Review: Franc's, Takapuna

Fish of the day served on a bed of Cauliflower, Saffron, Raisins and Pine nuts at Franc's. Photo / Janna Dixon

Address: Main Beach, The Strand, Takapuna
Phone: 021 627 080
Rating out of 10: Food: 7, Service: 7, Value: 7, Ambience: 7

One of the great mysteries of New Zealand life has always been the determination with which coastal resorts turn their backs on the very thing that draws people to them.

Auckland's North Shore, and many other places, are full of main streets that devote the sites facing the sea to the backsides of the towns' businesses.

At last, however, the penny seems to be dropping. Perhaps it's the effect of those overseas holidays that offer the opportunity of eating while looking at a view rather than the $2 shops across the road.

Takapuna, once a place that typically acted as if it didn't have a shore, is slowly hauling itself around. A new block of three eating establishments actually affords a glimpse of the sea and the first to open is obviously reaping the benefits.

Franc's had been in business for about three weeks when we visited on a lovely summer evening, and it was bursting with customers.

It is a big, bright establishment on a corner site, making good use of its decks and with an airy interior flooded with light. Like many others these days, it operates all day, cringe-makingly describing itself as "purveyor of all things yummy" and offering breakfast (or "brekkie" to adopt its own usage) and cafe food with, one assumes, the atmosphere changing as local workers and holidaymakers begin turning up for evening drinks.

There are no bookings and we were lucky to get a small table inside with a couple of stools to perch on. Overall, it has more of a bar feel than that of a restaurant.

The menu reflects this with the usual snack repertoire featuring routine options such as pulled pork sliders, fried chicken wings and hot dogs, but customers requiring something more substantial can have the "plates" alternatives.

If you are that way inclined you can have the superfood salad of quinoa, amaranth, kale, zucchini, ricotta, seeds and nuts. This sort of stuff is, of course, guaranteed to have you bouncing around bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with energy but I was more in the mood for slumping quietly over a beer. So I opted for the lamb belly, not quite from the same page of the nutritionist's handbook.

Often, when food seems intended as a supplement to drinks, it can be pretty ordinary but this turned out to not be the case. The lamb had been slow-cooked to tenderness, was well matched with a salsa verde and broad beans and was generous in quantity.

Our other dishes were equally decent. The fish of the day, hapuku, was well handled, if just a touch overdone. It was accompanied by a sweet little assembly of cauliflower, raisins and pine nuts all coloured with a hint of saffron.

The salmon was even better, done confit-style, soft, moist and tasty with avocado, sesame, miso caramel, smoked chipotle and lime. Given the variation in small plate sizes in some places, I had asked for fries as well and they turned up crisp and piping hot, again not always the case in such venues.

We didn't need them because the plates, while not overwhelming, were generous enough and we did not have room to tackle the dessert menu which offered, among other things, a watermelon and rosewater granita with raspberries, honey and pomegranate and an almond milk panna cotta with spiced apples and blueberries.

The table staff, all young, were cheerful, efficient and observant, but the organisation seemed a victim of its own success. The bar staff couldn't cope with demand and the wait for drinks was interminable. At the end of a hot time on the beach sitting around for too long with your tongue hanging out for a cold one doesn't do much to improve the temper and being told there is no shiraz or syrah doesn't help.

To be fair, we were tendered unsolicited apologies for the delays and something was knocked off our bill and it is to be hoped the wait was just teething troubles.

We have not been alone in wondering why a place as wealthy as Takapuna boasts few really exceptional eating places. Franc's doesn't break that drought but, as a cheerful, lively place in a good spot, it is a welcome addition to the local scene.

Our meal: $102.60 for three plates, one fries, one glass of wine and a beer.

Our wine: Black Dog craft beers go down well but the wine list is not extensive and it's as well to check they have what you want. The Yealands Baby Doll Marlborough pinot gris was welcome, when it arrived.

Verdict: Beachside, well almost, bustling to prolong the holiday mood or work wind-down and the food is not at all bad.