20/20 Design,
65 - 67 Ponsonby Road,
Ponsonby
Auckland,
021 334424
The ViewAuckland Review
Back when this place first opened – September 2007 – it was dubbed the Magnum Dining Bar, and the front half of the establishment was a cosy bar much-loved by media and advertising types, and a certain breed of property developers who liked to park their Porsche Cayenne SUVs illegally out the front. Two years on, things are kind of the same and kind of different. The interior remains classic and dramatic in a London or Melbourne kind of way, most of the property developers’ flash pickup trucks have probably been repossessed, and the now renamed Ponsonby Rd Bistro has ditched its front bar to shine as a restaurant.
It’s a good move – the front bar always seemed an awkward add-on that detracted from the dining room out the back – and now the owners can refocus on delivering good-value bistro food. In these tougher times, the menu’s also moved down a few price points, but remains big on flavour and freshness. It’s also the kind of place that the Italian honeymooners sitting beside us have returned to on consecutive nights. They’re happy diving into a couple of Ponsonby Rd Bistro’s pizzas, but there’s lots more on the menu to explore.
The handwritten menu is particularly concise, but still includes several dishes we’d like to explore – always the sign of a good menu. Shellfish feature as entrees for both of us with Carol’s simply treated Clevedon oysters ($15) partnering well with a glass on Neudorf Chardonnay. My scallops ($20) are a good match for a glass of Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc, part of an excellent array of wines that covers an entire wall of the restaurant. A few other design changes are also evident. Back in the days of Magnum Dining Bar, there was seating around an inner ‘island’. This has now been ditched to create a more open and spacious feeling.
Moving onto mains, I’m delivered the perfect comfort food on a cold winter’s night with a chargrilled Scotch fillet served with chunky handcut fries and mustard-infused butter ($28.50). The dish probably doesn’t have the Heart Foundation tick but if I lose a few hours off my life it will have been worth it. Carol’s more prudent with her grilled lamb ($28), but we’re both soon piggily eyeing up dessert. Put it down to skipping lunch OK…
It’s more hearty comfort food to end the meal, with warm chocolate cake ($14) and a rhubarb and apple crumble ($14), that I’d love to eat on each and every night that Auckland’s temperature drops below 12º. It’s been a terrific meal and we can’t wait to get there to get back there to see how they handle a summer menu. Roll on daylight saving and beyond.