Pescatore's venison carpaccio with beetroot and rhubarb. Photo / Simon Baker
Where: The George, 50 Park Tce, Christchurch. Ph (03) 379 4560.
Our meal: $25 for starters, $39 mains, $7 additions, plus cheese, desserts and wine. There are other menu options, such as Middle and Evolution, but the prices are comparable.
Wine list: Comprehensive, with some top vintages.
Verdict: Sit back and be spoiled. This is top-level dining.
Out of 10
Food: 9
Service: 9
Value: 7
Ambience: 8
Rhubarb with beetroot. Weird? Wonderful. Especially when the thinly-sliced rhubarb has been macerated for several hours in gin, and served with tiny cubes of beetroot as an accompaniment to venison carpaccio.
There was a time when a meal in a hotel restaurant, or more usually dining room,
meant soup, a roast meal and steamed pudding. Although these relics can still be found in some country towns, things have moved on.
Pescatore, in the George, overlooking Christchurch's Hagley Park, is a fine example of just how far hotel dining has come. The restaurant itself overlooks the park too, which is splendid.
The private room, where we ate, had no view, but the decor amply compensated. The table was white and shiny, the chairs black, and the walls lined with black and white native leaf outlines. It was gorgeous. As the name implies, the restaurant concentrates on fish.
While there are other choices, four of the five starters on the "Decisions" menu are fish-oriented, and three of the five mains. But I opted for the non-fish choices this time. I started with the venison, which, as well as the rhubarb and beetroot, came with truffle toast and olive oil icecream.
The carpaccio was so thin it was almost transparent, and although I had doubts about the icecream, it suited the truffle toast particularly well. I left the wine choice to Kevin, the charming Irish waiter, and the glass of 2006 Main Divide pinot noir from the Waipara Valley was inspired.
Pescatore makes a point of offering local wines, as they should, and the cellar list is one of the best in the country. On to the main. I enjoy game when it's well done, and there was a fair chance that chef Reon Hobson could manage this. With my beer-poached loin and braised leg of hare came faux liquorice puree, made from cardamom and fennel puree coloured with squid ink. The hare was tender, and the puree had a depth of flavour, almost treacly in consistency, that complemented it perfectly.
The 2007 Chard Farm pinot noir was more substantial than the Main Divide offering, as this rich meat demands. Rosemary ordered crayfish with bread jus and sherry vinegar, because she could not believe how the accompanying grilled cauliflower would work with this. It did, but it was a close-run thing. There were cheeses of the soft, hard and blue varieties, with appropriate wines, and then dessert.
I retired defeated, but the carrot cake with vanilla mousse and walnut praline, tarte tatin with marscapone tortellini and apple thyme salad, and white chocolate and wasabi parfait with pickled ginger foam were all beautifully presented, inspiring appreciative noises from around the table. By far the most attractive offering was Sweets From the Garden - corn saffron pannacotta, pea and pistachio icecream, sweet pumpkin and elderflower.
Spectacular it looked, but I wasn't tempted. Fruits with the meat course I can cope with, although not always with enjoyment, but vegetables as a dessert? Not sure. For a special occasion in Christchurch, Pescatore is perfect.
The flavours are fresh and robust, the presentation careful and delicate. I just wish I knew what had happened to that rhubarb-infused gin.
