The menu contains entries you are unlikely to have encountered before and terms with which even the most cosmopolitan customer is unlikely to be familiar.
Bafat, koliwada, rasam, bhakri, khatkhate, kolhapuri and several more stirred not a trace of recognition for me but there was enough that was familiar to suggest that almost every entry from the half-dozen each of entrees and mains was interesting. It was one of those rare lists from which you wanted everything.
This isn't really a sharing plate venue although it would have taken a will of iron to resist the swapping of sample forkfuls.
Did one go past the xec xec scallops with candied pork belly, pickled pearls, parsnip, blood orange puree and powdered chilli oil? What about the goat kolhapuri with eggplant couscous, saffron braised fennel, spiced ratatouille and coriander sesame gremolata? But decisions were made and we did not leave wishing we had chosen something else but rather wondering if the things we hadn't picked would have been just as good.
I started with the soft shell crab koliwada, a mildly spiced treatment of the popular crustacean. The waiter's explanation of those spices was less than enlightening but the result was pleasing, piquant without overpowering the main attraction. The menu said the accompaniments were spring onion, balsamic chunks - whatever that means, witloof and sea water caviar.
I cannot say I distinguished them all, which also applied to the elements in some other dishes, but the overall blend worked well in offering contrasts and highlights.
Our other first course, a spiced chickpea tart with a potato patty stuffed with dried milk and tamarind puree, was simply delicious and left us looking forward to the following courses.
My main should have been scotch fillet but they had been supplied with eye fillet instead, which, of course, was more than acceptable as a substitute.
This was a generous serving, done exactly as requested and accompanied prettily by a neat little beef cheek empanada, truffle puree, baby beets and other bits and pieces with a port jus.
Our other main was a confit duck leg gassi, a coconut-based treatment, with a subtle cumin-flavoured risotto and spiced with fragments of chorizo, sour cherry and okra crisp. Like the other dishes, it all harmonised well.
Oddly, for the interests of their profits, no one had mentioned the extra side dish options and I had been interested in the potatoes, harking back to memories of a similar outstanding dish at Birkenhead, but the opportunity slipped by.
We did try to enjoy one of the desserts, a sweet orange and lime tart with plum mascarpone, compressed citrus and a hazelnut brittle.
The food had been interesting with novel combinations and sound treatment of the main ingredients but that standard was not matched in all departments. The service was unfailingly courteous but lacked convincing organisation. We were presented with a wrong first course for which the explanation was a handwriting error on the first day of the new winter menu.
Our neighbours were audibly baffled by the late delivery of some courses and eyebrows were raised at problems at other tables, and the premises, which are rather drab, were not busy. It would be good to think these were uncharacteristic flaws as Xacuti's ambitions and cuisine should be warmly welcomed.
Our meal: $151.50 for two starters, two mains, one dessert, two glasses of wine and two beers.
Wine list: A longer list than you might expect, mainly from the affordable end of the market, although they had sold out of one of the two pinot noirs we inquired about. The Saint Clair Vicar's Choice 2013 Marlborough pinot gris started well, followed by the decent Crossings Awatere Valley 2011 pinot noir. As usual, Kingfisher beer was a good choice with this food.
Verdict: If they lift the rest of the game to the level of the food, Howick will have a venue to be envied.
- Canvas
