Delicious, Grey Lynn

Picture / Fotopress

Herald rating * * * * 1/2

Towards the end of our meal we were casting around trying to find something we didn't like about the cafe-cum-restaurant Delicious. But there was nothing — the food was great, the ambience of the place lovely, the waitresses charming and helpful, the prices reasonable — nothing that rated a mention to detract from a great dining experience.

I've always thought the word delicious somewhat subjective. One person's delicious dinner might be another's bland, unremarkable meal. But as the name of an eating establishment, it works. If the visionaries in the kitchen at Delicious keep this particular adjective as a benchmark for the food they turn out at a rate of knots, they're setting a mean standard.

We started with good bread ($8) and excellent olive oil to quell the hunger pangs, and a glass of wine. I had the Gibbston Valley Greenstone chardonnay ($8) and Coran a glass of Esk Valley Merlot Cabernet Malbec ($9). They came in decent-sized glasses and quite promptly, which was a good start, given the place was bustling with the early-evening crowd a little after 7. You can't book at Delicious so unless you want to wait at the bar, it pays to get in early, especially on a busy Friday night.

We were initially at a small table in the crammed-together section, and given my tendency to claustrophobia I was grateful when we were given a larger table in the more spacious area.

I was in the mood for comfort food. We decided to share a soup of borlotti beans, smoked pancetta and rosemary ($8) and it was everything a bean soup should be — rich, hearty and warming.

Keeping with the comfort theme, I decided the risotto with wild mushroom, tomato and Italian sausage ($16.50) was the go. Coran had tortellini with the same sausage, ricotta and leeks ($18). Its sauce of roast pumpkin, garlic and cream was fabulous, as were the large tortellini, perfectly cooked without any of that doughy taste you often get with handmade pasta. Each package of lusciousness was about the size of two Bluff oysters, so a plate of six was a decent helping without being over-the-top.

A rocket salad with parmesan mixed in with my risotto was a brilliant combo. The risotto's subtle, fresh flavours with a lovely creamy finish were proof it was a very good example of its type. And not a crunchy rice grain to be found.

A colleague of Coran's had an aunt — this is not an urban myth — who used to travel a lot and was an aficionado of tiramisu. She swore the Delicious tiramisu was the second best she'd ever had after a restaurant in Florence.

You choose your dessert from the cabinet at Delicious and the tiramisu was one we had to have. The other was a very chocolatey marscapone which was completely unnecessary but, in the interests of research, etc. The tiramisu was heavenly — extremely light and delicate, drenched in coffee and it had all the right ingredients that make up a classic tiramisu. My marscapone was great. We finished off with a decaf short black and a flat white ($2.80 each), marvelling at the price — where else can you get good coffee as cheap as that in the city?

Later, I was surprised to see several comments from disgruntled diners on a website. They mainly moaned about rude wait staff, but they couldn't have been more efficient and charming to us that night.

Delicious is a classic Grey Lynn eatery — informal but with a degree of sophistication — cheerful and welcoming.

Oh, and the food is fab.

Overall: Good neighbourhood restaurant with take-aways. Great food at reasonable prices.
Where: Delicious, 472 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn, 09 360 7590
Our meal: $146.30 for two. Bread, soup, salad, two mains, two desserts, three coffees, five glasses of wine.
Our wines: By the glass $8 - $12.50