We came here for a family birthday. My mum has decided that every family birthday we will dine somewhere fabulous and a place we have always wanted to go.
Mollies was mums choice and somewhere she has wanted to come for ages, well it was her birthday! We were told the only time we could come was 12pm which was fine because we got to enjoy the lounge by ourselves until our table was ready. We were seated in the centre of the room, I'm not sure why but I thought the dining room would be bigger, although it is small the tables are well placed and the other table of 3 we could not hear, not sure if that would have been the same for them with our table of 7!
The menu is small but has a great range, EM had the mollies garden salad to start, this was with blue cheese and mixed lettuce and really was just that for $16! R, the boyfriend had the chef’s tempura quail, cauliflower puree, wasabi, aioli, radish, rhubarb as a starter, he said it was quite fatty but wasn't sure what to expect hence why he ordered it. For mains there were only 2 choices fish or steak, the fish was oven baked hapuka, puy lentils, cherry pickle, miso beurre blanc, the grain fed beef fillet was with roast garlic puree and broccolini. I had the steak and it melted in your mouth, the mash was smooth and not overpowering at all with garlic and the broccolini was broccolini. We had potatoes veges and a salad for our sides to share. My sister is a vegetarian so she had the entree spinach risotto for a main. I have a problem with this, why is it every fine dining restaurant we go to, they only have a vegetarian meal on the entree list and there is nothing to offer for mains. Surely these fantastic chefs can make something else rather than risotto. This has now happened at The French Cafe, Cable Bay and now Mollies. Enough ranting!
The wine list is extensive and the service was great, we ordered 2 bottles and they kept them at the bar and not once did we have to wait for a top up. There was a wine glass for every type, the red glass was a huge bulb and almost enticed me to drink red, however the Pyramid Valley pinot gris was too tempting for me.
For dessert I had a selection of house sorbets, ice creams and biscotti. What I was really looking forward to was the chocolate mousse but it had finished. The other two had the panna cotta. They came with home made candy floss whipped and placed around the plate, it looked great.
The setting of this hotel is beautiful and lush, however I did have a problem with the contradiction of antiques and the badly chipped plastic under plate on the dinner table along with the no name dishwasher safe faux Royal Copenhagen dinner plates. It could be classed as eclectic I suppose.
All in all Mollies is an experience not to be missed.
Rating:
Food: 4
Service: 5
Coffee: I didnt have one
Ambiance: 5 (You cant help but want to wander the corridors and poke your nose into every room)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Takapuna Cafe, Takapuna
I am starting to feel like all I review are good cafes and never say anything bad about any of them. Takapuna Cafe is yet another great cafe. I met ES standing outside while I was driving around trying to find a carpark. She had already put our names down on the waiting list, 20 mins wait we were told, and they were true to the time. I finally found a park, be prepared to park streets away, the only advantage was we got to walk along the beach and by the time we got there our red lobster timer was buzzing.
The setting is stunning here, the view out over the beach is fantastic and it is so busy you are never short of great people watching. The waiter was friendly and efficient and our coffees came quickly, they were not as hot as what I like, I think I am going to have to ask for piping hot coffee when I order from now on. It wasn't as strong as I like it either.
There was a little wait for our food but that is expected when you see how busy the place is. The menu is extensive with such an array of sweet and savoury. I ordered The Grill - Crisp Bacon, Poached Eggs, Potato Rosti, Portabello Mushrooms, Morcilla & Slow Roasted Vine Tomatoes. The grill was great, eggs cooked perfectly. The morcilla I thought would be a little spicier. LV ordered Moroccan Eggs; Free Range Eggs Baked in Spiced Tomato, Puy Lentil Braise & Sourdough, LV said they were spicy and the eggs were perfectly cooked and definitely reminded her of Morocco. ES ordered Eggs Benedict with crispy bacon.
