Mollies Freemans Bay

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)