Herald rating: * * * * 1/2
Address: 249 State Highway 17 Albany
Ph: (09) 415 6286
Open: Lunch, Tuesday-Friday; dinner, Tuesday-Saturday
Wine list: Substantial. Generous pours
Vegetarians: A risotto starter; no main
Watch out for: Dangerous desserts
Bottom line: Occasion dining
KEY POINTS:
If the global economy is going down the gurgler - or, to quote talkback host Willie Jackson, "going to hell in a basket case" - the news has not reached Albany. This small, pricey place was almost full on a recent Saturday night.
Then again, Totara offers the kind of reliable fine-dining experience that is probably immune to economic downturns. When it's grandma's birthday you take her to the nicest place in the neighbourhood and to hell with the expense. With a bit of luck she'll remember your kindness when she's next talking to the lawyer about her will.
Totara, which marked its 10th birthday this year, probably doesn't have a lot of competition. In terms of dining options, East Coast Bays is not exactly Saint-Germain-des-Pres, after all. But it seems to rule the neighbourhood and as we strolled back to the car I couldn't help noticing that at least one other local joint was glumly, gloomily empty at 9pm.
Hosts Rod Fevre and Adrie Havermans preside over the dining room in a dual act, presumably intending to conjure up a homely atmosphere but they are probably stretched a bit thin when it's busy and on occasion, I found it hard to attract attention and when I did get some it felt rushed, even peremptory.
We had turned up with a grandmother - not one of ours, I hasten to add, but a good mate who was spending a week or so celebrating her birthday. Totara's menu manages a canny blend of the novel (but not threateningly original) with the standard: fine-dining comfort food, if you like. The restaurant has held the Beef and Lamb Hallmark award every year since it opened and last year the meat industry organisation named chef Peter Jackson one of seven "Beef and Lamb Ambassadors".
So, naturally, I had the tuna. The description - it comes seared with a sesame and wasabi crust - made it irresistible and it measured up to its billing. It was solid and delicate at the same time, and accompanied by a light, Asian-influenced salad, that was filling and digestible.
The grandmother's bloke obliged by ordering the eye fillet and smiled contentedly a lot while eating it. He also spoke most highly of the accompanying potato and leek "terrine" - a delicate wedge of high-class scalloped potatoes.
The grandmother and the Blonde were of more modest appetites, having two entrees apiece.
The Blonde's watercress soup had a perfect poached egg in the middle and truffle oil drizzled about.
It was a delight for the eye - when the orange egg yolk began painting streaks in the green broth - and the palate, she reported.
Meanwhile, the birthday girl said her seafood chowder was (I have this in writing) "perhaps the best I have ever tasted".
My sole misgiving was an underwhelming entree of slightly shrivelled scallops on a "sweetcorn puree" with a cold slice of crisp bacon.
There was brief consternation when the grandmother could not choose between which of two irresistible desserts to order so I came to her rescue by ordering the one she reluctantly decided against and letting her have most of it.
I'm hoping she'll remember me in her will, but if you saw this grandmother in her tramping boots you would put quite a lot of money on her surviving me.
THE BILL
$338.40 for four
Entrees $18.50 - $22
Mains $32.50 - $35
Beans $6
Desserts (3) $40.50
Cheese $16
Wine (8 glasses) $84.90
- Detours, HoS
