Gault at George, Parnell

By EWAN McDONALD for viva

At Gault at George the years - not hours - spent sweating over hot stoves are reflected in the joy of eating for their customers.

It is probably no coincidence that the restaurant has also put thought, care and investment into front-of-house staff, sommeliers, decor and 100 other details. This, not after the six 30-minute episodes of Oliver's Twist, is when the hard work of the kitchen pays off - for everyone.

Pick your way through the train-wreck of redevelopment that is the Downtown, old Railway Station and Grafton delta, and up the hill to Parnell, where Gault has been in residence since December. Over six months Gault@George has matured into one of the most ... oh, bugger it, the most exciting restaurant in Auckland.

Every detail has been thought out, chewed over and planned by Lou Jones, the experienced restaurateur, and Robert Johnston, recently honoured as the country's best maitre d', before Gault and his sidekick, Shane Yardley, fire up the gas. So when they do, the two executive chefs have the confidence and the freedom to express their virtuosity, the gastronomic equivalent of Ry Cooder's slide guitar soaring and swooping over John Hiatt's strum.

Who wins? Diners who lap up ingenious combinations of legally mind-expanding ingredients: the fish with a warm salad of fennel and cucumber in a Noilly Prat emulsion; the ham hock roasted in the wood oven, with a cabbage leaf that hides a ham and potato puree, a sage and white port jus; the wood-roasted artichokes, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic and grilled lemon, that team with a prime rib.

Gault serves dessert duets, outrageous mix'n'matches of dishes like a butterscotch pudding and salted caramel icecream that rests on sweet potato topped with peppered chocolate sauce.

Oh, and yes, the rotisserie chicken makes a cameo appearance. This time the chef signs it off with an Italian rub and serves it on a potato puree with marinated radicchio and an egg salad.

Open: 7 days noon-late

Owner: Lou Jones

Executive chef/Menu creator: Simon Gault

Co-executive chef: Shane Yardley

Restaurant manager: Robert Johnston

Food: They call it "good, healthy and honest food that is simple but elegant".

On the menu:

Hot Maple smoked kahawai, tempura cipolline onions, rocket lettuce and brandy prawn sauce $14.50

Rabbit & Kidney Pie encased in a provolone polenta crust with a three-cheese sauce and sage chips $28.50

Akaroa Salmon hot smoked over Stonyridge vine leaves served with asparagus bread-and-butter pudding and a tomato crayfish jus $28.50

Dessert duet valrhona mamjari chocolate fondant pudding / tapioca panna cotta topped with pohutukawa sauterne syrup and berries $16.50

Wine: Remarkable breadth, depth ... and expense

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