George, Parnell

Sonya Paget, the new face at George. Picture / Carolyn Robertson

Herald rating: *** 1/2

It's a long way to Scotland, and a long way to Havana City, too. Sonya Paget's culinary journey has taken her to the famed five-star hotel at Glen Eagles, to European kitchens beyond number, before she came home in 1999, a classically trained French chef, to put on the big white hat at the Stamford Plaza.

Fast-forward to Christmas, when Simon Gault and Shane Yardley decamped from Gault at George in Parnell to rejoin their old buddies down on the wharf at Euro. Realising that he had a couple of hard acts to follow, George proprietor Lou Jones googled Paget's phone number and invited the 33-year-old to wander up Parnell Rise and have a chat.

Smart move, for Paget is not wedded to Larousse Gastronomique. She's equally at home cooking Thai and likes to experiment with what the restaurant calls "urban flavours".

Smart move, too, for on May 29 Paget will be sitting alongside Michael Meredith of the Grove, Simon Wright of the French Cafe, and Yardley at the Lewisham Awards dinner at SkyCity when they open the envelope to announce the winner of the year's Outstanding Chef.

Gault had taken his menu back to bold, clear Italian tastes and concentrated on outstanding ingredients. Paget has gone down a more eclectic path. She uses Cuban, French, Arab and Chinese flavours, but still nods to the Italian style.

Run through the first courses, for example: oysters are served in a warm sofrito (Cuban); the risotto stars crab, pea, prosciutto and vin santo in a cream sauce (Italian); duck leg is slow-cooked with five-spice, spiced plum, parmesan and potato puree (Chinese).

That duck was just on the heavy side, the Asian spices hiding behind the heavier European invaders. Dick's grilled mozzarella, on Cuban bread, capers lurking in the bakery, was simple, a better choice.

I'd not had lamb for months, so succumbed to a rotisseried leg, seduced by the promise of cumin and fig risotto. Dick saw osso bucco and was lost; lost even further when we added a side of pea, cabbage and bacon. "Is that an old English public school favourite?" I asked, but we agreed that it sounded rather more Gaelic. Perhaps they should sling "Irish" into that bit about flavours on the website.

Something wasn't quite working here. We chewed and chatted and agreed that it was probably the heavy sauces that buried our meals. Dick sent an email the next day that muttered something unkind about indigestion during the night. That, and the fact that our meals weren't, well, really hot.

And if you want to complete the picture, the restaurant was, well, rather empty. So empty that one waitress was comfortably coping with all four tables, with the occasional assistance of the nice chap who brought our wine.

Dick had chosen - from a list which offers you the opportunity to buy a bottle from $40 to $1560 (Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1er Grand Cru-Pauillac 1988, in case you're tempted) - a softish Aussie red, Jim Barry Cover Drive ($47). He chose this because it is one of only two wines that he knows that has a label picturing cricket: an astute way to select a wine.

Paget offers some original desserts, like Bombe Cuba, a Cuban coffee ice-cream in sponge and meringue, flambeed in Cuban rum. But we had our hearts set on cheese so we nibbled on a rather tasty manchego and decent pecorino.

We've enjoyed nights at George over the past couple of years and yes, we were disappointed this time. We think the food needs to be a tad lighter and the management needs to convince punters like us that there's a really good reason to come back. Given Paget's track record, we think there will be.

Address: 144 Parnell Rd
Phone: (09) 358 2600
Owner: Lou Jones
Chef: Sonya Paget
Open: Dinner 7 days, lunch Mon-Fri
Food: Fusion
On the menu: Crumbed prawns with potato corn and saffron, pure pea-shoot salad $20; Snapper with saute of pea, cabbage and bacon, light saffron and corn puree $32; Bombe Cuba, Cuban coffee ice-cream in sponge and meringue, flambeed in Cuban rum $15
Vegetarian: You get your own menu. Happy now?
Wine: From $40-$1560
Bottom line: Sonya Paget (ex-Stamford Plaza) takes over the stoves vacated by Simon Gault and Shane Yardley with an eclectic menu of Cuban, French, Arab and Chinese flavours. The Outstanding Chef finalist has interesting ideas but it feels like a work-in-progress.