I’m not in Auckland all that often, so I jumped at the chance to check out Sid at the French Café’s new winter menu when in the city last week.

Given the new theme, dubbed as "fun fine dining without the fuss", I thought I’d enlist the help of my daughter Sam, who at 24 already has a nose for pretentiousness, to help me judge where "fine" leaves off and "fun" begins.

So, the main thing is, there's a whole new offering aimed at those who want a “less stuffy” menu and may be looking for only pre-evening snacks. For such folk, the menu is split between snacks and entrées, at $35, mains at $45 and desserts at $25. Mix and match to suit. and apparently you can just "pop in" for this iteration.

I'm not so sure I'd risk popping in, given how busy the place was when we dined there. Mind you, it was a Friday. 

We booked for an earlyish 6.30pm, aiming to kickstart a Friday evening that for Sam included a Warriors game and then meeting friends at the Viaduct. She was always going to miss the game.

Gastronomic firepower 

The Symonds St cafe is rated New Zealand’s top entrant in this year’s global La Liste top 1,000. At 94 points, it pipped Ponsonby’s Sidart and Cocoro and the central city's The Grove and Kazuya, which all came in the high 80s. 

That's not surprising given the gastronomic firepower at the hands of executive chef Sid Sahrawat of Cassia fame (he's the "Sid" in the cafe's name, after taking it over in 2018) and Tommy Hope, a New Zealander recruited as head chef in June last year after seven years in the top kitchens of Melbourne. 

 Head chef Tommy Hope: testing makes perfect. (Image: BusinessDesk)     

When we arrived, the entrance to the bar was quiet and we were looked after by bar manager Rob Chacon, whose relaxed demeanour belied a full house that night, including a wedding being catered for on the other side of the courtyard.

Chacon showed us around and to our table, after managing to sell my daughter on the merits of a mezcal-based cocktail.

The outside area, which has been underused lately given Auckland's horrid run of wet weather, features a herb garden, chimney fireplace and brazier and fairy lights and is definitely a place worth being seen during the warmer months.

Bar manager Rob Chacon: a mezcal fan. (Image: Josh Griggs)    

So we were seated inside and the place was humming. But, as you would expect, it was totally under control by a front-of-house team who were almost freakish in their ability to tell when a guest required attention or a drink needed refilling.

It was poetry in motion, really. Serving from the left, pouring wine from the right, clearing unused plates as the meal progressed. 

Tested and refined

We were offered samples from both the new "less stuffy" menu and the à la carte one, with Hope springing out of the kitchen frequently to explain exactly what we were eating. Most of the dishes, he said, were developed jointly by him and Sahrawat and were added to the menu only once they were tested and refined. It showed. 

So (taking a deep breath), the fun started with a parmesan churro, whipped feta, smoked maple and puffed pork crackling. 

Buttermilk fried chicken, fenugreek, curry leaf – off the snacking menu. (Image: Josh Griggs)    

That was followed by hot smoked Aoraki salmon croustade, a scallop bao with chorizo and wasabi caviar, fried buttermilk chicken and a truffle brioche, brie and potato custard. I loved the chicken; the truffle brioche didn't last long either.

Cocktail concoctions

We were, mercifully, given a chance to sit back and have a sip of a beautiful Gustave Lorentz 2017 riesling presented by sommelier Alex Schepetkin. 

Sam, for her part, opted to try a couple of the new winter cocktails, which include a Negroni Mostaccioli – cacao nibs, gin, vermouth, campari and cloves – and French 210, a concoction including elderflower, gin, lemon, champagne and absinthe.

Parmesan churros with whipped feta and puffed pork crackling. (Image: Josh Griggs)  

For an entrée, I opted for the scampi dish with Jerusalem artichoke, hazelnut and lavender – one of the highlights being the crispy chicken skin on the plate. Sam had the pearl veal tartare, smoked eel, mushrooms and black garlic; this was also available as a snack on the tasting menu.

The meals were beautifully balanced, though Sam wasn’t a huge fan of the eel.

My main was a melt-in-the-mouth wagyu beef short rib, Szechuan, kasundi and kimchi served with an amazing smoked carrot and wasabi, paired with a superb 2008 Morgenster red blend out of Stellenbosch, South Africa. 

Wine-pouring system

Schepetkin poured that by the glass using the Coravin system, which uses a needle to draw out the wine without extracting the cork, and replacing it with argon gas; this ensures oxygen never touches the remaining wine. Sam opted for the haloumi, with horseradish, kohlrabi, pinenuts, koji and yuzu. 

That did, however, leave us in a quandary as to what to do about dessert. Eschewing what looked like an amazing cheeseboard, we opted for the liquorice cream pavlova instead, served with coconut, fresh lychee, marshmallow and puffed rice. It proved an excellent and refreshing choice.

The liquorice cream pavlova with coconut, fresh lychee, marshmallow and puffed rice. (Image: Josh Griggs)   

In order not to alienate its loyal clientele, the cafe has kept its classic five-course tasting menu ($190 per person) and a Saturday four-course set lunch, including a glass of champagne, which comes in at $120 a head. 

Hope said the restaurant’s "test kitchen", which operates on Tuesdays and is sponsored by luxury kitchen appliance brand Gaggenau, also continues to prove popular with those looking for a unique dining experience. 

It offers a six-course dining experience combining the best dishes from all three of Sahrawat’s restaurants – Sid at The French Café, Cassia and KOL – for $190 per person.

That includes a welcome glass of champagne or a cocktail, and finishes up on Nov 7.

Sid at the French Café,
210 Symonds St, Auckland.
Phone (09) 377 1911.
sidatthefrenchcafe.co.nz

Hours: From 6pm Tues-Thur and from 5:30pm Fri-Sat

Lunch: Sat 12pm to 2pm

Reservations for dinner recommended.


♦ Brent Melville was a guest of Sid at the French Café.