All About Food

Category: Auckland

  • Ostro Brasserie

    Ostro Brasserie

    Review:

    A little narrative before I get to the review. We arrived in Auckland Sunday afternoon and we only had a couple of nights in Auckland. We faced quite a tough task to find a fine dining restaurant that opened on a Sunday night. Luckily, our friend suggested Ostro Brasserie & Bar. When we dined there, the restaurant was still quite reasonably filled. That alone can be a testament on how good the restaurant is!

    Ostro Brasserie menu

    Appetisers

    Ostro Brasserie menu has a good balance between seafood and meats. They also serve a nice mixture of raw and cooked cuisines. Our night got off to a flying start with the delicately crafted Ostro stecca bread. The bread was very crunchy and it was perfectly served with seaweed butter. It was followed by fresh Cloudy Bay clams from the Marlborough region with lemon and shallot vinegar. I was very impressed with the freshness of my first raw clam!

    Ostro stecca bread with seaweed butter - $7
    Ostro stecca bread with seaweed butter – $7
    Cloudy bay clams Marlborough - $3 each
    Cloudy bay clams Marlborough – $3 each

    Our third appetiser was Miso cured salmon. The name itself intrigued us, but then they also added Granny Smith Apple and basil into the mix! It was heavenly fresh!

    Miso cured salmon, Granny Smith apple, shallot and basil - $18
    Miso cured salmon, Granny Smith apple, shallot and basil – $18

    Beef Carpaccio was actually the only dish classified as ‘appetisers’ in the menu. We were interested because of the combination of ingredients put into this dish. It included anchovy mayonnaise, black garlic and parmesan!

    Beef Carpaccio, anchovy mayonnaise, black garlic, capers, parmesan, herbs and garlic chips - $19
    Beef Carpaccio, anchovy mayonnaise, black garlic, capers, parmesan, herbs and garlic chips – $19

    Mains

    Our first main was actually the first one I decided to have, because of the bone marrow. I was actually quite curious about the price because a bone marrow for two was priced at $90. Things got a lot clearer when the dish was served. The bone marrow was only its side dish. The main attraction was humongous 750 gr scotch fillets! The full name is Savannah Bone In Scotch. All of their beef cuts come with red wine jus plus a condiment of your choice: Bearnaise, cafe de Paris, Dijon/English/Whole Grain Mustard or Horseradish. You might actually be able to share this dish with two other people.

    Bone Marrow

    Savannah Bone in Scotch (for two), bone marrow, caramelised shallot and PX sherry, grass fed, dry aged, 750g - $90
    Savannah Bone in Scotch (for two), bone marrow, caramelised shallot and PX sherry, grass fed, dry aged, 750g – $90

    We then had Roast duck ravioli served with parsnip puree, pickled pear and crackling. Had a small bite of the ravioli (it’s not mine!) and I loved how smooth the ravioli was!

    Roast duck ravioli, parsnip puree, pickled pear and crackling - $24
    Roast duck ravioli, parsnip puree, pickled pear and crackling – $24

    Our last main was Canterbury lamb rump with charred aubergine, spring peas, harissa and yoghurt. It was quite a spicy dish, courtesy of the harissa in the mix. The lamb rump itself was beautifully cooked!

    Canterbury lamb rump, charred aubergine, spring peas, harissa and yoghurt - $36
    Canterbury lamb rump, charred aubergine, spring peas, harissa and yoghurt – $36

    If you are a big eater like me, I suggest you to add a couple of side dishes, including its French Fries, they are pretty good and can get you filled up pretty quick.

    French Fries Fresh herbs - $9
    French Fries Fresh herbs – $9
    Clover Club – a legendary pre-prohibition cocktail. Tanqueray, fresh lemon juice, a touch of sugar, egg white and house-made berry compote - $17
    Clover Club – a legendary pre-prohibition cocktail. Tanqueray, fresh lemon juice, a touch of sugar, egg white and house-made berry compote – $17

     

    The final verdict for Ostro Brasserie & Bar

    Our short visit to Auckland became that much more memorable because of Ostro Brasserie & Bar. They served great food, had great service and provided great view!

