WHERE: 263 Ponsonby Rd, Auckland (09) 361 1556
OUR MEAL: $346 for antipasto for two, four entrees, four mains, seven glasses of wine, three desserts, cocktail, two bottles of sparkling mineral water. WINE LIST: Serviceable selection of local and Italians, half a dozen by the glass. A cellar list is available.
VERDICT: Friendly, helpful service in an overlit room, but the mains didn't meet the promise of the menu descriptions.
OUT OF 10
FOOD: 5
SERVICE: 8
VALUE: 5
AMBIENCE: 7
KEY POINTS:
After we'd discussed books and movies, our conversation turned to Housing New Zealand staff spending the weekend at Tongariro Lodge. We didn't see it as an extravagance, least of all in a world where corporate high-fliers with dodgy track records can pick up what looks a telephone number of dollars as a performance fee or payout.
But one of our guests, John, also made a point: these people are doing a thankless task and so when they have a conference why shouldn't it be somewhere decent? John and his wife Tanya do what I consider a thankless task too - they deal daily with difficult and often-deprived students - and you can guess they don't have extravagant conferences or lavish Christmas parties.
Which is why we were looking forward to going out together, especially to an Italian restaurant where we knew we could get something delicious and warming. Or so we thought.
The brightly-lit Gusto on Ponsonby Rd was hardly swinging when we arrived, but the welcome was hospitable, the menu enticing and the occasion of celebrating a birthday long overdue.
We shared the antipasto for two (interesting enough, but of modest size for $25) and had glasses of wine while we considered the many enticements of the mains.
John's lightly fried calamari entree passed the test and my ravioli, made in-house, was excellent, thick and generously stuffed with pesto and mushrooms.
Megan and Tanya had the special of zucchini, eggplant and capsicum stuffed with truffle-infused risotto and parmesan - presented with Japanese elegance - and were suitably impressed. And then it all went horribly wrong, as they say.
Megan said later she had seen the waitress hovering near the kitchen, which might have explained why, when our mains arrived, much of what was on the plates was tepid. Although my beef was fine on that count it was ordinary and slightly overcooked, and certainly fell short of the promise of the menu description.
As did Tanya's chicken thighs stuffed with various cheeses which she said - and I can confirm - were dull and largely tasteless. John's pork bellies were oily and unpalatable (he left one) and only Megan was happy with her mains choice, the ravioli which was the main-sized version of my entree. But because this was a special occasion - even if the gloss was now coming off - we ordered desserts.
John had panna cotta and was disappointed again, Tanya enjoyed the tiramisu and Megan was very taken with the special of chocolate waffle cake.
I sidestepped my usual cheeseboard for an interesting grappa/amaretto mix to ward off winter chills. Although this night wasn't in the vicinity of what we might have spent at, say, Tongariro Lodge, you'd have to observe that with mains above $25 and even $30, and entrees in the mid-$20 range, Gusto is certainly not a cheap night out - so you have every right to expect better.
As so much good Italian product is coming in through specialist importers, I wonder why Auckland is still so poorly served by Italian restaurants.
We have Italian eateries, but very few high-quality restaurants, and even one of those disappointed us recently.
I doubt Gusto will have the chance to disappoint again.
