Review: Tyler Street Garage, Auckland CBD

Address: 120 Quay St, Auckland
Phone: (09) 300 5279
Rating out of 10: Food: 7, Service: 8, Value: 7, Ambience: 7

We arrived at the Tyler Street Garage on one of those stormy spring nights when we Aucklanders learn to carry umbrellas, dodge the rain, then run for the restaurant before being blown away. And it certainly made arriving at Tyler Street, with its bright lights, alluring aromas and welcoming waiters an excellent experience.

Downstairs, The Garage, with its industrial-style fit-out that surely echoes its early days as a parking building, was noisy and inviting while up those unadorned steel stairs it was more like a cosy veranda bar. We chose the latter and settled in for a drink at one of Tyler Street's small tin tables. The view, which takes in both the container wharf and ferry terminals, has to be one of Auckland's most interesting. We watched the cranes and ferries work well into the night, while around us the rain and wind did its best to freeze us out and blow us away and our excellent waiters made sure we were comfortable. Yes, we could certainly pinch a couple of unused chairs for our friends. Yes, we could move our table into the centre of the room to escape the rain lashing in under the awning. And yes, we could have a rum and Coke and a non-dry white wine and a Hawkes Bay chardonnay from downstairs while we waited for our meals to appear.

The menus at Tyler Street are well thumbed, varied and rather different from the version offered online when I went to check. Most people were eating fries and pizzas but we opted for the full three courses: small plates to share, followed by larger plates and desserts, again sharing.

First up was a bowl of thin-cut, sweet and crunchy kumara fries followed by the squid and jam which was way better than the usual bar snack standard. The panko-crusted squid was cooked to tender perfection and the chilli jam just hot enough to set it off without completely obliterating the delicate squid taste. Next came Tyler Street Garage's interpretation of ceviche, or raw fish.

This version starred the well-marinated fish chopped into tiny pieces, mixed with onion and herbs and piled onto six small and wavy crackers. Again, it was surprisingly good.

And from then on to the final mouthful, Tyler Street's chefs surprised us by out-performing themselves every time. My lentil salad, which looked like a pile of lettuce when it arrived, revealed a generous mound of tender green lentils, blended with sliced beetroot and much more. The Vietnamese chicken salad was light with sweet and sour flavours, the chicken dumplings, made Chinese style, was tasty and fresh and our waiters happily provided small plates so we could share: a great start.

We then proceeded on to the larger plates, which, in our case, meant the pizzas we'd been eyeing all night rather than the steak, chicken and pasta dishes on offer. The three we chose were fantastic. Though I preferred my pizza saltimbocca with meatballs and prosciutto, the pizza with prawns was excellent too, as was the proscuitto version. Thin-crusted, with plenty of chilli in the saltimbocca, big fat prawns in the prawn special and an enormous quantity of tasty prosciutto in the third, they were delicious. And none of them were doused in tomato sauce or over-cheesy.

By then our waiters were beginning to practically cheer us on. "What, you want dessert as well?" We sure did and were mightily pleased with the crisp baked cherry and apple pie, which was about as big as a Big Ben but flatter and tasting rather more exquisite, with just the right balance of tart and sweet flavours: a knockout. Meanwhile, the apple doughnuts were tiny, well-sugared and served as a small mountain alongside a generous scoop of icecream.

Just when even I was about to give up, the others assured me that the chocolate brownie, which looked boring by comparison, was best of all. And it was! Unlike any brownie I've had before, this had the texture of the centre of a chocolate in a luxury box. It certainly made a fine finale for what we'd expected to be a casual meal.

Our meal: $251 for five glasses of wine, a rum and Coke and a lime soda, plus a bowl of kumara fries, six small plates, three pizzas and desserts.

Wine list: Tyler Street prides itself on its cocktails. There's also an impressive, mostly local, wine list.

Verdict: While normally considered more of a wine bar than a restaurant, we found Tyler Street a great place to dine at.