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Press, 29 May 1985, Page 31

Garden House Restaurant Hospital Grounds Hanmer Springs Phone 7246 8.Y.0.

(By Joan Begg) A soak in the mineral- j laden hot pools at Hanmer s Springs was the perfect s starter to a Saturday evening meal at the Garden c House Restaurant j Still vaguely sul- c phurish, we donned our glad I rags and wandered across t the dim hospital gardens r towards the brightly col- t oured lights of the restau- 1 rant, i 1 Inside, our party of four j was shown to a table f covered with white cloth and lit with white candle, i The white walls, decorated i with framed pictures of J Edwardian couples, and the < of light jazz in the < background enhanced our < sense of dining in a restau- < rant of a past era. Most of the diners sat in i the central room. Others i were at tables in what must have \ been a covered-in veranda.

The restaurant seats about 70, but although full, still appeared relatively small and intimate. A vegetarian in our party caused some consternation initially because the menu offered’ only meat dishes. When we confirmed our booking earlier in the afternoon we were told that prior warning would have been appreciated. As it was, however, the management prepared a series of delightful vegetarian dishes. On Saturday evenings the restaurant offers a set menu with prices ranging from $22 to $24, depending on the choice of main course. Included in the menu is starter, soup, main, dessert, coffee and cheeseboard. The fare was described as real country cooking and it was. All our starters were visually appealing. Our vegetarian described her

fruit and cheese salad as simple, but imaginatively concocted. It included dried fruit, nuts, slivers of fresh fruit and cheeses.

Our token foreigner, from Scotland, found his smoked mussels from Marlborough very delicately flavoured and tender. They were served with fine toast, lettuce and decorated with slices of orange and cucumber.

My ham off the bone with watermelon was a simple and tasy starter, with the meat very tender. Our fourth companion opted for a light start — tomato juice. She thought the prospect of a five-course meal rather daunting. Other starters were pate maison and melba toast and venison terrine.

Soup followed. Our vegetarian rated her curried pea soup highly. It was delicate, smooth and surprisingly

The rest of us overlooked the chicken with mushroom soup, and ordered the venison consomme. The consensus was it was good but nothing special. It was obviously homemade and meaty flavoured. The accompanying garlic bread was hot, crisp and delicious.

The main courses offered variety for the red meat or game enthusiast but nothing for the fish or poultry fan. Fish was not offered on busy Saturday evenings because the cook preferred to pan fry it, we were told. An omelette filled with cheese, green onions and mushrooms was whipped up for our vegetarian. It was very light and filling, she said.

Our foreigner opted for the distinctive New Zealand venison marinated and cooked in cabernet and served with tarmarillo con-

serve. He found the meat nice and lean, but fairly “firm to the tooth.” The sauce tended to overpower the distinctive flavour of the meat, he said.

I found a similar problem with my Fillet Neptune. The fillet steak topped with natural oysters and mushrooms was tender and tasty, but the sauce poured over the top tended to dominate. Our fourth companion, although not a red-meat fan, said her medallions of roast fillet of beef, served with mushrooms and a wine and cream sauce, was tender and tasty. The vegetables were delicious, crisply steamed and colourful. Potatoes, cauliflower with white sauce, broccoli and carrots accompanied all mains. Diners also had the choice of roast leg of pork with trimmings, or half a roast duckling served with an orange liqueur sauce. The desserts were inconsistent: Three of us opted for cheesecakes. The chocolateliqueur cheesecake was deemed absolutely delicious and the baked lemon cheesecake scrumptious but very rich. Our vegetarian described her boysenberry parfait as boring. The canned berries were jellied and not particularly nice. The makeshift parfait glass in which it was served did nothing to enhance its appearance. The range of desserts included honey and apricot chiffon pie, pavlova and strawberries, banana splits, ice cream sundaes and a special rumona parfait. A good range, we thought, considering the restaurant caters for many tourists. We barely had room for the percolated coffee and

had to skip the cheeseboard although it looked very tempting. Both of these courses were self help which meant you could have as much as vou wanted.

We finished our meal a feeling extremely full and ' satisfied. The meal for four came to $9l. The restaurant is ' 8.Y.0., and corkage was included in the set price. The service was throughout efficient and friendly, j and the atmosphere warm and pleasant. , We were impressed with how quickly they accommodated our vegetarian, whose tastes — although common j in New Zealand — were totally incompatible with their menu. ’ As for value for money — at an average of s23‘per

head for a five-course meal — it was excellent. The Garden House Restaurant obviously has a keen following, and if interested in dining there on a week-end. it pays to book in advance. We booked the Tuesday before the weekend and were told that only two tables remained. Although new to the Garden House Restaurant, we must admit to being less than innocent in our approach. We had heard rave reviews from regular visitors to Hanmer Springs and even read of its “reputation” in an Auckland dining out column. We enjoyed the meal but were a little disappointed in the limited selection of main course.