SCORE: 17.5/20

A hotel restaurant is a massive beast with multiple stakeholders, so quite different to operating an individual establishment. In an environment where everyone is due their opinion, the chef must juggle and balance priorities. Gareth Stewart achieves this at Advieh at Auckland’s InterContinental hotel, where the ambience is sophisticated yet approachable and the menu is full of incredible flavour with an unpredictable edge. The offerings are just right to keep all kinds of customers happy but also varied and diverse. Gareth, who has previously worked at Soul Bar, Jervois Steak House, Andiamo and Euro, is really hitting his stride here. He is cooking what he loves and doing it well. Staff are engaged and well versed in the menu which teams Middle Eastern and European influences. The chicken-liver baklava uses crispy baked filo as a vessel for a silky parfait spliced with the tart sweetness of a sticky cherry sauce. The kingfish is super-fresh and well dressed with slivers of rhubarb and drizzled with pomegranate, black lime and citrus oil. And a dessert of black-sesame pannacotta with razor-thin shavings of persimmon alongside a vibrant mandarin ice cream is one you won’t want to share. Breaking beyond the one-size-fits-all formula so often found in hotel restaurants gives Advieh a clearly delicious advantage.