Dockside, Wellington

By JAN CORBETT for canvas

Call me old-fashioned, but I thought the point of a restaurant was that it could feed large numbers of people all at once, so that you don't have to.

So it was a surprise, having booked for Wellington's Dockside restaurant, that after we were seated we were told we would have to wait for menus because the large group who arrived before us were using them all, and that for the same reason there would be a half-hour wait for our meals. I suppose it was nice of them to tell us. We grumpily negotiated for complimentary bread and dips to ease the pain, and marvelled at a restaurant that didn't have the same number of menus as chairs.

Compared with Auckland, Wellington knows how to use its waterfront, and Dockside at Queen's Wharf probably has the best site of all. We were seated on the marquee-covered verandah, seemingly suspended above mirror-glass water with a fine view of the downtown high-rises, and basking under a very efficient gas heater. The setting, the comfort, the nibbles, a perusal of the impressive wine list that includes a cellar selection ranging from $50 to $500, and finally settling on a bottle of Palliser Estate Sauvignon Blanc ($40), at least made the wait endurable.

When it finally arrived, I began with the bacon and olive tagliatelle in a roasted tomato sauce ($16) which, although entree-sized, was a meal in itself. Gabrielle's Nicoise Salad ($16) was also substantial as were Maree's fish cakes ($16). We were happy now.

From a heavily fishy menu, I chose the salmon fillet with blood orange and cucumber salsa ($28) for my main, and was delighted. Maree was equally happy with her rack of lamb with roasted baby root vegetables ($29) and was so overwhelmed by the proportions she ordered a doggy-bag for the leftovers. Gabrielle, perhaps anticipating the quantities, settled for a second entree of beef olives with bacon and herb stuffing sitting on a kumara mash ($16) accompanied with seasonal wok-fried vegetables ($5). By now we had moved on to a Church Road chardonnay ($42).

Dessert, I have to say, was out of the question.

We strolled out into a comparatively balmy Wellington evening to the nearby carpark (Wellington is good like that), feeling we had been well fed but a little under-appreciated, given the wait at the start and the extraordinary reason for it. For that reason I have to mark it down, but otherwise recommend it if you are seeking water-side dining in the capital.

Cost: Meal for three, including wine, excluding dessert, $211

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