Address: 210 Symonds St, Newton
Ph: (09) 377 1911
Web: thefrenchcafe.co.nz
Cuisine: Contemporary
Rating: 9.5/10
Here's how to feel like a VIP for the night. Trust me, there's no need to hire a helicopter to transport you to a luxury lodge. And don't even think of enlisting a PR company to organise your own "exclusive" party, complete with a guest list of 300 strangers. It's much simpler than that. Phone The French Cafe and book in for dinner. And even if, as in our case, there's only the early sitting (5.30pm) on offer, say yes, because time becomes irrelevant once you are cocooned inside this most beautifully organised restaurant. You will be greeted with the utmost warmth, then ushered to your table in one of the two dining rooms (it matters not which one in my view, they both have their advantages) and after that, you will be treated to an evening, where brilliant service never misses a beat and dramatically exquisite food just keeps on coming. Whether you leave feeling important or not will be up to you, but I can guarantee that you will feel special because owners chef Simon Wright and Creghan Molloy-Wright (pictured above) have geared the experience of dining at their restaurant to making each of their guests feel incredibly cared for.
I seriously considered focusing this entire review solely on the little extras that you receive during a dinner service here. I swear if we'd had only those, I could still have given the rating above. The warm rolls, baked in-house and served with herb infused butters, were chewy and fantastic; the amuse bouche did exactly what it is supposed to do in providing a few thrilling mouthfuls of flavour and texture to charge our palates with anticipation for what was to come; the simple orange and persimmon granita, a gift from the kitchen served to diners just before dessert, ensured that savoury tones were gently cleared away to make way for the sweet things that followed.
On Wright's menus you'll find a visionary mix of local and regional ingredients, like nasturtium, wild mushrooms and native seaweeds, combined with the world's best offerings of iberico ham, fresh white truffles and caviar.
When the first of our dishes arrived we stared at them in stunned silence. A fig and beetroot tart, so perfectly round it seemed unbelievable, on which sat a warm baked French goat's cheese so soft-looking that I was overcome with the urge to squeeze the snowy, white plumpness. My own dish was equally as glorious; three handmade dumplings settled in an onion miso broth. The tender dough casing gave way to a smooth filling of potato and cheese and it was one of the sweetest mouthfuls you could ever imagine.
