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Home / Northern Advocate

Top food, good staff! We will return!

By Review Jodi Bryant
Northern Advocate·
7 Oct, 2017 12:29 AM2 mins to read

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Kumara Bites

Kumara Bites

It had been 11 years since I'd dined at Flames Restaurant and I was pleasantly surprised.

The décor, I was happy to note, was as I remembered it - a Mediterranean-style terracotta-tiled terrace, complete with palms and, inside, a tranquil water feature flanking the bar, but I wasn't expecting the many diners to already be seated and chatting happily.

The maître d' greeted us warmly, his sense of humour shining through from the beginning and becoming a continuing theme of the night.

We quickly settled into the pleasant and spacious atmosphere of Flames, taking in the faint background music and surrounding conversational hum as everyone unwound on a Friday eve.

First up we ordered the Buffalo Chicken Stix and the Kumara Bites. The warm oven-roasted kumara bites were the perfect blend with feta cheese and wholegrain balsamic dressing.

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For mains, my dining partner ordered the Kiwiana Beef with mushroom sauce, seasonal vegetables, two poached eggs and fries. Between mouthfuls, his verdict was "ni-ice!". Apparently the steak was cooked to perfection.

I ordered the Lamb Shank, which came with gravy and served on a bed of mashed potato, accompanied with fresh al dente vegetables. Once again, perfection, with the New Zealand lamb cooked in succulent true melt-in-your-mouth style.

Although the meals were certainly filling, a meal isn't complete without a sweet treat and we opted for the traditional apple crumble, which had a strong and pleasant cinnamon flavor, and the white chocolate and raspberry-infused continental styled cheesecake.

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One word - Yum!

As well as top food, good staff can make or break a dining experience and our jovial and attentive maidre d' certainly enhanced ours.

We will certainly be making a return visit to Flames soon!

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