Dida's Wine & Tapas Lounge, Ponsonby

Weekend lunches are one of the best things ever. I have been known to make them last all day, starting shortly after a summary piece of toast and coffee, and finishing with a G&T to mark the passing of lunch into dinner. I like long weekend lunches so much, I almost dislike weekday work lunches because they always fall so far short by comparison.

Dida's is a good place for lunch on the weekend. It's on my way to work, and spitefully reminds me as I pass it twice a day that lunch today will be a disappointment. So tempted, I vowed to turn as much of Sunday as possible over to Dida's. Not without a hint of trepidation, though, as I've long been a fan of Spanish cooking, and have visited Dida's excellent delicatessen a few times in the past, so expectations were high.

And they were met. Laid-back, friendly service delivered an array of superb dishes, and the afternoon slipped by with quiet chatter and bold, complex flavours. Stuffed artichokes were tender, rich mouthfuls; pork meatballs were moist and paprika-scented; accompanying Manchego and charcuterie were both excellent... I could go on, but you get the picture. The only mildly disappointing piece was the Chorizo al Vino, which in itself was a well-executed dish, but based on a good spicy pork sausage, sadly not chorizo. I'm coming to expect this, though, and regular readers will know this is a bit of a hobby horse of mine.

Tapas for me is about relaxation, grazing, and complex, comforting flavours. It's easy to get wrong by being over-fussy or generally crap at cooking, and I've been subjected to both many times both in the UK and abroad. Dida's gets it right, by focusing on great basic ingredients, taking time and care with their preparation, and serving them without ceremony in a pleasant, convivial place on Jervois Road. The only shame is that I'm not still there now, working my way through the back half of the menu.


54, Jervois Road,
Ponsonby
Auckland 1011

+64 (0) 9376 2813