Where: 1 Solent St, Mechanics Bay (09) 309 9514
Our meal: $250.50 for two cocktails, a starter, two entrees, two mains, a dessert, five glasses of wine and a soft drink.
Wine list: Broad, and some very decent options by the glass.
Verdict: One of the best interiors, but the food and the service have greater potential.
Out of 10
Food: 6
Service: 6
Value: 7
Ambience: 8
While it's true that you can find damn fine food - if not dainty fine dining - in places with cracked floors and formica tables, there is nothing quite like entering a restaurant where the style impresses.
Mikano has a whole lot going for it in that regard: it possesses an industrial, modern look which works and doesn't feel oppressive; the place is light, airy and accommodating; there is good separation between the comfortable bar (where we enjoyed cocktails) and the step-down or mezzanine dining areas; and the room is large enough but still feels intimate. Then there are the views. Hmmm, the views ...
Get lucky and you have a harbour vista, less lucky and you have a container park with the odd semi-trailer rolling in. There is sometimes the thrill of seeing a chopper take off from right outside, but on this night it was drizzling and my view across my wife's shoulder was of containers and tarmac whipped by the wind. You take your chances at Mikano, but I still think this is one of the finest interiors in the city.
Of course Mikano's menu has to do its bit and this was an uneven night all round. They weren't busy but we waited a long time for our first drinks, then my half-dozen Clevedon oysters with a gentle wasabi mayonnaise (salty, juicy and quite special, $16) arrived at the same time as my duck entree, and later we wondered when we might get the second glasses we asked for. That said, our hostess and young waiter were helpful, polite and quick to rectify the situations.
My entree of country-style duck and mushroom in a walnut pastry with a couple of pickled cherries ($22.50) was a little lacking in flavour and the pastry rather too buttery. Megan's ceviche of Akaroa salmon with gazpacho sauce was similarly passable and nice enough, but with no bite to the gazpacho.
Our mains - my grilled tuna with a black olive tapenade and a salad of orange and fennel ($34.50), and Megan's chargrilled sirloin ($36.50) - were both excellent, but had clearly been left on the counter too long. The sizzle had gone from the steak and the tuna was warm but little more. Not enough to send back, but enough to be a little disappointing. They weren't busy and even a table of about 10 nearby shouldn't have thrown their timing quite this much.
So Mikano, despite the comfort and stylishness, and the excellence of the wine, just seemed a spark and shine off its best. I maintain it has the potential to be one of our best restaurants and chef John Flack knows what he is doing with the menu.
On the night, however, we were disappointed, not the least because Mikano isn't cheap. But that wouldn't put me off going again.
Next time though I'd hope for better ... and a window seat facing north. I'm not expecting that brutally ugly container park will move anytime soon.
