AUCKLAND
Bistro Saine
IN BRIEF
Chic French fusion in Auckland’s heart.
WHY CHOOSE THIS RESTAURANT?
Bistro Saine combines the elegance of classic French cuisine with vibrant Mediterranean influences from Southern France, Italy and Spain. This stylish, intimate space provides the perfect backdrop for a memorable meal with guests looked after by a team of super-slick hospitality professionals.
ABOUT THE MENU
While almost every menu in town aspires to be a celebration of local, seasonal produce, executive chef Yutak Son expertly crafts a selection of classics that show great respect for the people and produce behind his menu. The snack game at Bistro Saine is impressive with a chicken liver parfait that passes our rigorous Chicken Liver Parfait Society assessment with honours and a steak
tartare with crisps and hot sauce that ticks all of the boxes for a great tartare. The braised pork croquettes with chef’s special wakame ketchup are sensational and our only regret is that the original anchovy en croute seems to have been retired. Butterbean cassoulet with celeriac and wild mushrooms and the lamb rump cap in a macadamia and anchovy sauce were both standouts as mains and the final hug came in the form of a stunning pear tarte Tatin with vanilla bean ice cream. We’re excited to hear of a new summer menu shortly to be introduced that will offer cured salmon with citrus kosho and gribiche, a market fish paired with chive and roe soubise and a celebration of summer’s asparagus, and perennially popular confit duck fat potatoes dressed to impress with buttermilk.
ABOUT THE CHEF
Korean-born, French-trained and with a background that includes stints at Daily Bread and Sidart, executive chef Yutak Son brings a refreshing approach to his contemporary bistro menu and, in our opinion, is a chef to keep an eye on. Pairing clever flavours with sharp technique and an obvious understanding of the importance of delivering comfort as well as innovation, Yutak is driving an experience that stands out in Auckland’s crowded culinary landscape.
ABOUT THE TEAM
General manager Joey Hickman has curated an impressive team for his bistro. Sous chef Aditya Medon passionately supports Yutak’s vision while front of house is skilfully elevated by restaurant manager Pierre Guillot (ex The Grove) with expertly curated beverage pairings by sommelier Pierre Bernardeau.
OF NOTE
What truly sets Bistro Saine apart is its ambience. The interior design, influenced by top hospitality consultant James Ingram, evokes the charm of iconic bistros in New York, London and Paris. With its arched heritage windows and marble-topped bars, diners are treated to an environment that is warm, intimate and casually elegant. If you stay overnight at Hotel Indigo, the breakfast menu is magnificent! Don’t miss the beef bordelaise.
Level 1, 51 Albert Street, Auckland
Check website for opening hours
Mains $29-$49
09 610 8404, bistrosaine.co.nz
Ragtag
IN BRIEF
Cosy, bistroesque and much more than just tacos.
WHY CHOOSE THIS RESTAURANT?
Actually, don’t choose this restaurant if you are after authentic Mexican. The Ragtag team is proud of being 100% not authentic and the joy of eating at Ragtag is to be found in the fusion of flavours from Asian to barbecue to pretty much global.
ABOUT THE CHEF
It took a spot on My Kitchen Rules New Zealand to give Dan Freeman the motivation to jump into cooking as a full-time career. And we are glad he did. Ragtag is his first restaurant and a tribute to the many thousands of tacos that he has served in various pop-ups and collabs across the years since his TV debut. He also worked the pans at one of our favourite Auckland restaurants, Alma, before taking on this venture, which is now in its third year and booked solid. Lucky for those that live close to Westmere.
ABOUT THE TEAM
Laid-back and casual are the feels and yet the floor staff won’t miss a trick. Just enough banter to let you know you are welcome and appreciated but never intrusive. They know their menu and deliver it with confidence.
Ragtag team
OF NOTE
Beer and wine are on tap and there are some beautifully presented cocktails to sip on.
162 Garnet Road, Westmere, Auckland
Check website for opening hours
Sharing style $17-$59
021 409 879, ragtagnz.com
WELLINGTON
PARLA
IN BRIEF
Wellington’s Mosaic Group sprouts a more-affordable suburban offshoot of their flagship Kisa.
WHY CHOOSE THIS RESTAURANT?
While some fairly hideous apartment blocks are grafting themselves onto the historic heart of Island Bay, architects Novak & Middleton promise to avert a uniformly grim future for this, Wellington’s most picturesque suburb. The graceful Art Deco curves of their latest apartment building, The Parade, echo those of the 1924 Empire Cinema opposite. A rounded street corner window creates a literal goldfish bowl effect for Parla, the chic new 38-seater on the ground floor. Unsurprisingly, designers Wonder Group have gone coastal: oyster shell chandeliers, stone mosaic table tops and beachy checked upholstery. Sinuous blue squiggles over a big abstract oil (by Allen Maddox, no less) evoke Cook’s wild strait.
ABOUT THE MENU
Like Kisa, Parla’s menu is broadly Middle Eastern in theme, yet despite challenging diners to make sense of their bewildering array of Turkish and Arabic menu terminology, nowhere do these sister restaurants claim to be authentic. Indeed, the excitement of both menus lies precisely in this creative rearrangement of the Middle Eastern store cupboard by Mosaic Group executive chef Jonny Taggart: braised beef cheek with dates, tahini and a touch of chilli, for example; or pomegranate molasses slathered over whole courgettes which are steamed with orange and then left to suck in the sweet-sour flavour as they cool, before being grilled to order. Another crowd-pleaser is the Circassian Chicken, here converted from mezze into salad with shredded Chinese wombok and pita crisps. Master strokes are slugs both of smoked, spicy hoot oil and of so-called masabacha, the chunky version of hummus (so-called because here walnuts replace chickpeas, the basic ingredient!), its richness balanced with a grilled half-lemon.
ABOUT THE CHEF
Jonny Taggart delegates the cooking to Chilean-born senior sous chef Sebastián Corte at LTD’s kitchen in central Wellington. The dishes are then assembled to order in Parla’s microscopic kitchen by sous chefs Jacob Spackman and Lulu Temmuyin.
ABOUT THE TEAM
A team of five duty managers is overseen by Alex Insley, the personable restaurant manager. It reflects well on Mosaic Group owner Dean White as an employer that both Alex and Sebastián
OF NOTE
With great flat whites and a brunch menu to outdo anything else in the Bay, Parla is already fulfilling its promise as a chattering community hub.
216 The Parade, Island Bay, Wellington
Check website for opening hours
Mains $24-$38
04 595 1349, mosaicvenues.com/venues/parlaÂ
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