Restaurant Review: White Restaurant - Auckland, NZ
Last Sunday, a friend and I went to a nice restaurant on the Auckland harbour called White. This restaurant was recommended by a coworker as a fancy, chic place to dine. Expecting it to be busy, I booked a table for 2 a couple days ahead and was able to get a reservation at my preferred time.
We arrived at the restuarant promptly at 7pm and were politely greeted by the Hostess. She allowed us to select any table we desired so we opted for one near the window. This restaurant is situated on the end of a pier in the harbour. All tables look out across the water with views of sailboats, ferries, the North Shore (Devonport), and some of the islands. The view was fantastic.
The menu was well designed and simple to follow. There was a nice Set Menu which included wine recommendations for each course. Not one to let someone select my dishes, I reviewed all the choices and made my selection.
Starters: Fresh, raw Oysters with a Sapphire and Tonic to wash it down.
Entrees: Waikanae crab tortellini, leek fondue, smoked corn cream sauce
Mains: Balmain spiced lamb rack, summer bean cassoulet, rosemary jus
My friend ordered the following:
Starters: Fresh, raw oysters
Entrees: Seared scallops, buffalo mozzarella, currants, vanilla/honey dressing
Mains: Marinated feared Tuna w/ crayfish sauce and fresh vegetables
While waiting for the oysters, the waiter brought out some nice olive bread and my cocktail. While the bread itself was nice...there were a few problems:
1. No butter was brought out, even though they provided butter knives
2. The Gin and Tonic was not made with Bombay Sapphire (yes, I can tell)
I sent the drink back once and asked for another with less tonic. The first one had too much tonic and the gin didn't taste like Bombay Sapphire. Sadly, the replacement drink wasn't much better. But at least it was decent. Next time I'll skip the cocktail and go straight for the wine.
The Oysters came out chilled and on a bed of rock salt There was also a nice lemon to squeeze across the huge, fresh oysters on the half-shell. These things were monsterous and so fresh. One good thing about Auckland is that it's easy to get fresh oysters. I never liked them much until I got here. Now I crave them.
Entrees (aka appetizers) arrived soon after we finished the oysters. Both items were nicely presented and very tasty. The crab tortellini was a little bland, but at least the crab was fresh (not fishy). The scallops were small and fresh. Lightly pan seared with a sweet sauce. They were not overly sauced which was nice. In the center of the plate was a healthy portion of fresh buffalo mozzerella. It was a very nice dish and I would consider ordering the scallops again next time.
We took a brief pause after the entrees to watch the sunset and some tugboats pulling out one of the many cargo ships. There is something very calming about living on the water and watching the boats. It was a cloudy evening but the sunset was very pretty nonetheless.
Our mains arrived along with my glass of recommended wine....Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir. I have to say this was one of the better glasses of Pinot I have had in New Zealand. Overall I am very happy with the Pinot Noir's here and it's possibly my new favorite. The lamb main was well presented with several slices of lamb stacked upon the rib bones. They were cooked medium rare as the chef recommended. Surrounding the lamb was a nice mix of beans/peas and all was covered in a brown sauce poured on at the table. I typically do not order meat cooked medium rare, but it was quite nice. Soft but not too chewy or gamey. The marinated tuna dish (daily special) was also very nice with a lightly seared edge. It was cooked almost rare as is normal for this fish. The sides includes a puffy pastry filled with a meaty mixture and fresh vegetables. The crayfish sauce was spread decoratively around the plate to make the presentation complete. Both mains were very nice and I would recommend them to anyone.
Despite eating all of the food described above, I was unable to pass up the dessert menu. There were many good choices, but I still had some wine left in the glass so I decided to order some cheese to compliment it. There were about 8 cheeses on the menu including blues, brie, cheddars, goudas and more. I selected some local blue, a mild brie, the very aged gouda, and some sharp cheddar. All of these represent many of my favorite cheese and I wanted to see what the New Zealand cheese makers had to offer. All of the cheese were delicious. The blue was not overly strong, and went well on the table cracker with a bit of berry jam. The brie was nice and soft. You could almost spread it on the crackers. The cheddar was not as sharp as I prefer, but was still nice. It was just not what I was really craving. The star of the cheese plate was the aged gouda. It was very dry and crumbly...and the taste was fantastic. It was great to share the gouda with my friend, but I would have prefered to have my own piece because it was SO GOOD.
With the cheese and wine finished off, we requested the bill and made our way out of the restuarant. During the 2.5 hours we spent in the restaurant, we never felt rushed despite many other patrons coming and going. The staff was very friendly, attentive, and relaxed.
