Auckland’s restaurant of the year
Good things come in small packages, something that is certainly the case for Auckland’s best restaurant of the year, Pasture. Last night the six-seat Parnell-based restaurant claimed the title of Metro Peugeot Restaurant of the Year, with owner Ed Verner the best chef.
Pasture was the big winner of the night, also winning the best finedining category, the best dish and coming runner-up for best drinks list.
Metro editor Henry Oliver said the restaurant might lack in size but it makes up for it in ambience, detail and experimentation.
“We set out to find not just Auckland’s best food, but its best dining experience, and Pasture gave us one we’d never had before, pushing the limits of what a night at a restaurant can be,” he said.
“Six guests are seated at a bar, and see their dishes cooked right in front of them by a small team of chefs who take care of the entire experience, pouring wine, mixing cocktails, clearing plates and guiding you through the evening. Each dish is as surprising and innovative as the last, with chef Ed Verner combining traditional methods of fermentation with modern techniques and a relentless dedication to quality ingredients.”
Similarly, when Jesse Mulligan wrote about Pasture in the Herald’s Viva magazine in March, he labelled the restaurant “world class” and gave it a perfect 20 out of 20 rating.
Cazador won best neighbourhood restaurant and was overall runner-up for the second year in a row.
The restaurant’s family ownership over two generations appealed to international executive judge Pat Nourse, as did its nose-to-tail eating.
“Cazador is like nothing else I’ve seen anywhere, really — an incredible mix of wild flavours, sharp ideas and careful cooking,” Nourse said.
The judging panel considered more than 100 contenders, refining the list to 50 after several months of deliberation. Judges paid for their own meals and visited restaurants anonymously.
After the awards announcement, Verner said the Pasture team felt like the underdogs but were honoured to be recognised for the work they do.
“All of us at Pasture have killed ourselves to do what we do and sometimes it felt like it was impossible because there’s only three of us that run the restaurant,” he said.
Verner wanted to thank staff members past and present and his ex-wife Laura for the hard work they put in and for sticking with him during the tough times.
At present, he has no future plans for the restaurant and wants to continue to “have fun”.