Matterhorn, Wellington

At last. I am pushing open the door to Matterhorn.

Mattherhorn's reputation precedes itself. In 2008 it won Cuisine Magazine's Best Restaurant in New Zealand award, one of many achievements in its 40-year long history. Established by two Swiss brothers in 1963, Matterhorn was initially set up as a cafe, soon becoming a weekend favourite with families and -- between lapses of disrepair and business-changeover -- reopened as a 40-seat lounge bar in 1997.

You will find Matterhorn at the end of a very long and dim corridor off Cuba Street. I confess that on a previous visit to Wellington, I'd stood on the street outside on the my own on a Saturday night, peering cautiously down the length of the arcade, before chickening out and continuing on. The darkened arcade and solid door gave away nothing about what lay on the other side.

And so, as I finally push open the mysterious door, I'm surprised to find a large and airy space drenched with natural light, the room filled with weekend lunchers. Today Billy, John, Peter G and I are dining with Ania and Angela from Positively Wellington Tourism.

We're pleased to find that we are also joined by local Wellingtonian food bloggers Laura and Millie and Auckland food blogger Andrea.


White bean and lemon dip with crispy pitas and spring onion relish $8

We start with a selection of dishes to share, a bowl of white bean and lemon dip is a thick but smooth puree that is perfect for dipping in large shards of crunchy pita triangles.

Rustic garlic bread finished on the char-grill $6

Rustic garlic bread is helplessly addictive, its surface slightly smoky from the char-grill, and I find myself compulsively reaching for the bowl of olives garnished with neat squares of reggiano shortbread ($7).

Ata Rangi Petrie Chardonnay 2008

We are here to sample the special Wellington on a Plate menu which includes your choice of two courses and a glass of wine. Ata Rangi Petrie Chardonnay is crisp and fruity, but the red wine option, the Ata Rangi Celebre 2007, is more rewarding, an unusual blend of Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah that gives it a berry richness.

Entree option 1: Terrine of braised wild rabbit

Although Billy and I are seated at opposite ends of the table, we instinctively make arrangements to order alternate dishes so we can swap halfway through.

The terrine of braised wild rabbit is a picture of elegance, a narrow length of tender rabbit set in cool gelatin, served with strips of candied carrots and an intriguing cardamom cream in tangerine yellow.

Entree option 2:

Carpaccio of yellow tail kingfish with rhubarb, grapefruit and ginger buckwheat

Carpaccio of yellow tail kingfish is a regular item on the Matterhorn menu, and I enjoy the contrast of colours, flavour and texture in this dish. Smooth slivers of kingfish play off against the crunch of ice berg lettuce and nutty grains of buckwheat. The simple citrus dressing is heightened by thin strips of rhubarb and refreshing segments of sweet ruby red grapefruit.

Main option 1:

Wagyu skirt steak with red wine onions, celeriac remoulade and parsley salad

The majority of the table opts for the wagyu skirt steak and although it looks promising, I find my slices to be a little chewy. The celeriac remoulade and parsley salad is lovely, if a little overwhelmed by the red wine jus.

Main option 2:

Crayfish basmati in risotto style with prawns, fennel and lemon

Instead the crayfish basmati is my favourite dish of the day, the basmati rice holding up well in a seafood stock that is delightfully intense. The stock outshines the token garnish of prawns but I do relish the paperthin shavings of fennel that counterbalance the richness of the dish with their faint aniseed flavour.

We bid a hasty farewell in a somewhat rushed lunch when we realise we are already late for the next event on our itinerary at Osteria Del Toro.

Osteria Del Toro: Paella for the People

Paella for the People

The facade of Osteria Del Toro is unmistakeable - the Tory Street building painted in zebra stripes. The restaurant serves Moroccan, Spanish, Italian and Greek dishes on its menu, and we join a throng of spectators for the fully booked out Paella for the People, a special event for Wellington on a Plate.

A semi-circle of seats surrounds a giant paella pan to watch a cooking demonstration of traditional Paella Valenciana. As we watch the chef add smoked paprika, rice and seafood to the pan, we find our attention is captured by the decor, an over-the-top collection of baroque furnishings that is simultaneously garish and cool.

