Herald rating: * * * *
Address: 33 Sale St, Freemans Bay.
Phone: (09) 358 1702, www.clooney.co.nz
Cuisine: Innovative contemporary
From the menu: Confit king prawn & cured salmon with ponzu liquid gel, apple and lemon verbena sorbet and white sesame oil entree $25. Prime Angus beef tenderloin came with an onion and truffle oil flan, pomme mousseline and morel red wine sauce $40. Baked Xocopili chocolate fondant with green cardamom icecream $16.
Vegetarian: Sauteed potato gnocchi with globe artichoke, confit beets, tarragon and hazelnut brown butter.
Wine list: Most excellent
The intention was there, an intimate night out for two. But, well, don't you just love having friends along as well? I do. The more the merrier and all. So it was, our Friday night date at the super-chic Clooney became a double date. But that meant double the fun. And then at the end of the night, when we bumped into another couple at the bar, it was all lined up to be triple the fun... but that's another story.
I interviewed Tony Stewart back in 2006 not long after he opened Clooney bar and restaurant. He'd made his mark on the local scene with the super suave Match Lounge Bar, but this was something again. Auckland hadn't seen anything like it - with its layout designed by uber-architects Fearon Hay.
Now it is three years later and Tony has just been announced Outstanding Restaurateur of 2009 at the Lewisham Awards.
With his swarthy good looks, he is the living embodiment of his establishment. He greets us at the door. Warm, friendly, with a knowing elegance, there is no hint of affected airs or graces.
Around him, good looking waiters dressed in black, glide around the table. Tall and regal, like the man-birds in a Bill Hammond painting, they know exactly what to recommend and when to attend our needs.
Sexy tassel curtains hang from exposed pipes and beams on the former warehouse ceiling, and swoop around the tables to create a sense of privacy without cutting you off from the other patrons (who, as the night rolls on, turn out to be sleek men with women in slinky dresses who glide through the dark to the neighbouring tables).
The mood is a mix between a men's club - but this might have something to do with the big table of men seated nearby; a fine dining room but with the starched tablecloths replaced by black mats, white napkins replaced by black ones; and a nightclub thanks to the groovy beats in the background. The low hanging lights and swooping chocolate brown leather banquets and chairs add to the dark moody vibe.
There is much deliberating over head chef Desmond Harris's menu. The guys start out with a dozen juicy Waiheke oysters served with banyuls mignonette, I tuck into confit king prawn and cured salmon with ponzu liquid gel, apple and lemon verbena sorbet and white sesame oil. The sorbet is a little on the sweet side but not enough to distract from the delicate flavour of the prawn and salmon.
Sarah has chosen the big eye tuna and cured salmon tartare with frozen yuzu foam, lemonade fruit and sturia caviar and is more than delighted.
However she suffers a little from menu envy when it comes to the mains. Her Northland snapper fillet with sea scallop, lemon a la greque, soft herbs and carrot and sauternes puree was nothing short of delectable, but, through her eyes the other dishes just looked more ... more.
Understandably. The Firstlight farm-raised venison is served with pinot noir macerated cherries, black pudding and cocoa and licorice; the prime Angus beef tenderloin comes with an onion and truffle oil flan, pomme mousseline and morel red wine sauce; while the Freedom Farms pork - delicate medallions of meat and a square of pork belly - is accompanied by tastebud-teasing confit chestnut, boudin blanc, creamed celeriac and medjool date.
The food is as sophisticated as the surroundings. Harris' penchant for local produce and focusing on clean flavours, results in delightful combinations of succinct flavours.
The wine throughout the meal is Breaksea Sound Central Otago Pinot Noir 2006 ($65) - a big robust wine that suits perfectly the opulent surroundings and guides us in our next menu choices. Declan and I share a "better than sex" Roquefort Papillon cheese, produced in the Pyrenees, and a Maitre Seguin goats' milk cheese from Bayonne, also in France. From the sweets menu, Jim is seduced by the richness and texture of the baked Xocopili chocolate fondant with green cardamom icecream, while Sarah savours the passionfruit tart with mascarpone.
For a night out, be it with your lover, friends - hell, just go on your own - Clooney delivers on all levels.
* Don't miss Clooney's special evening with Trelise Cooper and Moet & Chandon on June 10. Enjoy an exclusive menu by chef Des Harris accompanied by Moet & Chandon Champagnes and fashion parades of Trelise Cooper's new summer collection. $240. To book, ph: (09) 358 1702.