Overall it was a very nice experience and highly recommended to others visiting Auckland.
You can check out the website (including menu) here:
http://www.whiterestaurant.co.nz
Cheers!
We arrived at the restuarant promptly at 7pm and were politely greeted by the Hostess. She allowed us to select any table we desired so we opted for one near the window. This restaurant is situated on the end of a pier in the harbour. All tables look out across the water with views of sailboats, ferries, the North Shore (Devonport), and some of the islands. The view was fantastic.
The menu was well designed and simple to follow. There was a nice Set Menu which included wine recommendations for each course. Not one to let someone select my dishes, I reviewed all the choices and made my selection.
Starters: Fresh, raw Oysters with a Sapphire and Tonic to wash it down.
Entrees: Waikanae crab tortellini, leek fondue, smoked corn cream sauce
Mains: Balmain spiced lamb rack, summer bean cassoulet, rosemary jus
My friend ordered the following:
Starters: Fresh, raw oysters
Entrees: Seared scallops, buffalo mozzarella, currants, vanilla/honey dressing
Mains: Marinated feared Tuna w/ crayfish sauce and fresh vegetables
While waiting for the oysters, the waiter brought out some nice olive bread and my cocktail. While the bread itself was nice...there were a few problems:
1. No butter was brought out, even though they provided butter knives
2. The Gin and Tonic was not made with Bombay Sapphire (yes, I can tell)
I sent the drink back once and asked for another with less tonic. The first one had too much tonic and the gin didn't taste like Bombay Sapphire. Sadly, the replacement drink wasn't much better. But at least it was decent. Next time I'll skip the cocktail and go straight for the wine.
The Oysters came out chilled and on a bed of rock salt There was also a nice lemon to squeeze across the huge, fresh oysters on the half-shell. These things were monsterous and so fresh. One good thing about Auckland is that it's easy to get fresh oysters. I never liked them much until I got here. Now I crave them.
Entrees (aka appetizers) arrived soon after we finished the oysters. Both items were nicely presented and very tasty. The crab tortellini was a little bland, but at least the crab was fresh (not fishy). The scallops were small and fresh. Lightly pan seared with a sweet sauce. They were not overly sauced which was nice. In the center of the plate was a healthy portion of fresh buffalo mozzerella. It was a very nice dish and I would consider ordering the scallops again next time.
We took a brief pause after the entrees to watch the sunset and some tugboats pulling out one of the many cargo ships. There is something very calming about living on the water and watching the boats. It was a cloudy evening but the sunset was very pretty nonetheless.
Our mains arrived along with my glass of recommended wine....Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir. I have to say this was one of the better glasses of Pinot I have had in New Zealand. Overall I am very happy with the Pinot Noir's here and it's possibly my new favorite. The lamb main was well presented with several slices of lamb stacked upon the rib bones. They were cooked medium rare as the chef recommended. Surrounding the lamb was a nice mix of beans/peas and all was covered in a brown sauce poured on at the table. I typically do not order meat cooked medium rare, but it was quite nice. Soft but not too chewy or gamey. The marinated tuna dish (daily special) was also very nice with a lightly seared edge. It was cooked almost rare as is normal for this fish. The sides includes a puffy pastry filled with a meaty mixture and fresh vegetables. The crayfish sauce was spread decoratively around the plate to make the presentation complete. Both mains were very nice and I would recommend them to anyone.
Despite eating all of the food described above, I was unable to pass up the dessert menu. There were many good choices, but I still had some wine left in the glass so I decided to order some cheese to compliment it. There were about 8 cheeses on the menu including blues, brie, cheddars, goudas and more. I selected some local blue, a mild brie, the very aged gouda, and some sharp cheddar. All of these represent many of my favorite cheese and I wanted to see what the New Zealand cheese makers had to offer. All of the cheese were delicious. The blue was not overly strong, and went well on the table cracker with a bit of berry jam. The brie was nice and soft. You could almost spread it on the crackers. The cheddar was not as sharp as I prefer, but was still nice. It was just not what I was really craving. The star of the cheese plate was the aged gouda. It was very dry and crumbly...and the taste was fantastic. It was great to share the gouda with my friend, but I would have prefered to have my own piece because it was SO GOOD.
With the cheese and wine finished off, we requested the bill and made our way out of the restuarant. During the 2.5 hours we spent in the restaurant, we never felt rushed despite many other patrons coming and going. The staff was very friendly, attentive, and relaxed.
Overall it was a very nice experience and highly recommended to others visiting Auckland.
You can check out the website (including menu) here:
http://www.whiterestaurant.co.nz
Cheers!
posted by phatcashenglish at
9:35 PM
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1 comments
