Collins House, Greenhithe

By JOHN GARDNER for canvas

The phrase on the menu that caught my eye was "home-made chips". The invasion of catering pack fries into almost every fish and chip shop in the land, no matter how reputable, and into rather too many restaurants has long been a source of regret to me.

So when I noticed that Collins House was bucking the trend I fell into temptation. Fish and chips it was. And it proved to be one of those occasions when yielding did not lead to regrets.

The chips were excellent, although my preference is for them to be a touch crisper, and the Monteith's beer batter on the delicious bluenose could not be faulted. A simple favourite ($20 with a modest side salad) and beautifully executed.

Our other main was something of a contrast, being a stylish pan-roasted pork fillet ($23) with pohutukawa honey, fennel seed rub on spiced apples with courgettes wrapped in bacon and an apple sour jus.

This contrast was typical of the Collins House style, which is an unconventional mixture, blending the very homely with nods in the direction of the more elaborate.

The attractive setting in an old colonial homestead has been the venue of fine dining establishments in the past, but now it offers affordable family meals for the locals as well as an eclectic, if limited, choice which gives its cooks the chance to show off a little.

So on the next table were diners whacking their way through the all-in roasts which it offers on a couple of nights a week (in $10 or $14 sizes), while next to them were people enjoying grilled salmon fillet finished with a fennel butter sauce and a balsamic reduction, or noodles with Chinese scallops sauted with carrot, capsicum, spring onion, mushroom, chilli, ginger, soya and coriander.

Our first courses had rather reflected this split. My chicken livers with bacon and mushroom ($10) was a good example of a standard. Our other choice was a delightful house hot-smoked salmon fillet ($11) with kelp, finished with a cucumber and tomato salad in balsamic dressing — the whole displayed with a visual style that would not have disgraced any of the more expensive city establishments.

All the first courses come in main or entree options.

The dessert menu leans distinctly to the homestyle, with steamed fruit pudding with custard and cream and apple and berry crumble (sold out on our visit). We were lured by the "home-made" label again, this time attached to icecream, and again it was good — a berry rich offering.

The wine list, while not huge, is carefully chosen with several examples that you won't find in your local supermarket. We really enjoyed our Francis Cole chardonnay 2002 ($8.50 a glass) and a Henry Lawson Shiraz 1998 ($8).

The service is hospitable and well-informed and contributed to an enjoyable dinner. I may have had only fish and chips but a good plain dish is hard to beat. All those thousands of New Zealanders who eat it every day can't be wrong. But then, I remember, we do wolf down millions of Big Macs.

Ambience: Family food meets fine dining in a colonial setting.

Cost: Two first courses, two mains, one dessert and four glasses of wine, $106

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