Martin Bosley's Yacht Club, Wellington

By JENNIFER YEE for canvas

The 120-year-old Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club on Wellington 's Oriental Parade is a members-only affair, but recently its restaurant was opened to the public.A gracious gesture.

The dining room is a long, elegant space and with only 10 tables,all diners can see the harbour in motion.

Water brought to your table without being asked for is always a good start. Martin Bosley 's Yacht Club Restaurant goes that step further by offering a complimentary martini shot and one plump, raw Clevedon Coast
oyster with honey-dew melon salsa.

We liked the "fleur de sel" (French salt flakes) sprinkled over the soft butter, which came with fresh bread rolls, though we would have preferred the rolls warm and crisp-crusted.

Bosley 's kitchen prides itself on daily changes to the menu, reflecting the arrival of seasonal produce —such as white asparagus from Canterbury.

The fish-focused menu offers a refreshing combination of flavours and ingredients incorporating less mainstream produce. This promises a welcome adventure for jaded palates.

To start with, cousin Audrey enjoyed the crusted lamb 's brain with French lentils and a hazelnut-caper emulsion and grilled lamb 's tongue with an onion and grain mustard soubise (onion sauce softened with apple).

When does food become art? The Tri of Tartars just may be the closest it comes to a triptych on a plate. Three perfect cubes of crab with granny smith and a streak of ginger and chive oil,finely diced tuna with poached sweetbreads topped with a disk of garlic nougatine, beads of salmon with bee pollen, thyme and chive oil.

This is Bosley at his best.

We 're fond of fish and here they make a point of mentioning on the menu that each morning they "visit the fish market to hand-select the freshest and best varieties available to be able to offer the finest seafood in Wellington (weather permitting)".

On offer were grey banded ling, warehou and monkfish. Our waiter, Francis, recommended the warehou for my grilled fish, which was served with oyster tortellini, cauliflower puree, sauteed spinach and a shot of hot almond milk emulsion.

The fish was flavoursome with succulent big flakes.The almond milk is a simple but clever addition, but the tortellini was a little heavy on the pasta side.

Audrey 's freshwater salmon and preserved lemon and vanilla sabayon was proclaimed nicely cooked and delicious. She obviously wasn 't going to eat the accompanying small pot of crayfish and candied orange macaroni which I subsequently snaffled.

Our side of "mixed field leaves " came with a balanced citrus and palm sugar vinaigrette.

The wine list offers some of our best New Zealand regional wines with a small number by the glass but we enjoyed the crisp, aromatic Hunter Valley 2003 Margan Verdelho with our fish.

I don 't diet, and our maitre d ' obliged with a tasting plate of mini versions of the desserts we fancied rather than the whole hog-out.

The pud called Pear Pear Pear won favour - pear foam with palm sugar dressing, pear ice cream and warm pear and crystallised ginger cake.

The grilled winter melon with Turkish delight and rosemary sabayon also pleased us,although the delight was a little tough on the dental work.(Nothing beats fresh Turkish delight, locally made by dentist turned Turkish
delight master Can Zpinar).

Service is knowledgeable, friendly and apologetic, so we forgave them for the timing being slightly out and forgetting to take our jackets.

We thank them for the lack of pretentious attitude.

WHERE:
Martin Bosley's Yacht Club Restaurant, 103 Oriental Parade, Wellington, (04)385 6963

OUR MEAL: $160.50 for 2 with two glasses of wine.Entree $20-$28. Mains $26-$32. Desserts $15-$18.

OUR WINES: By the glass $9-$15.By the bottle $33-$253.

OVERALL: Stylish NZ food with a seafood focus and waterfront views.

* Read more about what's happening in the world of food, wine, party places and entertainment in canvas magazine, part of your Weekend Herald print edition.