Vinnies

By EWAN McDONALD for viva

A good night at a restaurant has very little - oh, okay, a lot but not everything - to do with the fact that the eggs were coddled for 4.5 minutes at 99.8C and then lifted very delicately on to the finest whatever. It has a lot more to do with the fact that two, four or six of you went out, enjoyed yourselves, felt the food was good and, after two or three glasses, your witticisms even better, and when you divvied up the bill it was fair dos all round.

Which might not be what comes to mind when you are having that night out at Vinnies. Prue Barton and David Griffiths' refined, restrained restaurant has been described in such elevated terms as a "temple du cuisine" and "temple of gastronomy".

One associates the place with its high-profile guests. We have been in the house when Sir Tony O'Reilly was at the next table, and when Lord Jim and Lady Joan of Te Kuiti ducked in for a quick pie'n'chips. This is, after all, an establishment which notes on its menu, right after various awards, such "Outstanding Restaurant Features" as Art from Gow Langsford Galleries; Architect: Richard Priest; Waiters' Uniforms designed by Liz Mitchell; Wine List Consultant: Stephen Bennett MW.

Recent headlines, however, have come from the news (let's bang our chests: you read it first in the Herald) that Barton and Griffiths are planning to divide their time between their 12-year-old restaurant in Auckland and their new baby at the new $65 million Craggy Range winery in Hawkes Bay. The chef and maitre d' will commute between kitchens and counters.

Michael Meredith comes back to Vinnies by way of Otto's and Sydney to take over as head chef. Betcha his job description contains a clause under which he's not allowed to take the world-famous-in-Herne-Bay lamb shanks off the menu.

All of which suggests the matter of food and wine at Vinnies is far too serious for an evening there to be taken lightly. Diners and staff here are, it has been said, "reverential about food", either on the a la carte menu or the degustation menu, which changes every six weeks.

Dishes like seared miniature paua with kumara and miso mash with sesame seaweed salad and soya glaze, or vineyard quail roasted over vine leaves wrapped in prosciutto and filled with mortadella stuffing with grapes and verjuice tantalise when the menu is opened, long before decisions are made.

What would sound commonplace comfort food in another restaurant is lovingly rendered here: medallion of beef fillet with a summer vegetable tart, potato dauphinoise, truffled herb froth, or lamb shanks braised with red wine and rosemary with olive oil mash and roasted garlic bulbs.

Desserts tease, with a "summer sorbet tower" of strawberry, mascarpone and orange with pirouette biscuits, and compote of strawberry, orange and candied fennel, or the platter of classics: Valrhona chocolate pot and white chocolate sorbet, pecan praline panna cotta, turkish delight, fresh hazelnut cookies, coconut icecream, grilled lemon tart with mascarpone and citron ...

There are sorcerers at work here, conjuring inspired tastes and combinations of ingredients, then cooking them so perfectly that it would be damn impertinent to criticise. And if Gordon Ramsay hasn't a bad word to say about the place ("This meal could stand alone in London ... It's classic, it's simple food and there's an emphasis on flavours"), you won't find me trying to dredge one up.

Perhaps you could quibble that the chairs are dated, or you're not sure about the music, but anyone who plays Fats Waller all night is quids-in with me. So you can, and should take Vinnies seriously, but you should always remember that you've gone to a restaurant to enjoy yourself.

Especially when your friend starts telling the story about how his horse won a big race but wasn't around when the sash and the cash were handed out, and the entire table collapses in laughter, destroying several surrounding intimate tete-a-tetes. The nag died happy, though.

Open: 7 nights from 6.30pm

Owners: Prue Barton, David Griffiths

Head chef: Michael Meredith

Sommelier: Cameron Douglas

Food: Modern NZ cuisine

Smoking: Thank you, no

Wine: More than 100 superlative choices, thoughtfully divided by origin (Old or New World) or style (Elegant and Lighter Bodied; Rich and Full Bodied; Soft and Medium Bodied). Surprise: only two Craggy Rangers

Noise: It's a sin to tell a lie: Fats Waller

Cost (mains for two): $65

Vegetarian: Options on main menu

Bottom line: As Prue Barton and David Griffiths divide their time between their 12-year-old restaurant in Auckland and new baby in Hawkes Bay, Michael Meredith comes back as head chef. There are sorcerers at work here, conjuring inspired tastes, then cooking them so perfectly that it would be damn impertinent to criticise. And if Gordon Ramsay hasn't a bad word to say about the place, you won't find us trying to dredge one up.

* Read more about what's happening in the world of food, wine, fashion and beauty in viva, part of your Herald print edition every Wednesday.