The French Cafe, Auckland

By GRAHAM HEPBURN for canvas

A sudden sense of freedom can be a heady and dangerous thing, although on this night the only thing in peril was our credit card as, liberated of child and the responsibility of driving home, we were ready to do justice to the much-celebrated offerings of the French Cafe.

The restaurant's owners, Simon Wright and Creghan Molloy Wright, the chef and maitre d' respectively, have built a reputation for superior European-style cuisine and a love of wine that shows through on the exhaustive wine list.

And you have to maintain that reputation if you are going to keep attracting people to the less-than-glamorous surroundings of upper Symonds St, although seated at the rear of the restaurant, looking out on the courtyard, the exhaust fumes and wind-blown rubbish seem a million miles away.

This establishment has an aura of self-confidence. It doesn't try to knock you out with snazzy decor or overly flamboyant culinary concoctions, and the service is assured, solicitous but unobtrusive.

Jane toyed with the idea of the tasting menu ($90) which picks its way through various offerings on the bill of fare, but decided against it when I declared myself a non-starter. It's a one-in all-in affair - its eight courses leave your dining partner as a no-doubt-envious spectator for a large part of the evening.

We started with the fiery, but tender, salt and pepper squid with pickled cucumber ($14.50) and tian of fresh paddle crab with tomato confit, avocado and gazpacho sauce ($18), which Jane pronounced a sublime combination of luscious crabmeat and avocado offset by the tangy gazpacho topping.

I then opted for a dairy-free entree version of the seared scallops with cauliflower puree, crisp pancetta and champagne sabayon, herb salad ($18), with the smoky and brittle pancetta providing a crisp and salty counterpoint to the plump, sweet scallops. Jane's marinated salmon with asian prawn noodle salad, ginger jelly and chilli dressing sounded unlikely, but the soft noodles combined with the melt-in-the-mouth salmon, small prawn pieces and umami jelly to create an immaculate balance of texture and flavour.

I was eagerly anticipating the crispy roast duckling with steamed bok choy, kumara mash, mandarin confit and jus of oranges ($32) - again, it was a dairy-free version, but didn't lose anything in the translation. The duck was cooked within an inch of perfection and beautifully complemented by a glass of velvety St Hallet Blackwell Shiraz ($13).

Jane went for a main version of the scallops, accompanied by a simple but delicious side dish of peeled asparagus.

The beautifully presented meals aren't huge so we easily accommodated dessert - a couple of glasses of decadently syrupy Oyster Bay Botrytis Riesling ($16) with a tasting plate for two ($24). The pear poached in passionfruit and filled with yoghurt was the standout offering from the tasting platter, although the creme brulee came a close second.

We were almost tempted to hang around for after-dinner drinks, but thought we had better present our credit card before alarm bells started going off at Visa central.

Open: Lunch Tuesday to Friday, dinner Tuesday to Saturday

Cost: $263 for two, including appetisers and three wine-matched courses, plus two pre-dinner drinks.

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