Pedro’s Restaurant 143 Worcester Street Phone 797-668 B.Y.O.

Press, 10 February 1982, Page 14

Pedro’s Restaurant 143 Worcester Street Phone 797-668 B.Y.O.

(By

NAYLOR HILLARY

To strike a balance between the exotic flare of some southern European foods and the conservative tastes of many Christchurch diners is no mean feat. Pedro’s Restaurant achieves the balance. The results are generally delicious, with enough variety for excitement, and with familiar New Zealand ingredients. such as scallops and mussels, turned to Spanish uses.

Pedro's, in elderly brick premises in the heart of the city, has been open less than a year. The cooking and the decor are authentic Spanish. The menu is changed every few weeks, although certain favourites, such as “gambas al ajillo” (garlic prawns), remain constant. , s

In season, as a special delicacy, .Pedro's serves whitebait in the. same manner: scalding hot oil, flavoured with garlic and chillis, and whitebait dropped in unadorned and allowed to sizzle for only a few seconds before the dish is placed at the table. Pedro’s claims the results are so good that West Coasters, those connoisseurs of whitebait, come back for more.

Customers determined to make the most of Pedro’s Spanish opportunities might prefer to start two steps higher on the menu. The customer's bottle of wine (corkage 50 cents a person) can be turned into “sangria” — a diluted and spiced wine drink sometimes known in English as Sangaree.

Those prawns (an entree, $5) ‘make a good place to start — scalding hot, served in stoneware dishes brought from Spain, and tasting fresh even though, in New Zealand, a restaurant has little choice but to use frozen prawns.

Then the restaurant offers two soups of the day ($2.50). On a recent visit the choice was a fish soup, with scallops, prawns, squid, mussels, garlic, green peppers and saffron, or “gazpacho," a cold soup made with tomato

and cucumber and a refreshing opening on a nor’west evening. Three other entrees were available — scallops in sherry tomato sauce, button mushrooms grilled with Roquefort butter (and served very hot), or marinated New Zealand mussels dressed with a variety of peppers. Four entrees, followed by a choice of six main courses seems a modest offering. In fact, by judicious selection, the diner can enjoy a wide choice of flavours. Each item on the menu is given its Spanish name, followed by ah adequate description in English. The choice is wide enough to be interesting, without being so wide as to confuse. For those inclined to seek safety in the familiar, fillet steak with a mustard and

brown sugar sauce is available ($9.50). This turned out to be the least interesting and successful of the four different dishes sampled. Carne toledana ($9), a spicy dish of pork fillets cooked with tomato, peppers, red beans and rice, came piping hot in a side dish, with a helping large enough to stump most appetites.

However, the pork was not as tender as the quite splendid ‘cerdo a la naranja." or pork steak in sherry ana orange sauce ($10). This outstanding dish is a real discovery; it makes Pedro’s well worth a visit.

Among our party. Pedro's had to cope with a diner who preferred to avoid seafoods, mushrooms and pork. They handled splendidly an adaption of their “pincho morunos” ($8.50), marinated cubes

of lamb grilled on a skewer with a small portion of ham (and with mushrooms, except by request), and set in a bed of saffron rice. The main courses were supported by large communal dishes of carrots, and of green beans cooked with bacon. The beans were an achievement — tender, yet holding their shape, and not greasy in spite of the bacon when diners came back for a cooler second helping.

The other main courses available were a mix of scallops, prawns, mussels and fish in a sherry and white w’ine sauce ($l6). and groper steak cooked with prawns and white wine ($10). A communal bowl of crisp Spanish salad was also on the table, refreshing, but almost too much after what had come before.

All apppetites have a limit. The desserts — a choice of four — were generally light and refreshing with the chocolate and runt mousse ($3.50) especially so. Camembert with crackers ($3.50) turned out however to be almost another little meal in itself.

and anisette, topped with cream, and lacking nothing in its determination to be enjoyed. Dinner for four, not counting wine, came to $76. Pedro's is well “up market.” but it justifies its prices by the quality of its dishes.

The surroundings, with seating for 70, are generally pleasing, conveying an air of planned chaos with Spanish tiles and plates used as decorations. The chairs, with straight, high backs, ensure diners remain erect. The service was brisk and carefully timed: it did not deteriorate as the restaurant filled with exuberant parties on’ the night of a “full house.”

Pedros is not perfect. Finding the ladies' toilet is a little adventure the first time round; the bare wooden floors, carefully groomed, hurl back a clatter to the high ceiling, especially in quieter moments whe'n a busy waitress is wearing wooden-soled shoes.

Beware the steepish stairs, with an awkward turn or two. on the way out. Pedro s is a cheerful, tolerant place, serving interesting Spanish dishes and well on the way to being one of the better restaurants in Christchurch.

To conclude, for those seeking simplicity, ordinary coffee (with refills) was 85 cents. Irish coffee ($3) was available but the best ending to an evening at Pedro s was the cafe Espaniol — a brimming bumper of coffee

Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday, from 6 p.m. Booking is advisable, especially at the week-end.