WHERE: The Engine Room, 115 Queen Street, Northcote Point (09) 480 9502
OUR MEAL: $219 for three entrees, three main courses, two desserts and four glasses of wine.
OUR WINE: By the glass $10-$15. By the bottle 45-$115, look out for the Pyramid Valley Lebecca Hill Riesling, $70.
VERDICT: Good, sometimes brilliant, cuisine in serene surroundings. Be sure to book.
OUT OF 10
FOOD: 7
SERVICE: 7
VALUE: 7
AMBIENCE: 8
KEY POINTS:
By the time we arrived at The Engine Room on Northcote Point we were champing at the bit. I'd been trying to book for weeks, but the place was packed solid.
Now, here we were at 7pm on a Tuesday and it was filling fast. I sat looking straight at the kitchen, but this was no Gordon Ramsay establishment - no swearing, no sweat - nothing to put me off the menu written on the wall above.
It is an elegant room, kept warm by two thick curtains that screen off the entry. The tables are white and bare but they do use decent cutlery and big, thick linen napkins - and the loos, with their black floor covering, glistening black and white tiles and lingering smell of expensive perfume, are exceptional.
So, too, were the deep-fried mini croquettes which arrived with our wine. Nestled on a small dish, crunchy, crispy and cheesy with the compliments of the chef, they definitely enhanced those first few sips of my over-chilled Peregrine riesling and Barb's Dog Point sauvignon blanc. Brian's Te Awa merlot (all $11) was a more acceptable room temperature. We started with two of the entree salads, the unlikely-sounding lamb shank salad ($18) and the Thai prawn salad ($19) plus the chicken and pork terrine ($18), which is now part of Brian's personal research mission. Best of the entrees was the lamb shank salad. Delicious.
Slow cooked lamb goes beautifully with lettuce. Not so the Thai prawns which were murdered by the addition of that thin, cold vermicelli favoured by Thai chefs. Combined with one of those stringy salads (all stalk and no leaf) I ended up with green and white straw poking out between mouthfuls - most disconcerting for the dinner companions. That aside, the prawns themselves were delicious, offset as they were by morsels of sweet, succulent lychee. Now that is a wonderful combination.
As for Brian's terrine, we all had a taste and proclaimed it fine rather than brilliant. By now the restaurant was full, including the table next to us, and the noise level rose accordingly. We could have done without the music. Brian's special hapuka ($30) was amazing. The fish was expertly cooked to exactly the right stage, the intricate and interlacing flavours of harissa, pomegranate and more, were inspired. It came served with pearl barley which only added to the general effect. A five-star main course. Our veal schnitzel ($30) was not such a hit.
Maybe it had been deep-fried, rather than shallow-fried. Certainly my generous serving was so hot I had to leave it for a while and somehow the clarified butter did not have quite the same nutty flavour I love. Added to that it was accompanied by a deep-fried rosti which I had somehow failed to notice on ordering. Even the accompanying crunchy red cabbage coleslaw and scattering of tiny capers and wedge of lemon couldn't make up for all that fat.
Deep-frying is popular at The Engine Room. Our churros with chocolate sauce and whipped cream ($14, apparently the Engine Room's signature dish) were small, deep- fried doughnuts. This time they didn't disappoint. "Dip them to the bottom of the glass," instructed our waiter and we did. The effect was sensational: hot crunchy doughnut covered in chocolate sauce and then gently whipped cream. If you go, take the plunge and order a plate - they're good to share too. The New York cheesecake, (also $14) was fine but nowhere near as exciting.
The Engine Room, with prices that push it way beyond the reach of many, possibly suffers from being too successful. It is an excellent neighbourhood restaurant, with some flashes of brilliance, but didn't quite live up to its mighty reputation on our visit.
