Parties at Wine Cellar

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34021, 10 December 1975, Page 16

Parties at Wine Cellar

The Christmas party season is in full swing at the Wine Cellar restaurant of the Trans Hotel, Mandeville Street, and the Pat Devlin trio plays there every night except Sunday for a dine and dance which features a special Christmas table d’hote menu. But bookings are very heavy from now until the New Year so many diners will not have a chance to visit the Wine Cellar until 1976. Unless, of course, they go for lunch. Lunches have always been a feature of the restaurant, and are available every day except Saturday from noon until 2 p.m. A recent innovation is an executive luncheon with a special menu which is only available for pre-booked groups. At $5.25, the executive menu is good value, as it offers a choice of two appetisers, two soups, and entree, four main courses, and three desserts. Businessmen favour the Wine Cellar because there is plenty of parking available and the restaurant is only a few minutes drive from the Square. The food attracts them too, of course, and the selection of wines and beers. The standard lunch, which costs $2.95, offers a choice of soup, cold cuts or poultry, grills (50c extra) and desserts (also 50c extra). There are a number of special dishes available, and the selection is changed every week. The Christmas dinner menu is available from 7.30 to 11 u.m. and features such dishes

as roast stuffed turkey, a fillet steak flamed with brandy and vodka, pavlova and, of course, plum pudding — all for $8.25. But even during the festive season the usual table d’hote dinner is available from 6 to 7.30 p.m., at a charge of $5. The menu is changed weekly but usually offers at least two soups, two entrees, four or five main courses and two desserts. Last week the main courses were lamb’s fry and bacon, roast chicken, snapper fillets, and chicken, ham or salmon salad. Sunday evenings are very popular at the Wine Cellar. Once a month the Les Toots ensemble (a 10-piece band) is featured and even though the evenings are not advertised it is impossible to get a table unless it is booked weeks in advance. A special $5 menu is offered and complimentary sherry is served to the diners when they arrive. There is no cover charge for what hundreds of diners have found to be a great night out. Even on week nights there is a party spirit in the Wine Cellar, helped by the layout and decor of the restaurant, which will seat 110. The chef, Rainer Bader, is an Austrian who came to New Zealand three years ago after working in hotels in Innsbruck and London. Naturally, he is an expert at cooking Austrian food and intends to incorporate some Austrian dishes in a menu he is prenarinc for the New Year.