    Did you know?

    At first I thought Britomart is some kind of a mall or shopping centre. It actually refers to the Britomart Transport Centre.

    They go by the name of Seafarers for their online presence.

    Rating for:


    8.5 / 10

     

    Taste: 8.5 / 10

    Price: $60- $80 per person

    Place: 8.5 / 10

     

    Details:

    Tyler Street, Britomart, Auckland

    +64 9 302 9888

    http://www.seafarers.co.nz/

    Ostro on Urbanspoon

  • El Sizzling Chorizo

    El Sizzling Chorizo

    Review:

    This will be my first review for restaurants in New Zealand. Obviously, the first thing that I look for is meat! There is no better restaurant to test this out than El Sizzling Chorizo. El sizzling chorizo is an Argentinean restaurant that serves grilled meats with Argentinean chimichurri sauce. For the record, I love good chimichurri sauce!

    The restaurant is located in an upmarket suburb of Ponsonby in Auckland. My friend in Auckland said that it was almost impossible to get a seat in this area for the weekend without queuing up for hours. They have an interesting open grill kitchen.

    El Sizzling Chorizo

    Their menu is pretty simple and straight forward: half meats and half booze! Well, you can choose the ‘vegetarian’ cheese option or a selection of side dishes. But the whole idea is to enjoy chorizo and meats! Oh, and prices are in NZ Dollars.

    El Sizzling Chorizo Menu

    The first meat arriving at the table was the Beef Short Ribs. At $20, the 400 gr short ribs seemed to be a great bargain! It had the perfect balance of fat and meat ratio. Unfortunately, it was a little bit overcooked.

    Short Ribs - $20
    Short Ribs – $20

    Our second dish was more of a ‘mixed grill’ called Orejano Platter. There were quite variations in this dish. You got one chorizo, an empanada, a strip of pork belly, one flank steak, one bread, and barbecued potatoes with yummy sauce. It was one of the best empanadas I’ve ever tasted. The barbecued potatoes were nice as well. The best thing is that you got all of those for only $35!

    Orejano Platter - $35

    Orejano Platter - $35
    Orejano Platter – $35

    If you wanted to get the feel of what the restaurant is about, you have to order this dish. However, if you would like to have the all meats option, choose the Parrillada. You get over 600grams of ‘a taste of different meats’ for only $30.

    The last dish of the day is supposed to be an entree. However, there was a warning stated on the menu (cooking time approx 20 mins) and the waiter also mentioned a 25-minute wait time. The name is Sweet Breads with lemon and fries. The sweet breads were perfectly grilled and it was well worth the wait!

    Sweet Breads with lemon and fries - $25
    Sweet Breads with lemon and fries – $25

    All of the dishes were also served with Mesclun salad. I must say that we love (with capital LOVE) the chimichurri sauce!

    We ordered an organic wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, called Santa Ana Eco. However, the waiter pointed out that the ‘wine of Argentina’ is supposed to be Malbec.

    Santa Ana Eco Organic Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon
    Santa Ana Eco Organic Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon

    The final verdict for El Sizzling Chorizo

    El Sizzling Chorizo showed glimpses of a great restaurant. If they could stabilise its grilling time without tendency of being overcooked, they could be a really nice restaurant.

    Did you know?

    There are quite a few restaurants in the area, but the one worth mentioning is probably Burger Burger. Due to time and tummy constraints we cannot try it out this time.

    Rating for El Sizzling Chorizo:


    7.0 / 10

     

    Taste: 7.0 / 10

    Price: $20 – $35 for a main dish

    Place: 8.0 / 10

     

    Details:

    4 Brown Street, Ponsonby, Auckland

    +64 9 378 0119

    http://www.elsizzlingchorizo.co.nz/

    El Sizzling Chorizo on Urbanspoon