Cobar Restaurant, Days Bay (Wellington)

Last night we had a lovely meal out at Cobar Restaurant in Days Bay. This is not an area I am used to going to for a meal in Wellington and chose Cobar based on it having high reviews on dineout and the Cobar website containing information about the source of their ingredients, which is often a good sign that a restaurant takes pride in their food and respect for the ingredients.

We were a party of six and made extremely welcome from the moment we arrived until we left. The service was friendly and professional in this nicely decorated restaurant that has a magnificent outlook across the harbour.

Cobar has an extensive selection of quality beers and wines, and I started with a Tuatara IPA before moving onto a Cotes de Rhone (that was enjoyed by all).

To start we had some marinated olives and spiced almonds, and also the sourdough bread with homemade dips and olive oil with balsamic vinegar. These were all good.

I had the Kingfish entree which was accompanied by an artichoke and potato salad, micro-greens and salmon caviar. This was pretty good although I felt the kingfish could have done with a smidgen more seasoning.

Jane opted for two small plates instead of an entree; the kingfish and salt and pepper squid. She enjoyed both of these although wasn’t too sure about the squid batter and thought it may have had a bit too much cornflour. The squid was however beautifully tender and I enjoyed the small portion I tried.

Another dish enjoyed by our party was the Prawn cocktail with sesame prawn toast and prawn mousse.

For my main I had a beautifully tender lamb rump that was accompanied by a lovely sauce, asparagus and what I think was a butternut puree. This was a lovely dish although the puree was a little on the sweet side. Having said that I would happily have this dish again.

Jane had salmon for her main that was accompanied by some lovely beetroot fritters. The salmon whilst flavoursome may have benefited from being a little more rare.

Others thoroughly enjoyed the beef fillet and said they would happily have this again.

We finished with a birthday cake we had brought along and some coffees. The coffees were good, and so was the cake for that matter.

We will all happily return.

Wellington to Picton

We decided that since the weather was good we would head over to Picton on the ferry from Wellington. These are a few of my favourite pics capturing the beauty of the day and trip to Picton.

Makara Beach, Wellington

I can’t recall having ever been to Makara Beach before and we chose a magnificent day to go and check it out. We headed to Makara Beach via Karori and arrived to a very rocky beach basking in the sunlight and no wind. Apparently it can be very cold and windy here.

We headed along the coastal path

to some beautifully clear water and rock pools where a few people were swimming, although they were mostly in wetsuits. The flat island in the background is Mana.

An old building and equipment were to be found further around on the path.

Jane took the lead through the wild flowers

and further along the path.

After a bit of rock hopping, the South Island could be seen in the distance.

We then decided to head back

and captured a few pictures of the nearby wind farm along the way.

It was an enjoyable (albeit hot) walk on a lovely day, with very few people around.

I am keen to head back when there is a big storm some time.

Fratelli, Blair St, Wellington

I went to Fratelli on Wednesday night in Wellington with some family friends I came across in my travels for dinner.  This was my first time here, but they had been here before.

We started with one of the best Margherita pizzas I’ve ever had.  I then followed this with a Risotto with slow cooked Duck, Beetroot & Orange.  Beetroot and Orange together in a risotto is a tad bizarre but it made for a tasty (although not outstanding) risotto.

The restaurant had a nice ambience, good service and the food was a high standard Italian meal that I thought was reasonably priced.

One Red Dog, Queens Wharf, Wellington

I went to One Red Dog on Queens Wharf in Wellington during the week for dinner with a colleague.  I had a large half and half pizza with:

• ‘The fastest indian’ - real tandoori chicken, red onions, poppadoms, buttered chicken sauce + garlic yoghurt, and
• ‘terayaki lamb’ -lamb marinated in red wine, honey & garlic with spring onions, mushrooms + teriyaki sauce. 

Both sides of the pizza were good and I would order them again.

The restaurant was quite quiet when we were there, the food arrived swiftly and it was a nice relaxed environment.