WHERE: 49 Main Road, Bombay. (09) 236 1030; www.bracu.co.nz
OUR MEAL: $178 for the three-course special menu with five glasses of wine.
OUR WINE: By the glass, $13 to $16.
VERDICT: Superior food, well presented in pleasing surroundings.
OUT OF 10
FOOD: 9
SERVICE: 8
VALUE: 8
AMBIENCE: 8
KEY POINTS:
How, we wondered, would the much-lauded Bracu be doing in this grisly winter?
On these dismal nights it's a bit of an effort to prise yourself from the fire to nip down the road to the neighbourhood cafe, never mind braving the motorway and across to the Simunovich Olive Estate - unless, of course, you happen to live in Bombay or Pukekohe.
Whether the bulk of the Saturday night crowd when we visited were locals we could not tell but there was hardly a seat left in the place. Mind you, it was a bargain night, described as "all about beef" with three courses at a set price of $52. The response seemed to indicate that the inevitable triumph of vegetarianism may be delayed for a little longer.
We were slightly disappointed not to be able to avail ourselves of the more exotic offerings usually on offer here but we had been telephoned after making our booking to make us aware of the restricted palette.
We accepted the abandonment of such delights as oxtail, lentil and red wine buttered snails with caramelised garlic, salt-roasted shallots, parsley salad and Emilio Lustau vinegar jus or the warm sweet corn and garlic sponge with picual olive Napoleon and one eye vegetable bouillabaisse (whatever they all may be).
Reducing the options essentially to beef, in fact, provides something of a test in that the basics of good produce and sound technique are pretty exposed. Bracu came through with colours flying.
Both of the first course options were good. The scampi cocktail was a far cry from the rubbery prawns smothered in pink stuff of my blighted youth, with a clear avocado whip as a base for excellent scampi. My duck salad was of perfectly underdone meat set off well by baby beets and caramelised mandarin.
Then it was into the beef. There were four choices, not counting the salmon steak provided for the beast-averse. Each was specified with some exactitude and it was not an easy choice to bypass the Hereford prime beef rib, 20-day aged, all-day braised 350gm (as the menu described it) or the rib eye.
I went for the Limousin rump and it delivered, a mouth-watering crust and an interior full of flavour to chew on. The black Angus fillet, our other choice, was chosen partly because it was the smallest but it was a very respectable size and the last couple of squares had to be diverted to the greedy side of the table.
It was, again, beautifully cooked and meltingly tender. It was fun to ring the changes with a new dressing for each mouthful, with bearnaise sauce, cafe du Paris butter, red wine sauce and Dijon mustard all supplied.
The simple accompaniments of a little mashed potato, roasted onions and mushrooms were appropriate and the plain, dressed cos salad was a well-calculated contrast of taste and texture.
If the food choice was restricted, the wine selection was a much harder call. Bracu's 22-page wine list offered a spectacular range of options and with a very good range by the glass.
If this was a bargain night, there was little cut-price about the service although, at the risk of sounding precious, we were slightly surprised not to be automatically offered the choice of changing glasses when switching from white to red with different courses.
The old villa-style premises are comfortable and inviting and our table on the terrace just about coped with the winter cold without our having to resort to the rugs provided to supply that bit of protection for the bits the overhead heaters couldn't reach.
We had a pleasing evening and the thought of an upgrade next time to their eight-course, wine-matched events is more than a little tempting.
And if you don't fancy driving home we found Bracu's recommendation of B&B at Brookfield Lodge very welcoming.
