Rocco

By EWAN McDONALD for viva

You may find this hard to believe, but it's not always easy being the restaurant reviewer. Oh, I know, you think it's all free meals every night and "you must be from Viva, another Veuve, sir?" Responsibility weighs heavily, and never more so than when you take The Phone Call. It can be from friend, colleague, boss, reader you've never met, visitor to town, who begins with the dreaded: "Can you recommend a restaurant it's our wedding anniversary / daughter's graduation / son's 21st / we've got these people from London coming and ..."

You - or rather I - know that this is going to be an occasion that they hope to remember for the rest of their lives, and what they're going to recall about the big night is the cretin who suggested they take Grandma to that place where they were charged $45 for a plate of warmed-over seaweed and a $65 bottle of red from Eketahuna that could have wiped out the painted apple moth.

All I will tell you is that there are several places we look forward to going back to, and back to. One is Rocco.

There were a few nervous glances when Blair Russell and Mark Wallbank - then late of Cibo and Otto's, Russell previously of Peter Gordon's Sugar Club in London, Wallbank of The Ivy - took over the reconstructed villa opposite Western Park and, with kitchen maestro Sarah Ginella, opened their Spanish-influenced restaurant in mid-2001. The place had been home to a number of previous ventures and hadn't been kind to any.

Rocco, however, was an instant hit. Nearly two years on, there have been changes: Ginella has gone on to further adventures with Powder, her daytime cafe just down the strip, and other kitchens. The dining-room has been expanded into an under-canvas terrace that looks through greenery to the park, lovely on summer evenings, and if there is a better cocktail shaker around the city, then he or she must be very good indeed.

More things stay the same: the food on the frequently changing menus, the wine list and the atmosphere are as fresh as opening day. Wallbank and Russell are hands-on: one or both always on the floor, greeting, chatting, keeping an eye on who might be waiting for mains or coffee. Not that their staff, upbeat and on-to-it, would forget either.
Peter Rama, who has spent a number of his 10 years in kitchens alongside Ginella at Pravda in Wellington, Pavilion in Auckland and at Rocco from Day One, is now head chef.

The 30-year-old holds to the Russell-Wallbank vision: "We aim to relocate a little of the Mediterranean feel that we have both enjoyed while living and travelling in that part of the world, through providing a good product in a casual environment - serving hearty, uncomplicated food."

The menu seduces with unexpected but not wacky combinations. Starters like a tangy tuna carpaccio with shaved fennel and salted capers, a rich duck, pecan, pork and spinach cannelloni with parmesan glaze. If that sounds too heavy for the time of year, there's a light and summery ravioli of pea, mint and sorrel with lemon ricotta, and a sublime beetroot and gorgonzola risotto.

The roast pork chop, plumply stuffed with choritzo, pancetta and apple, served with garlic and honey aioli was gutsy and satisfying; cordero con salsa, a pinkly tender lamb rump, simply roasted with potatoes, baked garlic, rosemary and sea salt, was a lusty, rustic meal.

Desserts are innovative: pears poached in white wine and honey with cinnamon marscapone; wobbly, and not at all like memories from childhood, vanilla milk pudding with caramelised stonefruit. Cheeses are good examples of manchego and membrillo, taleggio and pear paste, gorgonzola and honeycomb.

Because the wine list contains a number of names and styles not familiar to Kiwi palates, it's best to ask Russell or Wallbanks. They know their onions. Well, grapes.

If there is something amiss with Rocco, perhaps it's that there's one table too many for those with claustrophobia or increasing girth to get into without putting their backside into someone else's meal, or face. But this is Ponsonby. Everyone else in Rocco is a slim young thing. It probably doesn't bother them.

23 Ponsonby Road
Ph 360 6262

Open: Lunch and Dinner Monday-Friday, Dinner Sat

Owners: Blair Russell, Mark Wallbank

Head Chef: Peter Rama

Food: Med, Spanish-influenced

On the Menu: Pork and pecan terrine with honey roast baby onions and chargrilled potato sourdough $15; Beetroot and gorgonzola risotto $16 / $22; Cordero con salsa - lamb rump roasted with baked potatoes with roast garlic, rosemary and sea salt $25

Vegetarian: Lots of options on menu

Wine: 10 bubblies, whites from Alsace and Austria to deepest Otago, reds from Waiheke and Marlborough to Spain. Cellar list too. Intriguing choices across all price ranges.

Noise: Latin house

Bottom line: Fresh, lusty, imaginative Mediterranean food that's different from anything else in town. Intelligent wine list with some surprises. Two of the most charming hosts you could hope to meet; upbeat on-to-it superbly trained staff; a stylish dining room and laidback atmosphere.

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