Everyone was happy with their choices. Next time I come I will order the Pan Fried Whole Flounder, Parsley & Garlic Butter, Warmed Sourdough, I haven't seen flounder on a menu for years and I love that someone has brought it back onto a menu. This cafe has a more extensive menu to its sister cafes, Kohi Cafe and Richmond Rd Cafe, there are similarities but different takes on obvious favourites.
It was nice not to be rushed at this busy cafe, once we had finished our lunch we were offered more coffees and not pushed to leave.
Rating:
Food: 5
Ambiance: 5
Service: 5
Coffee: 3.5
The setting is stunning here, the view out over the beach is fantastic and it is so busy you are never short of great people watching. The waiter was friendly and efficient and our coffees came quickly, they were not as hot as what I like, I think I am going to have to ask for piping hot coffee when I order from now on. It wasn't as strong as I like it either.
There was a little wait for our food but that is expected when you see how busy the place is. The menu is extensive with such an array of sweet and savoury. I ordered The Grill - Crisp Bacon, Poached Eggs, Potato Rosti, Portabello Mushrooms, Morcilla & Slow Roasted Vine Tomatoes. The grill was great, eggs cooked perfectly. The morcilla I thought would be a little spicier. LV ordered Moroccan Eggs; Free Range Eggs Baked in Spiced Tomato, Puy Lentil Braise & Sourdough, LV said they were spicy and the eggs were perfectly cooked and definitely reminded her of Morocco. ES ordered Eggs Benedict with crispy bacon.
Everyone was happy with their choices. Next time I come I will order the Pan Fried Whole Flounder, Parsley & Garlic Butter, Warmed Sourdough, I haven't seen flounder on a menu for years and I love that someone has brought it back onto a menu. This cafe has a more extensive menu to its sister cafes, Kohi Cafe and Richmond Rd Cafe, there are similarities but different takes on obvious favourites.
It was nice not to be rushed at this busy cafe, once we had finished our lunch we were offered more coffees and not pushed to leave.
Rating:
Food: 5
Ambiance: 5
Service: 5
Coffee: 3.5
Bambina Ponsonby
I haven't been to this cafe for years. It's great to see Bambina has lasted on such a cafe filled street where so many new cafes don't make it.
It was busy here at 10.30am and the seating is a little odd. There is a large table in the centre that seats many but I would have thought having smaller tables of 4 would work better, but maybe they dont want to seat more. We managed to get a booth table and were served quickly.
The staff here are pleasant and efficient, however I think one friends english accent was lost in translation, she asked for a hot chocolate and got hot water, interesting! I ordered the ricotta hotcakes with fruit and mascarpone cream. They were small but light, I was hungry so I should have added bacon. LV ordered scrambled eggs with spelt bagels, she was so excited she could order spelt bagels, she said she hadn't eaten a bagel for years because she is wheat intolerant. Her friend ordered scrambled eggs too, they looked perfectly cooked, folded and glistening, not dry at all, the eggs are a great choice if you are hungry.
Our coffees were great and strong.
Rating:
Food: 3.5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3.5
Coffee: 5
It was busy here at 10.30am and the seating is a little odd. There is a large table in the centre that seats many but I would have thought having smaller tables of 4 would work better, but maybe they dont want to seat more. We managed to get a booth table and were served quickly.
The staff here are pleasant and efficient, however I think one friends english accent was lost in translation, she asked for a hot chocolate and got hot water, interesting! I ordered the ricotta hotcakes with fruit and mascarpone cream. They were small but light, I was hungry so I should have added bacon. LV ordered scrambled eggs with spelt bagels, she was so excited she could order spelt bagels, she said she hadn't eaten a bagel for years because she is wheat intolerant. Her friend ordered scrambled eggs too, they looked perfectly cooked, folded and glistening, not dry at all, the eggs are a great choice if you are hungry.
Our coffees were great and strong.
Rating:
Food: 3.5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3.5
Coffee: 5
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