Water feature

Peter G in the gilt-edged mirror

Pineapple light fittings above the kitchen

Calasparra rice sacks

The holy trinity: olive oil, salt and pepper

Lemon lamp at the reception desk

The bar at Osteria Del Toro

Paella Valenciana

Covering the paella with a napkin to steam the rice

Paella Valenciana

The paella seems to cook in no time at all, and just as we're scraping the last grains of rice from our plate, we're ushered out the door and into taxis for our next event, an olive oil and wine tasting at the Museum of Wellington.

Museum of Wellington:

Flavours of Wellington to Wairarapa

Olive oil tasting

The impressive von Kohorn room in the Museum of Wellington City & Sea is the location for our tasting this afternoon, called Flavours of Wellington to Wairarapa.

Over the next hour we will sample Lot Eight olive oils from Martinborough, breads from artisan baker Pandoro in Wellington, local cheeses and a number of Murdoch James wines to see how each of them influence each other on the palate.

Olive oil

It's an insightful afternoon, observing how a cheese can taste more creamy or piquant depending on the wine or olive oil that accompanies it. The eating has been non-stop and whilst our day's schedule has been tight, our pants are only getting tighter.

View Larger Map

Matterhorn

106 Cuba Street, Wellington, New Zealand

Tel: +64 (04) 384 3359

Opening hours:

Monday to Sunday 10am till late

View Larger Map

Osteria Del Toro

60 Tory Street, Wellington, New Zealand

Tel: +64 (04) 381 2299

Opening hours:

Monday to Friday 11.30am - 12 midnight

Saturday 5pm - 12 midnight

Sunday 12pm - 11pm

Museum of Wellington City & Sea

Queens Wharf

3 Jervois Quay, Wellington, New Zealand

Tel: +64 (04) 472 8904

Open 7 days 10am - 5pm

Entry is free

Grab Your Fork dined at the Matterhorn and attended Paella for the People and Flavours of Wellington to Wairarapa as a guest of Positively Wellington Tourism for Wellington on a Plate. Wellington on a Plate ran from August 14-29, 2010.

>> Read the next Wellington on a Plate 2010 post [Wellington Pop-Up Restaurant]

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

Related Grab Your Fork posts:

Wellington on a Plate 2010 - Boulcott Street BistroWellington on a Plate 2010 - Devour Gala Dinner
Wellington on a Plate 2010 - Fidel's Cafe

Wellington on a Plate 2010 - Logan BrownWellington on a Plate 2010 - Matterhorn
Wellington on a Plate 2010 - Osteria Del Toro
Wellington on a Plate 2010 - Petone Food Tour

Wellington on a Plate 2010 - Te Papa Museum

Wellington on a Plate 2010 - Wellington Pop-Up RestaurantWellington on a Plate 2010 - Wellington Pop-Up Restaurant in Sydney

Wellington on a Plate 2009

Wellington Eats 2007

Rockpool Bar and Grill, Sydney

There are 2,682 Riedel riesling glasses in the famed chandelier at Rockpool Bar & Grill. Its sheer enormity is enough to make you stop and pause a moment, a little awestruck with admiration.

Rockpool Bar and Grill reception desk and banquette seating

It's the same feeling you get when you enter the sweeping surrounds of the restaurant dining room, impressively opulent with a soaring atrium and heavy marble columns. The 1936 Emil Sodersteen-designed art deco building is statuesque, cool and stylish with echoes of Mad Men glamour.

The open kitchen

Our group of seven is shown to a table that is directly opposite the open kitchen, a gleaming vision of steel that runs the length of the dining room. An army of staff attend to a multitude of stations, the atmosphere calm and quiet. We notice that the chef de parties are each wearing headsets, allowing them to communicate each with other from across opposite ends of the kitchen without having to raise their voices.

The grill station

The daily menu, printed in heavy A3 paper, offers a dizzying myriad of choices. Thirty-four entrees are split across three columns headed Cold Bar, Hot Starters and Salads & Other Things. Main courses number twenty-nine, from pasta to seafood, to main plates and the wood-fired rotisserie and grill. And then there are the sides (fifteen) and side salads (three).

