The Ambeli, Wellington, New Zealand

Pan-fried haloumi $17.00
with roasted choggia beet salad and mint dressing

Do you have anything on the menu that's local?

It's a question I often ask when travelling overseas, a chance to sample fresh fare from the area in which it was caught or grown.

Co-owner and maitre'd of The Ambeli, Shaebodine Moleta, can only smile. He then launches into a detailed description of almost every item on the menu and where they've all been sourced. A surprising amount has come from neighbouring regions around Wellington. He rattles of the Maori names of towns with ease and I admit I feel like I'm in a foreign country trying to make sense of the all pi's, ki's and ti's.

On my first night in Wellington (only four days ago!), I'm having dinner at The Ambeli restaurant with Brad Monaghan from Positively Wellington Tourism. The Ambeli's commitment to locally sourced produce that is organic and sustainable is a natural fit with the ethos of the Wellington on a Plate food festival.

The pan-fried haloumi, for instance, has been made locally in Petone. Served in thick chunky slices, the cheese has been pan-fried to a golden crisp, its toasted edges giving way to a delightful squeakiness that is almost audible. Roasted choggia beets (also known as chioggia beets) have also been grown in the region. They're milder than flavour than the usual beets, and Shae, of Italian heritage, proudly tells us they're an old Italian heirloom variety that pre-dates the garden beet.


Potato, caper and anchovy pancake $18.00
with pecorino and rocket

Brad has chosen the potato, caper and anchovy pancake for entree, and Shae is noticeably pleased. "A good choice!" he decrees. "That's our house specialty."

The potatoes, he tells us, are from Orpiki, a tiny town not far from Foxton. The volcanic ash in the soil gives the potatoes a unique starchiness, he explains. The pancake is made by simply overlapping thin slices of potato and then baking it to a crisp.

It's amazing. It tastes like potato crisps, but has the refined elegance of so much more. A sprinkle of capers and anchovies add a subtle salty tang, made richer by the fine shavings of pecorino, and balanced by the large mound of peppery rocket.


Prosciutto-wrapped certified organic chicken $31.00
with melted leeks, cauliflower puree and sage

Three ballotines of prosciutto-wrapped certified organic chicken stand upright on a soft bed of cauliflower puree. The melted leeks are finely diced leeks cooked slowly in butter until soft and melding. Rolled up inside the chicken is a thin layer of pesto, the Italian flavours complemented by the tumble of deep-fried sage leaves.


Pan-roasted line-caught snapper $31.00
with fennel puree, wilted spinach, tapenade and lemon oil

A line-caught snapper? "Oh yes," says Shae, "it's a very sustainable way of fishing."

The fish is firm, sweet and pan-roasted to a golden crust. A crush of olive tapenade contrasts against the silky smoothness of fennel puree and tender wilted spinach leaves. The lemon oil, zingy with citrus, comes from Kapaiti, on the South Island near Dunedin.


Organic fig baklava, almonds and Manuka-honeyed Greek yoghurt $14.00
(free with 2-course dinner during Wellington on a Plate)

Shae bounces back and forth between tables but makes extra time to tell us about dessert. Baklava in Italy, he explains, is a fig stuffed with almond. His Greek wife, Elisavet, has always known baklava as a filo pastry layered with crushed almonds and drenched in syrup. This baklava, he says, is like their marriage - a combination of the two.

The organic fig baklava is generous with fig (from Paekakariki), its crunchy seeds noticeable amongst the rose-syrup drenched pastry. A dollop of creamy Greek yoghurt helps break up the richness of the dessert, flavoured lightly with Manuka honey. I particularly enjoy the crunch of almond fragments, scattered around the plate.


Valrhona chocolate velvet with brandied muscatels and cream $14.00
(free with 2-course dinner during Wellington on a Plate)

Valrhona chocolate velvet is a pot of pure decadence. The dusting of cocoa is a little dangerous if you breathe it in by mistake, but the deep, dark pool of chocolate beneath is rich, smooth and silky. The dollop of double cream is essential for cleansing the palate, or maybe that was just my excuse.

Muscatels come from Shae's own family vineyard in Waikanae, the dried grapes soaked in brandy until they become plump again. They are a perfect match when eaten together with the rich chocolate, like a fancy rum and raisin chocolate bar.



The restaurant is small and cosy, a converted terrace next-door to the French bistro Cafe Bastille which I ate at two years ago. The frames on the wall feature family pictures from both Shae and Elisavet. Shae's ancestors moved to New Zealand in 1882, their long association with produce beginning with the purchase of their farm in Martinborough in 1897.

Most of its customers are regulars and locals, although a blow-in from Sydney is always welcomed.

Wellington on a Plate runs from 17-30 August 2009. Next year's festival dates have already been confirmed as 14-29 August 2010.

Grab Your Fork dined at The Ambeli as a guest of Positively Wellington Tourism for Wellington on a Plate. For more information on Wellington, check out http://www.wellingtonnz.com.


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The Ambeli
18 Majoribanks Street, Mount Victoria
Wellington, New Zealand
Tel: +64 (04) 385 7577

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm
Closed on Sunday and Monday