Logan Brown, Wellington

"Have you seen the bar? There's a fish tank in it."

We are quick to investigate. The salt water fish tank runs the length of the bar at Logan Brown, winner of NZ Restaurant of the Year at the Cuisine Magazine Awards 2009. It's the last thing you'd expect to find in this stylish restaurant, housed in the impressive lofty surrounds of a former 1920s bank chamber.

Crayfish in the salt water fish tank

Bar patrons often forget about the sea life living quietly beneath their wine glasses. "You see quite a few people panic when they notice something suddenly move!" the bar man laughs as we marvel over the collection of fish and crayfish hiding amongst the pebbles, stones and oyster shells.

Mounted deer head above the bar

Of course the aquarium makes sense for anyone who has watched owners Steve Logan and Al Brown in their television series Hunger for the Wild, a celebration of fishing, hunting and cooking around the wilds of New Zealand.

Table booth

Quirks like the fish tank, as well as the sometimes eye-raising artwork on the menus and walls, add a sense of playfulness to this fine dining establishment. Soaring white columns extend to a domed ceiling, although the dining room itself is quite small and intimate. Chairs and banquettes are upholstered in a dark bankers green, the room awash with dark polished timber and stiff white linen.

Black bean soup amuse bouche

Tonight Billy, John, Peter and I are dining with Ania from Positively Wellington Tourism, sampling the special Wellington on a Plate menu which features three courses for only $35.

We start with an amuse bouche of black bean soup, a muddle of slightly salted black beans tempered by a creamy soup and a garnish of delicate micro herbs.

Our included wine is the Ata Rangi Sauvignon Blanc, just one of the 230 New Zealand and international wines on offer in the Logan Brown comprehensive wine list.

Entree option 1: Smoked fish cake with prawn beignet, gribiche and lemon oil

We're given choices between two options for entrees, main and dessert. I have the smoked fish cake with prawn beignet, gribiche and lemon oil. The fish cake is a squat round, pan-fried on both sides until golden, smoky in flavour although I'm not quite beguiled by its pervading fishiness. The prawn is succulent beneath its crispy surface, although the mention of "beignet" in the description had had me expecting some sort of prawn doughnut instead.

Entree option 2: Portabella mushroom tart with porcini cream and arugula

The portabella mushroom tart is delicate in presentation, a petite square of puff pastry topped with a meaty-tasting mushroom, fragrant porcini cream and a tangle of grated parmesan cheese and rocket leaves.


Paua raviolo (bonus course)

The paua raviolo has been on the Logan Brown menu since it first opened fourteen years ago, and the maitre'd insists we try it. Normally diners receive three ravioli in an entree - tonight we savour one in a complimentary extra course.

Paua is New Zealand abalone, and whilst I have sampled this delicacy several times during Chinese weddings and celebrations, it's the first time I've tried abalone prepared without oyster sauce. A parcel of smooth pasta encloses a surprise filling of minced paua, garlic, shallots and coriander.

The minced abalone is tender, its soft chewiness contrasting against the silky pasta and the nest of deep-fried sweet potato shreds. A buerre blanc of basil, lime and coriander adds a velvety zing. And if you do manage to happen upon a glut of abalone, Logan Brown have published their paua ravioli recipe online.

Waitstaff at our table with Ania, Billy and Peter G

In-between courses, we take turns to explore the balcony dining room, a cosy and secluded space accessed by a narrow and steep set of circular stairs. It feels like John and I are ascending a church bell tower, and I find myself touching the hand rail as the steps narrow with each curve.

Once at the top, we admire the incredible view, a sweeping panorama of the entire dining room afforded to the lucky table by the balcony edge. The birds eye view allows us to hurry back down again when we realise main courses have just been served at our table.

Main course option 1:

Sweet spiced braised pork belly with apple sauerkraut and garlic mash

A parapet of sweet spiced braised pork belly is resplendent with ribbons of fat and topped with a tile of bubbled pork crackling. Apple sauerkraut is a modern twist on a traditional palate cleanser, and a quenelle of garlic mash is elegantly buttery.

Main course option 2:
Macadamia-crusted Tarakihi with warmed artichoke salad and caper buerre blanc

Keen to take advantage of the local seafood, I choose the macadamia-crusted tarakihi, also known as a jackass morwong. The flesh is firm and perhaps a tad overcooked for my liking, but the warm salad of artichokes and green beans livens proceedings, the macadamia crust adding texture.


Confit yams with pancetta and beechwood honeydew honey $8.50

We greedily order three sides to go with our means. The confit yams remind me of witchetty grubs in shape, but these local sweet potato tubers are carbohydrate-rich, only faintly flavoured with beechwood honeydew honey. Pancetta crisps add a salty crunch.


Truffled fries with Reggiano parmesan $11

Truffled fries are an exercise in decadence, golden shoestring potatoes smothered in shavings of Reggiano parmesan flavoured with truffle. We also order a portion of the broccolini, crisp green florets drizzled with a black bean vinaigrette.

Dessert option 1:

Baked vanilla custard with dark cherries and almond sable

Baked vanilla custard is the first dessert to be delivered. I plunge my spoon into the petite pot to find a wobble of custard that is as smooth as satin. A compote of dark cherries adds a fruity sweetness and two almond sable biscuits are short with butter.

Dessert option 2:

Golden raisin pie with salted caramel ice cream and rum syrup

Golden raisin pie is sweet, buttery and rich with caramel, a combination that immediately reminds Billy of Momofuku's infamous crack pie. A scoop of double cream cuts through the sweetness of this dessert, but I find myself relishing the salted caramel ice cream even more, tantalising with its initial sweetness and lingering salty echoes.

Throughout the course of the evening we find out more about the kitchen which is housed below. The tiny prep kitchen sits within the historic bank vault, its entrance flanked by a heavy steel door just like a scene from a movie. With the exit of dishes monitored closely by head chef Shaun Clouston, picturing them prepared and delivered from a concrete-reinforced strongroom seems apt and appropriate!

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Logan Brown
192 Cuba Street

(corner of Cuba and Vivian Streets)
Wellington, New Zealand
Tel: +61 (04) 801 5114

Opening Hours:
Lunch Monday to Friday from 12pm
Dinner Monday to Sunday from 5.30pm

A 3 course bistro menu is available for $39.50pp Monday to Friday lunch or Monday to Sunday early dinner. Tables must be vacated by 7.30pm.

Grab Your Fork dined at Logan Brown as a guest of Positively Wellington Tourism as part of Wellington on a Plate. Wellington on a Plate ran from August 14-29, 2010.

>> Read the next Wellington on a Plate 2010 post [Matterhorn]

< Read the first Wellington on a Plate 2010 post [Te Papa Museum]

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