Address: 33 Drake St
Phone: (09) 379 8167
Website: lazeppa.co.nz
As my friend Chris and I made the bleak trek across town from the university to La Zeppa behind Victoria Park Market on what seemed like the coldest night since the last Ice Age, we both expressed some trepidation about our destination.
Chris had been there for a few lunchtime sessions which were beery affairs and had never even noticed the restaurant part. The last time I'd been was for a dinner on a Saturday and the place was deafening as the sound bounced off the brick walls.
We'd quit early and left the place to the hip and fashionable young people who clearly hadn't heard about the recession judging by how many cocktails they were tossing back.
Both of us also had qualms about "tapas", noting they are rarely authentic and often seem an excuse to charge a lot for a little. I added that Peter Gordon's Bellota beneath the Sky Tower had set such a high threshold that anywhere else was bound to be found wanting.
However, as we got closer we also agreed going anywhere in the expectation of a bad time was pointless, so we cheerfully strode through the door and encountered a warm welcome, a waiter who allowed us a table of our choosing and a wine list which included Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and French options.
Our young waitress was not only utterly charming but knew something of the wines and steered us towards an excellent bottle of Barco Negro from Portugal ($49) and suggested it was better decanted, which she did immediately. Our eyebrows went up. And from there on - with one exception - our night got even better.
We were there to talk as much to eat - four hours later we were still talking and scribbling CD and book titles on paper napkins - so started simply with the selection of olives, feta and grilled flat bread ($8) while we weighed up the state of the music industry, poetry and the "tapas".
La Zeppa will certainly fail the authenticity test on the tapas front for those who have spent time in Spanish-speaking places, but our selection of sliced Moroccan-style lamb ($14.50), chicken balls with water chestnut and udon noodles (very Spanish? $11) and calamari stuffed with prawns ($11) were mostly spot-on (though the rocket bed beneath the calamari was a bit on the soggy side). The major disappointment was the venison empanadas ($11.50), which consisted of over-cooked pastry and rather tasteless venison.
About this time we should have left, gone home, but we called for the wine list again, accepted the advice on a bottle of French Chateau Lanseman '05 (again decanted), and ordered two of the cheese selections ($14.50 each) to complement the fine flavours.
We were happy men indeed, the problems of the music, poetry and political worlds were solved - but by this time La Zeppa was starting to fill up with younger people and the noise levels went up accordingly.
That said, thanks to the hospitable staff who were attentive to water and wine glasses but never intrusive, we lingered and avoided the chilly blast outside for a bit longer.
La Zeppa, especially given what we had said on the way there, proved to be a pleasant surprise on all counts and if the tapas lacked range and subtlety, we concluded that the atmosphere, wines and staff were more than adequate compensation.
Going anywhere with the expectation of having a bad time, we had confirmed, is pointless. We had a very good time indeed.
Rating out of 10
Food: 7
Service: 8
Value: 7
Ambience: 7
Our meal: $197 for an entree, four tapas, cheese selections, two bottles of wine.
Wine list: Unexpectedly good selection of internationals and locals across a wide price range.
Verdict: Weeknights might be better than noisy weekends but the good wine, warm atmosphere and decent "tapas" are worth investigating.
