What I ate at Eat
A pan-European approach in the kitchen and touches of fine dining.
Laurent Loudeac was chef at Hippopotamus for so long, he was in danger of becoming a fixture. But he has now ventured out on his own with business partner, John David, who owns Cin Cin further up Cuba St. At Eat, formerly Felix, the counter has been moved to allow space for a long leather banquette. Gleaming tiles now adorn the walls of the open kitchen, where Laurent can be seen putting the final touches to his multilayered dishes. The style, if not exactly French, is certainly pan-European, with no aggressive spicing to interfere with the highcalibre wine list.
‘‘Octopus braised in pinot noir with smoked ham hock, cannellini beans & Bordelaise sauce’’ implied its own wine match, the question being which of Eat’s four pinots to choose. ‘‘Grasshopper Rock from Central Otago,’’ urged David, adding that he’d secured the last of the 2015 vintage. While pleasant, I found the octopus a little overpowered by the ham hock, even if the cannellini puree and sauce Bordelaise were both perfect.
Other French references include Creme du Barry (‘‘Velvety creme of cauliflower’’),
Eat
Cnr Wakefield St & Cuba St
Ph: (04) 802 8935
Fully licensed
Open Mon-Thurs 6pm-9.30pm,
Fri-Sat 12pm-3pm, 6pm-9.30pm, Sunday closed Price range of mains $32-$37
Cost: $146 for two (excluding wine) its billowy white appearance a reference to the legendary courtesan’s powdered wig. This came with ‘‘crayfish espuma’’, an intriguing cross between a mousse and a foam. A sprinkling of ‘‘pork crackling crumb’’ alleviated these two soft textures.
‘‘Bourguignon-style braised wagyu beef cheek with mousseline potato, wilted spinach & crispy shallots’’ was another pleasing harmony of flavours and textures, calling for more of those delectable plummy, cherry, earthy flavours of the Grasshopper. For my smoked salmon main, however, David introduced me to the most delicious Viognier I’ve yet tasted, from small, experimental Gisborne winery, Spade Oak.
The salmon was lightly smoked on the outside, revealing perfectly medium-rare flakes within. The Spanish escabeche technique for lightly cooked and pickled fish had been adapted to the vegetables, which decorated the top. Squid ink gnocchi, beautifully light, echoed this seafood theme, while the beurre blanc beneath the salmon was scented with Wairarapa saffron.
Tarte tatin was unorthodox: the apple was unpeeled so the baking rendered the skin somewhat leathery, but its salted caramel icecream and calvados anglais were both logical and correct.
Our waitress knew to brush our table between courses and top up our glasses with complimentary sparkling water. Another fine dining touch is a palate cleanser ($5) of pineapple sorbet studded with freeze-dried pineapple and vodka-marinated chunks of the fresh fruit. A sweet interlude between savoury courses seems odd, but the vodka did act like a scrubbing brush on the palate.
Eat, then, is like an evening at Hippopotamus, with less pomp and ceremony.