Claret

By EWAN McDONALD for viva

Stephanie recommended we go there. She had discovered it (I was going to say, "She stumbled across it," but when you hear that we're talking about a place called Claret, it gives entirely the wrong impression) on a professional visit to the furthest end of Onehunga Mall, possibly one of the most colourful and lively main streets in the country but not one that would automatically come to mind when planning a dinner out with friends.

The long, warm yellow room was already filling when Ann and I arrived about 7.30 on a Wednesday, probably because we had booked for 7, completely miscalculated the length of the drive through deepest Mt Albert and Three Kings, and our three companions had already devoured the menu and were about to start on the tablecloth.

Rule 1 about Claret: it's very popular. You should book because the regulars have claimed their tables around this time every night.

Rule 2 about Claret: you don't need to spend too long on the menu, because it's all good, and you'll want to come back and try the other dish that you were tossing up about (and there's another phrase that you should never use in a restaurant review, because it also gives entirely the wrong impression).

Claret has been around for some years, which is always one of the best recommendations. John Clarke - no, not that one - and Viv Gordon were the brave souls who opened the cafe-restaurant in this spot in October, 1997, with Paul Gordon in the kitchen. The present owners, Dudley Raine and Stephen Smith, took over in August.

Raine had one of the toughest possible training courses for the restaurant business: he retired from Air New Zealand as an inflight service director, after 30 years of flying, in July and went out and bought Claret. If you think people can be demanding in restaurants, you try serving them several miles up in the sky after 12 hours, no sleep, cricked backs, too many free drinks and bad movies.

Raine looks after the day-to-day operation, working closely with chef Jack Peri "to ensure that our customers have their expectations met and exceeded wherever possible," while Smith has the crucial but less flamboyant task, the book work.

"Claret's philosophy," Raine continues, "is to provide high-quality food, wine and service at reasonable prices, in a way that makes us stand out from the rest. We want our guests, many of who have become friends, to always feel welcome and unhurried when dining with us."

For a point of reference we'll describe Peri's menu as Modern NZ Bistro. There is a bow to Asia, a slap on the back to Italy, a tip of the hat to olde England, and you'll recognise the major players - Thai fish cakes, pasta puttanesca, spinach and feta filo parcels, rack of lamb, venison medallions - from their guest appearances in a fair proportion of the city's eateries.

There's a twist to most of these familiar bases, however. The fish cakes go out with roquet salad and blueberry salsa, the calamari with Florence fennel, the beef with red onion marmalade. The venison sausages are chargrilled, which adds even more grunt to their rustic taste, and with a fair dollop of suitably creamy garlic mash, gutsy braised mushroom and jus, make a darned fine meal although they're listed in the entree section.

The dish which piqued my interest was the duck breast, promised to be cooked pink, on Moroccan spiced couscous, with steamed asparagus, crispy fried prosciutto and Claret's game jus. Unfortunately my order was mistranslated and, not wanting to delay proceedings further, I accepted the roasted rack of lamb on smoked mushroom risotto, with roasted garlic, slow roasted tomatoes and Claret's pesto jus, which - though excellent - was unfortunately reminiscent of what I'd just eaten. Around the table, scotch fillets and pork fillets were being eaten as though they were going out of style, which they are certainly not.

Surprisingly for a place named after one of the world's great wines, there's a limited offering. "Our wine list is shorter than many, but carefully chosen to offer a variety of styles," notes our host. Thoughtfully, and oh so rarely these days, Claret is BYO. This night we had done that, recalling another restaurant named after the same tipple, Petrus, where four London diners ordered clarets worth around $145,000 at lunch. Mind you, they had to buy a whopping seven bottles to run up that bill.

Ours came to around $40 a head, including a couple of the desserts that Peri, unlike many kitchenmeisters around town, puts some thought and effort into. We should give honourable mention to the chocolate trio plate, because Dick ordered that for himself and had to share it with four other spoons.

City prices but very good food, warm and friendly atmosphere put Claret on the shortlist of good suburban restaurants. It was worth the drive.

Open: Lunch 11.30-2.30, Dinner 6pm-late

Owners: Dudley Raine, Stephen Smith

Chef: Jack Peri

Food: NZ bistro

On the menu: Charred venison sausage with creamy garlic mash, braised field mushroom and Claret's jus $12.50; Duck breast cooked pink, on Moroccan spiced couscous, steamed asparagus, crispy fried prosciutto and Claret's game jus $28.50; Venison medallions, served medium rare with green beans, pumpkin and kumara rosti and Claret's game jus $28.50; Venison medallions, served medium rare with green beans, pumpkin and kumara rosti and Claret's game jus $28.50; White chocolate cheesecake with green tea icecream and marbled chocolate garnish $11.50

Vegetarian: Pasta and salad options on menu

Wine: Short list (10 whites, eight reds) by the glass or bottle at fair prices; yay, it's BYO too

Bottom line: Onehunga residents are lucky to have this buzzy cafe-restaurant close to home - and they know it, which can make it difficult for outsiders to find a table. The hosts lay on a warm and friendly atmosphere, chef Jack Peri offers interesting twists on bistro favourites, and it has the bonus of BYO.

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