A Splendid 65th…

So it was the big 65th – I can now apply for my Gold Card ;-)…but first, a decent night out in the CBD for me & my partner and 2 great mates. Dinner plans had been decided yonks ago, but we wanted to have a beverage or two before hand & it was my job to pick the place. Not too arduous a task as I had read a recent piece in Neatplaces about 2 new rooftop bars that had just opened. They both looked great , but the fact that Mr. Brightside (Pink Lady being the other) was atop the grand old Public Trust Building made the choice easy for me.

Mr. Brightside Rooftop Bar

I can simply say it is a spectacular space with views in all directions – the developer / owner should be proud…only draw back for us older folks was that it got a wee bit loud, and conversations were hard to come by so we were lucky the views were great!

Now for our dinner date we all wanted to revisit the Cellar Door in the Arts Centre – we’d each had random, brief visits to the Cellar Door and all reports had come back excellent.

The Cellar Door manages to tick all the boxes in spades – the food, the wine & drinks list, the service, the atmosphere, the music – all done to perfection.

Sparkling Wine Flight

We decided to each go our own way with regards to beverages, and try not to squeeze a square peg into a round hole by trying to find THE bottle of wine to cover all of our wine preferences & food choices. The Cellar Door has an outstanding wine list by any measure, but one of the most interesting options they offer are wine flights. I think it best to let the Cellar Door explain;

“In the world of wine, the term ‘flight’ is used to describe a group of different wines that are tasted side-by-side for comparison.

We have chosen these sets of wines to demonstrate differences in style, grape variety, regionality, and various other themes.

Our flights are four tastes of 40mls, or 30mls for fortified,
adding up to just a little more than a normal glass of wine, presented with tasting notes for you to take away.”

This is an excellent way to compare & contrast wines, and it is done at the Cellar Door with great thought and care…and very affordable. My partner chose the sparkling flight and thoroughly enjoyed it.

White Anchovies on Sourdough, Gremolata, Chardonnay Shallots

Our food choices from the very tempting menu might be called a bit boring as 3 of the crowd opted for the white anchovies – not my cuppa but my partner ate them almost daily when we were living in Spain. Three thumbs up on the anchovies…

I went with the duck liver pâté as I am a huge fan of anything duck related and this, again, was superb.

Duck Liver Pâté, House-made Pickles, Croûtes

For mains, we split down gender lines with the blokes going for the pan seared Te Mana lamb loin, and the women going for the market fish of the day – pan seared grouper. Not an iota of complaint was heard round the table – mostly lots of ‘yums’…

Pan Seared Te Mana Lamb Loin, Broccoli, Summer Beans, Macadamia, Jus

Pan Seared Groper, Greystone Verjuice Beurre Blanc, Pistachio Pangattato, Greens

Salad with Roasted Seasonal Organic Vegetables

This was more food than we usually eat at home, so by the time dessert rolled around everyone was pretty well stuffed…but one thing we won’t miss out on or skip is on another visit to the Cellar Door.