burger King. She's usually a lady of very sophisticated taste, but there's something about the King, she says, that just sends her into guilty ecstasy. I've heard the same thing, believe it or not, from a chef at one of the city's finest establishments - I wonder what addictive substances they're putting in those Whoppers?
Back to Delicious, and an astoundingly good dessert: pannacotta of orange, mascarpone and vanilla, served with pistachio biscotti. The pannacotta itself is exquisite, just on the boundary of firm and wobbly; a creamy suspension of hundreds of tiny vanilla seeds. The orange gives the whole thing a mouthwarming spiciness. It is on Vanessa's plate, but that doesn't stop me leaning across the table to scoop mouthfuls. The biscotti are sweet and crumbly and not quite tooth-crackingly hard enough for my liking, but I suspect diners fragile of fang would be grateful.
My own dessert is a quince and apple tart; jammy on the bottom and marzipan-firm through the middle, atop a dark and crunchy crust and served with excellent creme anglaise. Shakya has almond and orange cake that he pronounces first-rate, although neither of us can take our eyes off that pannacotta. If I were to be executed tomorrow, it would be on the menu.
Delicious
Where: 472 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn (09) 360 7590
The wine: By the glass $7.80 to $14, by the bottle $37.50 to $80.
Our meal: $129.25 for four, including entrees, mains, coffee and drinks by the glass (plus $21 for the desserts we weren't charged for).
Verdict: A delightful local, with some truly impressive highlights.
Out of 10
Food: 8
Service: 8
Value: 7
Ambience: 9