Needless to say, I am torn with indecision.

Thankfully I have done some preliminary research. Pig Flyin has recommended the rotisserie chicken, and when I ask our waiter what process it undergoes to warrant the 50 minute waiting time listed on the menu, he points his hand in the direction of the kitchen.

Free range chicken on the rotisserie

The chickens are cooked to order, speared onto a rotisserie that sends them on a flaming ride over a charcoal grill.

My moment of indecision is over.

Bread and butter

We settle into our heavy leather chairs, squat and square but easily moveable on castor wheels, taking advantage of the complimentary crusty bread and pats of butter served on rustic blocks of wood.

Fried calamari with Romesco $28

Our entrees don't take long to arrive, delivered to us via one of those foldable side tables topped with canvas, unnecessary from a practical point of view, but creating a sense of occasion and importance as our white-coated waiters fuss over a procession of dishes.

Charcoal roast squid and pork belly $28

Accommodating friends mean we switch and swap spoonfuls and plates so we try each other's dishes. The charcoal roast squid is incredibly tender, and whilst the charcoal roast king prawns are a little finicky to eat, the effort pays off with succulent and sweet prawn flesh that tastes fresh from the sea.

Charcoal roast king prawns, split and marinated $34

Warm salad of wood fire grilled quail $29
with braised dried figs, walnuts and fresh herbs

The wood fire grilled quail is hard to spot beneath the tangle of salad leaves, walnuts and fig, but there is at the bottom, its flesh cooked to tender pink - perhaps a little under toward the bone - even though the tips are deliciously caramelised.


My steak tartare with chips $25

I'd ordered the steak tartare, titled as "my steak tartare with chips" on the menu. Executive Chef Neil Perry makes no other claims on the remaining dishes.

The steak tartare is not the vision of raw beef and egg yolk I'd expected. Instead a cascading mound of beef, pale pink and smothered in a creamy mayonnaise, is presented on a radicchio leaf with accompanying canoes of witlof. The steak tartare is deceptively light, expertly-seasoned and zingy with a meticulous dice of cornichons.

Chips

A side plate of chips is more than generous, deep-fried to a golden brown.


Brioche with slow cooked hens egg and bone marrow $21
with red wine butter sauce

I'd been torn between ordering the steak tartare and the bone marrow, and am glad to strike a deal with A to trade a spoonful or two. The dish is glorious exercise in decadence, a pristine orb of slow cooked hens egg that is pierced to release a stream of runny egg yolk over the thick slab of fluffy brioche.

The bone marrow is where the real action lies for appreciative gluttons. The discs of marrow are the size of scallops, pale and quivering with flecks of pink at their centre. The pleasure of pure bone marrow melting on the tongue is the type of sensation one should enjoy behind closed doors. It really is that good.

Pierced and runny egg yolk

The Rockpool Bar and Grill dining room floor

Waiter exiting the kitchen


Seafood stew with spicy mussel and saffron broth $45

Our mains meet similar nods of approval although there is no question that the prices here are not for the faint-hearted. Seafood stew is a jumble of clams, octopus, prawn and mussel, the broth tinged orange with saffron and rich with flavour.


Wagyu sirloin 200g 21 days $110
David Blackmore's dry aged full blood wagyu 9+ marble score

Wagyu sirloin comes in at a breathless $110, a stark presentation of meat with lemon on an expansive white plate. The meat is reassuringly tender, although I'm more impressed by the 350 gram rib eye on the bone, particularly when I score the bone to gnaw on.

Rib-eye on the bone 350g 80 days $60
Cape Grim dry aged 36 month old grass fed

Condiment table service for the steaks

A choice of mustards, barbecue sauce, harissa, bearnaise and horseradish cream


Free range chicken from the wood fired rotisserie $39
with tuscan white bean and bread salad (50 minutes)

The free range chicken is halved per portion, its skin slightly crisp and seductively smoky from the wood-fired grill. There's a faint hint of lemon in the skin, and the flesh is tender. I take great delight in my accompanying pot of aioli, pleasingly powerful with garlic. On the menu is a quote, presumably by Neil, that says "Man first used fire to roast chicken. There is no reason to believe that it isn't still the best method. Taste the difference!"

