The Dish: Sky-High Cocktails, Fine Dining Snacks And More Delicious Food News

This week we’re enjoying Champagne at New Zealand’s highest rooftop bar, a crayfish special at a local bistro, and tiramisu-flavoured doughnuts.

Drop in for a wine and a bite at Sid at the French Cafe

Fine dining restaurant Sid at the French Cafe is shaking things up for winter with a new tasting menu and a new snack menu, allowing diners to drop in after work for a bite and a cocktail in the lovely undercover courtyard. The menu has been created by owner and executive chef Sid Sahrawat, who has strived for a “spontaneous, fun menu that isn’t limited to one style of cuisine”.

“We are still a relaxed fine dining destination offering first class service,” says Sid, “but the staff want our guests to have fun with the experience, too — this is reflected both in the menu and the ambience of the restaurant.” The new snack menu includes a truffle and gruyere beignet with truffle emulsion; hot smoked Aoraki salmon croustade, XO, rouille, sesame; and a parmesan churro with whipped feta, smoked maple and puffed pork crackling. The restaurant still offers its signature five-course tasting menu for $190pp and a Saturday four-course lunch for $120pp, which includes a glass of Champagne. 210 Symonds St, Eden Terrace. Phone (09) 377 1911.

Drink a cocktail at great heights

Auckland has a dazzling new rooftop bar in the form of SkyCity’s newest offering, SkyBar, located on the 50th floor of the SkyTower. With The Sugar Club and Orbit just above it, SkyBar is set to become the ideal pre-dinner drink spot, or an ideal drop-in at sunset for those who enjoy a view with their cocktail. Viva stopped by for the grand opening, complete with trays of caviar-topped oysters and a tower of Moët Champagne. The only thing missing was the sunset, obscured by dark rain clouds that put on their own atmospheric show. The bar circles the whole tower, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows capturing 360-degree views of Auckland, meaning you can choose a sea or city view. To drink, there’s a good list of premium local and international wines, including a selection of vintage Moët & Chandon bottles (SkyBar has partnered with Moët & Chandon for its offering), and cocktails that riff on geographical features of Tāmaki Makaurau, like the ‘Rūaumoko Paloma’ infused with red bell pepper cordial. To eat, there are share plates like smoked green lip mussels, duck liver parfait, and a smoked vegan cheese fondue. Find SkyBar at Level 50, Sky Tower, Cnr Federal and Victoria Sts in the space previously held by SkyCafe.

Enjoy a crayfish special at this Remuera bistro

Try a chaotic new gin

Another day, another gin collaboration, but anything involving Four Pillars is worth a shout-out, we say. QT Hotels has teamed up with Australian gin makers Four Pillars to create Gilded Chaos Gin, a limited-edition gin with a “rule-breaking” flavour palette led by Four Pillars’ co-founder, Cameron Mackenzie. Tasting notes include tones of sage, macadamia and cardamom, and the gin boasts unique ingredients such as vetiver, wild fennel and lemon leaves. To celebrate the release, QT Hotel is offering two cocktails — the Gilded Chaos Luxe Martini and the Gilded Elixir, a twist on a Martinez that heroes maraschino liqueur and verjus — that you can try at Rooftop QT, the Lobby Bar in Wellington and Reds Bar in Queenstown. Or, pick up a bottle of Gilded Chaos gin for $110 at QT, from June 28.

Eat and drink your way around France at Onemata

Park Hyatt’s Onemata restaurant is hosting a bespoke wine and food experience that pairs French wines with a French-inspired menu in honour of Tour de France. Aptly named the “Tour de France”, the event on Thursday, July 27, is priced at $175pp and is a collaboration with the excellent Maison Vauron, which is providing French wine to match five Onemata dishes that will be designed to represent five different regions of France. That means each wine will also be hand selected from those five regions of France. C’est parfait! Book here.

Sneaky Snacky brings its decadent doughnuts to High St

For those who haven’t made their way up High St recently, the central city strip has another new addition: Sneaky Snacky, purveyors of Karangahape Rd’s famously hectic doughnut burgers, opened up a doughnut-focused outpost a month or so ago — a stones-throw from multinational Krispy Kreme across Freyberg Place square. With a pink paint job, neon signs, and a cabinet stacked with red plastic trays all laden with its signature fare, it’s a bright spot on a dull winter’s day. Stop by for one of the sweet doughnuts (iterations include mango and coconut, Oreo, Earl Grey dark chocolate, peanut butter and jam) or the intriguing savoury varieties, including hot chicken or bacon and cheddar cheese. All are $7.50 to $8 each. Viva commercial editor Emma Gleason recommends the tiramisu. “My favourite dessert in doughnut form, this marries everything that’s great about a tiramisu — coffee, cream, cocoa — with a pillowy doughnut. Good to eat on the go. Even better with a coffee too.” 35 High St, Auckland.

Whip up a Blue Lagoon

On a recent trip to Samoa I couldn’t help but order from a resort’s retro cocktail list including a Sex on the Beach (tequila, orange juice and Grenadine) and a Blue Lagoon (vodka, blue curacao, lemonade and, in this case, cream), and while they were good for a nostalgia hit I can’t say I’d order them twice. Back on home soil, there’s been a resurgence of classic 80s cocktails thanks to New Zealand liqueurs brand Saturdays, who are “putting the fun back in home cocktails” with a range of classic liqueurs that may give you flashbacks of a misspent youth (just me?), including Peach Schnapps, Melon, Blue Curacao and Triple Sec. Saturdays liqueurs are priced at $20 each and are available where all good spirits are served and sold. Give them a whirl if you dare.