Restaurant review: Cafe Zomer, Takapuna

Zomer on The Strand, Takapuna. Photo / Michael Craig

Address: 4 The Strand, Takapuna
Ph: (09) 488 7594
zomer.co.nz

I should have gone to Zomer ages ago, since it was started by Clare and Joost van den Berg, who went on the create the excellent and deservedly popular Odettes.

They've moved on, but the name, which means summer in their native Dutch, remains and so does the summery fitout - white brick, a yellow-striped canvas awning and a large painting of a beach scene.

To judge by the numbers who packed the place when we were there, we were lucky to get a table without a booking and I was struck by the diversity of the clientele: family groups, pensioners, a couple with a baby.

It has the feel of a place that attracts a loyal following and the daytime menu, which mentions pancakes, ham-hock pie and a vegetarian dish of beet, haloumi, spinach and pumpkin hummus looks very attractive.

I took my young brother who never grumbles that I don't take him out but does say things like "about bloody time" when I do, which is sort of a grumble.

Having recently submitted to the ministrations of a dentist whose only equipment seems to be a pair of pliers, he warned me he would not be able to give me a reliable assessment of a steak. I suggested he ask them to put his entree and main through a blender together and bring him a spoon. He did not find this funny.

Zomer does do a steak as it happens (sirloin, dijon butter and pickles) and I fancy it's damn good because almost everything else we tried was. The kitchen crew are also very efficient. I've lost count of the number of places that have taken 40 minutes to get an entree together when only three tables are occupied, but the unobtrusive waiting staff were busily ferrying food from pass to table even as the room got full.

I started with a smart take on the Italian classic vitello tonnato, which used carpaccio of smoked lamb (though oddly the word vitello, which means veal, remains in the dish's name). The meat virtually melted in the mouth and the tangy, creamy tuna sauce was state-of-the-art.

My companion was less impressed by beetroot-cured salmon, since the only sign of the curing was a red rim on the thick slice. But he was very taken with the tagine of lamb, slow-cooked and sweetly spicy. My duck breast had been carefully rested so it was excellently tender, even if the portion size was a bit mean, and the accompanying root veges were just the ticket.

The single disappointment was something called "Asian greens" - tiny heart cos lettuce leaves with shallots and, I think, traces of ginger, and no discernible dressing. It was oddly out of step with the rest of the meal.

Exemplary desserts were a bombe Alaska and a sugar-overload toffee cheesecake that I will blame if I ever get adult-onset diabetes. It was a sweet end to a very creditable and competitively priced meal at a place you should check out over the, er, zomer.

Entrees $10-$18; mains $24-$32; sides $7-$8; desserts