Onion rings $9

We order a motley collection of sides, just as well given the bareness of the steak dishes.

Onion rings are surprisingly heavy with batter, although they are a celebration of earth-shattering crunch.

"Mac and Cheese" $11

Mac and Cheese arrives with a layer of charred cheese on its surface, the elbow pasta drenched in a thick lava of molten cheese.

Green beans with creamy anchovy, toasted almonds and chilli and lemon dressing $9

Green beans are surely the antidote to excess. We relish the bright green spears daubed with a creamy lemon anchovy dressing and the crunch of toasted almonds, although we find it hard to detect much chilli here.

Sauteed mixed mushrooms $25

At twenty-five dollars, the sauteed mixed mushrooms is the most expensive side dish, however the combination of exotics is captivating with its earthy aromas and garlic butter.

View of the waiters station from the mezzanine level

"There he is again!"

We'd spotted the bobbing ponytail of Neil Perry as he'd walked breezily past our table at the start of our meal. Here again, we catch but a fleeting glimpse of him as we exit the bathrooms upstairs. We miss him by seconds again, as his ponytail disappears around the corridor.


Waiter with our side table of desserts

Could there be room for dessert? Of course there is!

Bar & Grill cheesecake with marmalade and mandarin sorbet $19

Bar & Grill cheesecake is a dense wedge of dessert, lifted by a scoop of mandarin sorbet and a sticky mandarin marmalade.

Creme caramel $18

I'd ordered the creme caramel which arrives as a massive portion. Doused in a sweet caramel sauce, the baked custard is glossy and smooth but honestly so rich, I can barely manage to eat half. This indeed, is tragic news to my stomach.

Prune and armagnac creme brulee $20

Thick linen napkins surround the ramekins holding the prune and armagnac creme brulee, folded in a lily style that is endearingly kitsch.

The custard is silky in texture, but I find the prunes and armagnac tip this already decadent dessert into somewhat overwhelming excess.

Vanilla panna cotta with strawberry salad and rose granita $19

Much more successful are the granita and sorbet desserts, including the vanilla panna cotta which unexpectedly arrives in a parfait glass, hidden beneath a macerated strawberry 'salad' and rose granita.

Rose granita on strawberry salad


Blood orange sorbet with fennel meringue and yoghurt $10

The prettiest dessert goes to the blood orange sorbet, exquisitely presented with tiny buds of meringue.

Blood orange sorbet

Passionfruit marshmallows $18

And even for those that don't want dessert, passionfruit marshmallows are easily shared, the fresh marshmallow squares tangy with passionfruit and as fluffy as clouds.

Flat white coffee


Caramel popcorn petit fours

Coffee and tea come with a bonus glass of caramel popcorn petit fours.

A memorable meal with exceptional service.

View Larger Map

Rockpool Bar and Grill

66 Hunter Street, Sydney

Tel: +61 (02) 8078 1900

Opening hours:

Lunch Monday to Friday 12pm-3pm

Dinner Monday to Saturday 6pm-11pm

All day dining available in the bar (no reservations)

Monday to Friday 12pm-11pm

Saturday from 6pm

Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Spice Temple, Sydney

Bills, Surry Hills

Sean's Kitchen, Pyrmont

Tetsuya's, Sydney

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FREEBIE FRIDAY WINNERS
Congratulations to Hannah, KK and bambil - you have each won a prize pack of Waterthins Chocolate Selections containing ten packets of biscuits. That should go some way to satisfying those chocolate cravings!

Missed out this time? Don't forget to enter the Freebie Friday competitions still open on Grab Your Fork:

> Win one of ten double movie passes to The Kids Are All Right

(entries close Thursday 02 Sepember 2010)

> Win dessert and wine for two at Tomislav Restaurant

(entries close Sunday 05 September 2010)

> Win cocktails and chotto (Japanese tapas) for two at Ocean Room

(entries close 19 September 2010)