Sale St Brewery, Freemans Bay

I am a bit of a snob. There, I said it. I'm not necessarily proud of it, but it's probably true. The more mainstream a band gets, the less I'm inclined to like them. I got considerably less enthused about seeing Slumdog Millionaire when it won all those Academy Awards. By the time the Fat Duck was a staple on the corporate entertainment circuit, it had lost all its appeal to me. Thus I'd decided well in advance that I really couldn't be arsed with Sale St.

News of Sale St had reached us by the time we arrived in Auckland in January, and mentions of it have kept cropping up since then, generally in explanations of hangovers, 'what a great place' and so on. When we decided to meet for lunch there, I was in two minds about what to expect. It's a big place, with lots of different faces - a bar, a cafe, a restaurant, a brewery, a live music venue, serving bar food, pizzas, brunch... and this often spells A V O I D. Over-egging a proposition usually leads to chaos, and those many things done half-heartedly. I'd rather see one thing done well, than be subjected to a hospitality version of a Swiss army knife.

The multi-function aspect to Sale St isn't immediately apparent, which in my book is a good thing, managing to feel intimate whilst actually being pretty big. It reminded me a lot of Cargo, back in London, but smarter, with better food, and less full of children. It's laid-back to the point of being fully reclined, with service attaining that beautiful level of appearing off-hand and lazy, but in reality being highly efficient and attentive. Offering sunblock to those sitting outside is a nice touch that's all too rare in New Zealand.

The brewery itself turns out some interesting stuff. Asking about the local brews produced a few samples and a helpful chat through them - the summer ale in particular is a peculiarly good one, with flavours of ginger and honey making an excellent food beer. The Ponsonby Gold, being less unique, is a much better session beer, smooth and full-flavoured. The wine list is worth a look, too - and better still, your waiter will probably know their way around it, too - how often can you say that??

On the food front, the brunch menu is pretty average in content, but the bar menu is where the kitchen seems to come to life a bit. It's refreshingly simple, showing a reliance on quality ingredients and cooking skill, rather than the overload of flavours New Zealand restaurants seem to love. Chilli salted squid was tender and judiciously flavoured, with some excellent nuoc cham on the side. Fries were spot on, crisp and fluffy inside, a massive portion with a good helping of harissa mayo.

The pizzas look good too, despite an odd pricing policy putting them at $22, way more than anything else on the bar menu. They are a healthy 12" though, and the toppings look fresh, well-matched and believably Italian for the most part. No pineapple in sight - grown-ups and anyone who's ever been to Italy will be pleased. The coffee was good, not great, serving a relatively bitter roast which would appeal to some palates but definitely not all.

So on the whole, I'd been prepared to be disappointed, but it's actually a great venue - and we're looking forward to going back, either for lunch or for drinks, or perhaps both... I guess the beauty of Sale St is that you could conceivably stay there from breakfast til closing time, and provided you changes seats a few times, it wouldn't get boring.

And on my opening point - I stand corrected. This once.


Sale St Brewery
7 Sale Street
Freemans Bay
Auckland

+64 (0) 9 307 8148
http://www.salest.co.nz