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Sharon Grealey16/09/2009 12:00:00 a.m.
Botanic Café and Restaurant, 342 Tinakori Road.
YOU feel you might be about to be greeted with a tantalising mum-cooked meal at the Botanic Café and Restaurant.
From the outside of the cute little villa restaurant on Tinakori Road, candlelight dances in the windows. The room is warm, the music soft, and the staff friendly.
I sat down at a corner table and was soon intrigued by the décor, which included old black-and-white photos of the area at a time when the restaurant was a dairy.
A tantalising smell came from the kitchen.
The garlic bread entrée was perfect – crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside.
For the main event, I ordered the lamb shank. The slow roasted lamb was falling off the bone and drizzled in rosemary and mint jus. The soft potato mash with gravy and peas was a perfect complement to the morsel.
My date selected beef tournedos (fillet). Wrapped with bacon and served with wilted spinach, mushroom duxelle, potato cake and mustard and beef sauce, he said it was “a well-prepared portion of succulent goodness”. He then forgot to make conversation because he was too lost in the flavours.
We were completely satisfied, but decided we could still manage to share a crème brulee for dessert. The creamy custard accompanied by with almond wafers was a great way to finish.
When my family comes down from Auckland, we’ll do Botanic Café and Restaurant.
YOU feel you might be about to be greeted with a tantalising mum-cooked meal at the Botanic Café and Restaurant.
From the outside of the cute little villa restaurant on Tinakori Road, candlelight dances in the windows. The room is warm, the music soft, and the staff friendly.
I sat down at a corner table and was soon intrigued by the décor, which included old black-and-white photos of the area at a time when the restaurant was a dairy.
A tantalising smell came from the kitchen.
The garlic bread entrée was perfect – crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside.
For the main event, I ordered the lamb shank. The slow roasted lamb was falling off the bone and drizzled in rosemary and mint jus. The soft potato mash with gravy and peas was a perfect complement to the morsel.
My date selected beef tournedos (fillet). Wrapped with bacon and served with wilted spinach, mushroom duxelle, potato cake and mustard and beef sauce, he said it was “a well-prepared portion of succulent goodness”. He then forgot to make conversation because he was too lost in the flavours.
We were completely satisfied, but decided we could still manage to share a crème brulee for dessert. The creamy custard accompanied by with almond wafers was a great way to finish.
When my family comes down from Auckland, we’ll do Botanic Café and Restaurant.
