The Cafe Volcano London Street Lyttelton Phone 28-7077 B.Y.O.

Press, 30 March 1988, Page 34

The Cafe Volcano London Street Lyttelton Phone 28-7077 B.Y.O.

By

GREG JACKSON

The most telling summary of the ( Cafe Volcano one can offer is that a perfect meal is so hovel an experience that re-

viewing! the event is surprisingly hard work, ij Until!late last year, the Cafe Volcano site was occupied ! by a fruit and vegetable shop? •

The transformation process raised a few local eyebrows -as .. the drab brick exterior turned canary yellow,, while (inside possibly the most eclectic collection ;! of tables and chairs ever assembled was laid out.

The kitchen was built as an' integral part of the actual I restaurant, with cook and kitchen hands working in view of diners. Having observed this process, I waited out the traditional “grace period” of two! months before reviewing begins of new

restaurants, with some impatience. .The Cafe Volcano owners have opted to avoid the insistence on reservations that many restaurants insist on. However they accepted our booking for 7 p.m. with good humour. Arriving at the set time we were immediately seated. Iced water arrived at the ; table within minutes. ■ i The first impression was that j the anarchistic seating .styles are actually very pleasant to the eye.

The old brick walls are virtually submerged by a delightfully informal display of paintings, prints and sculptures produced by local artists and photographers. The effect is highly relaxing, providing a superb contrast to the visual sterility that mars many designer (restaurant . interiors. Nor is the background music the bland “muzack” that blights so many supposedly individual dining spots these days. The definite guitar work and mellow blues voices of Eric Clapton

! provided trie backdrop to ) much of our stay. The Cafe Volcano has a

; blackboard; menu that (bears out .their claim of | “simple tasty food from I different countries.” The soup of the day was onion ($5). Diana and I ( both decided to sample if i and the near-tureen. size ( bowls were on our table I within five minutes. The

j soup was superb, lots of it I with plenty of onion and a i robust mix of spices. j i The garlic bread w.as ! heated perfectly and close to dripping with garlic butter. We also ordered tea for two at the same time ($3). It was served in a pleasant Chinese bluewillow pattern pot that lasted out the whole meal. Tea snobs note thie house tea| appears to be an affable Earl Gray blend. | , We then turned our attention to| the choice of seven mains. ' ! Diana opted for the fish main — terakihi ($14.50) — while my interest was

aroused by lambs fry ($l4), which is not often offered as a main. |

The -■ mains arrived within 10 minutes arid

were another pleasant surprise. Rather like the ideal porridge in the fairy tale of the Three Bears, “neither too big, nor too small, too hot, nor too cold,” they were just right.

With the mains, the choice can be either cooked potato or french fries. Pleasant fresh side salads are appparently standard issue.

Diana . thoroughly enjoyed her fish, potato and side salad, along with the small, succulent section of corn cobt .. My lambs fry was cooked to as close to perfection as is humanly possible, | smothered in a covering: of peppers, tomato and onion.

The accompanying fries were also cooked to an ideal median point, avoiding the over-cooking that is the sad norm for fries in much of New Zealand.

There was a great variety of choice in the side salad, which an increas-

ingly sated appetite prevented us exploring in depth.

A dutiful nibble of selected portions revealed that freshness prevailed in the vegetables also.

Mains gleefully disposed of, we pondered that heavy duty of tackling at least one of the five desserts. .

We compromised and opted for a chocolate mousse ($5) between us.

As a rule, I loath desserts so the superbly decorated, rich serving of chocolate bliss that we got was akin to a conversion experience. It was superb.

Total cost of the meal, inclusive of soups, mains, dessert and tea, was $46.50. The atmosphere was relaxed, the service congenial and efficient, the food excellent. The Cafe Volcano is a most welcome addition to the Christchurch dining world.