Restaurant review: French Rendez-vous, Takapuna

Roasted Duck leg with olive sauce at the French Rendez-vous in Takapuna. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Address: 67 Killarney St, Takapuna
Phone: (09) 487 0009
Rating out of 10: Food: 8, Service: 8, Value: 7, Ambience: 6

We stumbled on to French Rendez-vous on Bastille Day when a friend invited us to join them for a French dinner, and were mightily impressed. This is the kind of French restaurant we remember from our travels through Burgundy and Provence: worn, mildly uncomfortable furniture and tinny cutlery offset with flashes of flair, friendly service (especially if you have a smattering of French) plus seriously authentic French food.

Apart from Bastille Day, they don't go in for advertising at French Rendez-vous. Indeed, there's not even a sign pointing down that winding road that leads from Killarney St in Takapuna to the PumpHouse Theatre, which sits in isolated splendour on the edge of Lake Pupuke. We dined twice at French Rendez-vous and the first time we walked in to find the cabinets full of delicious French pastries, fabulous dinners waiting to be cooked - and not a customer (except us) in sight. To be fair, it was probably the nastiest night this winter.

That first night they offered a prix fixe of $49 for two courses and a glass of Champagne or wine. The second time we dined a la carte, which gave us three choices for every course and proved a little more expensive, but what a feast we had. First up was a plate of freshly fried crisps. They looked pretty ordinary just heaped on a piece of grey slate, but tasted amazing. This was followed by an unexpected "amuse bouche" of salted caramel butter. Served in scoops like whipped icecream and spread on croutons, it seemed a strange starter but was actually subtle rather than sweet, quite delicious and certainly put a lining on our stomachs.

The entree, onion soup, came in shallow plates topped with about five grilled croutons. It was the best our friends had ever tasted - amazingly sweet onions, the croutons still crisp and cheesy; top notch. Meanwhile, the others tucked into a satisfyingly coarse duck terrine, and a salmon bruschetta with whipped goat's cheese. The goat's cheese and salmon proved particularly tasty and was thoughtfully served with petit bruschetta so we could all share.

By then we had the gas heater trained on us and were well into Rendez-vous' house red, Mas de la Tour, which is a silky merlot-pinot noir blend, a fine Vaucluse rosé and a Villa Maria pinot gris to go with our main courses. The boeuf with red wine sauce, cooked bourguignon-style, was beautifully tender and accompanied by dauphinoise potato that had been cooked in a small pan, giving it a texture and taste all of its own, a small slow-roasted onion to add a little kick, and a bunch of green beans tied together with bacon to finish off what was a picture on a plate. The prawn risotto starred juicy fat prawns that had been shelled for easy eating, and arranged rearing over a generous mound of excellent, tasty risotto. And our other choice, the duck leg with olive sauce, was a cracker. Salty olives, tender duck, crisp skin: who could ask for more?

And so to dessert. Again, everything was beautifully presented. The chocolate raspberry fondante opened to reveal a rich, thick chocolate sauce that had Brian drooling, and the white chocolate mousse with kiwi couli and lemon crepe were positively wicked. I chose a prune flan from the cabinet, a traditional dish from Brittany, birthplace of Chef Philippe ("the boss"). It, too, was delectable. Not too sweet, and velvet-smooth.

So there we sat, cosy and warm on one of the worst nights of winter, content as you can only be after an excellent meal. "Our style is traditional French," said our waiter. "Just one step down from gastronomique." Which, I imagine, is a couple of steps down from haute cuisine and one up from bistro. It was certainly great value for money: a beautifully cooked and thought-out three-course meal you'd be lucky to find in France - and not a sharing plate in sight.

Our meal: $151.50 for two starters, two mains, one dessert, plus six glasses of wine.

Wine list: Short but interesting with excellent but little-known French wines, most available by the glass. And they're happy to give you a taste.

Verdict: Fine French cuisine, served on the beautiful shores of Lake Pupuke and at realistic prices. We can only assume that Chef Philippe and his team don't advertise enough - and that people are reluctant to take the little road down to the PumpHouse at night. Certainly after dining there twice in a week, we can't understand why it's not heaving with patrons every night. Next time we'll get a bigger group together and take over the place.

- Canvas