Herald on Sunday rating: * * * *
Address: 21 Viaduct Harbour Ave, Lighter Quay
Phone: (09) 909 9038
Open: 6.30am to 10.30pm (11pm Friday and Saturday)
Vegetarians: A pasta, no main course
Watch out for: The $5 coffees
Wine list: Deep and wide
Bottom line: Among the best in town.
KEY POINTS:
What a dreary and awful place that Lighter Quay is. The name conjures up bustle and waterfront activity - the lighter it is named after is a small, flat-bottomed barge of the type they used to ferry goods between ship and shore back in the days before wharfies got in the way. But the area, between the Viaduct Harbour and Halsey St, is an antiseptic environment, hostile to humans, like a set for The Truman Show.
Entering the Westin by night is, if anything, slightly more depressing. No obvious signs offer directions and, in the dim light with reflective surfaces everywhere, it is hard to see where we're going. Making matters worse, we are given a table in a dark and distant corner even though the place is almost empty and will not, in the course of the evening, become very busy. The waiter is cheerful and obliging enough about moving us, when we ask, into the light and near the fireplace, but you have to wonder why they don't give you the best table available right from the start.
It's an unprepossessing start to what is supposed to be an evening of fine dining and I manage not to feel grumpy only because the Blonde tells me to pull my head in. She has every right to do so: it's a special night for her, because she is celebrating some good news.
The prevailing visual motif in Q's design looks at first like tiger skin but is of a black-and-orange sedimentary stone in cross-section. It predominates on most vertical surfaces and seems a tad busy for an upscale joint. Hanging curtains of steel mesh, reminiscent of nothing so much as the wirewove that held up the kapok mattresses of our student days, make interesting dividers, and the room design, which leads diners past the kitchen servery to their tables, is a good one: I have always thought that the dining experience is improved by at least a glimpse of the kitchen.
Q deals in Italian-inspired New Zealand cuisine and, after the bumpy take-off, the evening soars and glides.
I opt for a beefy experience: a carpaccio of fillet and a grilled sirloin. The former is sensational, the slices a juicy 5mm or so thick and drizzled with what tastes like a subtle horseradish cream; the sirloin is divinely, pinkly rare as requested and the bed of fennel, lentil, and olive salsa on which it sits avoids the steak-and-spuds cliche elegantly. The Blonde oohs and aahs her way through a salad of prosciutto and figs but is less impressed with her saltimbocca - a cheesy stuffing and cheesy risotto accompaniment overpowers the veal and is far too rich.
But the pumpkin ravioli that we share mid-meal is quite perfect; the burnt butter, lemon and sage dressing practically dances on the plate.
Q's big helpings are a plus, but they seem not to have heard of taking leftovers home, which is a minus. Doggy bags may be beneath most of their customers, but not this one. My request was not an invitation to discussion; the correct answer was: "Certainly". But these details aside, this was excellent food served with style and flair. Recommended.
- Detours, HoS
