Simon Wright of The French Cafe in Auckland said people do not realise the cost associated with running a fine-dining restaurant Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
Simon Wright of The French Cafe in Auckland said people do not realise the cost associated with running a fine-dining restaurant Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
From a $7500 bottle of red, live seafood and nine-course degustation to the ultimate chef's table experience, expensive fare is on the rise at Auckland's top restaurants.
Forget the humble meat pie or the city's abundance of cheap eats; it's all about abalone, champagne and caviar in Auckland's expanding fine-dining scene with the opening of Simon Gault's Giraffe and top Kiwi chef Nic Watt's contemporary Chinese restaurant Huami this month.
Behind the big red doors at SkyCity's Huami lie an exclusive drinks list, exquisite menu and two-tiered wall filled with live seafood including crayfish - going for $220 per kg.
A banquet at SkyCity's newest sophisticated Chinese restaurant, Haumi. Photo/Babiche Martens
You will find some of the most opulent dishes on page five of the menu - the abalone section. A dried seafood clay pot with abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, dried scallop, shiitake mushroom and oyster sauce will set you back a cool $288.
The elevated Asian fare at Huami can be matched with a $375 glass of Martell l'or de jean from their impressive cognac selection.
Chef and former MasterChef New Zealand judge Ray McVinnie said: "when you are dealing with Chinese cuisine, they have a set of incredibly prestigious and expensive dishes, which are used for very special occasions - they are sort of status dishes... like abalone."
McVinnie said restaurants in general, whether fine dining, casual or otherwise, are on the rise in New Zealand.
Another luxury offering is The Grill, owned by TV chef Sean Connolly.
Described as "a traditional New York Steakhouse with a subtle modern twist", The Grill serves a 'Kagoshima Japanese wagyu' scotch for $105 per 150g.
Nic Watt's Japanese restaurant Masu goes a step further, offering 150g of Japanese black wagyu beef for $120.
Red wine and red meat go together like bread and butter, so why not pair your wagyu with a bottle of 1985 Petrus French merlot for $7500 a pop at The Grill.
TV chef Sean Connolly of The Grill. Photo/Jason Oxenham
SkyCity Auckland's general manager of food and beverage, Danny Bucalo said SkyCity had a number of award-winning restaurants in their Federal Street dining precinct, including Huami, Masu and The Grill.
"Our menus are vast and have something for everyone, as well as offering some high-value items for interested customers, such as abalone at Huami, and high quality wagyu beef at The Grill and Masu.
"We also have wide ranging wine menus, including at Huami, which has a very comprehensive list including options from $40 a bottle to $5000. Such items are sourced from premium New Zealand suppliers, and our focus is on sustainability, premium flavour and taste."
These restaurants may be pricey but with their spectacular fit outs, impressive offerings, rare foods and celebrity-status chefs, they may just make you put your money where your mouth is.
Celebrity chef Simon Gault at his new restaurant Giraffe. Photo/Michael Craig
Similarly, Giraffe, Gault's new all-day eatery in the Viaduct, is a beautiful, modern space that serves sharing plates featuring premium ingredients from the finest growers and producers.
Big-ticket items on the menu included a $178 suckling pig - ideal for four people- and $72 blue cod served with clams and spicy tomato salsa.
But, with the words "availability is subject to fishing weather" written on the menu, at least you know the fish is as fresh as it gets.
Giraffe by Simon Gault is the latest addition to the Viaduct. Photo/Greg Bowker
There is also a plethora of degustation and tasting menus on offer in Auckland at the likes of The French Cafe, Merediths, Clooney and The Grove - well-established fine-dining restaurants.
The French Cafe, which was named in La Liste - a list of the world's 1000 best eateries - takes the cake for the priciest offering, with their tasting menu including 'premium wines' costing $305.
Co-owner and executive chef Simon Wright said people do not realise the costs associated with running a fine dining restaurant.
"You make way more money from a café or from a breadery than you do in fine dining."
Wright said everything from the plates, cutlery and restaurant aesthetic to the white table cloths that have to be laundered, came at a cost.
"Obviously the labour intensity is immense. The actual products themselves alone are also way more expensive [than normal restaurants]."
Boneless organic lamb, roasted figs, parsnip, fennel and black olives at The French Cafe. Photo/Emma Hayes
The restaurant's tasting menu features everything from handpicked succulents and truffle to cured venison. He also promised to throw in a few surprises along the way.
The French Cafe uses seasonal produce sourced from a number of growers including foragers in the South Island who supply the coastal succulents, which Wright said he would serve with raw kingfish, crab, persimmon and ginger.
"The difference between fine dining and going out for dinner is we are trying to give you something that is an occasion and something that you don't have all the time. Ideally you want people to dress up and make it special," said Wright.
The exclusive Symonds St venue also offers a chef's table experience in a private dining space, where you could be cooked for by Wright himself.
