Of Clooney

One of my favourite restaurants in Auckland is Clooney in Sale Street.I had first dined there with a lawyer friend in 2010 as part of our regular  six monthly keep-in-touch  and eat-and-drink-well programme. It is truly spectacular.Anyway, last night I was fortunate to be able to eat there again.Given that I was banned from using my phone to share my experiences with the Universe by my date (hmmm...), I have decided to blog about it.We arrived at about 6:30pm for pre-dinner drinks. The bar area has an interesting ambience which relaxes you prior to you immersing in the restaurant itself.They have a really great wine and cocktail list to select from and their bread rolls were baked to perfection. I’ll be using the word ‘perfection’ a lot in this post.My date chose the ‘Touched by an Italian’ (belvedere cytrus, paolo e figli mirtillo, sugar-rich lemongrass syrup, fresh rosemary.) cocktail and I had a Wooing Tree “Beetle Juice” 2008 Pinot Noir (It's my favourite vineyard in New Zealand). Both drinks were delicious!Moving through to the Dining Room.The design is amazing. Dimmed lighting and black hanging curtains cup the circular arrangement of tables. The staff all wear black so you simply do not notice them serve you, clear dishes, refill glasses etc. unless you need to talk with them.We ordered our Entrées - Marinated Yellow Tail Kingfish (with avocado, compressed cucumber and yuzu seasoned calamari) for her and Pan Roasted Deep Sea Scallops (with cauliflower, northland smoked eel, and muscatel vinaigrette) for me, accompanied by a Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. Whilst waiting for these to arrive we were served - compliments of the chef - a raw Kingfish taster with a lemon tartare sauce (?). I’m not entirely sure what it was but it was delicious.On to the Mains. My date ordered the Hawkes Bay Natural Lamb (with glazed aubergine, white miso, soya bean and puffed farro) and I ordered the Firstlight Farm-Raised Venison (with preserved cherries, cocoa mille-feuille, black pudding & licorice). We shared a bottle of the Wooing Tree Pinot Noir throughout the Main Course.I should note here that there appears to be some sort of Man Code. Our waiter filled my dates glass a little more enthusiastically than mine. Thanks for the assist (He got a tip)!!We decided to skip Dessert and Coffees. Next time. And there will be a next time.I totally recommend Clooney to all.It was a fantastic evening. There was terrific food and wine, a relaxed environment and amazing service. I thoroughly enjoyed the company and conversation as well.- Simon.