Matterhorn

Matterhorn has long been a bastion of the Wellington dining scene. It regularly features in the world’s best bars list. Now the chef who took the restaurant to pre-eminence in the noughties has returned, and signalled a change away from the more casual dining and "sharing plates" that it has become, to bring it back to its former glory. Importantly, you can now once again book a table.

So we booked a table for a mid-week dinner. We met up and had cocktails to start, then both selected from the raw entrée menu – tuna with wasabi, hijiki and yuzu  for Nicola, whilst I went for Scandinavian salmon, served with sour cream and cucumber sorbet.

We followed this with the catch of the day and beef rump/beef cheek. The cheek had been slow-cooked for, well, days I suspect – falling apart and tender and juicy, whilst the rump was cooked rare. It was served with a creamy caramelised garlic puree, which was delicious. Nicola’s fish – terakihi – was done with crab and  shellfish, wrapped in leek. This is modern New Zealand cooking at its best.

Afterwards I went for the inevitable chocolate ganache, served with raspberries, liquorice sauce and milk sorbet, and Nicola had the strawberries with goat fromage frais and mint ice cream.

And with an Entertainment discount, it all came to a  reasonable price. It’s nice to know that it’s back, and bookable, and I’m sure we’ll be back for more.