Banque, Remuera Road

Dominique's Parat's Banque features a verandah bar and grill. Picture / Richard Robinson

Herald rating: * * * 1/2

Broke and sick, Dominique Parat arrived in Auckland 22 years ago and holed up in a motel in Newmarket. Not quite broke: he had $100 in his pocket but he owed exactly that to a mate back in France who'd loaned him the airfare Downunder.

Clearly, the young Frenchman needed a job. He parlayed his name and nationality into a gig at a bakery in Remuera, Adams Brothers, on the corner of Remuera Rd and Norana Ave. Unfortunately he proved to be the only Frenchman who burned the croissants: every day. Hated the job. Never mind: like the man in the shaver commercial, he's bought the company. Well, the building.

Fast-food through the years. Parat, 44, served his chef's apprenticeship at a Michelin two-star hotel in France; quit the bakery for Orleans, an upmarket French cafe in Symonds St; and Killarney St Brasserie in Takapuna.

He opened Cafe Zira, then Ibiza and Isobar, also in Takapuna. Isobar's wood-fired pizzas were such a hit that Parat and partner Chris Waldegrave launched GPK (Gourmet Pizza Kitchen) in Ponsonby in 1996, sisters in Mt Eden and Takapuna, and Woody's, fine-dining next to GPK in Ponsonby in 1999.

Canny businessman, the 2003 Outstanding Restaurateur had his eye on Remuera, noticing - with many locals - that it was one suburb that hadn't kept up with the times and bred a stylish yet informal bar-restaurant.

When the opportunity to lease his former workplace came up a year ago, he didn't hesitate. He bought it. And after only 12 months of to-ing and fro-ing with council officers and goodness knows who else ... voila.

"Banque, first of all, is a bistro. Growing up in France, the bistro was at the heart of the community, a warm, welcoming place, friendly local faces eating affordable food, with good wine.

"I think always of a bistro as simplicity, great flavours, classical technique, adapted of course to local produce and the New Zealand palate and, as I have been doing for some years, I have some Asian colour in there, too.

"Bistro must be affordable and every main course at Banque is under $25 and we have a bar menu of about a dozen dishes under $15."

Parat and his chef-partner, Adrian Managh, trawl familiar styles of the past few years. Early favourite among locals has been a seafood combo, Moreton Bay bugs with salt cod on a potato puree. Braised lamb shanks are predictably popular.

You won't be challenged, but this is not Ferran Adria, this is a bistro. Gutsy, earthy food at a sensible price that you're happy to come back to.

I've eaten there a couple of times, enjoyed a tangy John Dory fillet with a lemon-ish and caper-y sauce and a thumping Angus beef fillet with honest potato and porcini gratin.

Across the table Dick appreciated those bugs but his Toulouse sausage wasn't quite spicy enough for his demanding standards in charcuterie. The creamy mash and red wine jus were dispatched with alacrity.

After a brace of pinot noirs - a Downunder and an Up Over, for comparison - we lit into decent French cheeses.

Straightforward meals, well cooked. Good wines.

Frank exchange of opinion across the table with a mate (short-story writing, if you must know, and de Maupassant was the winner).

What a bistro is all about.

Address: 331 Remuera Rd
Owner: Dominique Parat, Chris Waldegrave
Chef: Adrian Managh
Open: Mon-Fri 4pm to late, Weekends 10.30am to later
From the menu: Seared scallop salad, walnut and lime, sourdough toast $15; Grilled poussin, crushed potato, olive, preserved lemon and thyme $24.90; Grappa and lime creme brulee, fig and almond biscotti $11.50
Vegetarian: Options on menu
Wine: Above average; interesting French imports
Bottom line: Straightforward meals, good wines. A successful restaurateur shows what a bistro is all about.

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