Nici Wickes' favourite restaurant reviews of 2014

THE ENGINE ROOM

"Perhaps you'll begin with one of their classics, a twice-baked goat's cheese souffle, and the richness might knock you out, but, get back up agai,n because there are dishes of salmon tartare and ricotta and buckwheat gnocchi, which mustn't be missed because they're littered with imagination; musky jerusalem artichokes, pureed and crisped, brittle fried sage leaves, olives and a hit of shaved pecorino, or maybe parmesan, to sharpen it all up."

Rating: 9.5/10

• 115 Queen St, Northcote Pt, ph (09) 480 9502.

THE GROVE

"Three courses in and it was undeniable that Ben Bayly is on the ride of his life, with the dining public the lucky passengers. Each plate is complex to look at, but easy to devour. A rack of lamb is baked in hay, imbuing the meat with a grassiness and slight smokiness, both of which flatter the sweet, rosy lamb.

On the same plate are croquettes, or kromeski, as Bayly prefers to call them, of goat, and there are olives, crisp cauliflower and silverbeet, too."

Rating: 10/10

• St Patrick's Square, Wyndham St, City, ph (09) 368 4129.

THE REFRESHMENT ROOM

"When it arrives, our risotto is generously flecked with smoked kahawai and local tuatua, leeks that are soft and sweet with saffron whispering its mysterious flavour in the background and citrus notes doing what citrus does - uplifting the dish and saving it from unnecessary richness. An entree of ravioli, made with the thinnest pasta you'll find, is tender and soft, filled with spinach and ricotta with a hint of smoked mozzarella ramping up the flavour a notch.

Crisp sage leaves are scattered over the top and a base of burned butter sauce is utterly delectable. As one of the owners is John Pountney (ex Delicious), you'd expect great things from the pasta dishes and you'd be right - but the kitchen is also lucky to have the talents of head chef Hayden Phiskie and Tim Bailey, who look fresh-faced and enthusiastic despite having pulled off a brunch, lunch and dinner shift on the Sunday we dine. They execute the menu effortlessly."

Rating: 9/10

• 233 Scenic Drive, Titirangi, ph (09) 817 8655.

MEREDITHS

"The warm-up act is puffed rice paper dotted with lemon curd and kelp salt. Hello, taste buds. Then comes one of Michael Meredith's trademark strokes of genius: tiny macarons, one spiked with the creeping heat of paprika and a filling of bloody mary - bloody gorgeous - and for the other, beetroot meringue sandwich, a sharp and cooling yoghurt curd. It seems unfair when, by their very nature, they dissolve so quickly in one's mouth.

Rating: 10/10

• 365 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden, ph (09) 623 3140.

COCORO

"When each plate was put in front of us the sheer beauty of the arrangements nearly made me weep. When I took my first mouthful of the delicate fish - sweetly marinated in miso and grilled to soft perfection, enhanced with a pungent and refreshing citrus foam - I did weep.

My dining companion was having a similar experience with her beef. She was silent for a long time while she worked her way around the various components of her dish - the tender dark piece of eye fillet, the smoky aubergine puree, the bean shoots, the exacting sprinkle of salt and pepper - and then she said 'Wow, I keep discovering layers of more deliciousness'."

Rating: 9/10

• 56 Brown St, Ponsonby, ph (09) 360 0927.

PREGO

"This is rustic Italian fare at its best. If my own deep dish of spaghetti agioli - spicy with chilli and a spectacular showing from garlic, sharp with feta, pungent and exciting with squashed olives - had been less satisfying I might be envious of these other dishes so heartily enjoyed opposite me. As it is, I am in pasta heaven.

"We've given the starters a good go, too - tuna and veal, vitello tonnato, which, at Prego, they serve with the most divinely just-sweet date mayonnaise to complement the soft leaves of seared tuna and slices of veal, liberally scattering the whole lot with crispy fried capers, which act like little stars of exploding saltiness."

Rating: 9/10

• 226 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, ph (09) 376 3095.

GUSTO

"But the best was still to come. At Gusto, they make all but the penne pasta on site, and a dish of pappardelle with wild boar ragu was simply divine. How could pasta ribbons be so thin yet still hold up to the bite so perfectly? And how could a ragu, peppered with peas, be so brutally good?

"Chunks of soft boar blended with the flavours imbued from slow cooking in red wine and hard herbs, but there was a whisper of something else. What was it ... citrusy but not lemon, vibrant and alive, entirely unexpected. Then I got it. Orange zest. So rarely used in savoury dishes, yet it can define a dish when it is."

Rating: 8.5/10

• SkyCity Grand Hotel, 90 Federal St, City, ph (09) 363 7030.