Squid Row, Eden Terrace

Europeans eating seafood in New Zealand occasionally have to take a bit of a step back and realign their expectations. Sometimes things are just... different. Not better, not worse, but different all the same, and you sometimes have to relearn a food, if you see what I mean.

Not Marmite. You just have to find English Marmite - there's no learning otherwise.

What I'm talking about essentially are mussels. Going for a kilo of moules frites, whether in London or Paris, you expect dozens of deliciously sweet little beasties, tender and flavoursome, and crisp, salted, pointy frites. Not French Fries (whatever they actually are), and not fat chips. Perhaps a bit of baguette on the side. Beer, probably.

Here, moules are an entirely other affair. Roughly the size of an old man's ear, they are, and about ten to a kilo. Meaty yet soft, and whilst just as seasidey in their flavour, there's something else going on there too, something richer, less sweet than their northern hemisphere cousins. Something tells me though that, for all their robustness, like any shellfish they're just as vulnerable to being overcooked by an inattentive chef.

Fortunately this is unlikely to occur at Squid Row. The only dodgy thing you're likely to encounter here is the name (punning restaurant names make you sound like a crap hairdresser). Squid Row is one part 50s surf style and one part Belgian beer hall, the combination working a whole lot better than it sounds. Go for the fishy options and you'll not be disappointed - our starter of squid crusted and deep-fried was one of the best versions we've had, reminding us quite why this ubiquitous dish became so popular in the first place. Moules themselves were phenomenal, the white wine (not quite mariniere but close) sauce rich and rocking with flavour, and the perfect consistency.

And the rest? Good (not great) chips - too fat and not frites by a long shot, unremarkable bread but good service even on a lively Saturday evening whilst the ABs were giving Italy less of a pasting than they probably deserved. It's got to be said, the bar for seafood in Auckland is pretty high, but Squid Row was right up there. Good moules require a good formula, a tried and tested combination of a great sauce; a careful eye on the cooking time; a noisy, busy, shouty restaurant; good frites and some decent stuff to drink. Squid Row has enough of these in place to merit a visit.


Squid Row
224 Symonds Street
Auckland
New Zealand

+64 (0) 9 379 9344

http://www.squidrow.co.nz

Byzantium Café, Ponsonby

A little while ago, I made a decision in relation to this blog. I'd written about a few cafés and their brunch offerings, and to be honest I was running out of things to say about eggs benedict, french toast, pancakes and coffee, great though all these things are. So I've decided that rather than turn out an identikit review of every identikit café I visit of a Saturday or Sunday, I'm only going to write something in response to something unusually good or bad.

And so we come to Byzantium, a fairly unpreposessing place towards the K Road end of Ponsonby Road, more or less, nestled in among the antique shops. First impressions count for a lot with me, and within about 15 seconds I'd decided that no review would be forthcoming as I asked for eggs benny and a flat white, an order as mediocre and predictable as I was sure the food would be.

And by and large, it was. With the exception of a truly incredible and unusual hollandaise sauce, which was not only fresh as a daisy, but bright, lively, citrussy and zingy, lifting the whole dish and basically giving me something to write about. Coffee - fine. Bacon - fine. Eggs - fine. Muffin - present. Sauce - currently holds the No.2 position, second only to the tremendous Landreth & Co a little way up the road.

Fair brightened my whole day, that did.


Byzantium Café
80 Ponsonby Road
Auckland

+64 (0) 9 376 3695

Ivy Restaurant & Bar, Kingsland

Ivy (and I'm resisting the temptation to call it 'The Ivy') has been tempting me for months. Adding an extra dimension of well-heeled class to Kingsland's laid-back charm, it sits on its corner radiating confident cool, looking for all the world like a dispensary for the best martinis for miles around.

Decor-wise, it's a nicely-executed take on modern lifestyle mag chic by numbers, with black playing a predominant part alongside quirky Victoriana prints and the like, and very nicely it works too. That's the thing about places like this - there's undoubtedly a stereotype being adhered to here and there's no surprises, and that it's a commonly done look is because it fundamentally works.

On the food front, the menu is functional, with a pared-down selection that speaks of a few things done well rather than every base covered poorly. That was the hope, at least. A starting platter of cold meats was promising, with sliced pork belly, chorizo, smoked chicken and the like flavoursome, tender and satisfying. At least, they would have been had they not been served straight from the fridge and thus turned out leaden and mute.

The main courses in many ways reflected the interior design - on the pleasant side of mediocre. My roast chicken was a tad overdone, as usual, with the accompanying bits nicely treated and whilst the flavours didn't exactly sing, they were definitely there. The fish and chips ordered by the missus were pronounced 'fine'.

All of this 'ok-ness' was delivered to our table with a weird mix of teutonic frostiness and wild over-enthusiasm, a combination that was as odd as it sounds. If you fancy a bit of comedy next time you dine here, ask to have the wine list left on your table after you've ordered. You may have to prise it back out of their hands.

As for that wine list, well, it shows what Ivy really does well. This, after all, is a Bar. A Bar That Sells Drinks, and occasionally food, and that needs to be understood up front. As well chosen a list as I've seen in Auckland bars features a nice spread across provenance, grape variety and price, and the ranks of spirits behind the bar promise a great cocktail evening, should you be in the mood. Round the back, there's a separate room with a slightly more bordello-esque feel (marred only slightly by the constant stream of punters wandering through to the toilets, but perhaps that's part of the intentional seediness, I'm too old to know for sure), which gives a slightly more intimate feel than the front room.

Regular readers will know that I've got a bit of a thing against places that pretend to be what they're not, or try to be too many things at once. For this reason I quite like Ivy: it's a great-looking bar, with some great stuff to drink, and if you feel a little peckish it'll do some above-average food at a decent price, and it doesn't ever try to be any more than that.


Ivy Restaurant & Bar
463 New North Road,
Kingsland
Auckland

+64 (0) 9 815 1535