i very rarely give five stars, but in this case it was more exceptional than great. prob 4 1/2. :-)

As some reviews elsewhere wder less than kind aboiut servoice and other aspoects, it was with some trepiodation, but i went wioth the other good reviews, and we were niot disappointed. Not one aspect of the poor reviews was correct in our case and the restaurantant as far as we could tell with keen obserrvation. :-)

First teh service WAS excellent form start to finish from te moment we walked in door, by all staff that we were attended by, and we particularly so liked our main wait person Talluah.

Thelma started with Scallops & Prawns and i had Hot Smoked Salmon. i thought the salmon was just really really good. Thelma not so impressed with her scallops, preferring the scallops she had had at Belondos for lunch. Both dishes look great on the plate.

Mains, Thelma had Pheasant Pie and i had the Pork Belly (w Prawns). Both very nice dishes and presented beautifully. I though that the Pheasant Pie was a bit dry (i tried of course :-), but tasted w/o any of the accompaniments.

Because it has now been a little while i can't recall the detail of any of accompaniments of any these :-(

btw, i think these may have been all entrees as is our wont.

The wine list was good (they have awards) - and NOT overly expensive. i think we had the Brokenwood Semillon, a particular favourite. No, we didn't! We had a NZ pinot. thelma doesn't like red as much as me, so i went for lighter style, although pinot is notoriously variable in quality, but this was very nice (and certainly a change from my usual Cab Sav or similar. :-)

Decor and ambience were very nice, not overly flashy or splashy, just nicely understated and comfortable. Light levels (my bete noir in restaurants) were fine, just. Why don't restaurants, fine dining particularly, wake up to the scientific fact that food literally tastes and smells better the better the light to see it!

btw, the hot smoked salmon (w accompaniments) was my pick on the night.

We will return hopefully to be impressed again.

Approximate cost: $32