Mikano

By EWAN McDONALD

Rating: * * * *

France sans Zinedine Zidane. The Alliance without Jim. Mikano, missing Judith Tabron now her art's in Soul. The first two went belly-up, so what's happening down at the helicopter pad? We repaired to Mechanics Bay to find out.
John Gosney, who opened the glass and steel harbourside grandstand of Mikano eight years ago, has a bit of a knack for finding good help. His first chef/general manager was Warwick Brown, from just along the foreshore at Cin Cin; then Tabron, who had captured diners' hearts at the impeccable Ramses, was at Mikano for 18 months until she moved upstream.

Now it is in the hands, day to day, of general manager Kelly Young, who traces her experience from her parents' cafe-restaurant in Rarotonga to Darling Harbour, hosting stars such as Julio Iglesias and the Bolshoi Ballet, and a stint at the Centra (now Crowne Plaza). Front-of-house, too, is Poi Niuloa, a familiar face from Rosini's in High St.

Gosney didn't have to look far for a new executive chef. The management consultants like to call it "succession planning". John Flack has been at Mikano for six years. Before, he was in Melbourne for 12 years in a couple of its best kitchens: Stephanie Alexander's legendary Stephanie's and Bill Marchetti's lamented Latin. Connect the dots again: both Marchetti and Greg Malouf have crossed the ditch for guest stints at Mikano.

Enough of the people, let's get to the food. Those who haven't dropped into the place for a few months will be glad to hear that their favourites are still on Flack's menu, which tends towards modern versions of Mediterranean staples - like the veal scallopini - rather than dipping into the Pacific Rim or genuine fusion.

He wouldn't dare drop the famous "fish cooked five ways", although he has had a bit of a play with the accompaniments, and choices were limited on the night we visited because it had been too rough for the boats to go out. Nor has he strayed too far from the famous pork cutlet, which you'll find on the winter menu, rubbed with black pepper and ginger, served with sweet, honey-glazed yams, a watercress and orange salad, and crisp, crunchy crackling laid jauntily, invitingly, across it.

Yes, the prices are up there. Appetisers start at $15.50, gourmet pizzas delivered at $19.50, and main courses dished up from $27.50. You'll probably want to order vegetables, too. Flack's desserts tempt (we can recommend the apricot and amaretto parfait with apricot sauce and lace biscuit); so do the cheeses, all New Zealand award-winners.

The wine list is good rather than spectacular, with some premium offerings but only a few available by the glass. We particularly enjoyed a taste of Matakana Estate's bold cabernet-merlot-malbec franc blend, too rarely seen in Auckland restaurants, from the Vegar family's vineyard in the valley outside Warkworth. Have to admit we weren't as impressed with another patriotic choice, Serendipity olive oil from Marlborough, which we ordered with breads and noted a bitter aftertaste.

Apart from the food and the assured, knowledgeable, professional service, one of Mikano's attractions is its harbour-edge site. The architect took every opportunity to exploit it, and the restaurant has crammed a table or two too many against the wall of floor-to-ceiling glass.

A waiter executed a commendable pas de deux with a pillar and our table to serve the folk next to us, and we were unwelcome guests at neighbours' conversations. We could tell you a fascinating yarn about a guy who'd just got out of jail, got drunk, and what happened when the baton-wielding police arrived, but ... our lips are sealed.

www.mikano.co.nz/

Address: 1 Solent St, Mechanics Bay
Ph (09) 309 9514

Open: Mon-Friday lunch from 11.30am, dinner till late Sat closed lunch, dinner from 5.30pm
Sun brunch 10am-4pm, dinner till late

Food: Modern European

Owner: John Gosney

General manager: Kelly Young

Executive chef: John Flack

Smoking: Yes, in restricted area

Wine: Good list with premium offerings, only a few by the glass

Noise: Subtle contemporary lounge under the chatter and occasional helicopter taking off

Cost (mains for two): $60 and up

Vegetarian: Full menu available

Bottom line: After six years alongside Warwick Brown and Judith Tabron, John Flack takes over at the ovens, keeping the customers satisfied with the old favourites (fish cooked five ways, pork cutlet) while putting his own stamp on the waterside institution's modern European-leaning cuisine.