Having to pick a cuisine when dining out can leave you feeling torn, but there is no such heartache at Eight, where their eight specialist kitchens offer Grill, Seafood, Salads, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Italian and Dessert. Craving both pizza and papadams, a curry and a carbonara? Make a beeline to the specialist Italian and Indian offerings managed by chefs expertly trained in those cuisines.
In the Italian kitchen, dinner service offers a range of delicate pastas, all made from scratch by Eight's chefs that day, as well as slow-cooked sauces to accompany them. Do you know your fusilli from your fettucine? Your ragu from your arrabiata? The friendly chefs will talk you through their recommended pasta and sauce combinations. Lunchtime offers two delectable pasta dishes, while at night, choose from a large selection of pastas and accompanying sauces, cooked a la minute, and delicious pizza.
In the Indian kitchen, chefs are skilled in the art of tandoor cooking; a complex cooking method that requires years of training but yields results that bear that essential smoky tenderness in dishes like Tandoori chicken and naan. They prepare a variety of authentic, fragrant curries from scratch and slow-cooked, using fresh whole spices, and premium meat and vegetables. Fluffy basmati rice, pickles, chutneys and papadams are on hand to complete the picture.
At Eight, you don't have to save chocolate for dessert! A must-try from Eight's Italian kitchen is the wonderfully soft chocolate tagliatelle topped with a creamy gorgonzola sauce. Trust us, this is a novel but comforting combo you need in your life. And let the tandoor chefs in the Indian kitchen tempt you with a chocolate naan to go with your curry. As you watch, the chefs work milk chocolate pieces into the naan dough and cook it in the searing hot tandoor oven. Terrific on its own, the sweetness and creaminess of the melted chocolate is also the perfect foil for the richly spiced curries.
Mention "CANVAS8" and receive a free bottle of Babich wine for every group of 4 adults booked for dinner. Call (09) 300 2924.
Did you know?
Dinner at Eight is where you'll find the most choice, with around 15 varieties of fish, seafood and generous cuts of meat to select from, but lunch also has plenty going for it. Both sittings boast free-flow fresh local oysters, served in their own half-shells and perfectly cooked top-quality prawns, NZ beef and lamb.
Special winter deals at Eight*:
Lunch: Monday-Friday $58, Saturday-Sunday $78
Dinner: Sunday-Friday $98, Saturday $128
Children under 12 years dine half-price.
*Prices valid now until end August 2018.