Gold Mela
100 Grange Rd, Otumoetai, Tauranga
Hours: Dinner served Wednesday to Saturday, 6pm until late. Breakfast, brunch and lunch served Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 2:30pm.
Price range: From light starters, $9 and up, to a decadent Angus eye fillet at $34.50.
On the menu: The restaurant keeps up with its French roots through its menu of entrees, salads, pasta and mains. Especially of note is the huge range of seafood on offer _ fresh fish of the day, scampi, seafood pasta and salmon dishes. Dessert is offered on a separate menu with old favourites such as tiramisu. There is also a pasta, gnocchi or risotto of the week. I'm told there are made-to-order baguettes during the day.
I'll have: The organic eye fillet _ 200g with your choice of jus or blue cheese, peppercorn or mushroom sauce. I chose fries and veges as sides, and when the steak arrived with the creamy blue cheese sauce I'd opted for, I was grateful for the fries - they helped mop up every morsel. Fresh carrots and asparagus also made for a thoroughly enjoyable dish.
He'll have: The duck leg confit with orange-scented jus. It was served with sides of veges and potato of the day - also cooked confit style - so the meal went together perfectly. The sauce was beautifully and delicately flavoured and, to quote, it was "lovely and very tasty''.
For the adventurous: What French-inspired restaurant would be complete without escargot? The traditional dish is served here in garlic, butter and parsley sauce with toasted baguette. There's also a rocket and blue cheese salad for cheese lovers, and the scampi as a main looks intriguing.
Value for money: The entrees start from $9 for bruschetta while salads are between $12 and $22 for small or main sizes. Pastas are about $22 while mains range from $30 to $34.50 with your choice of two sides, priced at $7 each separately, included.
To drink: The wine list is a careful selection that caters for most tastes, from popular New Zealand sauvignon blanc The Ned to beautiful reds from France and further afield. A range of international beers are also worth a mention, including the refreshing Leffe Ruby Red _ lovely on a hot summer night.
The staff were: Busy, friendly, relaxed and professional. Staff always greeted customers with smiles and ensured tables were well looked after _ even when it seemed like standing room only.
The buzz: Humming! Gold Mela might have taken a punt by moving into a residential area but it's paid off if our night was anything to go by. It blends the rustic charm of the old Gold Mela on 4th Ave with a more modern building. Fairy lights and old black-and-white pictures help keep the atmosphere alive.
The verdict: To be fair, Gold Mela on a Friday night may be too noisy for some people - it wasn't until half of the tables left that we realised Amy Winehouse and Portishead had been playing _ and an open kitchen is not necessarily for everyone. But for us, it worked perfectly, creating a vibrant energy with a hub of people enjoying good food, good company and good atmosphere.
It certainly appeared to work a treat as a social setting for the groups of friends and colleagues at tables next to us. The menu was so appealing and the atmosphere so good, I'm already planning what to have next time.