The too-cool Harbourside. Photo / Babiche Martens
The too-cool Harbourside. Photo / Babiche Martens
Herald Rating: * * * 1/2 Address: Old Ferry Building Quay St Phone: (09) 307 0486 Web: www.harboursiderestaurant.co.nz Open: 7 days from 11.30am Cuisine: Seafood (and more) From the menu: Green-lipped mussels, Thai spices, coconut cream, mint, coriander $19 Chargrilled yellow-fin tuna, slow poached tuna, Puy lentil and prosciutto, glazed baby onion, spinach, carrot puree, port reduction $33 Granny Smith apple sorbet with pistachio marzipan, apple foam, syrup and pistachio praline $15 Wine: Upscale
KEY POINTS:
Jude turned towards me. Our eyes met. I breathed a little deeper, a little more urgently. "Now," she said.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yes," she whispered. "It's your birthday tomorrow. We need to mark the occasion. And how better than ... "
It's family lore that Ihave an aversion to seafood. I have never been sure about this alleged allergy. My mother insists both she and I are, with the fruits de mer, incompatible.
Jude decided to test the theory at Harbourside. The menu says, "We cater to Vegans, Lactose Intolerant, Gluten Free clients". It doesn't mention Seafood Virgins.
To be on the safe side, we invited Sean and Jenny. Sean is an emergency department doctor, so if I came over all anaglypta, he'd know what to do.
Harbourside has been around for yonks, or since 1998. It has been written that there is no better place to be, of a sunny afternoon, than the deck, with champagne. Sadly, the deck was closed last week.
The October menu matches the food with a range of Marlborough sauvignon blancs. Savvy. We began with the new offering from an old favourite, Allan Scott's'07.
At least we thought we did. The waitress brought the wine, poured it, realised five minutes later she'd brought the wrong bottle. Blame us for not checking, perhaps. We were chatting. People do, in restaurants. She brought the greater Scott.
For me, a tasty opener of bruschetta, adorned with sauteed courgettes (on ciabatta, should they be zucchini?), perked up with smoked chilli and goat cheese. Sean and Jenny shared and enjoyed grilled scallops.
Then came the moment. Jude tasted her crayfish dish - clear soup, fleshed with tomato and cress, islands of cray ravioli, and offered me one. What did I think of seafood?
Well, not a lot. The pasta was rubbery and the filling no more delectable. As an introduction to the delights of crustacea, it was hardly the way to break my duck.
The waitress made her presence felt once more, moving to take the platter before Jenny finished the vegetable and roe fritter. Tut, and tut again.
After that disappointment I wasn't game to try more molluscs, bivalves, whatever. Sean and I chose turbot, rare in New Zealand. These fillets were strong, substantial, standing up to gutsy subsidiaries such as coriander and mint, chilli caramel dressing. Disappointment that the promised crisp pork belly was a few shards of streaky bacon look-alike on top.
Jude and Jenny strayed from the Marlborough menu to john dory, another fish that doesn't mind adding an alpha-male swagger to its omega-3. Bravely, chef pan-fried the fillet and teamed it with two mushroom flavours - sauteed phoenix mushrooms and a porcini emulsion, a spoonful of leek risotto and a stalk of broccolini. No complaints, and quite a few compliments.
Jayesh Bhana's desserts are a feature. Jude and I shared chocolate mousse, a vibrant concoction with poached and glazed orange, smidgin of almond cake. Jenny and Sean drooled over playfully named lemon tart: it's marscapone and lemongrass, with sago and coconut icecream highlights.
One last thing: the restaurant was cold. They couldn't turn up the heat because it's air-conditioning. So roll on summer, and perhaps we can bask on the deck with champagne. Crayfish? Dunno. Tried it once, didn't like it.
