Dinner at Solera

SOLERA Wine Bar

Cuisine: Modern New Zealand, sharing

Address: 165 Maunganui Rd, Mount Maunganui

Phone: 07-572 0246

Website

Drinks: Extensive interesting wine list, cocktails

Reservations: Recommended

After popping in for a couple of quick snacks I was more than excited to get back to the Mount's newest wine bar, Solero, for the full experience. Four of us made a booking for dinner and we weren't disappointed.

That day the restaurant had posted on Facebook about adding ten new wines to their list and indeed they had, some obscure gems such as two De La Terre wines from Hawkes Bay, making for what has become a seriously interesting selection of wines.

Since we were sharing a bunch of different plates we went by the glass and enjoyed all sorts of things, from a fantastic Greywacke Pinot Gris and a Chenin Blanc in the whites to that Johner Pinot Noir from last time and a great Brookfield Malbec in reds. Unfortunately I didn't to get a pic of the wine list and it's not on-line. And I was concentrating on sheer pleasure so neglected to take notes. Sorry - another blogging black mark... I do remember that Jan also had a Moscow Mule from the classic cocktail list which she rated highly!

For the food we had a non-meat eater with us so mixed it up and had most of the small plates I didn't have last time, two of the three mediums, and two of the three large plates.   

Small Plates

• Saikoro Beef Skewers - togarashi, ginger jus, sesame    $8 each
  
• Grilled Polenta - blue cheese, pumpkin, rosemary, pumpkin seeds    $8 each
  
• Ash Cured Kingfish - ginger, coconut, kawakawa, lime    $19
  
• Beef Tartare - hand diced eye fillet, spicy miso, egg yolk, beetroot    $18

Beef Skewers (a bit eaten)

And every one was better than the last. In terms of sheer flavour per bite these were probably the high-point of the meal. Absolutely outstanding. The beef was rich and tender with grilled umami flavours. So tempting we started eating before the photo...

...and the other three... We spent a considerable amount of time contemplating which was best. The Polenta just burst with life, each skewer a little symphony of taste in the mouth, with hits of blue cheese, pumpkin puree, and popping seeds, all touched by the rosemary. Yum!

Polenta Skewers

Cured Kingfish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             Then there was the Kingfish, which was so good it converted our non-raw-fish fan into one on the spot. The texture was firm and the flavours hinted at kokoda with the coconut but it was really nothing like that. Those "chips" on top are candied ginger but very subtle and only slightly sweet candied ginger - I thought it was dried fruit at first. The combination was a bit tropical, a bit spicy, with a unique kawakawa background, just out of this world.

And the tartare? Well we totally buggered up remembering to photograph it and tried to reassemble it with little luck. So I offer our pic and one from the Solera website, because it looked and tasted brilliant and deserves the best picture possible. Oozing deep-fried crumbed egg, perfectly textured and cut beef, not too soft, just the right size, crispy allums, subtle beetroot. Damn it was good!

our picture (yes, I know...)

their picture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Medium Plates

• Roasted Cauliflower - camembert, walnuts, cauliflower, pine nuts    $28
  
• Salt Roasted Purple Kumera - tahini, black sesame, peanut    $28

Once again, both dishes really hit the spot. The kumera in particular blew me away because I must confess I'm not particularly a fan and yet it was delicious, really kicked into life by the tang of pickled shallots and the brilliant addition of tahini. Probably the most enjoyable kumera I've ever eaten.

 

The cheese on the cauliflower (there was a heap of parmesan as well as camembert sauce) combined with the nuts and the charring on the roasted cauliflower to create a real thing of beauty. If I was being picky I'd suggest cutting the cauliflower differently - perhaps into a "steak" - as such a big block has a hard-to-reach-by-roasting centre that remains a bit plain.

 

Cauliflower

Kumera

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Large Plates

• Grilled Whole Gurnard - macadamia, ginger, leek, oyster & saffron veloute    $42
  
• Duck - soybean glaze, savoy, plum, beetroot vinaigrette    $42

Gurnard

Then it was onto the big game and once again it was most excellent. The gurnard had a whole lot of flavours going on with an intense "pesto" and the char on the onions soothed by the creamy veloute. Very good. (If you have issues involving food with heads and eyes, this is almost certainly not the dish for you.)

 

And the duck - a full half - was rich and dark and mysterious in its glaze, the plum cutting through the fat and even more great charring, this time only a singe, on the savoy cabbage but what a difference it makes! The unadvertised pistachio nuts just added another layer of flavour and texture. My one ducky suggestion to the restaurant would be to give it a bit of a carve to make it easier to share - duck anatomy can be tricky. Alternatively, some sort of carving knife might be in order...

Duck

Sweet Plates

• 

  Ice Cream
  

  Shoyu Ice Cream - milk crumbs, hazelnuts, sponge, meringue    $16

We weren't actually going to have dessert, and since there's only one on the menu it is clearly not the restaurant's main focus. But we thought we'd better check it out, and I'm so glad we did. It went in seconds. The ice cream, the fruit, the meringue and particularly those sinfully delicious milk crumbs really created something greater than the sum of its parts. And it's nice to leave with something sweet on the tongue.

In case you can't tell, I reckon frontman and sommelier Nick Potts (ex-Clarence), Chef Neil Sapitula and their team are knocking it out of the park. The food is interesting and delicious without being in any way intimidating or pretentious. The wine list is immediately on par with the best in the Bay. My advice: move this to the top of you "Must Go To" list - it really is that good.  

 

           I'll just finish by mentioning that the A Debt To Pleasure Facebook page is up and running, with lots more (shorter) things than here, including a Song of the Day. Come Like and/or Follow - all sorts of groovy stuff is in the works!