Jesse Mulligan Auckland Restaurant Review: Blue In Ponsonby Ticks All The Boxes

Jesse Mulligan recommends you head to Blue immediately for the persimmon salad.

I almost always leave thinking about the whole meal rather than individual dishes but I have to tell you that the persimmon salad at Blue is the best thing I’ve eaten all year. It’s stop-the-conversation wonderful, and I’ll tell you more about it shortly, though I’m not 100% sure it’ll still be on the menu by the time you get there.

I was too scared to ask. The people who run this kitchen are changing the food weekly and compared to other restaurateurs, they were quite reticent when I messaged them after the meal for more info, and soon ghosted me. Could it be that they didn’t want to be reviewed? It’s hard to tell. While usually a message from me inviting the chef to tell me more about his or her creations elicits a long, detailed and passionate story beginning shortly after their birth, my inquiries to Blue seemed about as welcome as a quarterly rates bill from Auckland Council. Possibly they are just very busy; they’re open all day after all.

The cliche is that Gen Z types are great online and terrible in person but I’m pleased to say that it seems like the opposite here. Our meal itself was characterised by kind, charming and at times very patient service. The restaurant has been opened by four partners and though it wasn’t immediately clear who was who, I recognised chef Katie Riley ducking around in the kitchen and I’ve never eaten a bad mouthful of food when she’s been in charge (at Annabel’s and then Roses where I saw her last).

You may have previously visited this dining room when it was a cafe but the waiter reported that “when we arrived, all that was left was the bricks”. They have created something wonderful from those bare bones, mostly thanks to some beautiful woodwork that you can admire and touch in the form of bars, tables, shelves and chairs. We chose a couple of high seats on the corner of said bar and chatted to the waitress, who said two of the best things you can hear in a restaurant: “there are some options on the blackboard” and “if you want some wine recommendations let me know”. She helped us quite quickly into two glasses of a big juicy natural – skin-contact pinot gris from a producer in Hawke’s Bay – and after looking briefly at the food menu I asked for one of everything.

So, this dish. If you tell me that fruit doesn’t belong in a salad I won’t fight you, but when it works it works. A hunk of stracciatella is placed right at the base of the plate, where it gets covered in the flavours of everything on top. What flavours? Well, before they plate the persimmon they dress it in jalapeno butter and scorch it with a blow torch. There’s an optional pancetta – sliver thin and torched as well – then fragrant, fried curry leaves scattered over the top. When it all comes together it’s a kind of heaven: spicy, smoky, creamy, juicy and vaguely sweet.

The rest of the menu is a mix of stuff that goes with wine – thinly sliced salami, gildas and a generous bowl of olives – alongside things that could properly be called restaurant food. But even the snacks have cheffy touches. You can find gildas (toothpick tapas) at The Wine Room and Alma but here they have a Kiwi slant, the traditional anchovy replaced with a chunk of New Zealand greenshell mussel. The chip and dip isn’t as fancy as at Culprit, where they do a sort of crayfish mousse, but there is a touch of luxury in the salmon roe sprinkled over the top.

Charcuterie, olives, chips: they’re familiar bar snacks but all come with their own twist. And the biggest twist of all comes with the terrine (pork, apricot, pistachio) which is sliced into triangles and served on rye bread in the same shape, like a little piece of pie. It does unimaginably good things to the terrine serving it in this way – the chewy texture and nutty flavour of the rye adding interest and balance to the meat, with some fresh, mildly bitter Italian parsley leaves layered on top. Make sure you order this dish, alongside a cold wedge of cos with cashew ranch mayo, blackened with furikake seasoning (finely chopped nori and sesame seeds, mostly).

A peaceful environment, wonderful food and drink, excellent service and, do you know what completely made the experience? The music! It’s a surprisingly Gen X-friendly playlist of hits you aren’t quite sick of. I’m talking En Vogue Don’t Let Go, I’m talking Nelly Furtado Turn Off The Light, I’m talking, um, James Blunt You’re Beautiful (I don’t know what to tell you, it worked).

There are elements of the building they’re stuck with (I enjoyed the brick staircase to the basement toilet but it may provide accessibility issues for some), but I have to say almost everything about this restaurant put me in a happy mood. It’s out of the mould for Ponsonby, and that might be the best thing about it.

BLUE

Cuisine: Bar/bistro

Address: 1/1 Franklin Rd, Ponsonby

Drinks: Fully licensed

Reservations: Groups of six or more only

From the menu: Gilda 6ea, olives 10, saucisson 14, chip and dip 12, terrine 26, persimmon salad with pancetta 31, cos wedge 18, cockles special 32.

Rating: 18/20

More restaurant reviews

According to dining out editor Jesse Mulligan.

An Odyssey To Georgian-Turkish Restaurant Troy In Torbay. A glossy, two-day master stock is just one of the highlights here.

A Night Out At Dunedin’s New Wine Bar And Its Seaside Sister Restaurant Jesse owes Ōtepoti an apology after prematurely writing off its Sunday offerings.

A New Cambodian Restaurant In Ponsonby Is Worth Seeking Out. Tinfeny’s serves unique Cambodian dishes that are unlike those anywhere else in NZ.

Are The Rumours About Hugo’s Bistro’s Renaissance True? Jesse investigates.

Full Time Sports Bar Isn’t Your Average Pub Grub. The Kingsland sports bar takes its food seriously.

Hanoi Haven In Takapuna Serves A Knockout Duck Curry. The food gets better and better at this Hurstmere Rd Vietnamese restaurant.

Olle in Milford Is Korean Fusion At Its Finest. A rare meal where everything goes right.