Is there a more lovely restaurant setting than Bracu, secreted away amidst the Simunovich olive groves of rural Bombay? Especially when there’s plenty of winter sunshine and a cloudless cobalt sky?

My parents and I are seated on the spacious verandah of Bracu’s beautiful old villa. I’m not sure who’s been looking forward to this lunch more. Bracu is open for dinner as well, but lunch is the best time to appreciate the surroundings of rolling hills and olive groves.

Service is informal, but professional, as we’re introduced to the range of menus on offer. We pass on a couple of fixed price lunch menus, and focus instead on the à la carte menu. I begin with grilled squid with rocket leaves, roasted garlic, Medjool dates, baby beetroots and shaved parmesan cheese ($21). It’s a perfect lunch entrée, light and summery, but the amount of calamari is a little disappointing. Especially when you consider that commercial fishing is another business the Simunovich family is involved in.

Dad and I have both been looking forward to a good steak, so we both order the Grilled Scotch Eye Fillet ($33), served with hand cut chips, cress and Café de Paris butter. Teamed with a glass of Chilean carmenere – gentler and softer than a more full-bodied Cabernet – the steak is deliciously straightforward and simple, with the hand cut chips more like chunky olive-oil baked potatoes. Mum has Chicken Breast ($32) on seasonal roast vegetables, again beautifully-prepared comfort food perfect for a winter lunch.

We’ve actually been pretty conservative in our choices, and lurking in Bracu’s multi-page menus are tapas, interesting Italian-influenced mains and a special brunch menu. Together with Bracu’s quite outstanding wine list, a longer more liquid-fuelled lunch might be the go next time.It’s an approach that’s certainly working for the group of ladies-who-lunch taking over Bracu’s ornate interior.

I’m not sure who’s going to be driving the various compact Audis and BMWs dotting the carpark back to Remuera though.

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