Phone: (09) 379 3557
We spent: $174.90 for four.
Rating out of 10: Food: 7 Service: 7 Value: 8 Ambience: 9
Galbraith's hot chips: soothing Auckland hangovers since forever.
They used to fry them in beef dripping. A vegetarian friend of mine used wilfully to ignore this and I would not judge her, because those chips were outstanding. Today, of course, they are triple-cooked because fashion dictates the modern chip must be only slightly less labour intensive than, say, a vegan cheesecake (first make your "cheese").
At Galbraith's Alehouse, potatoes are hand-cut, par-boiled and twice-fried at the rate of about 200 serves a week. They come, highly recommended, by today's review panel: Four journalists well-versed in the restorative power of hot chips.
I know exactly how Galbraith's makes theirs, because I rang to ask about the sausages and got chatting. They have a new chef (ex Source Cafe and a long stint at the now defunct Hammerheads) and about the time you read this review, there will be some new menu items, including a porcini and semolina gnocchi with lamb rump, which sounds like a spectacular way to eat winter.